Fan Fiction ❯ Bad Girl ❯ Chapter 2: Close Your Mouth and Stop Drooling ( Chapter 2 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: iamfanboy 
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shoujo / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.30.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 200 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Shoujo / Romance / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.30.2006 | Pages: 4 | Words: 6.0K | Visits: 200 | Status: Completed
Chapter Two: Close Your Mouth and Stop Drooling
Takahashi led Sei through the suburbs to a modest two-story house, painted in a light gray. It looked very different from the tract housing that surrounded it; it was almost like a small castle, with a little garret that stood out from the right front of the building and eaves that sloped down at a nearly flat angle. As he stepped through the gate, Sei looked around with interest at the meticulously cared-for lawn and neatly trimmed bushes. Takahashi seemed to take it all in stride, heading straight for the door, and not wanting to be left behind, Sei kept close behind her.
"Sorry about the mess, Adachi-kun," Takahashi tossed over her shoulder as she slipped off her shoes, "the service doesn't come by until tomorrow morning."
Service? Sei slipped off his own shoes, stepped out of the entryway…
And into a drift of empty beer cans.
He stumbled and almost fell, but Takahashi caught his arm and tugged him back on-balance. "Watch out!"
Eyes wide, Sei saw for the first time the colossal disaster that was the inside of Kairi Takahashi's house.
The beer cans and empty snack bags were only a small part of the mess. The sofa in the front room had been overturned, and the television opposite it smashed in violently, the plasma screen starred in three different places. What had probably once been a glass table in a corner of the room was only a heap of shards that glittered in the carpet's thick pile and a few bones of polished brass that jutted upward. The smell of a popular air freshener didn't quite manage to hide the sour stink of spilled beer and the sickly stench of old vomit.
Takahashi shrugged. "Saturday's party got a little rough, and I had to throw out a couple of assholes."
Sei blinked for a moment, his mouth working, as he struggled to find the right words. "But… but… today's THURSDAY!!!" Disbelief filled his voice. "You've had this sitting since then??"
Defensively, Takahashi replied, "Hey, I sprayed the air freshener, didn't I?" She added, "Besides, the service charges me if I call 'em in early, and I didn't think I'd have anyone coming over until this weekend again."
A sudden sound from upstairs, like someone falling down, proved her wrong. Takahashi glared upwards and said with a scowl etched into her face, "Go ahead to the kitchen over there," she pointed, "it's a bit cleaner than out here. I have some garbage to take out."
She stomped off towards the stairs, and not seeing any alternative, Sei headed for the kitchen. Another crash sounded from upstairs, and he heard Takahashi shout, "I TOLD you that you CAN'T live here just 'cause we screw every once in a while! GET OUT! GO HOME! Y'damn dumb kid!"
A strange male voice shouted back, "You ain't any older than I am, bitch! Don't think you're better just 'cause-" A third crash, along with a hoarse male scream, came from above, and the sound of someone being dragged followed it several seconds afterward.
Eventually, the sound came clattering down the stairs, and Sei saw that Takahashi was dragging a boy who did look about the same age they were, with a massive bruise around his left eye. He was still conscious, but barely; he slurred out, "Y'can't… do this…"
"Yeah I can, idiot. This is my house, my rules, and if you break 'em you can't come back." She pulled him up to his feet and shoved him out onto the porch, throwing his shoes at him. "Go home to yer mom and dad!" Takahashi slammed the door, muttering angrily, "Some kids don't know how lucky they are…"
She noticed Sei staring from the doorway of the kitchen, and just as though this kind of thing happened every day, she said, "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, why DID you follow me here?"
Sei scratched his cheek. "You know, I'm not even that sure any more. At first, I was following you to ask you to stop intruding on my life… but now… I dunno." This is all so very strange. I don't feel comfortable here. How can she live like this? "I like Cherie-chan, but-"
Takahashi leveled a finger at Sei. "Fine. If you're so awkward about the idea, why don't you come to the 'study sessions' that I'll be running for her?" She frowned. "It'll probably speed things up anyway. Love blossoming under the harsh teacher… it has a romantic angle that that kind of girl will get all googlyeyed over."
"What do you mean, that kind of girl?" Sei asked defensively.
Now, it was Takahashi's turn to look uncomfortable. "Look, Adachi-kun, I didn't let you follow me here to insult your taste in women."
"But…"
Takahashi plopped down on the upturned couch. "Fine, have it your way! I don't know that much about her, but already I think she's so shallow that she could sub for the kiddie end of the swimming pool and no one could tell the difference! I mean, math?" She shook her head. "It's just numbers. How could anyone have trouble with numbers? Numbers are easy. They always play by the rules, always do the same thing. Not like people…"
Even more defensively, Sei spluttered, "B-but I'm not good at math, either!"
"So what? Then I really will tutor you, too!" she snapped back.
Seeing that this was a losing battle, Sei shifted gears. "And where are we going to have these study sessions? Here?"
Without missing a beat, Takahashi replied, "Don't worry about it. Once the service gets through here, you won't know the place. And I'm not letting them party at my place again. It just isn't fun any more." A sad look, as though she were on the edge of tears, crept over her face.
"Uh?" He took a step forward, half-reaching out with one hand, unsure of whether or not to try and comfort her.
Her face contorted into a blazing fury, the suddenly sorrowful look vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "They wrecked my plasma TV! Even if I really am made of money, when I get around to killing myself it's all going to a charity to help little lost kittens find their way home or something just as useless. Why not let the money go to where it'll do a bit of good, instead of havin' to shell out more cash for another TV so I won't miss my favorite shows?"
Sei blinked. He said softly, "You sound so… casual when you say that."
"Say what?" Takahashi looked confused for a moment, then her face cleared. "About killing myself?" She laughed. "What, did you think it was some kinda teen melodrama, what I told you in the street?" Takahashi clutched both her hands to her chest and whined in an exaggerated girly voice, "Oooh! Life is soooo terrible! Woe is me! I have pimples! Guys don't like me! My butt is too big! Sigh! I shall end it all!" She threw herself backwards, draping her body over the point of the overturned couch, and gave out a mock death gasp.
Still lying there, Takahashi continued, "It's a rational decision. The moment my life no longer has a point, I'm ending it. Oh, it won't be tomorrow – in fact, it probably won't be until the end of the latest TV season, I have a couple of shows that I'm watching. Doubt it'll be any longer than that."
She pushed herself up and smiled lopsidedly at Sei. "I need something to fill in time between the episodes, though, so would you please let me tutor you and your would-be girlfriend?"
****
Kairi looked mournfully at the little charcoal briquettes that had been her attempt to make some cookies as a snack for today's study session. "Ah well," she said, scraping them off the tray and into the garbage, "I'll just leave a message for the service to send a cook too."
She leaned against the refrigerator and slid slowly down to the floor, looking at the clock that mocked her with the message of an all-too early 3 AM. "At least I managed to get some sleep, which is pretty good."
Kairi held her hand up against the fluorescent light, watching with fascination the brightness of it filtering through her thin flesh. It was how she felt lately… as though she were thinning out, with less and less to shield her from the painful light of her memories. Activity was the only thing that staved them off; when she wasn't doing anything, all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball of darkness and never do anything again until she died of dehydration…
But that would be letting the person who'd hurt her win, even after all these years.
"Fuck that," Kairi said savagely, dragging herself upwards by the refrigerator handle. Even though it was too late to catch a train and go clubbing, too early to head out to breakfast, too cold outside to go for a walk, and the plasma TV was too broken to watch mind-numbing late-night movies, she always kept a reserve weapon against an emergency attack of the black lows.
Digging her old TV from the closet ate up another fifteen minutes, hooking it up to the gaming system that collected dust most of the time another three, but the sensation of virgin cellophane tearing under her fingernails as Kairi opened a copy of the latest Doki Doki Our Hearts game made her feel better already. She didn't play video games very much, and most of them were uninteresting to her, but Kairi did enjoy playing the occasional dating simulation, if only out of dark amusement at how wrong the game designers were about women. Viciously, she set out to destroy the lives of all the virtual girls she could.
An hour later, she laughed out loud. This game even let you seduce the teachers! A quick glance at the clock showed the danger she was in of forgetting about school, though, so Kairi reached out and turned her alarm on for the first time in almost a year.
It seemed like no time had passed at all before the buzz shook her from the game's world and back into the real one. Sighing regretfully, she saved her progress and got ready for school, showering and pulling on a clean uniform. It being chilly outside, Kairi decided to pull on a set of long stockings instead of loose socks; not for the first time, she was glad that her school was at least lenient about what kind of socks that would go with her uniform. After a short call to the service ordering for a cook, she was out the door.
She walked to school quickly, waving hello to the few people she knew, blowing off the people who wanted to know her, and sneering at the girls who had decided to adopt her hairstyle. Idiots. Why would they want to copy me? I just don't understand women. Why not be themselves? I mean, that girl over there has plump cheeks; my haircut makes them look really fat. If she'd wear her hair longer, she'd look pretty instead of porky.
It's all so stupid.
A cheery "Good morning, Takahashi-san!" came from behind her, and Kairi turned around to see Cherie Hasegawa standing there, one hand in the air. Her first instinct was to huff and whirl away, but she checked that quickly. After all, I'm becoming her tutor. And, she added to herself with some measure of amusement, at least she doesn't have my hairstyle plopped on her head like a cheap wig.
"Mornin'," Kairi said to Hasegawa, straining to put a smile on her face. "Ya ready for tonight?"
"Yeah!" Hasegawa bonked herself on the head and stuck out her tongue, giving an exaggerated wince. "But you'll have a hard time putting anything through this wooden head of mine… I'm really sorry."
Kairi shook her head. "Don't worry 'bout it. If I can't teach ya, then it's my fault, not yers." Hasegawa grinned happily, and Kairi felt her own smile turning at least somewhat genuine in response to the emotion.
The smile on Kairi's face disappeared when she saw the subtle looks of disdain that some of the girls around them were directing their way, and particularly at Hasegawa. She angrily asked, directing the question at all of them, "What the hell are ya starin' at, huh?!" staring as many of them in the eye as she could. Damned dirty bitches, all of 'em!
The girls were unwilling to meet her direct gaze, and hurried to school a bit faster. Hasegawa's happy expression had disappeared. "I'm sorry…"
"Like I said before, don't worry 'bout it! And quit apologizin' for stuff that don't matter!" Kairi could feel her speech turning even rougher as a tight band of rage constricted her chest, and took a deep breath before saying anything more. "I don't care what they think. I don't care what anyone thinks but me. If I want to help you out, that's my business, not theirs, and they can keep their pug-ugly noses out of it."
An admiring expression opened Hasegawa's eyes wide. "Wow, you really mean that, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Why would I say anything I don't mean? It wastes time to lie." Kairi shrugged. "C'mon, let's get to class."
Kairi spent the entire school day subtly watching Hasegawa. Now that her attention was on it, she could see how Hasegawa was being ostracized by the other girls around them. Kairi didn't have a clue why, nor did she much care; it was beneath her to worry about that kind of crap.
But it did help her see this girl that Adachi liked as a real person for the first time. Maybe I'm doing both of them a favor, really, by setting them up together. She chuckled quietly to herself as a teacher droned on about the Meiji era. Look at me, becoming the matchmaker in my old age! Next thing you know, I'll be-
Her mood crashed suddenly as she looked over at a group of girls who were giggling over something no doubt stupid. I'll be just like them.
That dark cloud stayed over her head the rest of the day, and as the final bell rang, she stomped back to where Hasegawa and Adachi had their desks. "Time to go," Kairi stated. "Follow me to my place, the both of you."
"Both?" Hasegawa turned to look at Adachi. "You're coming with too?"
He laughed uneasily, putting one hand behind his head. "Yeah… she's tutoring me… guess we're study buddies!"
Hasegawa blinked and said neutrally, "I suppose so." She smiled slightly. "Well, then, we may as well make the best of it, eh?"
****
Sei was terrified.
His palms were sweating, his eyes were twitching, his mouth was dry, his cheeks were flushed, he was morbidly aware of the occasional stutter that crept into his words and that awareness only made the stutter worse…
But he couldn't give up now! She was sitting only a few feet away from him! The woman who haunted his dreams, the woman he'd loved ever since he'd first seen her four years ago, the woman named Cherie Hasegawa was right there! He'd never seen her outside of school before, except in passing, and now they were talking and working on schoolwork and eating snacks that the cook downstairs had made for them together. Where did that cook come from? Eh, I don't suppose it matters. At least the house is clean… I never would have believed it!
"So, it's pretty simple. All you have to do is-" Takahashi rapped Sei on the top of his head with a ruler. "Are you paying attention, Adachi-kun? I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine!"
Cherie slid to her feet. "Excuse me, where's your toilet?"
"Down the hall, third door on the right."
She walked out the door, closing it behind her, and Takahashi reached over the table to grab a fistful of Sei's shirt. "Look, you're in serious danger of completely losing her within an hour of being here! Stop looking like an idiot, quit staring, close your mouth so you don't drool, and start acting casual! Pretend that she's just a guy, I don't care how hard it is for you, I don't care if you have to close your eyes, just do it!"
"Pretend she's just a guy?" Sei wiped at the corner of his mouth. "And am I really drooling?"
She held up a pair of fingers. "There are two ways to a girl's heart. One is to be smooth, cool, impressive, witty – which most guys think is the only way, but you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling THAT off. The other is to just be yourself and then appreciate a girl for being he self. The secret to that is just treating her like another person."
Sei said, suspicion in his voice, "That doesn't sound hard at all."
"Who said it had to be? Once she gets back, don't miss your cue. I'll ask about-" Takahashi stopped talking and turned her head to one side, releasing the fistful of shirt just as the door slid open. Cherie plopped back down in front of her book and stretched, yawning.
"All work and no play makes Cherie-chan a sleepy girl! Why don't we take a quick break?"
Takahashi shrugged. "I got no problem with that. What did you have in mind?"
"Well…" Cherie pointed to the video game system set up on the dresser. "Do you have any good games for that?"
Sei was shocked to see Takahashi actually look embarrassed by the question! "N-not really, no." In what was an obvious effort to change the subject as quickly as possible, Takahashi turned to Sei and asked, "So, what's in the big package you brought with you from school?"
It was, Sei had to admit grudgingly, a successful effort. "Well, it's my bow and archery clothes. Our club doesn't meet tomorrow morning, so I figured that I'd spend Saturday taking care of my equipment."
Whatever response he'd been expecting from his words, it certainly wasn't the one he got.
Both girls immediately exchanged glanced with each other, then leaned towards him, eyes wide and shining, as they chorused, "You're in the archery club!?!?!"
Cherie smiled. "That is so cool!"
Takahashi slapped her forehead. "You're the guy!"
It took Sei a moment to recover his composure, but when he did he grinned widely. "You mean that you actually like archery?" I have a way in! She likes something that I do! She really, really does! Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod!!
Cherie and Takahashi exchanged glanced identical with the ones they'd traded only a moment ago, then laughed and chorused again, "No, not really!"
Cherie put a hand over her mouth. "I mean, sports are nice and all, but…"
Takahashi looked sheepish. "Well, I was watching you guys practice yesterday morning…"
Hope crashed just as quickly as it had risen, and Sei's head hit the table. "Argh…"
A friendly hand patted his head. "Awh, I'm sorry for making fun of you…" Cherie said contritely.
Takahashi added, "Yeah, we shouldn't be making fun of you; it's just sad that you don't have anything better to do on a Saturday night than take care of school gear. Can't you hang out with friends? Don't you have a girlfriend?"
His earlier nervousness returned in full force as he realized that this was the cue Takahashi was talking about. Sei lifted his head up and said, "Er, ah, n-no, I d-don't have a girlfriend…"
Clucking her tongue, Takahashi shook her head. "That’s a real shame. It's too bad the crowd I'm hanging out with tomorrow night is pretty rough, otherwise I'd drag you along." As if the thought had just occurred to her, she turned to Cherie. "Hey, Hasegawa-san, why don't you take him out for a night on the town?"
"But I-"
Casually, Takahashi interrupted her protest with, "I'll treat. I've got two freebie tickets to that new movie I'll never use. Go ahead!"
"But…" Cherie looked helpless, "my cousin is coming to visit from the States tomorrow, and I haven't seen him in almost two years! I can't skip out on that!"
Carefully suppressing any disappointment in his voice, Sei added, "Besides, I'll be with my younger brother tomorrow. I promised to help him practice his kendo for a big tournament next week…" Though I'd ditch him in a heartbeat for a date with Cherie-chan. Taro would be mad, but who cares?
"Kendo, too?" Takahashi lifted one eyebrow. "Is there a sport that your family doesn't do?"
"Baseball. No real reason why not, just none of us have had any interest in it." Well, that's not entirely true, but it's close enough. "My older brother is on his college soccer team, one of my younger brothers does tennis, but kendo is kind of a family tradition, you know?"
"No," Takahashi said flatly, "I don't know."
What happened to your family? Sei almost asked. He didn't dare, though, because to intrude into such a subject would be almost unthinkably rude. He knew that something was wildly different with Takahashi's family; the way she lived in this house seemingly alone with a service to clean it every week, the parties she spoke of that wrecked her house, other things that seemed so jarringly out of place...
But asking about it wouldn't be polite in the slightest, so Sei kept his mouth shut.
"What happened to your family?" Cherie asked with a high note of concern riding in her voice.
Sei felt as shocked as Takahashi looked. Why would she be so intrusive? Is it because she's a half? Takahashi recovered more quickly than he did and replied, her words as empty of emotion as though she were describing a grocery list, "They died when I was a kid. Long time ago."
Now it was Cherie's turn to look shocked. "I-I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be," Takahashi said, waving her hand in negation. "It ain't as if it were your fault." She shrugged. "Long story short, it was all a bunch of stupid mistakes. Hotel they were staying in caught fire while they were sleeping, fire alarm didn't go off, they didn't wake up, fire was put out, but no one searched their room so they died of smoke inhalation. Worse ways to go, I guess."
She let that hang in the air for a long, pregnant silence, than slammed her hand into the table palm-first. "Hey, now, I think that you guys have kept me talking just to get out of me tutoring you! Let's get back to work!"
****
Hasegawa looked at the clock. "Well, it's about time for me to go. I'll see you guys Monday!" She looked at Adachi. "Are you leaving too?"
He looked uncomfortable. "Well, actually, I want to ask her some questions on that first set of problems we worked on. I messed them up."
Kairi stood up at the same time as Hasegawa. "I'll show you to the door, okay?" They walked down the stairs together, Kairi tracing one hand along the wall. Hasegawa was silent during the trip, which suited Kairi just fine.
She still didn't know why she'd told them about her parents. Usually, she just ignored the subject, or glossed over it, when anyone asked about them. It wasn't a particularly important event to her, except as a backdrop for what happened later in her life. She'd been too young to remember either of her parents as much more than a pair of legs before they had died. All it did was get her a lot of sympathy from people who liked to pretend they could feel her pain.
She didn't want their sympathy. She didn't need it. When someone offered it, it wasn't about them making Kairi feel better, it was about making themselves feel better for not having suffered… and THAT she could do without.
Let them feel better on their own time, for their own reasons, without mooching off of her tragedies.
Hasegawa slid her shoes on and turned back to face Kairi. "Thanks for your hospitality, and thanks for your help with the math!" She giggled. "It was kinda fun teasing poor Adachi, wasn't it?"
"Well, kinda… but he doesn't take teasing very well, you know." Kairi brushed her hair back behind an ear in a casual gesture.
Hasegawa hesitated before saying, "So, er… why were you trying to set him up with me?"
Having been expecting this question on the walk down (having, in fact, created the opportunity for Hasegawa to ask the question by walking down with her), Kairi didn't miss a beat in replying, "Because I thought it was kind of sad that he has nothin' better to do on a Saturday night than take care of his sporting equipment. I woulda done it myself, but I already promised some buds that we'd go and do karaoke."
"Why don't you bring him along?"
Kairi sighed. "Because then they'd think that Adachi-kun was my new exclusive boyfriend or something, and while they wouldn't mind him joining my harem, I don't play favorites among them and they might get a little… rambunctious at the idea I was."
Hasegawa blinked for a moment before giving a little chuckle, just as if Kairi were joking. "Oh, really?" They strode out together to the front gate, and Kairi swung it open. Hasegawa smiled and said brightly, "See you soon! Bye-bye!"
Before she could turn to leave, though, a car pulled up in front of the house. It was long, painted black, had tinted windows that prevented anyone from seeing inside, and was intimately familiar to Kairi. She covered her face with her palm and groaned quietly. Oh, no, don't tell me that she came to visit… Oh, it's bad enough that Yasashi-kun said she wants to set me up on marriage dates… please, PLEASE don't let her have brought along one of those jokers along to meet me in my own house!
"Wow…" Hasegawa said, awe in her voice. "Who is that?"
As the chauffeur got out and walked over to the passenger side door, Kairi replied grimly, "A woman who doesn't know what she's meddling with, that's what." The passenger door swung open and out stepped a woman who, most of the time, Kairi would not have minded seeing.
Mariko Daidouji was tall and slender, with a face that looked cold and haughty and beautiful; but Kairi knew better than most that it was just a mask hiding the person underneath who truly wanted to care about other people, but just never quite learned how. She dressed in a way that exaggerated her husband's wealth, and Kairi spotted the rather expensive necklace that she'd given the other woman as a birthday present draped around her neck. She sighed. So THAT'S how she's going to play this encounter… great.
"Kairi-chan!" Mariko gushed, striding forward towards Kairi.
Well, two can play at that game. Kairi composed her face into a broad smile and gushed back, "Mari-chan! How have you been?"
"Very well, thank you!" Mariko stopped short upon seeing Hasegawa. "Why, hello there! Are you one of Kairi-chan's friends?"
Hasegawa waved a hand. "Oh, no, not yet! She's tutoring me." She bowed. "My name is Cherie Hasegawa, it's nice to meet you! I almost wish that I weren't leaving soon."
"My name is Mariko Daidouji, and I'm sure that Kairi-chan will do a fine job tutoring you; she's always been bright."
Kairi gestured to the house. "Would you care to come inside? I'm sure that the service's cook would be able to prepare some tea for us."
"Wonderful idea!" Mariko swept past the pair, and Kairi had to hurry to keep up with her. "I'll see you Monday!" she called back to Hasegawa.
As soon as she stepped into the door, Kairi spotted Adachi standing at the bottom of the stairs. A sense of profound relief swelled in her as she saw the way clear to derailing Mariko. Thank you, merciful God! Oh, I never thought it would be this easy! He asked, "Hey, Takahashi-san, who's this…"
Kairi leapt forward and hugged Adachi around his waist. "Aww, don't be so formal, Sei-kun; you're my boyfriend now!" In a much lower voice, she whispered, "Play along if you want to live."
Notes:
Yes, there are services which rich people can pay to do almost anything. I wish I could afford them… my room is looking awfully messy right now. Why didn't she call them in sooner to have the mess cleaned up? Because she just plain doesn't care.
Yes, poor Kairi has a number of psychological issues, but she tries not to let them rule her. Some of them do stem back to her parents' dying, but only as a root issue… most of them come from a source that's much more active than that. That, however, is a story for another chapter.
As anyone who's spent ANY amount of time reading manga knows, school and good grades are awfully important; many characters spend time in 'cram schools' after school to expand their learning and up their chances of getting into decent college. What most people DON'T know is that they cost money, too – and the better ones cost quite a bit, too. Parents are quite willing to spend money on these to up their child's chances of getting into a good college, but there are some families who just can't afford the luxury. That's the boat that Cherie and Sei are in, at the moment, but for different reasons.
Why did I use kendo instead of fencing, where I've replaced kyudo with archery? Because people KNOW what kendo is – heck, even the spellchecker in word recognizes kendo! – whereas people just plain don't KNOW what kyudo is, but they're aware of what archery is. Archery also is one of those sports that is, well, more respected than it would be here, seeing as how it links with the same samurai traditions that kendo does, and while it's not as widely practiced as kendo… it still has a pretty good following.
For arranged marriage dates – or omiai as they are known – there are lots of things 'known' about them, but not everyone knows the facts.
It was often very hard for Japanese women to meet marriageable men of their own age throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. Very often, aunts or other female relatives would keep an eye out for likely men, and would send any decent ones to meet the young husband-high woman. Eventually, this grew into an official business with offices keeping files of prospective men who were generally too busy in their profession to go wife-hunting themselves, and with women who were looking for husbands, but the home grown nature of it, of an older female looking out for the younger relative, was kept intact.
These days, omiai services are fading in popularity, having more than a hint of the 'traditional' place of the Japanese woman – a place that she no longer wants. In point of fact, marriage itself is fading in popularity, with fewer and fewer young women having any interest in "Indenturing themselves" as it is seen, and a growing attitude of just plain not needing men is on the rise…
Ah, such a pity! I'll never have my kawaii Japanese bride, if current trends continue!
And yes, in case you haven't noticed, I would enjoy someday turning this into a manga of its own. I'm a skilled enough writer that it would stand critical inspection; all I need to do is form a partnership with a skilled artist or become an artist in my own right, and then find a publisher… so it will more likely than not be the fourth or fifth thing I get published, rather than the first, because I'll have to prove I know what I'm on about before people will trust me to do it!
Anyway… time for the next
Character Profile: Sei Adachi
Birthday: September 15th (Virgo)
Blood Type: A
Height: 180 cm (6")
Weight: 78 kg (172 lb)
Favorite food: Hamburgers (but doesn't eat them often)
Least favorite food: Octopus (the tentacles freak him out)
Best subject: Japanese
Worst subject: English
Hobbies: Likes archery and has been a member of an archery club for the last 10 years. Could be nationally ranked, if he competed. Is also skilled at kendo, but is far less practiced in it. Plays more than a few sports, mostly because it's what his family does (his father is a kendo teacher and his mother is a coach at an all-girl's middle school) but also because he likes it. Really sucks at video games, but prides himself at his skill at them.
Personality: Has that strange mix of shyness and brashness that characterizes many teenage males. He has a strong sense of personal honor, but it's mostly unformed as of yet – he hasn't actually gone so far as to declare "I am an honorable kinda guy" or anything of the sort, but it's still there.
Favorite movie: Kill Bill Vol. 1
Favorite saying: Doesn't have one
Takahashi led Sei through the suburbs to a modest two-story house, painted in a light gray. It looked very different from the tract housing that surrounded it; it was almost like a small castle, with a little garret that stood out from the right front of the building and eaves that sloped down at a nearly flat angle. As he stepped through the gate, Sei looked around with interest at the meticulously cared-for lawn and neatly trimmed bushes. Takahashi seemed to take it all in stride, heading straight for the door, and not wanting to be left behind, Sei kept close behind her.
"Sorry about the mess, Adachi-kun," Takahashi tossed over her shoulder as she slipped off her shoes, "the service doesn't come by until tomorrow morning."
Service? Sei slipped off his own shoes, stepped out of the entryway…
And into a drift of empty beer cans.
He stumbled and almost fell, but Takahashi caught his arm and tugged him back on-balance. "Watch out!"
Eyes wide, Sei saw for the first time the colossal disaster that was the inside of Kairi Takahashi's house.
The beer cans and empty snack bags were only a small part of the mess. The sofa in the front room had been overturned, and the television opposite it smashed in violently, the plasma screen starred in three different places. What had probably once been a glass table in a corner of the room was only a heap of shards that glittered in the carpet's thick pile and a few bones of polished brass that jutted upward. The smell of a popular air freshener didn't quite manage to hide the sour stink of spilled beer and the sickly stench of old vomit.
Takahashi shrugged. "Saturday's party got a little rough, and I had to throw out a couple of assholes."
Sei blinked for a moment, his mouth working, as he struggled to find the right words. "But… but… today's THURSDAY!!!" Disbelief filled his voice. "You've had this sitting since then??"
Defensively, Takahashi replied, "Hey, I sprayed the air freshener, didn't I?" She added, "Besides, the service charges me if I call 'em in early, and I didn't think I'd have anyone coming over until this weekend again."
A sudden sound from upstairs, like someone falling down, proved her wrong. Takahashi glared upwards and said with a scowl etched into her face, "Go ahead to the kitchen over there," she pointed, "it's a bit cleaner than out here. I have some garbage to take out."
She stomped off towards the stairs, and not seeing any alternative, Sei headed for the kitchen. Another crash sounded from upstairs, and he heard Takahashi shout, "I TOLD you that you CAN'T live here just 'cause we screw every once in a while! GET OUT! GO HOME! Y'damn dumb kid!"
A strange male voice shouted back, "You ain't any older than I am, bitch! Don't think you're better just 'cause-" A third crash, along with a hoarse male scream, came from above, and the sound of someone being dragged followed it several seconds afterward.
Eventually, the sound came clattering down the stairs, and Sei saw that Takahashi was dragging a boy who did look about the same age they were, with a massive bruise around his left eye. He was still conscious, but barely; he slurred out, "Y'can't… do this…"
"Yeah I can, idiot. This is my house, my rules, and if you break 'em you can't come back." She pulled him up to his feet and shoved him out onto the porch, throwing his shoes at him. "Go home to yer mom and dad!" Takahashi slammed the door, muttering angrily, "Some kids don't know how lucky they are…"
She noticed Sei staring from the doorway of the kitchen, and just as though this kind of thing happened every day, she said, "Sorry 'bout that. Anyway, why DID you follow me here?"
Sei scratched his cheek. "You know, I'm not even that sure any more. At first, I was following you to ask you to stop intruding on my life… but now… I dunno." This is all so very strange. I don't feel comfortable here. How can she live like this? "I like Cherie-chan, but-"
Takahashi leveled a finger at Sei. "Fine. If you're so awkward about the idea, why don't you come to the 'study sessions' that I'll be running for her?" She frowned. "It'll probably speed things up anyway. Love blossoming under the harsh teacher… it has a romantic angle that that kind of girl will get all googlyeyed over."
"What do you mean, that kind of girl?" Sei asked defensively.
Now, it was Takahashi's turn to look uncomfortable. "Look, Adachi-kun, I didn't let you follow me here to insult your taste in women."
"But…"
Takahashi plopped down on the upturned couch. "Fine, have it your way! I don't know that much about her, but already I think she's so shallow that she could sub for the kiddie end of the swimming pool and no one could tell the difference! I mean, math?" She shook her head. "It's just numbers. How could anyone have trouble with numbers? Numbers are easy. They always play by the rules, always do the same thing. Not like people…"
Even more defensively, Sei spluttered, "B-but I'm not good at math, either!"
"So what? Then I really will tutor you, too!" she snapped back.
Seeing that this was a losing battle, Sei shifted gears. "And where are we going to have these study sessions? Here?"
Without missing a beat, Takahashi replied, "Don't worry about it. Once the service gets through here, you won't know the place. And I'm not letting them party at my place again. It just isn't fun any more." A sad look, as though she were on the edge of tears, crept over her face.
"Uh?" He took a step forward, half-reaching out with one hand, unsure of whether or not to try and comfort her.
Her face contorted into a blazing fury, the suddenly sorrowful look vanishing as quickly as it had appeared. "They wrecked my plasma TV! Even if I really am made of money, when I get around to killing myself it's all going to a charity to help little lost kittens find their way home or something just as useless. Why not let the money go to where it'll do a bit of good, instead of havin' to shell out more cash for another TV so I won't miss my favorite shows?"
Sei blinked. He said softly, "You sound so… casual when you say that."
"Say what?" Takahashi looked confused for a moment, then her face cleared. "About killing myself?" She laughed. "What, did you think it was some kinda teen melodrama, what I told you in the street?" Takahashi clutched both her hands to her chest and whined in an exaggerated girly voice, "Oooh! Life is soooo terrible! Woe is me! I have pimples! Guys don't like me! My butt is too big! Sigh! I shall end it all!" She threw herself backwards, draping her body over the point of the overturned couch, and gave out a mock death gasp.
Still lying there, Takahashi continued, "It's a rational decision. The moment my life no longer has a point, I'm ending it. Oh, it won't be tomorrow – in fact, it probably won't be until the end of the latest TV season, I have a couple of shows that I'm watching. Doubt it'll be any longer than that."
She pushed herself up and smiled lopsidedly at Sei. "I need something to fill in time between the episodes, though, so would you please let me tutor you and your would-be girlfriend?"
****
Kairi looked mournfully at the little charcoal briquettes that had been her attempt to make some cookies as a snack for today's study session. "Ah well," she said, scraping them off the tray and into the garbage, "I'll just leave a message for the service to send a cook too."
She leaned against the refrigerator and slid slowly down to the floor, looking at the clock that mocked her with the message of an all-too early 3 AM. "At least I managed to get some sleep, which is pretty good."
Kairi held her hand up against the fluorescent light, watching with fascination the brightness of it filtering through her thin flesh. It was how she felt lately… as though she were thinning out, with less and less to shield her from the painful light of her memories. Activity was the only thing that staved them off; when she wasn't doing anything, all she wanted to do was curl up into a ball of darkness and never do anything again until she died of dehydration…
But that would be letting the person who'd hurt her win, even after all these years.
"Fuck that," Kairi said savagely, dragging herself upwards by the refrigerator handle. Even though it was too late to catch a train and go clubbing, too early to head out to breakfast, too cold outside to go for a walk, and the plasma TV was too broken to watch mind-numbing late-night movies, she always kept a reserve weapon against an emergency attack of the black lows.
Digging her old TV from the closet ate up another fifteen minutes, hooking it up to the gaming system that collected dust most of the time another three, but the sensation of virgin cellophane tearing under her fingernails as Kairi opened a copy of the latest Doki Doki Our Hearts game made her feel better already. She didn't play video games very much, and most of them were uninteresting to her, but Kairi did enjoy playing the occasional dating simulation, if only out of dark amusement at how wrong the game designers were about women. Viciously, she set out to destroy the lives of all the virtual girls she could.
An hour later, she laughed out loud. This game even let you seduce the teachers! A quick glance at the clock showed the danger she was in of forgetting about school, though, so Kairi reached out and turned her alarm on for the first time in almost a year.
It seemed like no time had passed at all before the buzz shook her from the game's world and back into the real one. Sighing regretfully, she saved her progress and got ready for school, showering and pulling on a clean uniform. It being chilly outside, Kairi decided to pull on a set of long stockings instead of loose socks; not for the first time, she was glad that her school was at least lenient about what kind of socks that would go with her uniform. After a short call to the service ordering for a cook, she was out the door.
She walked to school quickly, waving hello to the few people she knew, blowing off the people who wanted to know her, and sneering at the girls who had decided to adopt her hairstyle. Idiots. Why would they want to copy me? I just don't understand women. Why not be themselves? I mean, that girl over there has plump cheeks; my haircut makes them look really fat. If she'd wear her hair longer, she'd look pretty instead of porky.
It's all so stupid.
A cheery "Good morning, Takahashi-san!" came from behind her, and Kairi turned around to see Cherie Hasegawa standing there, one hand in the air. Her first instinct was to huff and whirl away, but she checked that quickly. After all, I'm becoming her tutor. And, she added to herself with some measure of amusement, at least she doesn't have my hairstyle plopped on her head like a cheap wig.
"Mornin'," Kairi said to Hasegawa, straining to put a smile on her face. "Ya ready for tonight?"
"Yeah!" Hasegawa bonked herself on the head and stuck out her tongue, giving an exaggerated wince. "But you'll have a hard time putting anything through this wooden head of mine… I'm really sorry."
Kairi shook her head. "Don't worry 'bout it. If I can't teach ya, then it's my fault, not yers." Hasegawa grinned happily, and Kairi felt her own smile turning at least somewhat genuine in response to the emotion.
The smile on Kairi's face disappeared when she saw the subtle looks of disdain that some of the girls around them were directing their way, and particularly at Hasegawa. She angrily asked, directing the question at all of them, "What the hell are ya starin' at, huh?!" staring as many of them in the eye as she could. Damned dirty bitches, all of 'em!
The girls were unwilling to meet her direct gaze, and hurried to school a bit faster. Hasegawa's happy expression had disappeared. "I'm sorry…"
"Like I said before, don't worry 'bout it! And quit apologizin' for stuff that don't matter!" Kairi could feel her speech turning even rougher as a tight band of rage constricted her chest, and took a deep breath before saying anything more. "I don't care what they think. I don't care what anyone thinks but me. If I want to help you out, that's my business, not theirs, and they can keep their pug-ugly noses out of it."
An admiring expression opened Hasegawa's eyes wide. "Wow, you really mean that, don't you?"
"Of course I do. Why would I say anything I don't mean? It wastes time to lie." Kairi shrugged. "C'mon, let's get to class."
Kairi spent the entire school day subtly watching Hasegawa. Now that her attention was on it, she could see how Hasegawa was being ostracized by the other girls around them. Kairi didn't have a clue why, nor did she much care; it was beneath her to worry about that kind of crap.
But it did help her see this girl that Adachi liked as a real person for the first time. Maybe I'm doing both of them a favor, really, by setting them up together. She chuckled quietly to herself as a teacher droned on about the Meiji era. Look at me, becoming the matchmaker in my old age! Next thing you know, I'll be-
Her mood crashed suddenly as she looked over at a group of girls who were giggling over something no doubt stupid. I'll be just like them.
That dark cloud stayed over her head the rest of the day, and as the final bell rang, she stomped back to where Hasegawa and Adachi had their desks. "Time to go," Kairi stated. "Follow me to my place, the both of you."
"Both?" Hasegawa turned to look at Adachi. "You're coming with too?"
He laughed uneasily, putting one hand behind his head. "Yeah… she's tutoring me… guess we're study buddies!"
Hasegawa blinked and said neutrally, "I suppose so." She smiled slightly. "Well, then, we may as well make the best of it, eh?"
****
Sei was terrified.
His palms were sweating, his eyes were twitching, his mouth was dry, his cheeks were flushed, he was morbidly aware of the occasional stutter that crept into his words and that awareness only made the stutter worse…
But he couldn't give up now! She was sitting only a few feet away from him! The woman who haunted his dreams, the woman he'd loved ever since he'd first seen her four years ago, the woman named Cherie Hasegawa was right there! He'd never seen her outside of school before, except in passing, and now they were talking and working on schoolwork and eating snacks that the cook downstairs had made for them together. Where did that cook come from? Eh, I don't suppose it matters. At least the house is clean… I never would have believed it!
"So, it's pretty simple. All you have to do is-" Takahashi rapped Sei on the top of his head with a ruler. "Are you paying attention, Adachi-kun? I'm doing this for your benefit, not mine!"
Cherie slid to her feet. "Excuse me, where's your toilet?"
"Down the hall, third door on the right."
She walked out the door, closing it behind her, and Takahashi reached over the table to grab a fistful of Sei's shirt. "Look, you're in serious danger of completely losing her within an hour of being here! Stop looking like an idiot, quit staring, close your mouth so you don't drool, and start acting casual! Pretend that she's just a guy, I don't care how hard it is for you, I don't care if you have to close your eyes, just do it!"
"Pretend she's just a guy?" Sei wiped at the corner of his mouth. "And am I really drooling?"
She held up a pair of fingers. "There are two ways to a girl's heart. One is to be smooth, cool, impressive, witty – which most guys think is the only way, but you don't have a snowball's chance in hell of pulling THAT off. The other is to just be yourself and then appreciate a girl for being he self. The secret to that is just treating her like another person."
Sei said, suspicion in his voice, "That doesn't sound hard at all."
"Who said it had to be? Once she gets back, don't miss your cue. I'll ask about-" Takahashi stopped talking and turned her head to one side, releasing the fistful of shirt just as the door slid open. Cherie plopped back down in front of her book and stretched, yawning.
"All work and no play makes Cherie-chan a sleepy girl! Why don't we take a quick break?"
Takahashi shrugged. "I got no problem with that. What did you have in mind?"
"Well…" Cherie pointed to the video game system set up on the dresser. "Do you have any good games for that?"
Sei was shocked to see Takahashi actually look embarrassed by the question! "N-not really, no." In what was an obvious effort to change the subject as quickly as possible, Takahashi turned to Sei and asked, "So, what's in the big package you brought with you from school?"
It was, Sei had to admit grudgingly, a successful effort. "Well, it's my bow and archery clothes. Our club doesn't meet tomorrow morning, so I figured that I'd spend Saturday taking care of my equipment."
Whatever response he'd been expecting from his words, it certainly wasn't the one he got.
Both girls immediately exchanged glanced with each other, then leaned towards him, eyes wide and shining, as they chorused, "You're in the archery club!?!?!"
Cherie smiled. "That is so cool!"
Takahashi slapped her forehead. "You're the guy!"
It took Sei a moment to recover his composure, but when he did he grinned widely. "You mean that you actually like archery?" I have a way in! She likes something that I do! She really, really does! Ohmigod ohmigod ohmigod!!
Cherie and Takahashi exchanged glanced identical with the ones they'd traded only a moment ago, then laughed and chorused again, "No, not really!"
Cherie put a hand over her mouth. "I mean, sports are nice and all, but…"
Takahashi looked sheepish. "Well, I was watching you guys practice yesterday morning…"
Hope crashed just as quickly as it had risen, and Sei's head hit the table. "Argh…"
A friendly hand patted his head. "Awh, I'm sorry for making fun of you…" Cherie said contritely.
Takahashi added, "Yeah, we shouldn't be making fun of you; it's just sad that you don't have anything better to do on a Saturday night than take care of school gear. Can't you hang out with friends? Don't you have a girlfriend?"
His earlier nervousness returned in full force as he realized that this was the cue Takahashi was talking about. Sei lifted his head up and said, "Er, ah, n-no, I d-don't have a girlfriend…"
Clucking her tongue, Takahashi shook her head. "That’s a real shame. It's too bad the crowd I'm hanging out with tomorrow night is pretty rough, otherwise I'd drag you along." As if the thought had just occurred to her, she turned to Cherie. "Hey, Hasegawa-san, why don't you take him out for a night on the town?"
"But I-"
Casually, Takahashi interrupted her protest with, "I'll treat. I've got two freebie tickets to that new movie I'll never use. Go ahead!"
"But…" Cherie looked helpless, "my cousin is coming to visit from the States tomorrow, and I haven't seen him in almost two years! I can't skip out on that!"
Carefully suppressing any disappointment in his voice, Sei added, "Besides, I'll be with my younger brother tomorrow. I promised to help him practice his kendo for a big tournament next week…" Though I'd ditch him in a heartbeat for a date with Cherie-chan. Taro would be mad, but who cares?
"Kendo, too?" Takahashi lifted one eyebrow. "Is there a sport that your family doesn't do?"
"Baseball. No real reason why not, just none of us have had any interest in it." Well, that's not entirely true, but it's close enough. "My older brother is on his college soccer team, one of my younger brothers does tennis, but kendo is kind of a family tradition, you know?"
"No," Takahashi said flatly, "I don't know."
What happened to your family? Sei almost asked. He didn't dare, though, because to intrude into such a subject would be almost unthinkably rude. He knew that something was wildly different with Takahashi's family; the way she lived in this house seemingly alone with a service to clean it every week, the parties she spoke of that wrecked her house, other things that seemed so jarringly out of place...
But asking about it wouldn't be polite in the slightest, so Sei kept his mouth shut.
"What happened to your family?" Cherie asked with a high note of concern riding in her voice.
Sei felt as shocked as Takahashi looked. Why would she be so intrusive? Is it because she's a half? Takahashi recovered more quickly than he did and replied, her words as empty of emotion as though she were describing a grocery list, "They died when I was a kid. Long time ago."
Now it was Cherie's turn to look shocked. "I-I'm sorry to hear that."
"Don't be," Takahashi said, waving her hand in negation. "It ain't as if it were your fault." She shrugged. "Long story short, it was all a bunch of stupid mistakes. Hotel they were staying in caught fire while they were sleeping, fire alarm didn't go off, they didn't wake up, fire was put out, but no one searched their room so they died of smoke inhalation. Worse ways to go, I guess."
She let that hang in the air for a long, pregnant silence, than slammed her hand into the table palm-first. "Hey, now, I think that you guys have kept me talking just to get out of me tutoring you! Let's get back to work!"
****
Hasegawa looked at the clock. "Well, it's about time for me to go. I'll see you guys Monday!" She looked at Adachi. "Are you leaving too?"
He looked uncomfortable. "Well, actually, I want to ask her some questions on that first set of problems we worked on. I messed them up."
Kairi stood up at the same time as Hasegawa. "I'll show you to the door, okay?" They walked down the stairs together, Kairi tracing one hand along the wall. Hasegawa was silent during the trip, which suited Kairi just fine.
She still didn't know why she'd told them about her parents. Usually, she just ignored the subject, or glossed over it, when anyone asked about them. It wasn't a particularly important event to her, except as a backdrop for what happened later in her life. She'd been too young to remember either of her parents as much more than a pair of legs before they had died. All it did was get her a lot of sympathy from people who liked to pretend they could feel her pain.
She didn't want their sympathy. She didn't need it. When someone offered it, it wasn't about them making Kairi feel better, it was about making themselves feel better for not having suffered… and THAT she could do without.
Let them feel better on their own time, for their own reasons, without mooching off of her tragedies.
Hasegawa slid her shoes on and turned back to face Kairi. "Thanks for your hospitality, and thanks for your help with the math!" She giggled. "It was kinda fun teasing poor Adachi, wasn't it?"
"Well, kinda… but he doesn't take teasing very well, you know." Kairi brushed her hair back behind an ear in a casual gesture.
Hasegawa hesitated before saying, "So, er… why were you trying to set him up with me?"
Having been expecting this question on the walk down (having, in fact, created the opportunity for Hasegawa to ask the question by walking down with her), Kairi didn't miss a beat in replying, "Because I thought it was kind of sad that he has nothin' better to do on a Saturday night than take care of his sporting equipment. I woulda done it myself, but I already promised some buds that we'd go and do karaoke."
"Why don't you bring him along?"
Kairi sighed. "Because then they'd think that Adachi-kun was my new exclusive boyfriend or something, and while they wouldn't mind him joining my harem, I don't play favorites among them and they might get a little… rambunctious at the idea I was."
Hasegawa blinked for a moment before giving a little chuckle, just as if Kairi were joking. "Oh, really?" They strode out together to the front gate, and Kairi swung it open. Hasegawa smiled and said brightly, "See you soon! Bye-bye!"
Before she could turn to leave, though, a car pulled up in front of the house. It was long, painted black, had tinted windows that prevented anyone from seeing inside, and was intimately familiar to Kairi. She covered her face with her palm and groaned quietly. Oh, no, don't tell me that she came to visit… Oh, it's bad enough that Yasashi-kun said she wants to set me up on marriage dates… please, PLEASE don't let her have brought along one of those jokers along to meet me in my own house!
"Wow…" Hasegawa said, awe in her voice. "Who is that?"
As the chauffeur got out and walked over to the passenger side door, Kairi replied grimly, "A woman who doesn't know what she's meddling with, that's what." The passenger door swung open and out stepped a woman who, most of the time, Kairi would not have minded seeing.
Mariko Daidouji was tall and slender, with a face that looked cold and haughty and beautiful; but Kairi knew better than most that it was just a mask hiding the person underneath who truly wanted to care about other people, but just never quite learned how. She dressed in a way that exaggerated her husband's wealth, and Kairi spotted the rather expensive necklace that she'd given the other woman as a birthday present draped around her neck. She sighed. So THAT'S how she's going to play this encounter… great.
"Kairi-chan!" Mariko gushed, striding forward towards Kairi.
Well, two can play at that game. Kairi composed her face into a broad smile and gushed back, "Mari-chan! How have you been?"
"Very well, thank you!" Mariko stopped short upon seeing Hasegawa. "Why, hello there! Are you one of Kairi-chan's friends?"
Hasegawa waved a hand. "Oh, no, not yet! She's tutoring me." She bowed. "My name is Cherie Hasegawa, it's nice to meet you! I almost wish that I weren't leaving soon."
"My name is Mariko Daidouji, and I'm sure that Kairi-chan will do a fine job tutoring you; she's always been bright."
Kairi gestured to the house. "Would you care to come inside? I'm sure that the service's cook would be able to prepare some tea for us."
"Wonderful idea!" Mariko swept past the pair, and Kairi had to hurry to keep up with her. "I'll see you Monday!" she called back to Hasegawa.
As soon as she stepped into the door, Kairi spotted Adachi standing at the bottom of the stairs. A sense of profound relief swelled in her as she saw the way clear to derailing Mariko. Thank you, merciful God! Oh, I never thought it would be this easy! He asked, "Hey, Takahashi-san, who's this…"
Kairi leapt forward and hugged Adachi around his waist. "Aww, don't be so formal, Sei-kun; you're my boyfriend now!" In a much lower voice, she whispered, "Play along if you want to live."
Notes:
Yes, there are services which rich people can pay to do almost anything. I wish I could afford them… my room is looking awfully messy right now. Why didn't she call them in sooner to have the mess cleaned up? Because she just plain doesn't care.
Yes, poor Kairi has a number of psychological issues, but she tries not to let them rule her. Some of them do stem back to her parents' dying, but only as a root issue… most of them come from a source that's much more active than that. That, however, is a story for another chapter.
As anyone who's spent ANY amount of time reading manga knows, school and good grades are awfully important; many characters spend time in 'cram schools' after school to expand their learning and up their chances of getting into decent college. What most people DON'T know is that they cost money, too – and the better ones cost quite a bit, too. Parents are quite willing to spend money on these to up their child's chances of getting into a good college, but there are some families who just can't afford the luxury. That's the boat that Cherie and Sei are in, at the moment, but for different reasons.
Why did I use kendo instead of fencing, where I've replaced kyudo with archery? Because people KNOW what kendo is – heck, even the spellchecker in word recognizes kendo! – whereas people just plain don't KNOW what kyudo is, but they're aware of what archery is. Archery also is one of those sports that is, well, more respected than it would be here, seeing as how it links with the same samurai traditions that kendo does, and while it's not as widely practiced as kendo… it still has a pretty good following.
For arranged marriage dates – or omiai as they are known – there are lots of things 'known' about them, but not everyone knows the facts.
It was often very hard for Japanese women to meet marriageable men of their own age throughout the late 1800s and early 1900s. Very often, aunts or other female relatives would keep an eye out for likely men, and would send any decent ones to meet the young husband-high woman. Eventually, this grew into an official business with offices keeping files of prospective men who were generally too busy in their profession to go wife-hunting themselves, and with women who were looking for husbands, but the home grown nature of it, of an older female looking out for the younger relative, was kept intact.
These days, omiai services are fading in popularity, having more than a hint of the 'traditional' place of the Japanese woman – a place that she no longer wants. In point of fact, marriage itself is fading in popularity, with fewer and fewer young women having any interest in "Indenturing themselves" as it is seen, and a growing attitude of just plain not needing men is on the rise…
Ah, such a pity! I'll never have my kawaii Japanese bride, if current trends continue!
And yes, in case you haven't noticed, I would enjoy someday turning this into a manga of its own. I'm a skilled enough writer that it would stand critical inspection; all I need to do is form a partnership with a skilled artist or become an artist in my own right, and then find a publisher… so it will more likely than not be the fourth or fifth thing I get published, rather than the first, because I'll have to prove I know what I'm on about before people will trust me to do it!
Anyway… time for the next
Character Profile: Sei Adachi
Birthday: September 15th (Virgo)
Blood Type: A
Height: 180 cm (6")
Weight: 78 kg (172 lb)
Favorite food: Hamburgers (but doesn't eat them often)
Least favorite food: Octopus (the tentacles freak him out)
Best subject: Japanese
Worst subject: English
Hobbies: Likes archery and has been a member of an archery club for the last 10 years. Could be nationally ranked, if he competed. Is also skilled at kendo, but is far less practiced in it. Plays more than a few sports, mostly because it's what his family does (his father is a kendo teacher and his mother is a coach at an all-girl's middle school) but also because he likes it. Really sucks at video games, but prides himself at his skill at them.
Personality: Has that strange mix of shyness and brashness that characterizes many teenage males. He has a strong sense of personal honor, but it's mostly unformed as of yet – he hasn't actually gone so far as to declare "I am an honorable kinda guy" or anything of the sort, but it's still there.
Favorite movie: Kill Bill Vol. 1
Favorite saying: Doesn't have one