8. Timeskip
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGGGGG
My arm emerged from under the blankets and searched for the alarm clock on my bedside table. I pressed the button, then I dragged myself up from the bed.
It was morning, I get it. But does this alarm clock have to ring like the apocalypse every day? I stretched, yawned, and tried not to fall back asleep.
I walked towards the mirror--my hair was in a gravity-defying mess, and there were bags under my eyes from lack of sleep--oh well, whatever.
I'll go wash my face.
The door suddenly opened--there was no knock or anything, it just opened--and a girl came dashing in, making a sharp turn then pouncing at me.
"Eh--"
I ended up losing my balance and falling to the floor. The girl was fully dressed in her school uniform, although her long black hair was left untied.
"Rei-chan fell for it again!" my dear little sister Sae laughs again, lying on her stomach comfortably, on top of me.
"Sae, Rei-chan's gonna die one day because of this, y'know." I say, trying to recover from hitting my head on the carpet. I chuckled lightly.
"Noope! Rei-chan's immortal, after all!" she insisted.
Another girl peeked in from the door. She was in the same state as me--bedhead and half-asleep--so she didn't pounce on me like her sister. "Sae, breakfast." she simply said.
Sae jumped up, "Oops! I'm on duty!" and she disappeared downstairs.
I sat up, sighing. "Good morning, Sui." I greeted, noticing Sui was still standing at the door. I stood up, ruffling my hair so it at least obeyed the laws of gravity.
Sui smiled, stepping into a hug. "Good morning, Rei." she said softly.
-----
I fixed my tie, looking into the mirror one last time. My bangs were long enough to cover one eye, so I usually brushed them aside and clipped them up. Picking up my precious hair clips from the little box I first received them in, I pinned my hair up.
I grabbed my school bag and headed downstairs.
"Breakfast?" I ask, turning into the kitchen.
"Egg on toast," Sae said, "cause there's nothing in the fridge."
I spotted Dad dead (not literally) on the sofa. I chuckle lightly--he got called over to Tokyo late last night so he probably got back early in the morning. Sui, who had already finished breakfast was putting a blanket over him and a cup of water on the table.
I gobbled up my food in about five bites. Sae washed the dishes as I began fixing Sui's hair. As usual, these two didn't like anyone else doing up their hair.
I pulled the top half of Sui's hair back into a half ponytail, tying it up with a blue ribbon; then I tied Sae's hair into a high ponytail and finished it with a red ribbon.
We slipped on our shoes and headed out. We usually cycled to school--ahem, I was the only one cycling--I placed my bag in the basket at the front (Sae and Sui held their own bags). I sat on the rider's seat while Sae stood behind me, stepping on tiny footholds and resting her arms on my shoulders while Sui sat on the back seat, facing backwards.
"Go go, Rei-chan taxi!!" Sae declared.
"Destination, ma'ams?" I asked jokingly, kicking up the bicycle stand and starting to cycle.
"Namimori Elementary!" Sae and Sui replied in unison.
-----
We reached the school in a minute or so, the two jumping off and waving at me with 'I'm offs' and 'see ya after school's. I waved back with a 'have fun' and began the rest of my journey to the Junior High.
I jumped off my bicycle right before the school gate and pushed my bicycle the rest of the way in, parking my bicycle at the designated spots and heading into the school gates.
Life was mundane like this. Nothing beats peace. Now, I'm thirteen, (or twelve because my birthday hasn't gone by yet), and I'm on my first year in junior high. And this was in no way a good sign.
I'm nearing the timeline where the anime starts, and I still have no idea what I should do in those times. Should I try to make myself a part of the cast? I mean, that sounds fun and all, but at the same time it's quite a bore. Maybe I should. Should I? Should I not?
In the seven years that went by, I realize that I still had the abilities and skills my previous life had--I still had my athletic abilities and flexibility, the only difference being I had a lung condition that I didn't know when would act up.
I'd take up learning more things as well--after all, this is a new life, why don't I make a difference? I recalled Zen's tricks and trained to do them--they were cool, don't blame me--and pretty much mastered a good portion of it.
"Rei, duck to your left!" this was Takeshi's voice. Obeying his commands without hesitation, I swerved to the left quickly, dodging a baseball that was flying at me. Walking to pick it up, I breathed out, relieved slightly at that last minute warning. "Sorry bout that!" Takehi was right behind me now, his signature laugh trying to sound friendly.
I turned around, killing intent targeted at him. Look, Drew Cite was trained to do sudden movements in the spur of moments because of the trapeze and other stuff, but Ninomiya Rei would've died at that, you baseball idiot!!
(I held it back. I wanted to yell at him, but I can't.)
He smiled on, unaffected. I sighed and returned him the baseball. I think I understand how Gokudera feels about this Baseball Idiot now.
"Morning, Takeshi." I greeted, bringing a smile to my face.
"Mornin', Rei!" he greeted back.
-----
"Ninomiya Rei!" I heard a teacher yell at probably me. I groaned, picking my head off the table, yawning. "No sleeping!" he warns me.
"Sir, humans are not able to live without sleep, and I am definitely a human. Thus, I have the right to sleep." I mumble blurrily, already starting to nod off.
"Not during class!" he yelled.
I yawn and sat up properly, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes, deciding to at least pretend to listen to him. Satisfied, he went back to teaching.
My eyes drifted towards my classmates in Class 1-A. My seat was right by the door, on the first row. Takeshi sat the the corner furthest from mine, while Sawada Tsunayoshi sat two seats diagonally away from me. Sasagawa Kyoko and Kurokawa were only a few seat away as well.
When exactly did the anime start? Soon? Perhaps a few months later? Today? Probably not today... I chewed on the back of my pen--a bad habit from my previous life--as I thought through possibilities. What should I do when the time comes?
-----
I shuffled the cards quickly and masterfully, flicking the cards from one hand to another, and finally, I fixed the alignment of the deck on the table. The girl before me took the first card on the deck at my request, and to everyone's awe, it was the card she had picked.
I smiled Eve's signature smile--the coy, mildly mischievous smirk that was only meant to trick the audience, but held a certain genuineness that little people could discern.
"How did you do that??" the girl asked me, really interested.
"How did you do that??" a five-year-old Drew asked in excited curiosity, her eyes sparkling in interest.
Zen stares back, sweatdropping. He gave little Drew a light chuckle, putting a finger to his lips. "It's a Magician's Secret." he told his little sister.
I gave the girl a light chuckle, putting a finger to my lips. "It's a Magician's Secret." I told the girl.
-----
"Kunomasu-sensei," I called as I stepped into the infirmary, "Lemme skip class."
The infirmary was empty.
Huh?
I heard light snoring from the beds. I stpeped towards the sound and pushed the curtains aside--"Kuma-sensei, the nurse isn't supposed to sleep in the infirmary."
"I slept at seven this morning please let me stay dead for until school ends" he groaned like a dead sloth, his words slurring and his lines having no punctuation.
"Do your freaking job!"
His next response was a string of inaudible whines in the language of bears, I think. I ignored him, drawing the curtains and settling on the other bed, closing my eyes and hoping for some shut-eye.
-----
"We're home, Papa!!" Sae and Sui greeted energetically, kicking off theiir shoes and spinning into the kitchen where Dad was cooking.
Dad wore an apron and was fixing up soup for dinner--why is he dress like a single young daddy--he put down the ladle and turned around when he heard the girls, patting them both on the head.
"Welcome home, girls," he greeted, then turned to me. "Welcome home, Rei."
I smiled a little. All the worry I had in the morning seemed to dissipate at the sight of this happy family.
"I'm home, Dad."