Thank you Faceless Minion (my unoffical beta!), Sprite Revenchatte, Raistlyne, and Section 8 for letting me use you for this story. Also thanks Rin, Faceless, Section 8, and Sprite for helping me. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Kirika walked up the steps leading to the lycee, clutching her laptop and class schedule to her chest. She had decided to give secondary education another try. She didn't want to go so much for academics; she could probably have learned just as much by checking out books and reading them in her own time. She and Mireille had stashed away enough money from their hits to live comfortably for the rest of their lives, so she wasn't going for the employment prospects, either. Rather, she went to get socialized. She remembered broaching the subject with Mireille. After she had asked "Why?" and Kirika told her, the older woman was thrilled. She had immediately dragged Kirika shopping with her, turning "the socialization of Yuumura Kirika" into a pet project, much to Kirika's apprehension. She grimaced as she recalled having to stand in front of the mirror for hours at a time while Mireille picked out her perfect five outfits; "You only get one chance to make a good first impression," she had practically drilled into her head. Meanwhile, Kirika was bored. And that wasn't her only hurdle. Mireille had insisted on getting Kirika cosmetic treatment for her scars--just so her classmates wouldn't notice them, she said. Kirika almost fainted when she saw the bill. "Mireille, that's half our life savings!" "No it isn't. You just think it is. And isn't it worth it to get you some friends?" "I...guess..." And then there were the papers. The administration wanted proof of Kirika's identity; her school ID card was not enough for them. Mireille had almost thrown a fit when the school told them this. Kirika just sulked, making sure the principal saw her face. There was also the question of her parents, seeing as she didn't have any. That resulted in Mireille calling in old favors and shelling out more money to construct Kirika's new identity. Not that it had been a cakewalk for Kirika, either. She knew some stuff from when she went to school in Japan, but she'd felt it wasn't nearly enough to pass the entrance exam needed to get into lycee. She ended up pouring over test preparation books, textbooks, whatever she felt would be helpful, often staying up until some ungodly hour, trying to resist Mireille's attempts to get her into bed; "It'll be there tomorrow" and "You need your sleep" being her two most common lines. But all her hard work paid off the day she got her scores back; she'd scored high enough to make it in, by quite a margin. She celebrated by going out and letting Mireille primp her like a doll. Mireille nearly had a heart attack the next morning when she woke up to Kirika washing off her makeup and, instead of wearing one of her lovely new outfits, donning the uniform she wore in Japan. "Kirika! What happened to the makeup?" she called from bed, "And your clothes! You're not wearing them!" "I know," Kirika called back. "You're wearing your uniform!" "And?" "We don't live in Japan. You don't have to wear it." "I know, but I can't not wear it. It's the only thing I wore to school back then." She grabbed her laptop and schedule and ran out the door, not wanting to be tardy. *I must remember to pay Mireille back for all this,* she thought as she walked through the metal doors and into the big, bad world of high school. The first thing she noticed...was the astounding variety of clothes the students wore. She saw kids dressed in jeans and tee shirts, tanktops, camouflage, even some quite flamboyant outfits, but she saw not one sailor suit in the entire hall. The second thing she noticed as she moved through the crowd, was they were all staring at her. She looked around, then looked at her hand, and realized how very white the rest of her classmates were. She was suddenly the darkest one there, and apparently they weren't used to it. She heard someone yell out 'Sailor Moon!' before walking into one of the classrooms. Kirika glanced around at the seats before sitting in the very center of the room. She opened up her laptop and made sure everything was working and installed. Suddenly, Kirika heard a gunshot right behind her. She ducked under the desk, faced her enemy, and reached for a gun...that wasn't there. She pulled out her ID card, ready to slit the poor sap's throat, and looked up. She saw a group of boys peering over the desk behind her. "Whoa whoa, lighten up, Sailor Moon," the blonde one said, "It was just a joke." "But I heard--" "This?" He held up a busted paper bag. "Uh..." Kirika stared at it for a few seconds, determining its lethality, then got back in her seat. "Sorry." "Hey, Sailor Moon," he grabbed her shoulder, which she jerked away, "Don't scare me like that. Hey, what's this?" He grabbed her card and stared at it. "My card. I would like it back." "I said it was a joke." "I don't appreciate it. Please don't do it again." "Fine, fine. Hey, nice card. Where'd you get it from?" "I used to go to school in Japan." "Oh, so *that* explains the sailor getup. You know people were staring at you for that." "Really." "Yeah. Tip number one: we don't wear uniforms in France." "I'll keep that in mind." Kirika snatched the card back and tucked it away. They were interrupted be a student clearing his throat at the front of the room. "Excuse me, since we only have a few minutes before the teacher comes in, I'd like to make a quick announcement." Everyone turned to face the tall blond guy wearing glasses, who to Kirika looked strangely like a Soldat. "As you may know, my name is Guy Sans-Visage..." **Guy without face?** Kirika thought, an image of a Knight of Paris flashing through her mind. "...And I'm throwing a back-to-school bash at my house, Wednesday at one p.m. Everyone is invited." He sat down mere seconds before the teacher walked in. A pudgy, dark skinned man walked in and introduced himself. "Bonjour, my name is Mister Beauregard...yes like the Confederate officer in America." Everyone looked at him stupidly. "From the American Civil War?" No one moved a muscle. "1865 to 1868? The Union versus the Confederacy?....Fine then, open up French History, Volume 1 and click on Chapter 1." ********************************************************************* Kirika's next class was Creative Writing. A tall, lanky woman wearing pointy glasses and a bun walked in and introduced herself. "Bonjour, my name is Ms. Bouffant and this is Creative Writing. Let's start by introducing yourselves. We'll go in order," she drew a line going up and down the rows with her finger, "When it's your turn I want you to stand up, tell me your name and three things about yourself." Kirika's spine turned cold. She frantically tried to think of three ordinary things to tell the class. The first student stood up. "Bonjour. My name is Antoine. I used to live in Champagne, I like horseback riding and solving Rubik's Cubes." He sat back down. The second student stood up. "Bonjour. My name's Marie. I like video games, I painted a nude portrait once," this earned snickers from her classmates, "And I broke my arm when I was ten." The third student stood up, then the fourth, and so on and so on, until it was finally Kirika's turn. She stood up and cleared her throat. "Bonjour. My name's Kirika and..uh..I used to live in Japan, I like cats...and I like looking out windows." One of the students raised his hand. "Um, is it true the Japanese eat only raw fish?" "Not only..." Another student raised her hand. "Does their music really sound crazy?" Another student. "And how do you eat with chopsticks?" "Do you pray to, like, different gods and stuff?" "Say something in Japanese!" Kirika tried to answer each question as soon as she could before she was regaled with another one. Soon their questions started blurring together and she just stood there, letting them ask away, not knowing how to answer them all at once. "Order!" The teacher rapped. "Order, all of you!" When the questions screeched to a halt she said, "Now I'm sure Miss Yuumura will be more than happy to answer those questions..." Kirika's spine got cold again. "In tonight's homework assignment." Kirika sat back down, no relief washing over her. She wondered just what kind of homework she'd have to do and how much of herself she'd have to reveal. The kids continued with their introductions. When they go done Bouffant announced, "And this is tonight's assignment. You are to write an essay on one thing you told the class. It's due in a week. Now I want you to form groups of four and brainstorm..." ********************************************************************* She just couldn't wait to get out of there; that had been the most nerve-racking hour of her life, even more so that when the doctor who treated her gunshot wound asked how she got it. Kirika looked at her card; a 30-minute break was next. She followed the others out to the quad and leaned against the wall, observing her classmates. "What'cha doing?" A voice asked beside her. She turned her head and saw the guy who announced the bash. "It's you. The faceless guy." "Sans-Visage, to be exact. So, how do you like it here?" "It's okay. It's a school." "But I bet it's much different than where you're from." "Kinda. We wore uniforms in Japan, and there were no breaks." "Japan, huh? I'd like to go there someday. I hear it's cool." "Cool?" "Yeah, you've lived there all your life, you know how awesome it is." "Yeah, awesome." Kirika looked down. "Hey, why the long face? Did I say something wrong?" She snapped her head back up. "Huh? No. I was just thinking." "About?" "...Stuff." "Oh, like secret stuff? Don't worry, I won't tell....So...are you coming to my party?" "No." "Ah, I'm hurt," Guy said in mock-outrage. "You should go. It'll be good for you." "How can you know what's good for me?" "You're new here, right?" "To this school." "And I'm guessing you haven't made many friends yet. Don't worry, I'll be your chaperone, introduce you to the coolest people. You'll be Miss Popular before you know it." "But I don't want to be Miss Popular." "Well at least you'll make a few friends." The bell rang. "Oh, break's up. Gotta go. What class do you have? I have Geology next." "Computer class." Kirika started walking away. "Hey, nice to meet you. What's your name?" "Yuumura." "Well then, Yuumura-san. My name's Guy. See ya around." He walked off in the opposite direction. ********************************************************************* Kirika sat in the back of the classroom, bored to tears. Computer class--more specifically, Learning Alternative Operating Systems--was uneventful, and now she was in English I, hearing nothing she didn't already know. She opened up a paint program and started doodling on the built-in pressure tablet. "Miss Yuumura," the teacher called out suddenly. Kirika's head jerked up. "Yes?" "Can you tell me what the proper structure for an English sentence is?" "Subject, then predicate. Part of speech are adjective, noun, then verb." "...Good." He went back to his lecture, and Kirika went back to her doodle. The rest of the class was uneventful, and Kirika devoted her time to doodling, stopping only to type down the homework assignment. When the bell rang, Kirika closed the paint program, stopping only long enough to note her doodle was horrendously grisly. ********************************************************************* Kirika ran out to the gym, ready to work out. Lunch had been a quiet affair for her, she had flown through her English homework and had almost finished with her Computer homework, and she was bored. She ran to the locker room, where she had stashed her gym clothes. She noted the absence of girls as she dressed in a tank top and shorts; Mireille had expressly forbidden her to wear her gym uniform to school. She ran out again and took her place in line well before the buzzer rang. She glanced sideways and saw...him. The prankster. "Sailor Moon!" He exclaimed. "What're you doing here?" "What are you doing here?" She asked back. The coach came out and clapped his hands. "Quiet down, ladies. Class has begun. Oh I see we have a girl in our presence." He looked straight at Kirika. "Don't expect me to go easy on you just 'cause you're a girl." "I don't." "Well then." He yelled to the class, "Twenty push-ups now! I don't mean the sissy ones, I want the real thing. Then give me twenty sit ups. Then twenty jumping jacks." After the warm up, the coach said, "Out on the track, ladies. I want you give me ten laps. Hussle, hussle. This includes you, girl," he added to Kirika. While Kirika ran on the track, the prankster from History caught up with her. "Aren't you tired yet? This is the fifth lap." "I've been through much worse," she said tersely. "What's a girl like you doing in a man's class." "So this is a man's class?" "Uh yeah. You might not have noticed, but you're the only girl here. You should be in something lighter, like aerobics. Tip number two: girls don't join men's classes." "I can take it." "Really? You wanna bet on that? Twenty euros says you can't keep up with me." "Sure, why not? I'll beat you." "What? Really?...Fine then, meet me here after school. I'll have an obstacle course set up." "Okay." "Weird girl," he said under his breath. Kirika didn't talk to him for the rest of the period, except at the end when he reminded her of the bet. ********************************************************************* "Mireille," Kirika typed in the instant messenger window. "Kirika. ^_^ Hey, what's up? Where are you?" "In study hall. I'm done with my homework....except..." "Except?" "We had to tell the class three things in Creative Writing and write an essay on one of them." "...What did you tell them?" "I lived in Japan, like cats, and like looking out windows." "And the problem is?" "There's nothing to write about." "Write on Japan. That'll be a nice long topic." "But what do I write about? I only remember being there for six months." "Write about the school system then. What were the teachers like? What did you have for lunch? Did you like your uniform?......Kirika?" "Sorry. I was taking notes. :)" "Mireille...what's a Sailor Moon? Someone called me that today." "Sailor Moon? It's an anime about a girl who dresses up in sailor garb and fights for love and justice. It's popular the world over." "Can you show me a picture of her?" "Sure, just a minute.......here it is: http://www.sailormoon.net/senshi/usagi.jpg" Kirika clicked on the link and looked at Sailor Moon. "Her uniform looks nothing like mine." "But it's still a sailor suit. The French aren't used to that. So how was the rest of your day?" "Well, this jerk who called me Sailor Moon challenged me to an obstacle course after school." "And..." "I took him up on it. I'll show him." "My you're full of fire today. Anything else?" "Yeah. Some guy named Guy Sans-Visage invited everyone to a party on Wednesday. I'm not going." "But you must." "Why?" "So you can make friends." "I did fine without going out in Japan." "And then look what happened." "Lack of parties did not cause my amnesia and you know it." "I'm just saying...^-^ We'll go shopping when you get back." "Hey Yuumura-san, what's up?" Guy asked as he sat beside Kirika. "I gotta go. Someone's here. Talk to you later." Kirika typed out before answering. "Messing around on the computer." "What's this?" He peered at her screen. "Sailor Moon. You into that?" "I wanted to find out who she is. Someone called me that earlier." "I bet it's Vache." "Vache?" "Yeah. Vache Guimauve. He's the class jokester. Makes all sorts of references, usually anime ones." "I think I met him." "So what kind of anime *do* you like?" "Um...I haven't watched much." "Quiet!" They heard the instructor tell them sternly. Guy dropped his voice to a whisper. "Let me point you to some good anime then. I'll IM you the links." He peered at her screen again. "Kiri-chan? That's your screen name?" "I forgot to close the window." "I don't mind. It's cute." Guy started typing on his laptop. A few seconds later, another IM window popped up. "Hi, it's Guy. I'm Faceless on the Net. So, here are the links I promised you..." ********************************************************************* Kirika walked to the track for the second time that day, to show up that guy. She stopped upon seeing practically the whole Gym class gathered around him. "Hey Sailor Moon!" He waved, "Over here!" "What's everybody doing here?" "Oh, them. I told them about our bet and they wanted to contribute to the pot. They wanted to pay to see you lose. Hey, it's not *my* fault." "The pot?" "Yeah. We all put in twenty euros each. That means if you win, you'll be one very rich woman. Then you can buy some odangos." Kirika made a flat face. "Let's go." "That's the spirit. Here's the deal. first there's the 100-meter dash, then hurdles, the long jump, then 5 pull-ups. The one who finishes first wins. So, are you ready?" He asked. They lined up on the start line. "Set...GO!" Kirika took off, with her challenger trailing close behind. They both finished the dash at the same time, Kirika breezed the hurdles and the long jump, then he caught up to her as she struggled to do pull-ups. Seeing him so close gave her the burst of strength she needed to do her fifth pull-up shortly before he did. She dropped and wiped the sweat from her forehead. He dropped shortly after. "Wow...I'm impressed. You beat me." "I told you I would." "Have you been training? Because you had me eating dust at the hurdles." "Yeah." He picked up a hat and handed it to her. "Here, all 580 euros. You deserve it. By the way, my name's Vache. Vache Guimauve. What's your name?" "Yuumura." "First name, or last name?" "Last." "Hey, this isn't Japan. No need to be so formal. What's your first name?" "Kirika. I have to go now." She walked toward the gate. "Hey Kirika." She turned around. "Huh?" "See you in class tomorrow." ********************************************************************* "Mireille," Kirika called when she walked in the door. "I'm home." "Finally. What's that?" She asked, pointing to the hat Kirika cradled. "I won it from Vache." Mireille gave Kirika a puzzled look. "The jerk who called me Sailor Moon. He changed his tune when I won." "Of course. They all do. So how much is in it?" "Five hundred and eighty euros." Mireille opened her mouth, closed it, then opened it again. "Wow...that'll buy a lot of clothes." "Mireille..." "Oh come on, it'll be fun. Look, I'll show you how to socialize when we get back." "All right, but we're eating at that sushi bar tonight." Mireille wrinkled her nose. "Eh...if you say so." Mireille bundled up Kirika's money and ushered her out the door to splurge for her party.
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