Chapter 1 - A Chance to Start Over

The start of a new school year. This is always an exciting time for the youth of the world. Children get to reunite with their friends, telling each other about their adventures during breaks, but for some people, starting school can turn out to be an adventure in itself… Hikarimura is a town with three major public schools; Sakura Preschool, Avaron Academy, and Takahikaru. The other schools in town were shut down because of budget cuts and disrepair.

An alarm clock went off in a beige colored house in the room of a 14 year old boy. His hand instantly darted over to the alarm clock, hitting the snooze button. He pulled the covers over his head, hoping to catch a few more Z's before he had to get ready for school. The boy went undisturbed for a short while, which was suddenly interrupted by the sound of a door slamming against his wall.

"TAKUTO! WAKE UP!" A female voice screamed. Takuto's younger sister had entered the room.

Takuto tucked the covers closer around his head and grunted.  The girl, in response, frowned and launched herself at his bed, wrapping her arms around her older brother and squeezing him tight.

"Get up…you have school…" she spoke, pulling the covers off of his head.

"A few more minutes, Sakairi…" Takuto replied, yawning and snatching the covers away from her. A low growl came from the girl's throat and she pouted, sliding off of him and tearing the covers from his grasp and tossing them to the floor.

"Up, now! Or I tell mom that you're skipping school on the first day!" Sakairi stated, backing towards the door. Takuto's eyes flew open, his emerald colored optics suddenly burning with life. Quickly, he sat up in bed, getting onto his feet and jumping at his sister. Tackling her to the ground, he stared into her eyes.

"You aren't telling mom anything Sakairi. Got it?" he spoke coldly.

"Whatever…" Sakairi rolled her eyes, wiggling out from under him. "Go get ready so I can go in after you," she stated, pointing her thumb towards the bathroom.

Takuto gave her a nod in reply, sliding over to his drawers and pulling out a T-shirt and underwear. Turning around, he strolled past his sister and walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

He turned on the water for a shower, since he wanted to be quick to avoid his sister's complaints of taking too long, and undressed. Glancing over at the sink, he saw that his uniform was lying there neatly.  Smiling slightly, he grabbed a towel and stepped into the shower.

After a nice scrub, he hopped out onto the floor and dried himself off with a towel. He put on his underwear, T-shirt, and socks, then took the uniform off of the sink. Quickly, he put the shirt on, buttoning it up; then he pulled on the pants.  He took the jacket and slid it on, buttoning it up as well. Opening the door, he stepped outside and hopped down the stairs. Sliding across the floor, he crashed into the door. Falling onto his back, he spotted Sakairi laughing at the top of the stairs. Frowning, Takuto grabbed his bag and slung it over his shoulder. He walked to the front door and grabbed his school shoes.    

"Mom, I'm heading off to school now," he stated. From the kitchen, his mother poked her head out of the doorway.

"Goodbye sweetie. Be safe and have a good day."

"I will," he nodded. Slipping on his shoes, he opened the front door and stepped outside. Taking a short moment to gather his thoughts, he closed his eyes and imagined what the day would be like. "Don't get on anyone's nerves and you'll be fine Kuto..." he whispered to himself. After his reassurance, he headed towards the gate at the end of the path leading to his house. Unlocking it, he swung it open and stepped onto the sidewalk. Suddenly, a strong force knocked him to the ground. A low growl began to form in his throat, but then he looked up. Standing before him was the most amazingly beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her stunning eyes were the color of glistening sapphires; her long hair darker than the blackest hour of night. She seemed to give off a friendly aura that made Takuto feel warm inside.

"S-Sorry!" she apologized, "Let me help you up..."

"Hey, it was my fault for not looking where I was going." Takuto said with composure.

"H-Hey, are you going to Takahikaru too?" Her eyes were concentrated on his uniform.

"Yeah," he replied, "I'm starting my first year." Looking at him, the girl blushed.

"Me too..."

Takuto picked up his bag from the ground. He saw that it was torn a little, but he didn't mind. "My name is Takuto," he told her.

"Okasan..." she replied.

"Nice to meet you, Okasan-chan." Takuto said with a grin.

‘Her name... means mother? That's a little weird... maybe it's spelled differently somehow? I don't know... but I like it nonetheless.’ Takuto thought.

Okasan moved a bit of hair away from her eyes, shifting them to look into Takuto's. "Nice to meet you too, Takuto-kun..." Then, Okasan's expression changed. "I-I'm going to be late!" she stuttered. "I'll talk to you later, Takuto-kun!" Before she finished stating her goodbye, she was already running down the street towards the school.

"I'll see you later too..." Takuto whispered quietly. Coming back to his senses, he began walking towards Takahikaru. He was one of the last ones to get into the school. He fumbled around in his pocket, and eventually pulled out a folded up piece of paper. Hastily unfolding it, he read the text written on it. "Class 1-C." Looking around, he began to wander the halls in search for his classroom.  "A… B… C! Here's my class," he stated aloud once he located the correct room. Sliding the door open, he stepped inside. To his amazement, the room was already busy with activity. People were gathered around desks deep in conversation. He looked around and picked out a seat in the back corner by the window. Observing more, he put his bag on the side of his desk. When he glanced towards the door, he noticed a familiar figure standing there.

"O-Okasan?!" he muttered, almost falling out of his seat.

Okasan swiftly entered the room and situated herself on the windowsill near Takuto's desk.

"Hello Takuto-kun," she giggled.

"Hey," he said, regaining his cool.

"It looks like we are in the same class..." she smiled.

Nodding in reply, Takuto drummed his fingers on his desk. Quickly observing the room, Okasan took the seat diagonal from Takuto. Soon, the instructor walked into the room. He was a tall, balding man that wore a brown suit. "Sit!" he yelled. At the recognition of his command, the students slid into their chairs and faced the educator's direction.

"Good morning," the teacher breathed.

"Good morning," the class replied.

"Welcome to Takahikaru. I am your teacher,  Mr. Shimitaro. This is Class 1-C, and we will be in that position during school-wide activities,"

The class nodded and took in the information.

"Now I will begin role." Taking out document that contained the students' names, he began reading. "Ayaharu, Bakushi, Bitore, Dakune, Fujiwara."

At the sound of his last name Takuto snapped back to reality. "Here!" he exclaimed.

Nodding, the teacher continued on. "Sakamoto"

"Here..." Okasan muttered.

Takuto glanced over at her. 'Her last name is Sakamoto...' he thought.

After the teacher finished role, he went over the school rules and soon the class was dismissed. The school day continued on quickly and lunchtime had arrived. While at his locker, Takuto spotted Okasan walking towards him. Before he could make a single sound, she spoke.

"Do you want to have lunch with me, Takuto-kun?  I'm sure we can fit you into the plan." she asked.

"Sure," he replied.

"The cafeteria is this way…" she whispered, leading him to the large area where the students could have their meals. When they entered, they approached a table towards the back of the room. Two individuals were seated there, a boy and a girl.

"These are my friends..." Okasan stated quietly. "Hanako," she pointed to the girl, who had yellow-orange hair and blue eyes, sitting with a bored expression on her face, "and Shuya" she pointed to the boy, who had light brown hair. "But...where's Nami-chan?"

Hanako looked around the area. "Ooh, I don't know! I think she wandered off," she exclaimed absentmindedly.

"She always wanders off," Shuya sighed.

"I'll go find her," Hanako said, rising from the bench.

"I'm here..." a cold voice stated from nearby. Somewhat startled, Takuto spun on his heels and spotted a small girl with dark hair standing behind him.

"Nami-chan!" Hanako said, rushing to the other side of the table, "Stop running off like that! Geez..."

"I was refilling my thermos..." Nami said, pulling a tubular flask of water from behind her back and placing it on the table.

"Ummm...Oka? Who's your friend?" Hanako asked.  She had just noticed Takuto standing across the table from her.

Okasan glanced up at the ceiling. "Oh! This is Takuto-kun!" she said, holding her hands in front of her face. "Sorry...I almost forgot to introduce you..." she apologized.

"It's okay," he accepted, "Hi everyone."

"Hi," the others said in unison. Takuto sat down, Okasan sitting next to him.

"This school is different..." Takuto muttered under his breath. Okasan looked at her friends, and with sudden realization saw that they had their lunch, while she and Takuto did not.

"Oh! Takuto-kun, let's get our food," she said with a nod.

"Alright," Takuto stood up, walking into line. After a short while, he had his food, and Okasan did as well.

"Why don't you tell us something about yourself, Takuto?" Shuya requested.

"Ooh, yeah! Tell us about yourself, Takuto-kun!" Hanako cheered.

Takuto smiled. "Well... I moved here a few weeks ago from a village in the mountains. There was a lot of crime and incidents of murder there for some reason. My dad disappeared when I was very little there... It was... a bad place. That's why my mother decided to move us out here, to Hikarimura." he finished.

"That place sounds terrible..." Nami stated quietly. The table was silent for a few moments, and then Okasan spoke up.

"Hey... Um, let's all meet up somewhere after school."

"Yeah! Let's go to Kashu's," Hanako chirped.

"Uh...What's Kashu's?" Takuto asked. Everyone at the table stared at him.

"You don't know what Kashu's is?! How have you not heard of it!?" Shuya screeched. The girls around the table began to giggle. "Uh...Sorry for my outburst..." he said rubbing the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it," Takuto replied.

“Kashu's is this big arcade in the middle of town connected to the mall." Nami stated.

"Sounds cool," Takuto stated, smiling.

"It is! You can win prizes, and they have indoor rides and there's even this secret bathhouse..." Hanako began, but she was abruptly interrupted by Nami's hand covering her mouth.   

"Don't tell him about the secret bathhouse yet!" She hissed into her ear.

"Sorry..." Hanako said awkwardly.

“...Why is there a bathhouse attached to an arcade?” Takuto asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“My family is just weird when it comes to designing things…” Hanako mumbled.

“What?” Takuto hadn’t heard what Hanako said.

“N-Nothing! Anyways, let’s go!” Hanako responded hastily.

"So, we're agreed then?" Okasan spoke up.

"Yeah." Takuto replied with a nod. Okasan looked around at her friends and they all nodded as well.

"Alright then...Meet me at the intersection across the street…"

Author's Note

This chapter took ALOT of revising over the years and I still feel like it could be better. Feel free to leave feedback on what you think so far and please read on. I assure you that it gets better really quickly.