The Phoenix Saga Part II: Phoenix Ascendant

Chapter One Hundred and Thirty-Four: Senior Year

"Gods, I've missed you!" Ranko giggled brightly, squeezing her friend tight as she spun her around in an excited hug, Kumiko's feet flailing in the air behind her.

Kumiko blushed as she was returned to her feet, smoothing her red school pinafore. "I've missed you too, Ran-chan! What have you been up to? Wedding stuff? You've gotta tell me everything!"

"Ey, Ranko! See you at practice Thursday!" Yori waved enthusiastically as she strode to her first period class. "Repeat All-Tokyo Invitational champs, here we come!"

Ranko smiled, tucking a wisp of flame-red hair behind her ear. She remembered tiptoeing down this same vocational high school corridor on the first day of school a year ago, feeling utterly alone. She'd half-expected a dragon, a lecher, or maybe even a lecherous dragon to be lurking behind every locker and classroom door. She'd stared with sadness and jealousy as everyone else reunited with their friends after the school break, and felt as if she would forever be an alien presence on the outside looking into their world. But now, she felt like she belonged. People were excited to see her, and she had people she was excited to see.

I am wanted, I have worth, and I have people who care about me. And it feels fucking great.

"Let me see your schedule!" Kumiko pulled out a yellow slip of folded paper. "I've got art first period, then English and Japanese, lunch, science, precalculus, and home skills. You?"

Ranko handed over her own schedule with a blushing smile. "Looks like we're gonna have English, science, and math together! Cool!"

She was a little bummed Akane had talked her out of taking another year of home skills, especially now that she knew she could have taken it alongside Kumiko. The soon-to-be-wed senior had pleaded with Akane. I've got so much catching up to do on this whole learning how to girl thing. I need the practice, she'd argued, but Akane had put her foot down and insisted Ranko use both of her senior electives on things she was actually passionate about for herself. "There's nothing you need to know about cooking that your mom can't teach you, and nothing about sewing Izumi can't, if you really want to know," Ranko's future wife had argued, and she had won.

Kumiko looked up from Ranko's schedule sheet with a skeptical smirk. "Music and dance classes? Really? Couldn't you like, teach those? Talk about bird courses."

Ranko blushed further; she had known her friend would call her out for her choice of electives. Well, I am a Phoenix, after all!" She laughed softly. "And, like, I can't actually read notes and stuff, and that seems like it might be useful in my career choice, ya know? As for dance, they said they had to take an athletics class to graduate, and I wanted something easy. Besides, volleyball's Akane's thing, and gymnastics... no." Last thing I need is to end up in a competition against Kodachi or anyone she trained with her dirty tricks. No thanks.

"I have to suffer through two math classes to graduate this year, Kumi. If they'd have offered Advanced Napping, I'd have signed up."

Kumiko giggled. "I took that last year! They just called it geography."

"Have you picked an extracurricular club yet," Ranko asked, nudging her gently with her elbow.

The bespectacled girl shrugged. "Probably just gonna do manga club again, I guess. It's pretty chill."

Waving to Aoi as she passed, Ranko scoffed at her suggestion. "Didn't you say you were super bored there last year?"

Her brunette friend nodded, a little sadly. For a girl who aspired to draw manga for a living, her fellow club members were far too casual and did not have much to offer her at all. "Yeah. Nobody there's as into it as me, so it kinda feels like I'm talking to myself, ya know? But what else am I gonna do? I'm not into most of the other interest clubs, and the athletics clubs don't want me."