SO.. will basically be me trying to building up the characters in that short so it's very self-indulgent.. it'll also probably be sakura/katsuzetsu centric because their dynamic really intrigued me :P i'm actually more of an artist than a writer so there'll probably be many points where i'll try to make up for my storytelling skills with artwork weeps
i'm not super familiar with formatting & what not so please forgive how plain this looks LOL..
PROLOGUE
Despite nearing what should be the final hours of daylight, the sun in a certain Kagoshima neighbourhood was still shining strong upon the inhabitants of the prefecture. The air was humid, its warmth feeling pleasant to the skin. Children were still out and about, tripping over pebbles and crying out to any parental figures who had been supposed to be supervising them. Sakura-jima was still in clear sight, minding its own business and thankfully showing no signs of an upcoming major eruption anytime soon.
“Mom, it’s for the best, really…”
A young girl had been comforting a crying lady at a doorstep, while one final box was thrown into a nearby moving truck. The air was still warm and children were still playing, but neither of them seemed to pay any mind to those facts.
“Sakura...” the woman sobbed into her daughter’s arms, “You’re so young. You shouldn’t have to be going through this.”
“And you shouldn’t have to overwork yourself in order to provide for the both of us.” The daughter replied, in an attempt to reassure her. “If I leave, it’ll be much easier for you.”
“I know, I know…”
“So, please don’t worry. I can take care of myself.”
“I know, that’s not what I’m worried about…” The lady wiped her eyes, looking up as the driver was motioning for his departure. Her daughter was to be on a train to Fukuoka in less than ten minutes. The station was a twenty minute walk by foot, but how she got there was the least of her worries. Her eyes fell to Sakura’s fists, which were gripping her arms tenderly. Contrary to their roughed up appearance, their touch was far from unfriendly.
As Sakura gave one final nod and turned away, her mom lightly latched onto her wrist.
“Just control yourself, okay?” She said.
Sakura took a deep breath.
“I’ll be fine.”
---
A crowd had been forming outside of a local convenience store, full of concerned employees, teenagers with cell phones ready to record and the like. They were surrounding what seemed to be a riot of high school girls scrambling to reach the center of the whole mess, only to be thrown back out. A nearby old man nearly had a heart attack when a bloodied tooth came from the chaos, falling right in front of his dog who was on a morning walk. The man stopped momentarily in order to see what the fuss was about, but upon hearing the string of profanities and the sight of his dog sniffing the aforementioned molar, he quickly left the scene.
“Ah, geez...” A young, short-statured girl groaned as she pounded at the face of yet another high school delinquent. “This is so annoying, really!”
Her only present companion, who happened to be another young, short-statured girl, nodded her head. “Damned yankees can’t even pick a good time to fight. It’s too early!” She whined, kicking another delinquent down with one swing.
Soon enough, the two of them, relatively unscaffed, were standing above a pile of struggling, almost limp bodies. One rubbed her eyes, letting out a child-like yawn. The other dusted off her jacket, grinning at the face of a girl who was being squashed beneath her foot.
“I didn’t really catch any of your names… but don’t tell me, ‘cause I’ll forget anyways.” The girl donning a red jacket laughed, stepping over them and making her way out of the crowd. “I’m Namaiki, though!”
The one in black followed suit. “Otona. If you guys are gonna bother us again, try later in the day.”
“Uh, excuse me.” A voice came from outside the crowd.
Namaiki raised an eyebrow, shooting a glare towards the girl who had interrupted their little triumph. They were wearing a gray sailor uniform, not unlike the one that a certain commercial’s girl high school issued. “Eh?!”
Otona was quick to form a proper reply. “Woah, you… you go to—”
Relieved to hear that the two of them knew of the location she was going to, Sakura Miyawaki bowed her head slightly in response. She had never visited this part of the city when her and her mom had come down for the occasion of visiting a family friend, so any kind of help would be appreciated. “Shekarashika? Yes. I just transferred there, actually.”
For a moment, the two middle school girls seemed to be dumbfounded. In the next moment, they appeared to be revelling in something. In the next, the two of them had their mouths fall open, letting out two youthful squeals.
“That’s so cool! That is so cool!” Namaiki jumped in place, ponytail bobbing up and down in excitement.
Otona was no less thrilled. “Oh, man… I heard Oshiri and Kakuni go there!”
“Don’t forget Bouyomi and Megaphone!” Namaiki added quickly, before the two of them looked at each other and seemed to come to another revelation.
“AND KATSUZETSU!” They screamed in unison. “Ah… we wanna go there so bad…”
Sakura, both looking and feeling completely lost, raised an eyebrow. She didn’t understand why these two troublemakers were so excited upon finding out what school she went to, and especially not what the significance of those names where. However, she wasn’t oblivious to the point where she had no idea she’d been transferred to a school full of delinquents, so it didn’t take long to put two and two together.
“Katsuzetsu?” She interrupted them. “Who’s that?”
The two of them looked at her as if she just kicked their dogs.
“You’re transferring to a yankee school and you don’t know who Katsuzetsu is?!” Otona cried, face palming herself. “You must seriously be new. Like, seriously.”
Namaiki was slightly more forgiving to her ignorance. “She’s only the strongest yankee in the area. She’s only a first year too! Isn’t that so cool?! Like, seriously cool!?”
“I see…” Sakura quietly indulged in their knowledge, nodding as she caught a glimpse of a nearby clock. “Um, could you guys show me where the building is? I’m lost.”
“Sure!” They said. They ran past her at top speed, having forgotten that they were supposed to be on their way to their own school at the moment.