Here's the fished project. I hope you enjoy it!
This is from perspective of the leader of my group, Ninjin Daidaiiroda.

The first thing I do after I finish my homework. To sigh at the scenery outside and immerse myself in its beauty. The pink, orange and purple sky and the pink tinted ocean water glittering mix perfectly like ice cream and fudge. The seagulls who cry a serenade all around me brought heightened my own desire to just be free. I couldn’t hold it in any longer; I had to stop doing what I was doing. Rising from the chair and stretching, I jump from the stairs and slid down the rails. Quickly scanning the room, I found my dad on the leather couch. Just reading a paper, like a dad would. So after releasing several small breaths of excitement, I asked him “The Question”.
“So dad, can I go outside? I finished my homework!” I asked him with my very best puppy-dog eyes. And I even had all the papers my teachers had given me as evidence to prove that I was speaking the truth. To be honest, I’m not always that honest. But that is something for another time.
He had placed a hand on his chin, which made me release a small wince in concern. My dad had always done this when he was thinking. Sometimes, he’ll just think about something and then just brush it off for tomorrow. I hope he wasn’t going to do that today. I honestly couldn’t remember the last it was since I was outside, but I was pretty certain that I was losing my tan. And being cramped in this house was irritating me. Homework caused me to dislike my house, in case you couldn’t tell.
I realize my dad is slow, but he was also very thoughtful. After the times where I had been in trouble for dishonesty, no way he would ever give me an easy time. But I guess I was pretty convinced that he had a change of opinion today. After waiting for several minutes, he lifted his head and faced me with a hand out. “Homework?”
Yes, I was right! This work paid off after all. I happily slapped all the papers I had been running on for about a couple hours. Ecstasy invaded my body as I bounced around the room, throwing a mini-celebration with myself. Everyone deserves self-indulgence, right? I was so jovial, I even started acting polite, which is something that I don’t often do. “Thank you, thank you and thank you!”
And I guess this is where the cheesy introductions come in. I know it is a bit late, but a late introduction is better than none at all, right? Yes, that is what I thought. Anyways… forget that. I am Ninjin Daidaiiroda, 14 years old. In case you can’t tell, I am a Hawaiian native. Well, at least my mother was. My father is Japanese and when I was three, we had moved back to my mother’s home. It had belonged to her mom before she passed, and she felt it was her duty to protect it.
Back to reality, I had busted open the doors, releasing my joy I had hidden while indoors. Oh, the sand in my toes! And the ocean! Nostalgia is visiting me again… Life was great. If only this could last forever. Just I and my dreams… both connected in unison again. As I had grabbed my surfboard and headed for the water, it was like a piece of me was returning to my soul.
Anyways, the waves were perfect tonight. The height, shape…everything. It was a surfer’s playground. I can do several sweet tricks on it if I tried. So why not? Swimming toward it, I had stood on the board, gaining balance as I had let nature’s force and my natural balance just lead me to my mental utopia. Everything was perfect: I was at the Olympics. Standing on the podium, I could see all of the happy faces that would be screaming my name. Flower bouquets would be tossed in my direction. As I receive my gold medal, people would splash water on me with laughter and joy…
Wait a minute! There is no water at the Olympic podiums! Then what had… Oh. That is when it dawned to me. I was no longer on my surfboard performing tricks. I was underwater, swimming back upwards to regain my breath and logic. As I had clung to my surfboard as a floatation device, I was looking at the sky. It still had the same tint as before, and I was pretty sure that I was still in Hawaii. Halfway convinced that I was correct, I had swum back to the shore, obviously out of tune with my surfing. I think one of these times; I’ll need to schedule another trainer. It was embarrassing to admit, but I needed a trainer to refresh my skills. No one could deny that if they had ever seen me.
And that was especially true after I heard a slight chuckle from a distance. It sounded familiar… Like devil waiting to grab my soul and he sounded very eager. I’ve heard of this chuckle before. Many times, actually. And in all of those times appeared the same man who was creating them.
“Kaleo!?” I shouted with my teeth clenched in anger. “What are you doing here!?” I know it appears to you that I don’ like him, and I honestly don’t. For the following reasons that will be explained in the next paragraph.
First of all, let me introduce him. This jerk I am speaking to is Kaleo, who likes to think he’s better than everyone else, but really isn’t. I mean, just because he plays most of the sports held in my school, doesn’t make him the god or something. But still, all of the girls go crazy for him for the same reason as always: his appearance. “Oh, that beautiful dark skin!” They would cry. “Those light green eyes! His beautiful obsidian hair! His masculine body, OH MY!” I don’t mind, but after about a year in a half of living here (That was how long he was here, in case you didn’t notice,) after moving from wherever it was he came from; the obsession of a certain person does become pretty aggravating, no?
Anyways, back to real life! “Well, you were so arrogant at school for being the greatest surfer of all time. And you know that saying, ‘the bigger they are, the harder they fall.’” He said, doing the hair flip that most arrogant guys happen to do a lot. This also happens to get on my nerves very easily. And I don’t know why guys always do that. Maybe it’s a way of gaining more self-esteem?
Stamping a foot in frustration, I faced away from him, not wanting to look at his face any longer. “You know what? Quiet. Just be quiet. It wasn’t like you were perfect either, Mr. ‘Blameless’!” And it was true. The only thing would be how long it would take the idiot to get that fact through his very thick skull. “Why are you here anyways? I thought you didn’t live in this area. Weren’t you more of the ‘woodsy’ person?” I turned around to see him. Just to see how he decided to irritate me this time.
“Well, I was back in India…” He said, still smirking as he spoke. “But now I’m here in Hawaii. It’s all ocean here with barely any woods. So I should get used to the oceans while I’m here.” He looked around and he looked right.
Really? I said to myself. I would say this place had some decent size woods, too. Except the woods are palm trees, not regular ones. “I wouldn’t say that…” I muttered.
Ignoring my comment, Kaleo brushed me away as he kept walking down the beach. “Well, whatever. If you fall back in the water, I just hope that you drown in it.”
I clenched my fists hearing that reaction. I expected him to say something like this, but I never knew…Why did he always work me up like this? Even the smallest comment can send me in berserk mode if it came from his mouth, not anyone else’s. But instead of fighting back like I wanted to. I just strolled to my house, muttering. “I hope the riptides carry you to the ocean.”
Well, that was nostalgia cut short, I sighed, disappointed. All because of that jerkface, Kaleo! What makes him think he can ruin my fun? I was having an awesome time alone until—
“Done already?”
I had jumped a bit and looked around. After a bit, I released a relieved sigh knowing that it was my dad, not Kaleo, who had startled me with his voice. “Oh! Um, yeah,” I stuttered, trying to think. “Umm….Oh, yeah! I swallowed some of the seawater,” I held my stomach and created a small moan, pretending that I had a stomachache. I really wasn’t a great actor, but it still didn’t hurt to try. I just hope my father believes me…
He raised a suspicious eyebrow at me. I countered by creating another moan, this one louder. At this point I was praying to myself, hoping that everything would go as planned. But I had very low hopes for that, as he was very insightful. He can usually tell when I’m genuinely sick or when I’m just faking it like now. I can tell some stories…
When I noticed my dad looking at me with gentle eyes, I knew it in my mind. He had believed me! All of my terrible acting skills have paid off! Maybe I won’t even have to go to school tomorrow. Or ever, at that fact. With my talent, I can reach toward Hollywood! I’ll be the best actress ever! Forget about surfing, I’m going to be--
“Well, Ninjin, that’s too bad, isn’t it? Just dry yourself up and go to bed before you catch a cold,” He pointed upstairs, to show that he wasn’t playing around. “Being warm and dry is essential to healing a stomachache.” He had chortled, which lead me to believe that the faking a stomachache wasn’t a good idea after all. I was hoping that maybe I wouldn’t have to go to school tomorrow. I was preparing to ask him that, actually. But right when he demanded me to perform his orders, I knew there wasn’t going to be a point. Disappointed, I started my way up the stairs to dress into my pajamas.
“Oh, and don’t wake your cousins,” My father shouted from downstairs.
What do you mean? The younger ones are asleep, and Luka is at a friend’s house, I reminded myself. Well, those younger cousins sleep like logs, I can tell you that. They’re only about ages 1-5, so I think you can relate to sleepy siblings. And there is Luka, who is seven, who’s always begging my parents to let him stay at his friends’ places. He fails most of the time, but today was an exception. He was studying for this test and they didn’t finish until now, so my parents just let him stay over for the night.
Room, sweet room! I hummed as I had gathered some pajamas and looked at the alarm clock I had sitting on the night stand. It was just a regular old alarm clock, wasn’t anything special. It read 7:18 P.M. It seemed about right, because now the sunset is gone and it’s pitch black out. When I opened the window, I felt colder than I did falling in the water (probably because I haven’t even bothered drying the moisture off yet,) so I just shut the window and locked. People never know what kind of burglars are running around, and my family isn’t going to learn the hard way. Not like we had anything worth their time, of course. But safety never hurts, or so I’ve heard.
Removing the water-covered clothing, I dried myself before I dared to slip the pajamas on. But once I did wear the pajamas, I had felt a thousand times better than before. I threw the clothes and wet towel in the laundry basket at the corner of the room as I walked in the bathroom to grab a smaller towel for my hair. Rubbing vigorously, the moisture from my hair was sure gone… but now my hair was matted. It wasn’t a big deal though, as I always took my showers in the morning. I could just fix it then.
I traveled back to my room, where for once today I could finally rest in peace as I had jumped on my bed, lying down and facing the ceiling as I had let all of today’s thoughts overflow me. It was weird to think about everything, especially when it is the early morning, being half-asleep and just saying yes to make your parents shut up, even if you don’t know what they asked you to do. Or if they were even asking you, for that matter. Well, there was Luka leaving the house… Being confined to my room doing homework… And confronting Kaleo about the millionth time of my life… Not much else to dwell on, I don’t think. Except for the surfing accident. That was probably just something that needed to happen. It’ nothing to worry about. All I need to do is to pick myself to focus more is all.
After being bored to death tossing around on my bed, I had decided to just go to sleep. Looking at the alarm clock, I was shock to see that the time was only 8:20 P.M. I usually go to bed at 10:00 P.M. And if this didn’t seem weird to you, wait until you hear what happens the next day. What I’m about to tell you would be crazy enough to send even the most sane person off to a cliff.
I was walking home from school, complaining and moaning about all of the homework that the teachers had to give to me. Whoever had thought of homework must either been mentally insane or uber-bored, I told to myself. Talking to myself is what I usually do when there is no one around, in case you had never noticed. Looking at the blue sky with several clouds overhead only fueled that desire for self reflection. But as I was walking home, I had bumped into something. I took a step back, apologizing as I kept waking forward. I never had a look at his face, so it surprised me when he turned around and rubbed my scalp. “Well, you’ve grown a lot, I must say,” He said.
“N-no way…” I stammered after seeing his face. This man had looked familiar, sounded familiar, and acted familiar. I had seen him once. He looked at me with such a kind face, and that is when it dawned to me. He was—
“Ma-Maleko!? When did you get back?” I asked in a very ecstatic tone. But that word alone couldn’t even explain how excited I was for him to greet me again like this, so casually. Maleko is my older brother. When I was 7, he was on a research team with some of his friends. They traveled around the world to discover endangered species and save them. It had been about 3 years since I last saw him. He was 18 when he left and is now 21. Not much had really changed, except maybe he was taller, with longer black hair and deeper blue eyes.
“Just yesterday actually,” He beamed, happy to see that I had remembered him. “We are finally done with our researches! After three years, we have finally done it! And I even brought you a present. If we hurry home, I can get it.”
“Oh, stop treating me like a little kid! C’mon, let’s race back to the house,” I say, setting myself in a starting position. “I’m going to win~!”
Maleko smirked back at me, as if he was confident that this race would belong to him. “Well, you’re on. But I’m warning you- I’ve been practicing!”
And after that, the two of us raced to the house from the sidewalk. Since I was ahead of him, it looked like I was going to win. That is, until he managed to jump over me with his hand over my head. He looked back and stuck his tongue out at me, running even faster to the house.
“Hey, no fair!” I screamed. He was taller AND faster than me! I never thought I would ever admit this, but it looks like this race belonged to him. But since it had been a while since the two of us did something as nice as this, I let him slide. Once we were finished, I was too tired to lecture him about it, anyway. Finishing the race, the two of us had abruptly met Layla, who was one of my younger cousins. She was out on the porch reading a small little Barbie chapter book (She was only 4,) when she caught sight of Maleko and I and ran back to the house, screaming her head off. “Mom! Ninjin has a boyfriend! Hey, hey dad! Ninjin has a boyfriend!” She constantly switches from mom to dad. And was repeating the sentence over and over again, until my parents actually took time from their day to actually listen to her. I was ready to shout at her saying that I didn’t have a boyfriend, but I remembered from a magazine article that retaliating would get parents more suspicious, so I just kept my mouth shut. When I caught a glimpse of Maleko, he had seemed pretty happy, ready to see our parents again. He was cracking his knuckles in anticipation, but for what reason, I’ll never find out… at least not yet.
Anyways, so my parents start running out. At first glance, they thought Layla was right and that I did have a boyfriend, so both of them were freaking out SO SUPER bad. My father was stomping over to Maleko with fists ready to punch, and he was breathing so hard, it seemed like he was going to die from asphyxia. “How dare you take away my daughter without MY permission!!” He screamed, ready to punch him. Maleko took note of his psychosis and stepped back when he saw was necessary.
But once my mother took a long look at his face, she recognized him and intervened between the two. “Please stop!” She had cried. Hearing the panic in her voice was enough to have my father to remain standing where he was. Even though he can be fierce, he was such a softie. Especially when mom is in the picture. Then he just gets so apologetic. It’s pretty hilarious, but you can’t blame him for being such a nice guy. Even confusion isn’t enough to have him attack his prey.
When my mother saw Maleko, that was when she was breaking down, shedding a bit of tears as she embraced him. “Oh, you have finally returned to us… Maleko!” She sobbed, trying to make her voice sound clear.
It was obvious Maleko was embarrassed. He was still a mama’s boy! No matter how long he’s been away, there’s still that delicate spot in him where mom is. “… This must be dad’s personality kicking in!” I chimed, pushing my face beside his shoulder and standing on my tiptoes. Even though Maleko was “little” according to mom, I wouldn’t say that he was. He’s 6’0, which is 9” taller than myself. I could barely reach him, so my mockery didn’t have a whole lot of affect on him. Why did he have to be so tall!? I can’t do anything because of my height!! “…WAAAH~!” I started to cry out of my own self-pity.
But that wasn’t what everyone else thought. Maleko looked over at me while he was still hugging mom and smirked. “Chill out! I’ll get to you if you actually wait!” My mother was completely ignoring me, probably still in shock that Maleko was finally home. Dad just face palmed himself, as if he were embarrassed on having a crybaby around him. “Ninjin…” He said in a mortified tone. “What if someone is listening to you? They would think you’re only 7!”
I wouldn’t care! I responded in my mind. At least not until I’m about 6” taller!
“So, so, so, so, so, so, SOOO~!” Layla responded, running out of the house. “Is Ninjin gr—“ She started before she cut herself off. Everyone crazily rejoicing the return of a family member… that was definitely not an outcome Layla had ever thought about! She had crinkled her nose and stamped her feet, confused about why things hadn’t gone the way she thought they would. “WHY!?” She began to wail. “Why isn’t she grounded?” She had walked over to Maleko and started to punch him. “You Jerkface!!”
Finally releasing mom, he had knelt to the ground with his face in front of hers. He needed to meet the other cousins. I mean, Layla was only one when he had left, so she barely knew him. If she even remembered at all, that is. “So, you must be one of the newest additions! You know, your parents have told me a bit about you… and how you and your siblings live with my family now! Well, I’m your older cousin, Maleko! And I have a feeling that we will get along just great!” He held a hand out, waiting for her to shake back in reply. Too bad that she probably didn’t even know the basic rules of handshaking.
Layla just looked at him funny. Not even a bit was changed from her frown. She just ran to mom, who was picking her up and cradling her. I looked at Maleko with remorse… but not a whole lot of it. “Don’t worry about Layla!” I said, patting his shoulder. “How about we go to the beach? I’ve learned some new surfing tricks while you were gone!” I fished off with an egotistical grin. I was determined to show him that I was better than him at something, even though he didn’t surf.
“All right, but just a second!” He replied, walking back out near the sidewalk, where I noticed a gray ‘99 Ferrari was parked. He pulled out his keys from his pocket and pressed the button that had unlocked the doors. Pulling the handle to the front driver seat, I had noticed there was a little grey bundle slightly scurrying about. This had freaked me a slight bit, but I still jumped back in fear. “Wh-wh-what is that?” I asked, trying to resist the urge to run away.
Picking up the little ball of cloth, he was cushioning the bottom of it, as careful as to not drop it. I released a small sigh, thinking that it could possibly be a cup made from platinum. Like the ones they had in the nearby Hiroyoshi Kingdom in Japan. That is a beautiful palace, though I’ve never been there. But I will once I’m old enough. That’s my promise to self. I love to travel, but my parents don’t really like the costs. I think you can figure out the rest for yourself.
But what Maleko had pulled out was anything but a glass out of platinum. It was furry, small and adorable! I immediatedly beamed upon staring at its beautiful gray eyes…
“A-a fox?” I asked him, surprised that a wild animal was now present in front of us, so quietly and friendly. So many questions were flowing in my head, but all I can ask were probably the two most important ones. “How did you get it, and why is it here?”
Maleko started off with a smile. “Well, I’m glad you like it! But yeah, I found him while my team and I were studying the animals that live in South America,” He handed me the little pup before he continued, letting me stroke his soft fur that just made me all the more happier of having this guy with me. “And I happen to come across this little guy, who’s an endangered Darwin’s Fox pup. He’s an orphan whose parents were hunted. I tried to find him a home, but no one would take him… not even the local zoos. I finally resolved that I would take him and give him to you. I know that you’ve always wanted a dog, and I doubt that mom and dad have ever gotten you one.”
And boy was he ever right. I had been constantly begging our parents to let me get one, but they’ve never budged an inch. Not even in the three year span would they let me get a dog. They were so stubborn. But just being around this little pup now… I felt so alive! I just wanted to take him and run around the world about 600 times! My own puppy, my own puppy… I was humming to myself. I finally had… MY OWN PUPPY! I hugged him one more time before I turned to Maleko. “Does this guy have a name?”
He just shook his head. “You choose.”
That made me even more ecstatic. I was so hyper now, I felt like jumping from wall to wall. But I looked at the new puppy, and an idea had occurred in my head. “I shall call you Yoshi~!” I said as I scratched his ears. The puppy barked back in response and licked my face. “Haha, I love you too!” I said as I let him down and watched him disappear to the back yard.
“You still have the hopes of meeting the Hiroyoshi family?” He smirked, laughing at the idea of myself meeting the royal family of Japan. He knew that if they were present in front of me right now, I’d die. That is how much I’ve looked up to them. Only because I’m envious. They’re so rich and all of the kids were beautiful and handsome. Who wouldn’t be jealous of them? I mean, they have everything that a person could want…
I had snapped out of my daydream when I heard Maleko’s voice ringing in my ears. “Come on, are you ever going to show me your new surfing tricks, or am I going to have to throw a spider at you?”
“NO!! Don’t do that!” I shouted, running ahead of him to grab my surfboard. He was laughing in the background, the jerk. He knows I hate spiders more than anything, and he uses that weakness against me when I’m either acting slow or rude to him. He’s mostly a nice person, but he can be sadistic, also. It made me whimper just thinking about him and his sinister smile, with a large spider in hand, ready to throw at my face…
With my surfboard next to me, I waited for my brother as he had went back to the house and asked Dad a question. He must’ve forgotten where the lawn chairs were, even though all of them that we had were still stuffed in the garage. I guess being away for three years messes with your memory just a little. The sun was still out, and I could feel it hitting my scalp and face. Even though the sun was beginning to set, it had felt so warm. I had predicted that the water I was about to swim in was going to feel just as rejuvenating. At least I wasn’t going to freeze my shorts off. If I was any close to being right, that is.
When my brother came in front of me, he was setting his lawn chair. He had also brought the company of my mom, dad and all of my cousins, too. They were all sitting in a line, as if they were waiting for the fireworks to come out or something along those lines. It felt strange to just stand in front of them, even though I was perfectly comfortable of surfing in front of my family. Even if they are all critics (which most of them are, including myself: it was in our genetics. ) I was still pretty secure, because I know that I can plan my revenge back on them someday. It’s a peculiar feeling, like you know something’s about to happen, but you don’t know what.
Assuming it was my insecurities about my brother, I shook off the feeling as I began to wallow in the water. And then I began to waddle. Next was treading. And then came swimming to the waves that were crashing in front of me. They were enormous, but I’m not worried about my family being splashed by it. They were at a safe enough distance from it. They knew better than to go near the water. Even my cousins did, and they’re the ones who often got in trouble.
When I was close enough to the waves, I followed the same thing I did yesterday. I stood on the board, gained some balance, and I was just in serenity surfing through those waves. I felt like as if it were a rainy day, with some water landing on my body and sliding back to the ocean. I could taste the salt water on my lips, and parts of my brown hair were hanging on my face and were starting to block my vision.
But as I was enjoying myself, something terrible happened.
I was still surfing on the waves, but then I became suspicious when I took a quick glance at the side of me. I couldn’t see anything or anyone at the matter. I thought if I had surfed lower, I would be able to have a proper sight of things again. But when I decreased my limitations, however, I veered down too far, falling into the sea. I was frantically flailing my arms and legs to reach the surface. Desperate for air I couldn’t breathe. But this effort was useless, as I was already sinking lower and lower to the bottom of the ocean. All I can do now was let the water carry me to wherever it had decided to. My life was over, and I was only 14! If only I had worn my wetsuit! I scolded myself. I shouldn’t have been so arrogant! I have made several stupid mistakes, and they’re about to cost me my life!
Before anything else had happened, I noticed a faint light. It slowly grew bigger and larger, so I knew my time on Earth must be up. It must be angels, waiting to take me in Heaven to live alongside them while watching the effects of my death to everyone I knew and loved.
But it wasn’t an angel! I mean, of course it wasn’t. Angels aren’t real. Instead it was a fox that had looked awfully familiar… But I didn’t really have time to create comparisons! The fox just made a sad face toward me before it disappeared. It felt odd, really. The minute it left, I had this strangely warm feeling in my body. It was almost like I had met the love of my life, the one who really wanted to be with me forever. Just like in the movies, where you’re supposed to be really dramatic and joyful every time you think about it.
I could see something else in the distance shortly after. It was black, but I didn’t know what it was, as my vision was becoming more and more blurry with each passing second. My eyes were closing, and I was still convinced that my life was over after my vision was completely black. Nothing can save me now…
It had seemed like forever had passed when I woke up. It felt like dumbbells were hitting my head. One after another, with a strong force. I could still barely see anything, except several strange shadows sitting around me. Even my hearing was practically dead, as all was heard were cries of my name and overused sayings like “You can’t die now! Please come back, Ninjin!” I had risen myself from the ground, making this moan, and that was when the pile of hugs came in. “Oh, Ninjin!” I heard my mother cry. “I’m so glad you’re OK! God bless that you are still here with us!”
My brother patted my head, and rubbing it as he smiled to me. “Welcome back to earth,” He flashed his same mischievous smirk that he always did. “It’s been a while.”
Shaking my head violently, I responded, happy that most, if not all, of my senses were coming back to me. “Oh, I know.” Moving my head restlessly, I felt like as if a member had been missing. And when I had looked back at my father, mother and brother, I suddenly blurted. “Well, where are the cousins at? And where’s Yoshi?”
“Well, your cousins are in bed,” My mother smiled at me. I smiled back, relieved that she was feeling well.
But I had expected the cousins to be in bed. When I looked at the wall hanging on top of the living room fireplace, it was 8:30! Truthfully, I was way more concerned of Yoshi’s whereabouts than my cousins.
After I had asked for Yoshi again, however, I immediately felt a tinge of remorse. Her smile was now a frown, and her eyes were telling me a saturnine story. What kind of story it was, I couldn’t tell. That was, until Maleko sat beside me and pats my shoulder a couple of times. Suddenly, he was acting very mature! It was rare for him to act like that (to me), and I was determined to enjoy every minute of it. He released a small cough before he began. “Well, Ninjin…”
For some reason, the minute he said my name, I could feel the depression of this entire room growing inside of me. I didn’t know what happened, but something told me that it wasn’t going to be good.
“When Yoshi heard all the scream and calls we were beckoning to you, he jumped in and tried to save you. You came out, but he never did.”
What? That can’t be possible! I told myself. I was determined to keep my heartbreak to myself. But after I heard my voice in my trail of thought, I had obviously failed. “We had just gotten him! No way can he be dead already! Dad, tell me this isn’t true!” I demanded, looking at him with waterlogged eyes.
As a replacement for a reaction I wanted him to do, he sat to the side that wasn’t occupied by my older brother, and gave me a hug. He was depressed also. We can tell, but he wasn’t as emotional about it as everyone else was. “I’m sorry, Ninjin. We don’t know how else to tell you.”
After I heard the news, I cried myself back to slumber on my own father. I felt like as if I were only three years old, when I had heard the news that Maleko would be leaving us. But he was back now, and I could face reality. Losing a dog to something I could’ve prevented made me want to die, to escape the painful truth that was slowly eating my body. Because I could never see him again.
In the morning after, I awoke with the most splitting headache ever known to man. Everyone downstairs was making such a ruckus. My cousins were whining about going to school, my mother was trying to calm them down. Overall, it seemed like as if Hell had awakened and was trying to eat me. Walking downstairs, I was greeted with hellos and surprised expressions of my parents. “My, you’re up right now?” My mother asked. “It’s only 6:30. You don’t have to get up for another thirty minutes.”
“I realize,” I groaned, still half asleep. “But you guys were creating so much noise… And the food you had prepared smelled so delightful...”
“What do you mean?” Mom had tilted her head, baffled. “Everyone had cereal this morning. I never knew people can smell cereal.”
“No way you guys had cereal! I can smell it all the way from my room!”
“Look at the sink. I’ve piled all of the bowls and forks inside of it. “
Out of sheer panic, I immediately ran to the sink and looked inside. Sure enough, she was right. 6 bowls were all organized neatly in the sink, with six spoons scattered apart. Wide-eyed with disbelief, I was immobilized before something had poked me. I normally didn’t mind when people did that, but I was unusually irritated for some reason. I forced my hand sideways with a slap, assuming that it was just a fly. However, after I cry of “Ow!” followed, my guts told me that I had lost my common sense and dignity that I really needed to face life. I had faced the direction of the voice and looking down a bit, there was Luka looking at me with a glare in his eyes. “What did you do that for?! I was just trying to give you some friendly teasing! You’ve grown so serious…”
“I didn’t mean to attack you! I-I just thought you were a stranger!” I shouted back apologetically, running back upstairs. I had the new urgency out just get out of the house. I’m pretty sure that’s just because I’m not used to being yelled by my little cousins, though. It wasn’t like I was part animal or anything…
Anyway, I was upstairs now, just getting ready for school. The carpet felt nice on my feet, but I had to abandon the feeling once I had slipped on white crew socks and my favorite black sneakers. I really wanted to stay home, but like my parents say, a person’s gotta do what a person’s gotta do. I finished lacing my shoes, fastening these extra tight today, for extra assurance that these shoes weren’t going to fly off. I was going to need them for kickball today. Well, I wasn’t exactly a sporty person, but they can be fun. And everything I do, I always put forth best effort. Even if it was doing something like math, and I couldn’t stand math.
After that, I had turned my head sideways to look at the clock on my nightstand. It was almost time to be going, so I had just grabbed my backpack (which was a messenger bag, actually,) and bolted out the door. But not without waving good-bye to my family and hugging them. I had promised them that I would return back home safe and sound. You know how parents are. They always make you promise something like that before you leave. But for today, I was actually saying this with my will. Saying it didn’t feel that bad. In fact, just thinking about it made me feel grateful I had muttered that… As if I were dying and sending my last good-byes to the friends and family I loved. As if I was never going to see them again. It ached my heart just to think what life would be like without them. As much I won’t admit sometimes, they are my family. And I do love my own family like everyone else would love theirs.
For some reason, when I was running to school, I had a hard time trying to concentrate. There were sounds happening all around me, and all of them wafted to my ears with erratic effects. I had held myself back in a pouncing position, and before I knew it I charged after the sound with full speed. It wasn’t like I wanted to do this, it was like a natural instinct. Or an impulse. Just something that I never wanted to, or would ever do if I were feeling well. Which I wasn’t now, thanks to this morning’s incident.
And I guess the weird part was afterwards when I was chasing the sound, I found myself in the middle of a forest, looking around in attempts of finding a way out. I shouldn’t be here! I need to be at school! I frequently reprimanded myself over and over. Even though I was determined to find a way out, I obviously wasn’t going to leave unless I can find the sound and where it was coming from. It was still ringing, by the way. Well, pounding against my ears is the more appropriate way to say it. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was driving me at my wits end. I turned 360° about 6 times before I found a stick. With the sound still banging against my head, I released a small grunt as I threw the stick at the tree. I was thinking that the stick wasn’t going to do much. I mean, it was a stick. What can it do other than draw on dirt and get stuck inside people’s noses? Not much. So I threw it, expecting a rabbit or squirrel to fall down or something.
The minute the stick struck against the tree, something huge fell to the ground at a blinding speed. The bushes violently rustled to the motion, so it obviously wasn’t a squirrel. After the birds flew away crying, a figure had risen and slowly made its way out of dirt. Wh-why does he look… familiar…? I thought as I saw the figure walk from the bushes and brush dirt from the legs. My heart started pounding a million times a minute when I saw his jet black head looking down at his legs. At least I was pretty sure it was a guy. It wore rough blue jeans, a dark green hoodie and matching converse sneakers. I could feel my face flaring, just looking at him. Maybe this is love at first sight that people were talking about?... I whispered to my own self, making sure that no one could here. Even though I had for company was this person in front of me, who was admiring themselves. An usual high resonated from my chest to my brain, and I felt a bit dizzy. Struggling to gain balance, I placed my hands on my head while stumbling sideways. I didn’t know what was happening around me, all I knew is that I could feel something wrap around my waist. I felt more anger than thankful afterwards, however. After I could get a closer look at its face—I mean him, and I was positive this time—I had to break away from him. I hated him with a passion. Why was he even near me?
Feeling embarrassed about liking him, I started to rapidly breathe as I glared at his light green eyes. “What…are…you…doing…HERE!?”
Kaleo responded with a shrug and an angry expression back. “Well, I thought I heard something back here, so I came to investigate. Can I ask the same for you?”
“Well, you took my reason!” I stamped in frustration. “Wait… what would be here that you would want?”
Before Kaleo replied, we heard a loud boom coming from somewhere. I don’t know what direction it was from, though. He swayed his hair before he began again. “Maybe my hat blew away from the wind?”
“What do you mean? It’s a calm, sunny day! I can’t—“
Boom. And this time, there was a momentary breeze whistling through. But it was pretty strong; I had to hang to a tree to stay on the ground. Kaleo did this also with the tree closest to him.
“See my point now, idiot?” Kaleo screamed from where he was. He gets aggravating so fast! I haven’t lost my glare at him yet.
“I guess so…”
BOOM. This was way louder than the last. Whatever that was, it was obviously getting closer…
“But why did you even care about me in the—“
I didn’t even have the time to finish- nor did he have the time to respond to my curiosity- as a very, very huge creature had stepped into the light. It was a dragon-like creature, except with bull horns and had more fat around the stomach. The wings were a little furry, as well. It clawed against a patch of grass as it released an ear-piercing roar.
Oh, god… the pain! I winced as I held my ears together. Our rivalry was officially over as both of us looked at the creature in awe and intimidation. It looked like it can chew up this entire Earth as easily as a piece of paper. But this is coming from someone who always over exaggerates things. Or so I’ve heard.
“Ninjin!” I heard Kaleo scream from wherever he was last. “We better leave! This place is too dangerous!”
Still staring at the creature, I told him the words I never thought I was going to say. “…You go. I’m staying.”
This seemed to have taken him aback. He was silently watching me, probably curious of my method of defeating this creature would be. I didn’t have any idea on what I was going to do, and I was scared of it! But at the same time, my heart was telling me to stay. I shouldn’t run away. I need to face challenges like a hero… The hero that I always wanted to be.
“Why!? Are you asking for a death wish!?” Kaleo finally answered after a few seconds of awkward silence. The creature was slowly becoming impatient, and it let out a roar as it swiped a claw toward him. He dodged it swiftly, however.
I snapped my tone a bit as the creature was now aiming for me. Grabbing a stick behind one of the bushes, I began charging toward it. If I needed to remain in this area, I’m going to at least try to get rid of it. “No! I have to stay here!”
Kaleo hadn’t said a word as he began to run away from the scene. Though I had the sense that he was thinking that I’m crazy. With the stick over my head, I brushed Kaleo away from my thoughts as I slammed the stick toward one of the monster’s legs. I held it there for a second, with a desperate hope that maybe the creature had dissolved into dust or had least disappeared from me.
However, I was left to face reality again. I lifted my head up from staring at the ground. The creature was still there, looking at me with a bit of a smirk. Along with its pungent smell wafting through my nose. It rose its claw over me, and swiped my stomach with a pushing motion that sent me flying against a tree. Limping forward, life was over. After my first brush with death, I doubt that I was going to survive this time. I needed to stand up and fight more, I realized. One swipe wasn’t going to kill someone that easily. But I didn’t feel like moving. The scent it had just made me nauseous just thinking about it. I didn’t want to die from something like that.
My thoughts were suddenly cut when a bright light was shining brightly through the forest. The creature winced in pain; I just closed my eyes, thinking the light was going to blind me. But instead, I could see just fine. Except all I could see was a whole lot of orange and white as a gold pendant soared to my direction. A voice had rang, “Take this, Mew Carrot!” As the pendant had landed on my hands.
“Who’s Mew Carrot?” I shouted back. But of course, I don’t get a response. “I can’t find Mew Carrot!” I shouted, looking around me and still not receiving an answer.
“Of course not! Mew Carrot is you! Use that pendant and transform! I shouldn’t have to shout to you every single thing to do…” It sighed.
“How do I do—“I began to ask, but I cut myself after I instantly kissed my new accessory. Words were entering my brain, like I actually knew what I was doing. I held the pendant in the sky, shouting, “Mew Mew Carrot! METAMORPHISIS~!”
A feeling of euphoria was carrying me, through nowhere that my eyes could see. Splashes of orange and white were flying toward me, so I couldn’t really see what was happening. All I knew was that once the entire ordeal was finished. I took an awesome fighting pose and I faced the creature, head on. “Well, you are a mighty brave soul wanting to face me, are you? Say your prayers now, because for everyone and everything that thrives in this Earth, I will severely punish you, bark~!”
The creature was unaffected by my speech, and I had to jump away from his claws when I could see that it was obviously aiming them toward me. Jumping out of way, more random words decided to splurge in my brain as it was stomping toward me. “CarroTint Harp!”
Something appeared from behind me and flew to my direction. It was an orange harp with a light green bow at the front of it. Before the monster could do any more damage, I plucked some of the strings and held it in front of myself, shouting the stupidest thing I’ve ever said in my life. “RIBBON CARROT HARVEST!”
The whole forest became very bright and sparkly, and the creature released another ear-piercing scream before it died. I had whimpered as I held my ears. After the sound died, I was so tempted to run away and just breathe fresh air again! But I was halted by a clapping noise that appeared from behind me. “Great job for your first try, Mew Carrot.”
“Mew Carrot? You mean ‘New Carrot’?” I replied as I turned around to get a better look at this man’s face. But all I could see was his dark auburn hair concealing the frame of his face. “I’m sorry, but Safeway is that direction, I believe,” I say, pointing toward the way where I had arrived to the forest.
He shook his head calmly. “No, Mew Carrot. The first member of the new Mew Mews.”
“The what?”
“Mew Mews. People who save the Earth who are injected with DNA of endangered animals. Can’t you see your ears or something?”
“Are you high or something? No one can see their ears!” I began to snap in irritation. Boy, he’s almost as annoying as Kaleo. Almost.
“Feel the top of your head.”
“What, that’s not where ears are, you—“ I was about to say “idiot,” but I couldn’t finish. I did feel fur-like material on my head. I started to tug at it, thinking it was just fur. After a bit of painful tugging, I held in my hand a strand of fur…gray fur.
Panicking, I ran around the forest looking for something to stare at myself with. Eventually, the man was at least nice enough to hand me a mirror he had (Don’t ask why a man like him would have a mirror, I don’t know.) To allow me to look at the horrific effects that had attacked my appearance. There were gray dog ears on my head. I was also wearing this orange superhero outfit complete with an orange collar, puff sleeves, elbow-length fingerless gloves, ankle boots and a garter on my right thigh. Don’t forget to mention that I also had a dog-like TAIL. I stared at the man with mixed feeling of confusion, anger and curiosity. But anger above all else, as I went to him and poked my finger right on his chest. Though he was really ginormous. It was pretty turbulent for me to make myself seem as tall as him. “So what has happened to me? I was pretty and now I’m a freak! You turn me back, now!”
“I cannot do that,” He sighed as he loomed over my head. “Not until you free the world from the Chimera Anima that inhabit this planet.”
“The what?”
“The animals possessed by alien’s spirits. Have you ever heard of Tokyo Mew Mew?”
“Ummm…” I thought about this. That name did sound familiar. But after thinking… “Nope, don’t know them!”
The man just placed a palm near his face and released another sigh of annoyance. “You’re a handful, aren’t you?”
“Your random appearance is a handful!” I grunted as I handed him back his mirror. "And so is this hand mirror. I never knew you had such a feminine side~!” I began to tease.
And of course, he has to ruin my fun when he responses so tediously and flatly. “It isn’t mine. This is Sakuranbo’s.”
“HAHA THAT’S SO FUNNY! LIKE I—Who’s Sakuranbo?” I tilted my head in growing interest. This day is obviously going to the “Highlights of the Year” in my school’s newspaper. If only everyone knew, that is.
“Follow me, and I can explain everything then,” He said as he started to walk away from me.
Ignoring his question, I immediately brushed him away with my hands. “Yeah, keep walking! ‘Cause I don’t want to see your face anymore!”
“Do you want to be weird forever?” He shot a glare at my direction, awaiting a response.
Damn it! Why do these people always have good points about things you don’t want to do? I sighed to myself as I began to follow, walking behind him.
“Oh, and your outfit…”
“What about it?” I said, unaware that for the first time in this guy’s life, he was actually going to help me somehow.
“Just remove your pendant from your collar if you want to lapse your appearance to your original state.”
“Not more big words…” But at least I know what this guy was trying to say this time, I smiled as I tugged the pendant away from my collar as powerfully and quickly that I possibly could. After I successfully separated the two of those together, a faint light surrounded me as I began to inspect myself again. I was now wearing the same outfit I had this morning. Thankful that I was no longer freakish, I slipped my pendant in the pocket of my shorts. I added another sigh of relief as I looked at this guy. “Well, here’s thanks to you.”
Pretty convinced that I was going to start following him, he began to walk away, waving a hand to me. “No deal. Now, if you’re dead curious on what is happening to you, I suggest that we start moving along to the New Café Mew Mew.”
This time, I had no arguments as I began to follow this man out of the forest. I know people always say never trust strangers, but it was either that or just look like a freak for the rest of the day. Or my life.
Just walking out of the forest made me feel bored. I felt like I was walking behind a dummy; he wouldn’t say a word. However, as soon as I remembered something to ask him, the silence was broken. “So, what’s your name? I have a feeling were going to be seeing a lot of each other from now on, so I need to know.” I walked closer behind him. In case if he had a quiet voice, I would need to be able to hear him.
He looked behind him where I was walking and widened his light brown eyes. “Oh, I never did tell you my name yet, did I? Well, I’m sorry. I’m Ken Akasaka. And you would be…?”
“I’m Ninjin Daidaiiroda!” I jumped, happy that I had a response. I guess even if this guy was silent, as least he had a friendly side of him. I held out a hand, waiting for him to do the same. “It’s nice to meet you!”
He stopped from where he was walking and turned himself to face me. He held his hand out and shook mine and gave a slight smile. “It’s nice to meet you, too.”
I could feel my face turning pink when he said that. H-his hands are so strong… And his voice is amazing… I thought as I smiled back at Ken, who now broke away from me. Releasing a small sigh of disappointment, we kept treading on the wet grass. When we eventually made our way out of the forest, Ken paused a few seconds before he walked toward me and pointed to a pink building. “See that place?”
I nodded. It was so flashy, though. In a place where most buildings were either natural or dull, it wasn’t that hard to miss.
“That’s the new Café Mew Mew. It actually doesn’t look that different from the old one,” He commented as he pulled out a photo. Giving it to me, I compared and contrasted. He was right—there really wasn’t much of a difference from the old one. The only difference that I could spot was that the windows were tinted green, the doorknob was a yellow heart, and the building overall was slightly huger than the last, like this is the densely populated country of China or something like that. “Hmm… interesting place,” I looked at Ken, waiting for a response.
“Well, Keiichiro- or my cousin- thought so as well, you know, the more girly a place is, and the more likely we’ll find the other Mews.”
“He’s dead-wrong. This doesn’t look like a place I’d stop at. Unless if my little cousins wanted to.”
He chortled in amusement as I spoke. My face was red again, but that didn’t seem to bug him as he sauntered to one of the double doors and opened it. “Welcome to Café Mew Mew!”
Walking in the room, my thoughts didn’t change much. The walls were all pink like the interior of the old ones. But as I gazed at the ceiling, there was this radiant light green chandelier out of green diamond. The rainbow stones that were hanging from it just forced me to sigh out of jealousy. Gazing at the floor, there was a sky blue carpet that extended its path over to the center of the room, where a small podium and a microphone resided. And there were two separate staircases you could take to sit at some of the seats they had either next to the windows or the balcony. That sounds like a nice idea during a romantic date at sunset or sunrise…
No! NO NO NO!!! I told myself as I violently shook myself. I was starting to drift away in fantasy. I really needed to find my way to be back to normal. When I had looked at the clock they had above the double doors, it was about 11:30. If anyone found out that I was ditching school, my parents would be ripping my head out. And besides, I was starting to imagine myself with Kaleo and it was starting to freak me out—
“Yes? Are you the new member?”
Eh? I heard a voice! I stopped my train of thought as I stared straight ahead of me. There was a girl who was slightly shorter than me, with light lavender hair and yellow eyes. She was staring at me with this weird innocent aura about her; I had stepped back a bit to avoid embarrassments that I may cause.
Or her, which I only considered after she had tripped on her feet. She placed her arms on my neck, pushing me on the ground. After I could feel the force of the ground against my backside, she blushed and stepped back, holding her arms together. “I’m so sorry! I had never meant to trip on my own clumsiness and harm you… physically!” She began to tremble nervously. She was mumbling about Gibberish and stuff… I was trying to get her to be quiet. She didn’t have to drag it on forever! Just apologize and get done with this so I can go back to school.
“Well… it’s all right! Just don’t sweat it, alright? I’m not hurt!”
I guess I shouldn’t have said that. Because afterwards, she took out a small, pink compact computer and faced my direction, pressing the keyboards with a sinister smile on her face. “Soo… you didn’t mind that Ken-chan and I just infused your DNA with that of a Darwin’s Fox… do you?”
“…What?” I had pointed my finger to the direction of an object. I was hoping she had said “Darwin’s Box,” and that I was about to be hired to work for a fashion designer. About time I became famous, anyhow.
Looking at the direction I had pointed to, she beamed. Something told me that this day wasn’t going to end well. “Oh, how did you know about the new shipment of uniforms I had just received? Thank goodness for a smart designer like Keiichiro!” She skipped happily toward the boxes, and walked away from me, looking around a bit. “Ken-chan, can you open the door? We need a more confidential place to discuss this.”
He just nodded; walking toward the door she was in front of and opened it silently. I’m guessing that it’s so that unnecessary attention would be drawn. This topic must be pretty important if we can’t discuss it even in this desolate café…
I was awestruck after descending down the stairs. It wasn’t as dull as I thought it was going to be. It just had a classic feel, with light green wallpaper and darker green carpet. The room was a decent size, though I do wish it was bigger. There was a small writing desk near the end of the room, which was made from cherrywood material. She was tapping on her desk somewhat impatiently as I quickly took a seat on an office chair that was in front of it. “I’m glad we’re all settled now,” The girl coughed before she began to speak. “Well, I am Sakuranbo Shirogane. It’s nice to meet you!” She held her hand out as I reached mine. We shook as she kept talking. “And this man who’s standing next to me is Ken—“
“I know,” I explained. “I met him earlier.” I smiled, trying to be friendly. She seemed like a sensitive person, so if I was going to say something that would defy what she was saying, I at least tried to make myself open about it.
“Well, I can tell you more about myself later, if you will. But for now, I’ll explain the things that you want to know, yes?”
I nodded rapidly, stopping myself shortly afterwards. I caught her smile toward me as she began to speak again.
“Ok, so a long time ago… Earth wasn’t always inhabited by humans. There were aliens who have lived here before we have. They thrived in the glory that Earth has. The clean water, blue skies… this was paradise. And everything for aliens was wonderful and joyous. Until some day, a terrible curse had befallen upon them. Meteors covered the sky in red, volcanoes were out of control, and earthquakes were splitting the lands they had lived in. More horrific disasters had happened as well, as famines, blizzards and even tsunamis… all depended on which part of that land you had lived in. The earth was succumbed in this disaster, and the majority of the population was wiped out. Dinosaurs? Extinct. Plants? Withered. Earth was slowly becoming inhabitable for these aliens, and with everyone that had survived, they had moved away into a planet that remains undiscovered to this very day. It was equally as hellish, so they had buried homes underground, where they suffered nostalgia for Earth and the feelings of joy it had given them.”
I had widened my eyes. I had no idea this very place that we were once standing on was once property to the aliens. But I said nothing out loud as she pressed on.
“Meanwhile, humans have evolved after the dinosaurs. At first, we were very stupid, and nothing was accomplished. But as time passed on, one invention after another had sparked both imagination and intelligence. It had inspired us to desire the very best of the best in technology. We were fully unaware of the damage we were causing Earth. The way aliens saw it, it was too much of a price for little convenience.”
Yeah, look at the sewers, the deforestation, and even overpopulation! I convinced myself.
“So the aliens became very hateful toward us. They wanted Earth for themselves. They can take better care for it than we could. So they’ve been creating these creatures called Chimera Anima to perform evil deeds in order to reclaim Earth for themselves.
That was the birth of Mew Project, that was discovered my grandfather. He believed that we could use endangered species of animals as a way to fight against the aliens’ plan. And he was right. After my father had tested this on himself, he and his assistant Keiichiro found five girls to inject animal genes inside of them. These genes played a large part of their fighting lives and their normal lives. The Iriomote Wildcat, Ultramarine Lorikeet, the Finless Porpoise, Golden Lion Tamarin, and the Grey Wolf… together they were found as one. The first Mew Mews were born, saving the Earth from everyday attacks of the Chimera Anima—“
“Umm, I don’t mean to stop your speech, but I have a comment,” I say while raising my hand, as if I were still in school. Habits are really hard to break, I’ll admit. Well, off to therapy class for me, after this.
“Yes?” She tilted her head sideways. “Did I miss something?”
“Um, no. It was just THAT THIS GUY OVER THERE TOLD ME THAT I WAS THE FIRST MEW MEW, THE LIAR!!” I raised my voice, which made Sakuranbo jump backwards and Ken wince in pain as my voice was probably loud enough to destroy the Earth if I were one of those Chimera Anima.
“Oh sorry, I didn’t mean to leave out the details,” Ken bowed in apology. “I meant that you were the first Mew of the New Mew Generation.”
Man, I really don’t like these guys sometimes. I say or do something reckless, and they have to apologize or act mature about it. It always made me feel sorry that I ever spoke in the first place. “….Oh, sorry,” I slinked backward on my chair. The two of them exchanged small chuckles as Sakuranbo continued her speech.
“…While the aliens attempted to revive their leader, Deep Blue to claim Earth for themselves…”
This speech went on for about a half an hour. I was so tired when she finished, I didn’t even care about school any more. My eyes were closing, and I could see clouds, birds and trees.
And as soon as I woke up, a pile of clothes in my hands. “Wh-what is this?” I widen my eyes in surprise.
“It is your work uniform. I realize it’s a school day, but you should try it on, just to see if it fits when you come back here after school,” Ken began coaxing.
“So, do I get to go to school today?”
“Yes, of course. This is just a delay.”
“Aaaw…” I sob in disappointment, but continued interrogating. “Who says I’m coming back here after school?”
“Well, both Sakuranbo and myself, of course. This will now be your part-time job. You’ll even get paid 10 dollars an hour. Does that sound good?”
Well, I could use the money…. Hmm… “Well, Ken-you’ve caught a deal!” I say, shaking hands with him for about the third (or second?) time today. Once we broke apart, I ran to one of the bathrooms to change.
Which I guess took me a bit longer than I should. But who can blame me? The uniforms were super girly and lacy… I had a hard time trying to find everything that went together. But I was impressed with the results… it was hard to look away from the image of myself I saw in the mirror. There I was, standing in this super-frilly yellow uniform with some orange trim. It included a white headband with orange jewels, white apron and orange bowtie, and black platform sneakers that still seemed a bit girly with the hearts and everything on it and orange socks. I gasped in amazement for a couple more minutes as I walked out to show everyone. With two strangers watching me, I became very self-conscious, even if they were only judging the outfit size rather than style.
“Well, does the outfit feel fine?” Sakuranbo asked with such an innocent smile.
“Y-y-yeah,” I stammered. I was feeling very aware of myself right now, and staring at a sweet person like her just made me feel worse.
“The yellow goes well with her hair,” Ken commented with a nod. “I think Keiichiro has done a superb job designing the new uniforms. Which actually aren’t much different. Just a bit more of a girly element to it, such as more laces to the trims.”
Wha-what? I asked myself with a blush. I thought they were judging the outfit, not me! But I did appreciate the compliment I had received from Ken. “Th-th-thanks you guys.”
“Anytime!” Sakuranbo replied back. “You should be getting to school now, though. It’s almost 12:45.”
Oh, crap! I swore to myself, running back to the bathrooms to change back. I had been here way too long! My cousins are going to tattle on me when I get home, and I knew it. I hastily threw my uniform everywhere in the dressing stall where I was at, trying to as quickly as possible get back to school. Maybe there was a slight chance that I can perfectly lie my way out of this. Throwing on my tee shirt and metallic shorts, I bolted out the doors as I waved to my new work partners. “I’ll see you after school!”
“And for the rest of your adolescent life!” Sakuranbo teased, as both she and Ken waved back.
I chortled along my way back to school. She was probably right. Judging from Sakuranbo’s long, boring speech, I guessed that it was going to be a long time before I was going to be back to normal. But I don’t think I’ll mind too much. Not after being with these guys. Sure, Ken did seem annoying at first, but he’s polite. And Sakuranbo… She’s friendly as well, but I’ll bet that she has an aggressive side of her, too.
All I could do as I went to class was to think what may happen to me next. Creating lame excuses, I was thinking of allies. Listening to lectures of teachers, I was wondering who my lover would be. Most girls had one, didn’t they? It was about time I had found mine. All I need to do now is just place my trust in this new life that I need cope with.