Fire Emblem: High School Years (High School AU) - Sophomore Year

Practice Makes Perfect

Anna

"Onamae wa?"

"Watashi wa Anna desu. Dozoyoroshiku. Onamae wa?"

"Say'ri desu. Dozoyoroshiku onigashimasu."

"Nansaidesuka?"

"Juu rokussai desu. Nansaidesuka?"

"Ah! Watashi mo."

"Doko ni sundeimasuka?"

"Archanea no Ylisse ni sundeimasuka."

"Ah, Anna-chan, you must remove ka at the end!" Say'ri giggled.

I reflected back on my words, heat flushing to my face as I realized my mistake. "Oh! I'm so sorry!" I scratched the back of my head. "Archanea no Ylisse ni sundeimasu."

"Much better. Don't beat yourself too much over this. For only five months of learning, your Chon'sinese is quite impressive!" Say'ri tried to comfort me, putting a hand on my shoulder. In these five months, the Chon'sinese transfer student and I have become really close friends. At first, I thought it weird for a student native to the country we were learning the language of to be placed in this class. But, I soon learned that she chose to be in this class so she could help the first year Chon'sinese students learn the language in conversational ways. 

Plus, she was a godsend to me and probably the reason I was passing this class.

Even though we were close friends, I always felt extra embarrassed whenever I messed something up when practicing with her. "Easy for you to say! You sound like you've been speaking Archanean forever! You hardly make any mistakes!"

She laughed silently, fidgeting with the pendant she always wore around her neck. "That's because I have been speaking it forever! My parents are very prominent business people and had to learn many different languages in order to communicate with people. They brought this practice upon my brother and me."

She had explained this to me multiple times, but it never seemed to sink into me. "Well, I suck at this so I'll never be able to speak it properly." I collapsed on the table, tears threatening to spill from my eyes.

I felt Say'ri wrap a comforting arm around me. "Dry those tears, Anna-chan. You're doing wonderfully well!" She rested her head on mine. I had also learned that the people in Chon'sin aren't the most affectionate type (not in a bad way, just not as much as Archaeans and the like). At first, Say'ri was confused by this. But, she soon came to embrace it full-force. A small part of me even wondered if she started being physically affectionate because she was touch-starved. In any case, I never minded.

I sighed, leaning against her. "Thank you, Say'ri." I closed my eyes, allowing her comforting scent of matcha and roses to comfort me. However, something still plagued me. "Hey, so I know that you add suffixes after everyone's names, but why do you use 'chan' for me? I know it's common among friends, but..."

"Well... Back at home, my close friends and I would use chan for each other's names. It was not uncommon," she explained. "I consider you a very close friend of mine, so I gave you the most endearing name I could. Is that all right? Shall I change it?"

I smiled, leaning more closely to her. "No, I like it. Thank you."

"I am very glad...Anna-chan."

I giggled. I'm so glad that she can confide in me and see me as a great friend. I know she covers it up very well, but I know that there is some deep turmoil brewing within her. I won't push or pry it out of her, but I can only hope she can get whatever help she needs. And if she needs a friend to be there for her, I'll always be here for her.

*****

My Japanese exam is this week halp. In all honesty, I'm actually pretty good with the language. ...As you can see with the BS I just wrote. XD I'm too lazy to translate it. Y'all can try your best and learn something new. Yee. Another note, not only is my Japanese exam this week, but exam prep for my other classes start. Finding writing time may be kinda tough, but I'll try my best. Plus, my actual exams are next week (send help). Thank you so much for reading and look forward to reading more!

PS: the first draft title of this chapter was "i'm a weeb help". I DIDN'T WANT TO TAKE SPANISH OR FRENCH, OK?