Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Legend ~ Book One: Girl of Legend ❯ One: Wherein Our Heroine is Introduced ( Chapter 1 )

   "Kit-Kat! Christmas is only two days away! And it's Christmas vacation, starting today!" came Brady Summers' horribly off-key declaration as she leaped onto Katriana "KC" Choinski's back, which caused the much-shorter girl to stumble into a line of lockers with a pained yelp.

   "Yeah, and apparently I'm not gonna live to see it if you have anything to say about it, Elephant-butt," KC grumbled as she pushed herself away from the metal wall. She scowled and pulled up a sleeve to examine her elbow, which had already darkened with the beginning of a bruise. "How many times have I told you not to call me Kit-Kat?" she added. "Do I look like a candy bar?"

   "Well, somebody's in a pissy mood." Brady tossed her red curls haughtily and drew herself to her full and very thin supermodel-height of six feet and two inches. She pouted playfully down at her friend, who stood a very unimpressive height of five-foot-four, with no expectation of ever growing another inch in the future.

   KC had never understood why she was so short when her parents were so tall (six feet even, the both of them). Her father used to joke that she actually came from a family of midgets and had been secretly switched at birth. All she knew was that once she'd hit thirteen and her current height, her body decided all on its own that it had done enough growing. Unfortunately, this included her chest. It was to her eternal discomfiture that she wore the same cup size at age sixteen as she had at age thirteen, with little hope for further growth there, either.

   "So here I am, trying to wish you holiday cheer, and you're calling me fat." Brady continued to pout. "Is that any way to treat your best friend?"

   Unconcerned, KC rolled her eyes, long used to Brady's penchant for playing the drama queen. She was about to offer a catty retort when a new voice cut in, "Come on, Brady. We all know the only fat you've got on your body is the stuff in your head where your brain ought to be."

   She cracked up as a petite, smirking girl with short, glossy black hair and eyes the color of chocolate stopped beside them, her arms overloaded with books and papers.

   "What is this, the 'Let's Insult Brady Brigade'?" the red-head complained good-naturedly.

   "Hi, Kimiko," KC greeted as she eyeballed the newcomer's swaying stack of books doubtfully. "I see you're trying to bury yourself in homework again. You know, that stack just doesn't look deep enough to do the job properly. Maybe if we try adding mine to the pile…"

   "Nice try, KC. Maybe you should follow my example and actually do your own work. Then you wouldn't have to fake your mom's signature on your report card all the time," Kimiko Yura shot back. Brady tittered and KC pulled a face at them both and hoisted her pack over her shoulder.

   "I can't go Christmas shopping with you this afternoon," she grumped.

   "What?" Brady yelped, nearly dropping her bag. "But … but the cheerful holiday music! The jolly old Saint Nick! Our customary Peppermint Mocha Trio at the coffee shop! And … and the sales! How can you miss that?"

   "The hoards of rabid parents running each other down in a desperate attempt to grab the very last Must-Buy-or-I-Have-Failed-as-a-Parent toy of the season. How can you miss that?" Kimiko deadpanned.

   KC's lips twitched despite herself. "Can't be helped. Ms. Brown gave us a huge world history assignment. I'm talking, like, half-our-yearly-grade huge, here. She assigned us all periods of history which we have to thoroughly research and then write a thirty-page essay about our findings. Thirty pages! And it's due right after vacation, which means I'll probably have to spend most of mine looking up the finer details of ancient China. What do I know about China? Why do I care about China? It's not like I'm ever gonna go there or anything! I'm thoroughly convinced that woman is the reincarnation of Ebeneezer Scrooge!"

   "Well, that could be feasible," Kimiko began slowly, "if Scrooge was, you know, an actual person and all…"

   Brady laughed. "Weren't you the one who insisted on taking world history instead of normal American history like us common folk?" she teased as they headed for the parking lot. Or rather, attempted to squeeze their way through the double doors along with the rest of the school's population, all at the same time. "World history is, like, an advanced class, and you're not exactly an honor student."

   "That was before I knew I had the Grinch for a teacher," KC grunted as she managed to pull herself free from the squirming tangle of arms, legs, and book bags. A gust of cold air hit her in the face, stung her nose and forced several explosive sneezes from her lungs. "Urgh. I swear I'b allergic to cold!" She sniffled and wiped her nose on her sleeve.

   "Ew, use a tissue, would you?" Brady wrinkled her nose in distaste. "And, like, cover your mouth while you're at it! I don't wanna catch whatever you've got and ruin my holiday."

   "Your unfailing sympathy towards my health gives me warm fuzzies all over." KC pulled a face at her. "Anyway, like I was saying, history is one of my better subjects, so I figured taking an advanced course couldn't hurt my GPA any."

   "Yeah. Unless you fail it," Kimiko snorted.

   "Oh, hush up, you Einstein wannabe."

   "Are you sure you don't want to come with us? A little shopping fortification before hitting the books will give you strength!" Brady pleaded.

   KC hesitated. "Weeelll…"

   "C'mon! Peppermint. Mocha. Trio."

   "You don't have to rub it in," she pouted.

   Kimiko sighed and rolled her eyes. "Look," she began practically as she checked her watch. "It's twelve-thirty. We can drop you off at the library by, say, one o'clock. Just find some material in the reference section and photocopy the pages you need. It doesn't cost very much. Then from there take the bus to the mall and meet us in the food court by three o'clock. There! You get your research and your limited holiday coffee, all in one go."

   "And this is why you're a genius!" Brady gave the short girl a hearty whack on the back that nearly dislodged her stack of books.

   "Mmmmm." KC seriously considered it. "I still have to type and print the report, though," she reminded them. "I don't want to make any return trips if I can help it."

   "Can't you just do that on your own computer?" Brady asked.

   "Nope. Only one in the house is Mom's work computer, and she banned me from so much as looking at it, remember?"

   "Oh yeah. Didn't you accidentally delete an entire project she'd been working on for her office?" Kimiko nudged her in the side.

   "That happened two years ago," KC grumbled. "She's totally unreasonable. It was just a simple mistake! Anyone could have done it."

   "Somehow, I doubt it." Kimiko laughed at her expression. "Look, I'll be nice and let you borrow my computer and printer, okay? I won't even charge you for the ink. Consider it a Christmas present."

   "Thank you!" KC threw her arms around her. "And this is why you're the bestest friend ever!"

   "Hey! What does that make me?" Brady protested, pouting.

   The two girls exchanged glances. "You're like the comic relief," Kimiko decided as KC laughed.

   "Oh, hah hah. Keep it up and y'all can just walk to the mall." Brady haughtily tossed her curls and strolled toward her Cavalier, a sweet little convertible painted bright yellow. It had been a sixteenth birthday present from her parents three months ago. KC had gotten a gift card to Sears and a pack of underwear for her sixteenth birthday. That was from her mom. Her dad, who resided somewhere in Chicago, apparently forgot she even had a birthday.

   "Let's see now…" Brady hummed a little, off-key tune (really, the girl couldn't hold a proper note to save her life) as she pulled out her keys and pressed the button on the fob to unlock the car.

   The parking lot immediately filled with an ear-shattering blast of noise that sounded roughly like a cross between a tornado alarm and a scalded cat. The wails dragged the eyes of every student in the lot toward the car and the three girls who stood beside it.

   Two of which not-so-subtly attempted to crawl into the asphalt and hide.

   Looking properly sheepish, Brady hastily pushed the red button to silence the alarm. "Eh-heh. Oops! My bad!" she chirped, as cute and innocent as any anime heroine ever invented. The female students all rolled their eyes in jealousy while the males stood around and swooned in the face of Brady's brilliant, sheepish smile.

   KC and Kimiko just looked at each other and rolled their eyes heavenward.

   "Third time this week. And it's only Tuesday." Kimiko's sigh spoke of extreme exasperation.

   "I'd swear she does it on purpose," KC agreed.

~*~*~*~*~

   KC breathed in the scent of old books and dust as she entered the library half an hour later. "Stupid history teacher and her stupid assignments," she grumbled as she made her way to the research section, intent on her goal. She waved to one or two familiar faces as she beelined for the ancient, slightly-battered cabinets containing the numerous file cards of the Dewey Decimal System.

   Every other year or so, the head librarian and the head of the town council threw a big hoopla to raise money for a new computer network for the library, in order to modernize the entire system. This had been happening for at least the past ten years. So far, the most modern equipment KC had seen in that library were the secondhand IBM computers that still used eight-inch floppy disks and a few dot matrix printers. All of which had probably existed during the Reagan administration. The huge, antique Tandy behind the librarian's desk was even older than that.

   After another fifteen minutes of browsing, KC finally reached the irritating conclusion that the library didn't have a single book on her subject. There were plenty of books on China, but they were all about the modernized country, not the ancient one. "It figures," she groused, snatched her bag from the dusty floor and stomped toward the desk, behind which an elderly lady sat and slowly tapped away on an ancient keyboard. After two minutes had slowly ticked by, during which the librarian continued to be oblivious to her presence, KC shook her head with a wry smile. Mrs. Potter was a sweet old lady, but not exactly the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree, sometimes. She had been working at the library for as long as anyone could remember; she was probably there before the Tandy had ever made its appearance. Maybe even before Dewey Decimal.

   After another minute passed and Mrs. Potter still showed no sign of awareness, KC finally succumbed to a noisy bout of throat-clearing. The tapping faltered and stopped, and watery blue eyes framed by a pair of old-fashioned granny spectacles turned toward the girl. "May I help you, young lady?" Mrs. Potter asked politely. "Are you lost?"

   KC held back a grin, despite her sour mood. "I'm not lost. I've been visiting this library since I was six. I even worked here for the past three summers as a volunteer, remember?"

   Mrs. Potter squinted and adjusted her glasses, and then her face broke out into a delighted smile. "Why, Katriana Choin-sky! It's been so long since I've seen you, dear! How have you been?"

   KC was forced to hold back another grin. "Just as well as I was last week. You know, when Mom had you over for dinner on Friday? And, it's Cho-in-skee." Really. If that woman ever learned how to pronounce her name, the earth just might violently heave itself off its own axis.

   "Oh, of course, you're right." Mrs. Potter tittered as she shook her head. "I get a little absentminded now and again. Comes with old age, I guess." She patted her silvery hair. "Now, Miss Choin-sky, what may I help you with?" She smiled amiably behind her wire-rimmed spectacles and folded her hands primly on the desk. KC could almost swear she saw a teasing sparkle in the woman's eyes. She refrained from rolling hers as she replied, "I was wondering if you could let me into the back rooms, where all the old reference materials are kept, the ones they don't put out for common use."

   Mrs. Potter pursed her lips. "Oh, I don't know, dear, only employees are allowed back there. The books are old and can be easily damaged, you see."

   "I know, and I wouldn't ask, but I've got this huge essay due and I can't find any books with the information I need. This would really help me out." KC held her breath as the woman pondered, glanced surreptitiously at the clock behind the desk. One-thirty. Time was wasting. Maybe she should just go to Kimiko's house after the mall and use her internet to research. She didn't know much about the net but Kimiko was a computer wiz. She'd get her the required info in no time.

   Just as she was about to tell Mrs. Potter to forget the whole thing, the librarian finally reached a decision. She gave a brief, precise nod and opened a drawer to pull out a set of keys. "You're a responsible young lady, so I think it will be fine to allow you to do your research." She picked a tarnished brass skeleton key out of the bunch, along with a much newer and smaller steel key. "This is the key to the lower reference room located in the basement. And this is the key to the basement. Now, mind you, the library closes at five o'clock, and you really aren't supposed to be down there, even if you do volunteer every summer. So make sure you don't let Charley see you. He'll be around about a quarter to four, to make sure the doors are locked and the lights are out."

   "Thanks, Mrs. Potter. You're the best!" KC could hardly believe her luck! She snatched the keyring from the woman's hand and darted toward the basement stairs. She managed to skid into the corner of a bookcase on the way.

   "Walk, dear!" came Mrs. Potter's amused reprimand.

   "Ow," was KC's answering complaint as she slowed her run to a more sedate pace; a fresh bruise was already forming on her other arm. "At least they match now," she grumbled as she attempted to rub the ache out of her tender elbows.