The Year it Started [Highschool!AU]

One particular foggy Monday morning, Kimiko stared out of the window. The sun had shone softly behind an abundant amount of dark grey clouds and she watched as small droplets of water slid down the window pane. She sighed with delight as she relaxed in her chair, the steam from her warm mug of hot cocoa rising up to her nose allowing her to inhale the sweet aroma of the chocolate drink. Her long black hair fell down her shoulders as she then opened her eyes to see her brother storm into the room holding a small alarm clock. Her brother, Tokiro, was older than her by three years making him a senior in her school, however, Kimiko was in her sophomore year. Tokiro seemed to become a bit more anxious ever since she had joined the same school. Kimiko was also a bit anxious to go back to school, one thing she was actually looking forward to was being able to see her best friend again.

“What’s wrong?” Kimiko stared up at her brother, whose face seemed to contort with disbelief.

“What is wrong? We should be gone by now! We need to head to school now!” Tokiro answered quickly. Kimiko stared at him and rolled her eyes slightly as she stood up, mug in hand.

“School doesn’t start for another hour. Plenty of time to get to school.” Kimiko took a small sip of her warm cocoa and sighed. Tokiro had always needed to be early, he never thought that being on time to school was being on time. It seemed as though he always thought that on time was late and early was on time. So he always had to arrive an hour early to school and Kimiko was always forced to join him as she had no other way of transportation.

“Why must we always have to arrive an hour early?” She asked him as she took another warm sip from her mug. She knew what the answer was, but she had hoped someday he would finally understand her struggle.

“Miko, haven’t we already talked about this? All honor students have to get to school early. If I am not there, dressed and ready, then they are going to come down on me hard. Put away that mug and let’s go!” Sighing, Kimiko quickly drank the last drops she had and put the mug down.

As she dashed out the door she looked at her older brother, “I really wish you wouldn’t rush me all the time. Just because you are an honor student doesn’t mean that I like waking up an hour early just to go to your meetings.”

“Today is orientation so it’s my job as an honor student to meet and greet the new freshman. And when you learn to drive and buy your own car you then would be able to leave at whatever time you wanted to.” Kimiko huffed as she got into the car and closed the door.

“That is so unfair. I have been carpooling with you ever since last year when I was a freshman. It sometimes seems as though you forget that I am here too.” Kimiko looked out the window with a silent regret. She really shouldn’t have said that last part. She knew she shouldn’t have as she snuck a glance at her brother. His face was tense, but he didn’t say a word nor did he look over at her.

“I’m sorry.” Her brother whispered softly and Kimiko looked back at him and gave him a small smile to let him understand it was okay. Once they arrived Tokiro immediately headed for the door calling out to another student.

“Hold on! Where do I go, Toki? What should I do since no one is here yet?” Kimiko looked after her brother nervously as he let out an exaggerated sigh.

“Just walk around. Talk to people. Or maybe read a book. Do whatever you like.” With that Tokiro ran off with the student and left Kimiko standing defeated and alone. She turned and walked away slowly and found a place to sit down so that she could read her favorite mystery book. She had read it multiple times before, but another read never hurt anyone. Before she started her book she looked up to see other students walking around and talking to each other. She was able to find a place hidden behind the theater curtains and knew that not many would be able to bother her. So, smiling, she opened her book and dove into the world of mystery. After many minutes had passed Kimiko saw that there were only 5 more minutes left until the school bell rang for homeroom. She quickly bookmarked her page and placed her book back into her backpack. Sitting there waiting in her hidden spot she let her nervousness soar as she thought of how her first day may go. Suddenly, a tall, slim figure strode towards her and stopped directly in front of her.

Kimiko looked up nervously, “ Hi, are you an honor student or a freshman?” The male had asked her. She quickly shook her head.

“Oh, no no. I’m Tokiro’s sister. I’m a sophomore. Just waiting for the bell to ring.” He gave a small chuckle as he stared at her with his yellowish eyes.

“Tokiro’s sister?” He looked up and down her small sitting body and smiled, “He must have dragged you here two hours early, didn’t he?” Kimiko laughed softly and nodded her head slowly.

“Yeah, he did. I’m Kimiko. Are you friends with my brother?” The male figure looked at her and shrugged.

“Not sure. Does the name Reinku ever appear in your conversations?” When Kimiko shook her head he nodded, “Then I guess we aren’t that close. I’ve known him since I joined honors society last year when I was a sophomore.” Just then a female’s voice called out to him from around the other side of the curtain.

“Reinku, come on! We have to get to homeroom!” Reinku looked at the spot where the voice spoke and then back to Kimiko.

“Sorry, that’s my girlfriend. I should probably get going. It was nice talking to you though, so I guess I’ll see you around?” Kimiko smiled and nodded shyly as he turned and walked away with a final wave goodbye. Kimiko got up soon after and headed to her homeroom hoping to see her best friend in the classroom. Once she walked into the classroom she looked around and her eyes fell on the body of her best friend. Just as Kimiko sat down her friend turned to her and looked as though she needed to explain everything that had happened to her. Kimiko smiled and quickly began to think over her encounter with the handsome figure who started to plague her mind. She spaced out as she thought until one word caught her attention and brought her back to the real world.

“...and this guy got into a fight about Reinku’s girlfriend.” Kimiko shot forward with interest.

“What did you say?” She asked loudly as her eyes widened. Her friend looked at her and replied.

“This guy got into a fight. Jeez, I thought you were listening.” Kimiko shook her head with slight annoyance.

“No, you said something about Reinku and his girlfriend?” Her friend nodded and rolled her eyes.

“You usually don’t listen to much of what I say when it comes to gossip. Yeah, Reinku’s girlfriend was supposedly going out with him before she got with Reinku. He kept saying that the dude stole his girl from him, but Reinku, being the kind of guy he is, shut him down quickly before anything else spread. It was honestly really wild.” She looked at Kimiko curiously and saw that she had taken in every word that she had said, “Why do you care anyway?” She asked in a soft whisper.

“No, it’s nothing.” Kimiko quickly stood up once the bell had rung to say that it was time for first period. If they were having a hard time, then why did they look like that this morning? They didn’t look as though they were having problems, however, Reinku did seem slightly reluctant to go with his girlfriend, though that was probably just her imagination. Right? As she thought this she ran into a tall body and fell backward. She looked up from her spot on the floor as she tried picking up her things to find the one and only Reinku. Her face blushed at the sight of him, how weird was it that he randomly appeared in front of her after she had thought about him. Did he have some sort of magic power? He leaned down and picked her up as he helped her pick up her belongings.

“I am so sorry. I really didn’t see you there. I wasn’t looking ahead of me and wound up bumping into you.” He smiled apologetically and Kimiko shook her head quickly.

“Oh no, it was really my fault. I wasn’t paying any attention.” She laughed quietly in a nervous way and hoped that she wouldn’t be too awkward around him. She grinned up at him and into his gorgeous yellow eyes and... no stop that. He has a girlfriend. Though he may be going through some trouble, you will most likely cause more trouble with their relationship if you get closer. Kimiko hadn’t noticed that Reinku was talking and she quickly tried to understand what was going on around her.

“Well, I should be getting to class. See you around, I guess.” She quickly said once she saw he had stopped speaking. Reinku looked a bit taken aback, but smiled shyly and nodded.

“Yeah, see you around.” With that, they both went their separate ways. Kimiko looked back to see his long hair sway slowly and she grinned at her unexpected encounter. She silently wished for another chance meeting but knew deep down it most likely wouldn’t happen again.

Finally, it was time for lunch. Kimiko’s stomach was growling loudly and her best friend had joked multiple times that she could hear it all the way across the field during P.E. causing Kimiko to pat her stomach softly. She grinned at the joke and stood in the lunch line quietly and silently hoped the line would move faster. After she had gotten her food she sat next to her friend at a table outside to enjoy the fresh air. She looked around the area and spotted a Reinku and his, she believed, girlfriend. For some reason her stomach clenched and she had to drink her water before she could begin eating again. They seemed to be going through some trouble as they seemed to be arguing. She watched as his girlfriend stood up quickly and storm away leaving Reinku alone at the table. Soon after he got up and left in the opposite direction and Kimiko, after witnessing what seemed to be a couple's fight, had lost her appetite. She stood up and threw the rest of her food away and quickly murmured and small “goodbye” to her best friend and walked away towards her next class.

Finally, her first day back was over. Though she wasn’t able to head back home because her brother had to stay behind she was able to sit in a teacher’s room and complete her homework. She hummed to a few songs as she worked on her different subjects and bobbed her head up and down as she smiled lazily. A door opened and she looked up to see Reinku and she dropped her pencil in shock. Another chance meeting on the same day. He looked over at her and smiled as he walked forward and sat down in the chair in front of her.

“Long time no see, Reinku.” She whispered nervously. She had tried to sound calm, but it seemed more stressful than usual. She still hadn’t forgotten what she saw during lunch.

“Hey. What are you doing still sitting here? Shouldn’t you be going home?” Kimiko shook her head.

“No, I can’t. Tokiro needs to drive me home.” Reinku nodded slowly in understanding, “I see. That makes sense. You did have to come with him in the morning. Well, anyway. Just came to check if all the classrooms were empty. See you again some time.” As he left the room he smiled and waved and Kimiko’s heart fluttered as he closed the door.

On the way home her brother turned to her, “Don’t hang around him.” Kimko looked taken aback. She was confused for once, until she finally understood what he meant.

“I’m not doing anything. I’m just bumping into him randomly. Or well, he is bumping into me, but that isn’t the point. Nothing harmful is going on.” Tokiro didn’t look convinced, but he stopped talking about Reinku as soon as she told him.

Many weeks passed since that conversation and school went by the same way as it always did. However, every now and then Kimiko would see Reinku and say hello in the hallways whenever he was close enough. She never saw him and his girlfriend fight nor did she ever see them together again over these past few weeks. She had heard multiple rumors about the reason, but they all seemed far-fetched. Kimiko began her walk down to third period without her best friend who told her that she was sick. Kimiko was sad to find that her best friend couldn’t go to school because now she had to walk around alone and she found it highly strange.

As she walked down the hallway she saw the long hair and slender figure of Reinku coming towards her. She looked up higher and stared up into his expressionless face. He hadn’t seen her yet until he r almost ran into her.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I wasn’t really paying attention.” Kimiko knew that he wasn’t from the way his eyes looked. They seemed to grow dark circles under his eyes and his eyes seemed darker than what they looked like when she first met him.

“Are you okay?” She stared at him and he smiled softly as he nodded and waved his hand as if to push away her question.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Reinku looked down at her and patted her head lazily. Almost as if it was normal. He seemed to be extremely tired for some reason and Kimiko wanted to know why he was. But he simply waved goodbye to her and walked off leaving her standing alone in the hallways wondering what had just happened.

School finally ended and Kimiko was silently hoping that her brother didn’t have to leave school quickly, which most likely would happen. Kimiko walked around the school searching for Reinku and finally found him in a quiet classroom and she sat down next to him.

“Hey,” she smiled at him reassuringly, “you okay?” Reinku looked up at her and he gave her a small shy smile.

“I guess I am.” He then quickly looked down, “Actually....I really don’t know anymore.” Kimiko scooted closer to him and saw the dark bags that seemed to grow darker by the minute.

“What do you mean?” She asked him quietly as she tilted her head. He seemed to look so stressed, she wanted to hug him or something and yet something was telling her not to.

He sighed, “ I don’t know anymore. We broke up a few weeks ago and she immediately moved on. I feel as though she used me in some way, though she didn’t get much I’m guessing. Though maybe I never had her? I guess that would make since now knowing her in a new light. I never expected it would happen to me after that entire problem.” Kimiko immediately knew what this was about, but she was more shocked by the fact that they had broken up long ago. She hadn’t heard anything about it, though se was never in the circles that gossiped.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She honestly didn’t know how to help him. She never actually comforted someone after they left a relationship.

“Don’t be sorry. It’s for the better. You did nothing wrong.” He smiled at her and looked down at the desk he was sitting at, “Well, she thinks it was about you, but it wasn’t,” He added quietly, but Kimiko didn’t hear him.

“Hmm?” She tilted her head down to see his face, but Reinku quickly lifted his head and smiled.

“No it’s nothing.” She stared at him and smiled as she patted his head the same way he did to her. It felt right to her for some reason and besides, he did it to her as well. He laid his head down and smiled, “We should hang out more. You seem like a really good person. I see you around and you are always laughing and smiling with your friends. It’s like you are the sun.” Kimiko blushed unconciously and smiled shyly.

“Yeah, sure. Let’s hang out more.” Reinku smiled and stood up, “But you must promise me to get more sleep. I can see it’s affecting you.” He nodded and grabbed his stuff.

“Alright. Bye Kimiko.” She blushed deeper when he said her name and once he left she had to slap her hands against her heated face.

“Stop, Kimiko. What are you even doing with your life.” With a laugh she stood up and left to go find her brother.

A few months past and throughout that time they hung out as much as they could without catching the eyes of the gossipers. They for one knew that that would start something and Kimiko was fine with just hanging out after school or in the mornings whenever, it gave her more stuff to do when her brother had been busy. Though she always wondered why Reinku didn’t do same things as Tokiro, but she didn’t complain outloud, or at least too much.

By the end of the school year they grew closer together and it seemed as though they were inseparable. Kimiko’s brother hated whenever he saw them hanging out together and usually stayed as far away as he could, but other times he spoke to Kimiko about how against it he was. Kimiko didn’t care though and over the summer Reinku and Kimiko started dating. Honestly they didn’t know how it happened it just seemed to randomly come up and they just automatically agreed that they were dating. Though Kimiko felt as though it started when a few girls came up to try to flirt with Reinku and they both said that they were taken. Then the rumors spread so it just seemed to randomly become official and, boy, was Tokiro mad. However, Kimiko seems happier now that she started dating Reinku so he doesn’t complain too much.