“By the passages of the day,

You know I will always be behind you,

So go forward and far away,

And as you strive onward,

Please remember the day,

The day we fell into each other’s hearts.”

Honey-coloured eyes opened to look upon a white ceiling, a blank canvas. The pupils shifted to the right, eyes seeing the blinking LCD clock by the bed. Both the bed and the occupant groaned as the occupant moved, slamming her fist against the clock. Immediately, the LCD blinked back to normal. The eyes went from lethargy to panic.

9: 57AM

Outside, the serenity of the neighbourhood was broken by the cry of a female voice:

“SEEEEHHHH!!”

A Symphony of the Heart

Volume 1: When Life Deals You A Hand…

Hopping on one foot, a girl desperately tried to eat breakfast, put on her stubborn school shoe and run at the same time. She managed to make it across the large green lawn of the academy before falling onto the floor with a loud thud. Groaning, the sound muffled by the bagel in her mouth, she managed to slip on the shoe. She then grabbed her school equipment, stood up and ran across the large football field, waving to the groundskeeper as she went who smiled and waved genially in return. Finally, the schoolgirl made it to the large hall, running inside and stuffing the rest of the bagel in her mouth. She skidded to a halt as she saw her homeroom, hearing the teacher inside calling out names. She was only up to the U surnames, so wiping the back of her hand and fixing up her uniform, the school girl peeked her head in.

“Nice to see you’re out of bed Wakayabashi,” came the stern, solemn voice of her homeroom teacher, who turned to her with a look which was just as stern.

The girl laughed and walked inside, her humiliation by the teacher earning her sniggers from all of the students in the room. Bowing to the teacher and mumbling her apologies, she turned to the room and walked to her desk, sitting down as the teacher continued marking off the names.

“Wakayabashi Minoru,” she finally said.

“Hai,” replied the girl – Minoru – meekly.

“Louder, Wakayabashi. We don’t want to mark you as absent now do we,” said the teacher.

Once again, the girls laughed as Minoru replied with an affirmative, her head sinking down as she could feel her face going red.

“Okay girls,” announced the homeroom teacher. “The announcements for today: families are coming over to the academy.” The teacher signalled for Minoru to come up, probably as punishment for being late. As Minoru came up, she handed Minoru a bundle of papers to hand out to the class and continued talking as Minoru made the trip to each student’s desk: “I expect you to hand these sheets back by next Saturday, so that’s one week from now, in order to verify whether or not your families are coming. All the details are in there so I’m not even going to bother telling you about it.” As Minoru gave it to the last student, she walked back to the front to hand the excess sheets to the teacher. As the teacher grabbed them, she continued: “There’s also a bake sale in a few weeks during the family gatherings and we’re all expecting the best cooks to make some delicacies for the rest of the student body and the visiting families.” She shoved another bundle of paper in Minoru’s face before she could make an escape and once again Minoru made her rounds. “These sheets are for you to tell me that you are either participating or not. Give them back to me the same day as the other sheets.” After handing out the other sheets, Minoru walked to the front to hand the excess back to the teacher, oblivious to the foot that suddenly struck out from beneath her.

With a crash, Minoru was sent tumbling to the ground at the teacher’s feet, the sheets flying here and there.

“Seh…” said Minoru quietly. Her eyes then widened as she saw she was at the feet of her homeroom teacher. Looking up, her teacher glared down at her, her stern expression now angry. “Go-gomen sensei…”

My name is Minoru Wakayabashi. I’m in my final year at the Women’s School of the Sacred Heart, a prestigious academy where girls are taught to be women of etiquette in society, among the normal curriculum. Despite being from a relatively rich family, my parents refuse to pay for my tuition personally, so I have to get by on a job at a local café and my trust fund given to me by my late mother. I’m normally very good at keeping afloat of things, but as of recently, things have been getting pretty difficult. This is made worse because of the incident this morning… Well, they say when life gives you a hand, all you can do is play it or fold… But I’m not a folder…

Although sometimes I wish I was…

Minoru stood in the office, holding the phone to her ear with both hands, one hand twisting the cord apprehensively around her left index finger as she listened to the harsh tone of the woman on the other end. The office ladies watched sympathetically from afar, but did nothing to stop the audible assault coming from the other end.

“Minoru,” said the voice on the other end of the phone – Minoru’s stepmother Oshiro Midori. “You’ve taken more money out of the bank once again! How many times do I have to tell you to inform me first!? I am not responsible for any financial difficulty you face! You are the one that chose this life!”

“But I –“

“Don’t you talk back to me,” interrupted the woman, her voice as cutting as a sharpened katana. “Your father and I are restricting your account. You are only to take out a maximum of 1500 yen a week. We’ve told the bank, so don’t you dare try to weasel your way out of this.” With that, there was a sharp click of the phone followed by an engagement tone. Minoru stood in front of the office, putting the phone back on the receiver. The office women exchanged glances, one approaching the girl.

“Are you ok?” she asked.

Minoru forced a smile. “I’m fine!” she replied. “I should get back to class, hm? Thanks for your concern.” Minoru then turned around and headed back to class. When she reached class, she wasn’t surprised to hear the school bell ring for the next one. She was surprised, however, to find an attractive student walking towards her with a bag.

“Ohaiyou Kin-san…” trailed Minoru, grabbing her bag as the girl shoved it in her face.

“Hey Minoru-chan,” greeted the girl – Kin – as she sidled alongside Minoru, both having the same class in the next period.

“You seem… happy.”

“Of course I am!” she chirped, flicking back her long, chestnut-dyed hair as she gave Minoru a smile. Minoru noticed the large, gleaming pendant around her neck and instantly knew this was one of Kin’s sessions. Minoru forced a smile in return as she complied with her friend’s wishes.

“Why are you happy?” asked Minoru, staring forward.

“Well,” began Kin, her voice tinted with excitement. “Touchan bought me this beautiful pendant. It’s gorgeous! He said he went to the original Tiffany’s and had it handmade just for me!! It even has my name on the back of it!”

“Sounds… wonderful,” said Minoru, keeping the happiness in her voice and hoping that they would reach their next class soon.

Minoru sighed, walking out of the bus. Many people pushed by her, jostling the girl around her. Minoru paid them no mind; they probably had a more hectic schedule in life. After all, she was just an unemployed and soon-to-be financially impoverished girl.

Well…

Minoru looked down at her dress; she wore a Wa Lolita’s uniform for the work she was now attending. Her top consisted of the traditional kimono top, with long, sprawling sleeves. However, at her waist, the kimono split into two down the sides, going into the more Loli-styled skirt with a petticoat included to add that extra “oomph”, according to the manager of the store, an okama by the name of Gaea. She sighed, seeing the sign of the restaurant up ahead, a local, well-known cosplay restaurant downtown:

Sugar Plum and Chocolate Pie

Here we go… she thought, reaching the front door. As she grabbed the handle of the door, her ascent inside was interrupted, as the door seemed to jerk open on its own accord. Falling forward, four hands caught her, two on her right, two on her left. Immediately they pulled her up, revealing two identical smiling faces.

“NEE-CHAAAAN!” they said in unison.

Minoru opened her mouth and then shut it, smiling.

“Konbanwa!” she greeted.

Minoru set about taking orders from the customers. She kept a smile on her face, a rule that Gaea had enforced many a time with his… er… her employees.

“Welcome, may I take your order?” asked Minoru.

Before her sat two men, both wearing suits as they laidback against the chairs, talking in quiet, deep voices to one another. Their ties loose and their expressions conveying disinterest, it made Minoru slightly anxious. They were twins, or so that was what Minoru believed. Their faces were almost identical. However, Minoru noticed that as she had come to the table, one looked up at her with a slightly interested, languid expression.

“Two number eights please,” he replied, reaching over and flicking behind her ear. Despite the laidback expression and the blasé position of his body, his movements were so fluid and smooth as, in a seeming feat of magic, he held a rose in his hand, which he gave to Minoru, a smile crossing his languorous features.

Minoru smiled, taking the rose and bowing. “Coming right up,” she replied. As she left, placing the order on the counter, she took a moment to gaze at the rose and then at the two customers. One of them seemed so familiar…

Meanwhile, back at the table where the twins were currently residing, the one who had not talked looked to the other one, who stared back, the lazy expression still on his face.

“Did you really have to do that?” he asked, his voice sounding irritated.

The other man’s smile reappeared. “Is Aki-tan jealous?” he asked.

Aki scoffed, turning away. “Kichiro, stop being an imbecile,” he commented.

“Oh look,” said Kichiro, looking over to the front. “Here come our orders.”

Aki looked over, seeing as two young twins came over, each carrying their orders. As they reached the table, they swooped the plates down in an elaborate manner, amusing Kichiro and making Aki wonder how they did that without dropping the food.

“Your food obaachamas,” they said in unison, grinning at the two customers.

“Thankyou!” thanked Kichiro, whilst Aki turned away, looking out one of the many windows. As the two twins left, Aki looked over to where they walked away. He could hear Kichiro chuckle.

“What?” asked Aki, looking annoyed.

“You like ‘em,” he said, grinning once more.

Aki growled, kicking Kichiro from under the table and causing the other man to grunt in pain.

“Like that?” spat Aki.

Kichiro chuckled under his breath.

Minoru exited her workplace, bidding farewell to her boss and her two “little brothers”. As she walked to the bus stop, she sighed, looking up at the night sky. It brought a nostalgic feeling to Minoru, a beautiful smile, a welcoming voice and a feeling of love and safety underneath falling brown leaves. Minoru closed her eyes, feeling a breeze pick up as she let the nostalgia and the clips of memory flow. However, as she continued to walk she was not aware of a little figure in front of her until…

BANG!

“Itai…” said both Minoru and the person she had collided with. As Minoru looked up she saw a teenager staring at her.

“Gomen,” she said, standing up and giving out her hand. “I didn’t know where I was going.”

“Its okay!” cried the boy, grinning up at Minoru and grabbing her hand.

As she pulled him up, she realised they were approximately the same height. He was only slightly taller than her. Minoru smiled at him. She wondered if he was a friend with the twins she worked with. He looked about that age, though acted slightly more like a middle-schooler.

“Wow, you look like a magical girl!” he exclaimed suddenly, looking to her dress with an enthralled look on his face.

Minoru opened her mouth in surprise, but shut it as he interrupted her.

“Gotta go!” he exclaimed, sidestepping and walking backwards as Minoru turned to look at him. He waved his hand high in the air. “Ja ne Majokko!!”

“Ma… jokko?” questioned Minoru to herself as he disappeared down the street. She then looked down at her costume. Realising the boy was right, she sighed.

Minoru dragged her dead weight through the doorway of the resident hall and into her dormitory, now dressed in her school uniform once more. In her dorm room, she shed her uniform and donned comfortable home wear, which usually consisted of a pair of tracksuit pants and a cotton T-shirt.

Changed, Minoru walked to the recreation room, made herself a cup of coffee and, returning to her dorm room, sat down on her bed, opening a textbook as she read through her schoolwork for the day. The other girls in her dorm had yet to return, leaving her time to work on her schoolwork in peace.

As she opened her textbook for Mathematics, looking through the Calculus problems for the day, she heard the door to her dormitory open. A few minutes later the Resident Assistant came into her room.

“Ah, Wakayabashi!” she said, smiling politely at Minoru.

Minoru smiled in return upon seeing her. “How are you Kuniyoshi-san?”

A smart but demure girl, the RA of the residential hall was all the qualities of the perfect daughter: intelligent, hardworking and top in whatever she put her mind to. In terms of Kuniyoshi Miu, the Resident Assistant of Minoru’s residential hall, it was being a leader.

“I’m ok,” she replied. “I was just wondering – would it be a problem if you went shopping for the dormitory recreation room?” She looked genuinely apologetic. “I would do it, but I’m needed at the Student Council meeting.”

Minoru smiled. “It’s no problem at all Kuniyoshi-san. I’ll get to it tomorrow.”

The RA smiled towards Minoru, gave a small bow and exited. Minoru gave a quiet sigh and got back to work.