Hello, long time no see here!
Sorry for all those ones following my Shibuya & Dance fic, but the next chapter will delay even more as in this Spring I will have to apply for a university and read for entrance exams
. I've progressed somewhere a little more than half of the full chapter. Thank you for your support with the first fic! Your comments have been overwhlemingly flattering!
So meanwhile I have had ideas and concepts for two other MG related stories that are very lightly connected to each other. Meaning that my portrayals of Shibuya and Dance in "Our Life in Shards" are canon in this story and in the other one I also might be writing.
So without further ado, I introduce you to my new story. Originally I did not want to spoil you the pairing beforehand, but I changed my mind afterwards. It'll be probably Summer after all until I'll be able to focus on writing again, so perhaps having a small clue of what's this going to be about, will keep your interest up for longer.
Prologue - Are you my family?
Through window’s worn out sealant a tiny cool breeze squeezed in to tickle the nose tip of a brown curly haired girl. The coldness stang her face and she dug her way deeper underneath the mountainful of blankets. Then began alarm go off inside her mind. Hold on a minute! She had almost forgot that today may be the dawn of her most super-hyper-greatest-grandest-spectacular highlight of lifetime ever! A young lady of brunette kicked her blankets aside and shone all over the room her glorious wide smile as she recalled yesterday’s conversations with the staff of orphanage. She’d may be able to move away to find herself a real home, finally!
“Today I shall find my two sisters and this might just be the best Christmas ever! I don’t know if I’m still dreaming, it feels so unreal!”, Yuko said under her breath and squirmed in joy. The intrigued adolescent woman bounced out of her bed almost stumbling upon her clothes and stuff piles on the floor. Even though she did not own much property, the little humble chamber she shared with a few roommates was more like a tin can she could storm under an organized chaos in the matter of minutes.
Next she peeked through the window whose surface reflected a picture of s small girl with frizzy candy floss like hair from sleeping and little beaming cute white teeth under the upper lip. Breathing towards the glass made it smudgy by warm vapors so she rubbed it off with her sleeves once in a while. Outside there was a glimmering gentle blizzard and the people down below walking on snow coated asphalt had opened their umbrellas. Yuko admired this atmospheric and beautiful sea of colorful Christmas lights in horizon.
‘Oh perhaps it’s ‘bout time I packed up and prepared myself!’, reminded the tangled brunette herself and so began hunting intensively for her comb, wallet, ID card and such. Upon this very first reunion day, she decided not to take all of her belongings with her this as she could imagine having a half stranger orphan child behind your door could be quite a startling sight! The little Yuko with a squirrely like smile carried on being optimistic, however. Probably there must a have been a terrible error during the adoption, in which one of three sisters had been forgotten in the detention home alone. Likely the two long lost siblings are going to be as triumphant as she once they meet again!
‘I wonder what those two are doin’ nowadays? Maybe they are some kinda smarty geeks in a high class school unlike me… Will they have similar taste of humor as I do? And by the way I mustn’t forget their gifts or those of the three dummies either. Just wait up Yuki and Yuka, ur big sis comin’!’, all kinds of thought were bustling through her mind while picked up stuff and slang them into her rucksack. Within a moment she hurried to take a shower and then eating breakfast in a public hall. Many of the other drowsy youngsters were rather baffled by her excitement so Yuko decided to shed a light with them that she had been allowed pay a visit to her relatives! Some of them seemed a little envious of her lucky chance.
Lastly, to her closest friends in detention home, she bid them a proper farewell. One of them was girl named Kashiwagi Yuki or ‘Yukirin’ as Yuko and others were accustomed to nickname her. This introvert natured girl went to a different religious junior high school and usually could be caught reading new testament of bible along the corridors of orphanage. She had long sleek black hair, mostly wore dark toned clothing and a cross necklace. Despite the first impression seeming like a non-sociable person, Yuko had managed make friends with her by tagging along with her during various playing sessions over the childhood years. After spending more time getting to know her she turned out to be a polite and deep thinker who appreciates profound conversations.
“I hope we see again soon. I’ll be missing you”, gave Yuko a friendly patting on her friend’s back as she knew this might be the last proper time they’d see each other here. This day was the day that could change the tracks of her life, leading to a new and better path! Not for a single moment would she be longing back inside these dusty walls but maybe some people left behind would stay in corners of her mind.
“Likewise. Take care of yourself. I’m certain you will do fine”, Yukirin lightly hugged in reply and nodded encouragingly.
“Well, have a good luck then, but I am not promising you anything”, one of the older female managers appeared and stated in a skeptical tone. Her glare silently seemed to tell that inside her mind she must know about the most likely outcome of these type of moving attempts into foster homes. Yuko was about to take her leave carrying her packings and having her winter clothes on and quickly waved a goodbye to this woman.
‘I’m surely gonna find ‘em and then I shall say ”so long suckers” to the keepers of this building and to the laggy custody system of Japan!’ Yuko laughed off inside her mind not letting herself giving in the cynical attitudes of others. Now, nothing could make her determined steps turn back.
Outside temperature was just about fall below zero Celsius degrees but it felt like nothing underneath this warm coat compared to freezing inside the poorly heated detention home! On her way heading to the metro station, snowflakes got caught in her curls.
‘First I’ve gotta drive a few stops on that direction and then hop off to switch lines over there. Right here I should be able to find the apartment house where Yuka and Yuki live in.’ Yuko gave a brief glance over the huge metro map seen on the wall and then strolled towards gates where she showed her commuter card. This place was hella crowded! The habitants from all over Tokyo had to be swarming into warehouses for Christmas shopping! There was barely any space left in the arriving metro she tried push way in. After a few moments she found herself walking on a square where she detected glimpses of familiar faces.
‘You cannot mistake that very “fancy” looking clothing on that guy, or that chubby guy or especially this half-Yakuza like resemblance! ’, immediately did Yuko make out the three figures loitering nearby a park bench. And caught them blabbering about something manly men’s not so bright thoughts. Yuko smirked in amusement while watching them afar. She sneaked behind them reeeal slow until….!
“BOO! What’s up with mah lazyass idler bros?”, greeted the youngster girl in slang and pressed her hands on the shoulders of two older men.
“Woah damn, where did you come from?” escaped a high decibel crowing from a throat that belonged to a less tough guy like, metrosexualish male in his twenties. His name was Keitaro. His mid-brown hair had relatively fine cut and they reached to his ears and neck. He was the most ‘fashionate’ man of the group, but his attractiveness was spoiled by his exaggerating facial expressions, hyper active eyebrows and the girly like voice frequency.
“Yeah man, what took you so long? It’s so freakin’ goddamn cold out here and we’ve been waitin’ like an hour!”, groaned in frustration a less gentlemanly guy nicknamed ‘Scoundrel’ as Yuko and the two other guys thought it described his looks pretty well. With sharp facial details like those of yakuza criminal’s in an action movie, you wouldn’t want to get involved with him in a fight. His chin was covered in thick short bristles that were shaved in straight line and also you could see that his forehead had already started balding out of jet black hair.
“Well sorry, I had to find for you guys your promised Christmas presents I’ve chosen with effort before leavin’ for my new home to celebrate”, showed off Yuko with her rucksack.
“Oh so this is the day you’re ‘bout reunite with your sisters, aren’t ya? Congrats on my side sincerely”, this time gave a brotherly slap on Yuko’s shoulder this group’s so called ‘Gobbler’, a chubby man who had gained pounds over the high school years of shutting himself in as hikikomori. This fellow preferred to have his hair cut in buzz crop of couple of millimeters length. While he speaks he has a clear double chin.
“Thanks”, Yuko nodded and cheerfully put her other arm behind this man’s shoulder for a moment.
“ ‘Though ur now ‘bout to become a part of the better society, I hope you will pay us scamps a visit every now n’ then…” Scoundrel sat down in a bad posture and looked down to his knees looking wistful. He seemed slightly melancholic about her leaving even though he tried to cover it as if being upset. Were they truly afraid of losing Yuko now that she’d be moving away? When paying attention to their expression, she could sense a bit of yearning in their eyes. This all stung Yuko’s heart in a bit of moving way, since these men had truly been like foster brothers to her. It proved that they did care about her.
“Well though y’all can be quite nuisances, your great Yuko-sama will not leave you guys behind. You are still important friends to me” Yuko laid wrist on her chest as a gesture of seriousness and promise but maintained in her voice this ironical teasing tone throughout her speech. Three males rolled their eyes at this significantly younger miss arrogantly spoke of herself as though a empress she were. However, they were used to this and took it as a joke. Picking on each other was their way to show affection.
“Yeah, see ya later. We’re living now in a recently abandoned barrack hut which is after one more stop on the line used to arrive here. So far we’ve got electricity even though the construction site near by the bridge is no longer there”, Keitaro explained their new home location and in case handed over Yuko a map that poorly drawn with a trembling hand. Yuko struggled not to burst out into laughter by seeing it so she would rather just start walking away to the metro station already. It was time to continue on her journey!
“Alright, don’t you bone heads do anything stupid to be driven away from there!”, Yuko yelled between her mittens and let out a chuckle.
“ ’Course we won’t! And don’tcha do anythin’ that will make ur foster family drive ya back to detention home!” Scoundrel roared back to the girl in distance.
Wanted she admit it or not, seeing this certain male trio always painted a smile on her face. Throughout these a few years together, there had been many judgmental bypassers shooting suspecting glares at them whenever young girl Yuko would share brotherly hugs with some street thugs more than half older than she. When she went to elementary school, she had spent more time outside of orphanage out in the streets without anything better to do. But this young miss could swear palm against her heart most definitely knowing that none of the three would never ever in any circumstance hurt her or do anything sick.
On one day she had actually gained attention of a real child predator and then at that very moment Keitaro, without any hesitation, despite his weak looking cover, gave this disgusting critter a broken nose. Another time she had found Scoundrel lying asleep by a bus stop while some hoodie wearing guy attempted picking his pocket. However, this thief had no clue being caught red handed by a child so fast from her feet that she managed to trick him into stumbling upon an obstacle around a corner she created. Afterwards as a reward Scoundrel had given her a little money to buy something for herself.
This little girl had remained so persistent that she kept following these young male adults to their club base and would play different board and card games with them. Each one of this crew were such individuals that did not answer the expectations of Japanese society or those of their parents. Therefore they preferred hiding in shadows. The social care did not offer much support for them as they couldn’t continue in their paused high school studies. None of them owned very sharp intelligence but did not stop Yuko from befriending them. No matter what came in front of them, she wouldn’t exchange these guys for anything! They were her best friends, those she could rely on her weakest moments. The absence of their families connected them a unique way and they would help each other pull through the harshness of life.
Tension began to rise inside of Yuko’s chest as metro pulled to a halt loudly. Yuko was shaken off her memories and she approached to the exit. The mission of finding her sisters back was about to begin, starring our friendly neighborhood agent Oshima!
“It must be that one over there… Please gods, let them be home by now! But what the heck do I say to them? ’Howdy, I’m your long lost sister and I was thinkin’ I could move in here with you.’ Bleh, maybe I can come up with something naturally ”, sighed nervously Yuko with her heart somersaulting underneath. She walked back and forth on one spot to gather courage first before stepping onto the stairs taking to floor of her sisters’ home apartment. She let out silent excited gasps and rubbed her mittens against each other. Come on Yuko, you can do it! The stairs were slightly slippery due to the snow freezing on the surface but she could make her way through safely on the fourth floor. One more relieving of nerve gases out of her lungs and then she rang the doorbell.
“Umm hello, who are you? May I help you with something?” replied a low female voice behind the door gap. At first, Yuko froze stiff from nervousness that she ran out of words for a few seconds. It felt surprisingly difficult to explain this kind of big errand to a complete stranger!
“H-hey, the name is Oshima Yuko and I came to meet Yuki and Yuka… I reckon you must their foster mother, aren’t you? I actually happen to be their sister who was from a mistake left out of the adoption you did many years a-“
“I beg your pardon? No, to my knowledge, our daughters have no other siblings or relatives!” foster mother’s voice sounded shocked. She opened up the door more and had a better glance on the snow covered traveler carrying a rucksack. The both parties sparked awkward uncertainty at one another.
“Mom, who is there?” finally she could hear a voice whispering behind elderly lady’s back. She could make out a shadowy figure staring right at her with gleaming eyes from the hall way. She must be one of her sisters! She mustn’t give up yet and try to convince to this lady somehow!
“But it’s true! Eight years ago it was you who adopted my sisters but I was left alone in the orphanage. Would you kindly let me just have a few words with them?” I have been waiting for this occasion for a long time!” Yuko begged and bowed her head facing on the icy floor. She had surely not expected getting such cold reception to this extent.
“I am afraid to tell you that your address has to be wrong. Please, do leave my daughters alone!”, the woman said in a very menacing manner and was about to slam the door, which Yuko prevented.
“I can leave as soon as I’ve got to see them just for a moment!”, Yuko tried her hardest to appeal tears beginning to form in her eyes, but the foster mother did share a drop of sympathy on stranger girl. Then Yuko looked over the shoulders of the lady. Two familiar figures stood and exchanged curious but bewildered looks. For seconds Yuko could meet their eyes. She saw variety of similarities to her own looks and gestures in them. One of them pulled back her hair like she did. The other’s face had similar expressions as she did! Initially she sensed, as though, they were giving her welcoming signals. She would have rocketed to drown them in hugs if this human obstacle in between them had not been there.
After another moment of silence the other sister frowned in discomfort and began picking up her phone from a pocket.
“I wonder what that creep does want from us…?” uttered one of them rudely showing no longer any interest in the guest. Yuko hurt from trying to fight back her deep brown eyes getting damp. Her lips trembled in shock as if trying to protest, but she couldn’t say anything.
“Yeah look at her worn out clothes. Maybe our mom will soon send her away”, the other whispered in suspicion. Yuko had hardly heard the sentences yet they tore the heart of girl who had come afar into shards.
Did they not remember anything? Yuko very well could recall clearly a beautiful summer day where three kindergartener girls ran around a playground. They happily laughed until the sun rose on the heart-breaking day they were separated, while leaves were falling down. Had they not once longed for her? For the first time they met after all these years, they just turned their backs on her. No hugs, no telling about the highlights having happened in their lives, no questions. Lastly she turned her crying face towards the lady.
“Well, I think it has become quite clear that neither Yuki nor Yuka want to have anything to do with a street raised child like you. Be kind and return to wherever you came from”, shoved the foster mom Yuko away and slammed the door loudly. Yuko still insisted to knock on the door one more time.
“I beg of you, let’s us talk things straight. This must be all part of misconception.”
“Let this be your last disturbance or else I will call the police!” on this turn called out a pissed off male voice. Yuko was strongly startled and stepped back. The young girl who had been, less than 30 minutes ago, full on positivity and excitement at her greatest, was now suppressed into despair. Along her cold cheeks were streaming all of her dreams. With her wide eyes she still looked back and would seem to notice the door being open some tens of meters away. Yuki and Yuka cautiously stood behind it. Perhaps she got another chance? When she just about to turn back, they ran away indoors with door rustling.
Then snuck in the most depressing thought into her mind: Maybe they did know about her, but they just did not care to miss after her. Too many years apart had quaked a trench between Yuko and them. They were living wholly different life than her about which she could only dream of. They had been grown in an environment entirely unlike hers, full of opportunities. Yuko was merely a second class citizen, at which Yuki and Yuka were taught to look down their noses.
Having descended the stairway she earlier had used, she dug up something from her ruck sack. She picked her only memory of her sisters, the object that had held her so long in the web of lies. Her eyes painfully rained little ponds over the smiling toddler sisters in a photo. With wavering hands she glared at it intensively. Until eventually… she crushed it inside her palm and tossed it like an anchor to the sea of snow.
“Okay, not by force then! I guess I had too high expectations to have you at least as my friends. Just for the kicks’ sake I came to disturb your lives” Yuko’s ice cold misery burst out into flames of frustration “It’s nothing like I wanted my beloved sisters back or anything. If you don’t care, then neither do I. Not like your absence ever bothered me anyhow.”
A little while later she slightly regretted of spatting those words out loud. Some random stranger in confusion had caught her of sudden eruption of feelings. Yuko did not stay to see their reactions. She ran through the heavy blizzard without caring what would arrive in front of her. She wanted to forget everything that just happened. To erase other options from her mind, that things could be differently. The fact that she could have had it all…
A family.
***
Her eyes fixated on the ground, her pale face faded out of colors and clothes stuck with the white covering Yuko plodded along a sidewalk in Tokyo suburbia. Her selective gaze got attached to by passing families with children. Siblings that played together enthusiastically, threw snow balls at each other, built snowmen or just had little squabbles. For a moment she imagined herself there with Yuki and Yuka running through the snowy park. They joyfully hurried up a slope and slided it down squirms echoing. Next they made their own castle of snow after which they were called out by their parents to return home and drink warm tea. All these “what if” thoughts made Yuko’s stomach curl up in a knot. She turned away from the park so that the inner unwellness wouldn’t take the better of her. For most of the children out there living a carefree life like that was taken for granted.
‘Why can’t I ever become stronger? This childish weeping will never help me get a family, no matter how hard I wanted…’
This 12 year old orphan girl had come to a point her life where she no longer really did remember much of real parents. Probably the only thing ingrained into her memories is a certain lullaby used to be sung by her mother. Both mom and dad’s face were curtained by deep fog of forgetfulness. She could barely recall any occasion in which a safe adult would have taken her to comforting embrace if she had a bad day. In detention home they taught you can only thrive with cold stubbornness and strong instincts of survival. To be brutal honest, when Yuko pondered long enough, she neither did have a simple memory of anyone saying ‘I love you’ to her.
New friends came in and fell out, but she had still tried to maintain a positive attitude towards new people she met. Smiles that were returned to her after hard work were better than nothing at all. Those kept her from falling apart. Positivity was her strength. She kept repeating to herself that only and only she can get a better life if she kept fighting for it.
Soon she noted to have walked a long way in the midst of a silent and poor neighborhood. Somewhere in the distance a dog’s barking was audible. In the vision of snow covered girl there were a row of a few low height block of flats being surrounded by sheet-concrete slums. Then she remembered to have stored something in her jacket pocket. She dug up the sketchy map of the area she was currently standing on. The thin snow layer crunched underneath her toes already about to freeze as she only wore a pair of sneakers. She carefully sieved through the area and was able to recognize the barrack huts she sought for in far away distance. Familiar voices approached her. She could hear noises of laughter behind the gray wall. She decided to have a peek through a crack of door that wasn’t locked with cautious hopefulness.
Three men gathered around a table stared dumbfounded at the unexpected visitor.
“Darn it Yuko! What da hell are ya doin’ here with us ordinary folks? Aren’t ya supposed to be with ur new family?”, Scoundrel retorted in surprise and leaned on the table. This kind of question was to be expected but yet it drew her throat dry out of words. For a moment she merely stood pondering for a plausible answer while her feet trembled.
“Yeah I should be, b-but… they just… d-didn’t… want me around. I’ll never be part of their family. I guess. They told me…”, Yuko’s voice broke fully and she couldn’t control anymore the outbreak of tears from her lacrimal ducts. She covered her face under her mittens in embarrassment of how she had already dared to fuss about ‘the big day’ earlier. All had turned against her expectations. Maybe it was for the best to return back to the detention home to calm down rather than spoil a fun evening of brothers.
Suddenly, the one described to be the least emotionally supportive of the three men stood up with a serious face and approached the girl in the middle of breakdown. He put palm on her shoulder and said reassuringly, “I know we three ain’t nothing but a bunch of dumbasses, but to me you’ve always been one of us, ya know? Don’t cha agree guys?”
“Good sauce, come and hav-“, tried Gobbler shout in the middle.
“You moron!” Keitaro punched the bare head of Gobbler who had his mouth stuffed and continued after Scoundrel,” I also think you’re a good bro.”
Then out of blue the girl’s face gained a whole new spirit as she almost couldn’t believe her ears.
“ We sure can’t replace yo’ real family, but you’re still like our own lil’ sister”, Scoundrel told her in wistful tone, but his expression was convincing and comforting.
“Yeah man! You don’t at least need to worry on ur own. Come and get yourself a nice portion wok and sauce! If the world is treating you like crap then let us rather sulk together”, the Gobbler and pointed the last unseated chair reserved for her.
”You guys”, Yuko’s heart was about to burst from the delightful glad sensation. Her cold tears warmed up instant as her mind by degrees reached to more cheerful than before. Every single sentence they let out of their mouths was so beautiful she couldn’t prevent her squirrely smile climb up to her face. She scampered through the small room to hug each of her bros. Then she joined them in the table digging up a large portion of the food they had cooked and began wolfing it down with a content expression.
“What r ya still weeping about Yuko?” Gobbler poked at the younger one in a teasing tone as he had noticed something wet still running down her cheeks.
“Nothing really, it’s just the spiciness!”, Yuko quickly invented a lie to make the other one pipe down. There is no way she would let herself act way too soft in front the bros for too long!
“This food ain’t seen nothing like spicy at all!” the dummy Gobbler protested while smirking. It was all true that this time around the dish had a lot less the taste of chili pepper.
“Shut up the **** up and focus on stuffing your own mouth idiot!” Yuko grumbled and waved her wrist all as a part of joke.
“Now you’re behavin’ like yo’self again!” Scoundrel grinned and took a sip of his beer.
For once she felt herself home. The old way of razzing one another escalated through the cozy night they were going to spend while playing card games that Yuko already mastered as well as her elder competitors. In the end she wouldn’t have needed to seek for her family so far and wide in Tokyo. She had it all along right there and then. If only had she realized sooner… These three most precious mangy fellows were the brothers she had long longed for. Sole ones Oshima Yuko needed by her side to be happy.
‘They are my family.’
----
Does anybody else remember the guys who would always hang out with Yuko in the hospital in MG 1 ? (: This is basically my headcanon how they met and all, except the one guy wearing glasses who was actually hospitalized himself. Also I have a feeling that Yuko lied to everyone in Rappappa having her grandma visiting every now and then just not make her friends worry about her too much. Even Yuki and Yuka in the season 2 admitted not being in good terms with Yuko, which could be due to an incident similar like this. Maybe they afterwards later on tried to contact Yuko again, but she refused. Although I again started off again with sad storytelling, I will surely be showing you the more well-known happy and perverted Yuko also.
And I'm afraid to be letting down some of you popular pairing fans, but this fic won't be about KojiYuu.In case you're still wondering who the heck those three men were, I have photos of them here:
Scoundrel
Keitaro
Gobbler
Topic: Majisuka Gakuen // Identates Confractae// Prologue (GekiYuko/YukoRena) (Read 3049 times)