It was 5:30 AM, and while most of her fellow students were either fast asleep or shambling around like zombies, Haruka was out in the cool morning air getting in her daily exercise. First day of school or not, she wasn't about to skip on her daily run. With headphones in her ears and her loose hoodie bouncing with every stride, Haruka's feet lightly sprung off the pavement in a clean, even rhythm. It was just a one-mile run today, as she didn't want to tire herself out for school, but it got her blood pumping and there was no better feeling than that. She checked her watch as she came up to her house again.
"Whew. Eight minutes. Not bad..." But it wasn't great either, in her eyes. When her sister graduated, she was running six-minute miles. She stretched and took a breath, trying not to let it get to her. She had three years to shave off those two minutes. Still had time to get there.
She headed inside and heard her parents shuffling around. Her mom was making breakfast and her dad was getting ready to leave for work.
"There you are, kiddo!" her father said, greeting her with a big head and a loving hair ruffle. Haruka squeezed back as hard as she could. They didn't have a lot of time together between Haruka's practice and her father's work, but if all they had time for was one hug, she was gonna make it the most intense hug in the world. Her father laughed and released her
"You trying to put your old man on disability? Haha. Have a good day at school.""I will, dad. Love ya!" And with that Haruka got herself washed and dressed for school. She fussed with her uniform a bit, wondering why the collar looked crooked, but then said,
"Ah, screw it. Uniforms are stupid anyway." She gave her cheeks a brisk slap.
"Yoshi! Time to kick some ass!" She headed back to the kitchen and wolfed down some rice and miso soup.
Here mother chuckled as she watched Haruka practically inhale her food.
"Careful, dear. It's still hot.""Not as hot... as the fire... in my soul," Haruka replied between mouthfulls of rice. She slurped down the rest of her soup and let out a satisfied sigh.
"Ahh... Itadakimasu!"Haruka's mother rolled her eyes.
"Do you do that on purpose, or did I really raise such an ill-mannered child?"Haruka already had her bag slung over her shoulder and was halfway out the door.
"Sorry, gotta go. Don't wanna be late on my first day. Love ya, Mom!" Her mother probably called something back, but she was already out the door.
Many students were nervous or apprehensive about the transition to high school, but Haruka was psyched up. She couldn't wait to meet new friends, see her old friends again, and kick some ass on the volleyball team. With her and Mitsuko, they were sure to do well. If the sleepy little town of Kurosuoba would be known for one thing, it would be Fujioka Senior High's undefeated volleyball team and its star player: Umezawa Haruka. She wondered for a bit who else would be on the team with her, but she supposed she'd find out once tryouts came. All she could do now was head to those gates and see who she crossed paths with. She hummed an off-tune melody to herself as she walked to the school at a brisk pace, keeping an eye out for any other Fujioka uniforms.
The goliath put his hands on Ryuuto, and for a moment the boy thought, "So, this is where I die..." However, Ryuuto soon found himself lifted to his feet and the monster that could have easily ripped him in half began to apologize profusely. Ryuuto blinked a few times, unsure how to react to this unexpected development, but then he let out a sigh of relief. Thank the gods, this kid was actually a nice guy!
"Hey, umm, it's nothing. Like you said it's just an accident." Renzo seemed rather impressed that Ryuuto was fine, but if anything the fact that he had offered so little resistance probably saved him from a worse fall.
"Oh, I'm not that tough. Just a little springy, I guess." Ryuuto chuckled a bit, finding himself uplifted by this boy's high spirits. He seemed like a bit of an oaf, but definitely a lovable one.
"No reason we can't be friends," Ryuuto continued, brushing himself off.
"I'm Orihara Ryuuto. 'Ren' seems a bit familiar, though, given that we just met, don't you think? I'll just call you Igarashi-san for now."Then he looked over and saw a familiar face coming to his aid.
"Oh, Hatsu. Good to see you. Everything's fine, just the two of us being a bit clumsy I guess. Thanks for asking, though." He turned back to Renzo.
"Igarashi-san, this is my friend Hatsu Amari. He's a master of all things mathematical, and is probably the only person in Kurosuoba who can beat me on a math test. If we're classmates, then your chances of getting top marks are non-existent." Ryuuto didn't mean that as an insult, or even a challenge really. To him it was just a fact that Hatsu would always have top marks in math, and he would have the best overall scores himself.
Ryuuto checked his watch again.
"Crap, we should really get going." He looked over at Hatsu.
"Hope we're in the same class. It'd be nice having a no-stress partner for assignments."
