Disclaimer: As much as I would love it, Hana-Kimi will never belong to me...The manga sitting on my shelf is as close as I'm ever gonna be to owning it...
Summary: Mizuki's secret is finally exposed. Now, kicked out of Osaka, she transfers to a new school. But how will she and and her friends, especially Sano, cope with it?
Authors Notes: Hey, what's up everyone?! I'm back!! And with new chapters!!)does a happy dance( First off, thank you so much for all your reviews and words of kindness! They totally motivated me! I'm so very sorry it took me so long to do this chapter!!)dodges knives and other sharp pointy objects being thrown( Secondly, I'll shut up so you can get to what you've been waiting (what, a year?) for!!
Starting Anew
Chapter 3- Broken Hearts And Friendships
"Sano!" Mizuki said, grabbing his hand through the open window. Sano looked at her and tightened his grip with her hand. Mizuki was at a loss for words. Even if she had something to say, she couldn't. She was lost.
"Buckle up, Ashiya-chan." Tachibana said, changing gears on the car. Both Mizuki and Sano did't even notice her get in. As her foot let go of the brake, she waved goodbye to everyone standing outside.
And as she pulled away, Mizuki's small hand had slipped out of Sano's warm one.
As Sano watched the car Mizuki was in grow smaller in the distance, he felt his world grow cold.
"Mizuki..."
'Sano...How did this happen?' Mizuki thought as she watched him from the sideview mirror on the car. "It wasn't suppossed to be like this..." She whispered.
"What, Ashiya-chan?" Tachibana asked, her eyes moving towards the depressed seventeen year old.
"Nothing..." She replied lifelessy. Tachibana wasn't too convinced, but didn't want to pour salt in Mizuki's wounds, so she left it alone.
"Well, we're almost there, Ashiya-chan." She smiled, trying to cheer her up. "It's a beautiful school, you'll love it there. It has sports, and I heard you love sports. How does that sound?"
"Yeah..." Mizuki said, looking out her window, not even listening. Tachibana sadly sighed.
The population of boys that came to see Mizuki off was still standing in their spots, talking about her and the good times, not caring that she was a girl. Everyone was sad. Nakatsu, Sekime, Nakao, Kayashima, and especially Sano. He stood rooted to the ground away from the giant crowd. He didn't want to be around them. The way they were talking about Mizuki, it sounded like she had died rather than gone to a new school. He didn't want any part of it. He lost the most important person he had and wanted to be alone.
And even Nakatsu felt like that. He loved Mizuki just like Sano did, and the realization that she was gone hit him hard. He didn't know what to do. And he had alot to think about.
"Alright, that's it!" Their principal shouted, making most of them jump in fright. "Show's over!! Get back to class!!" None of them moved. "NOW!!" He screamed. And that seemed to work. The large group scattered to their places, Nakatsu being the last of the group, and Sano, still glued to his spot. Even though he was in a daze, he seemed to feel everyone around him slowly disperse.
The principal glared at Sano's back. "Sano Izumi, get to class right now." He said, his voice seemingly filled with hate and malice. Sano heard him, but stood right where he was.
"Why didn't you just let her stay?" Sano asked, his voice filled with sadness as he looked down at the hand that held Mizuki's.
"Because she's a girl." He hatefully replied. "She doesn't belong here."
"It's our last year." Sano replied, his grip getting tighter.
"It doesn't matter." Sawaguchi said. "If word got out she scammed her way in, trash like her would show up by the thousands, and-"
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY THAT!!" Sano fumed, turning around and grabbing him by the collar, getting ready to kill him. "Never call Mizuki that in front of me again!" He hissed, his dark eyes coldly glaring into his principals.
"Sano, get your hands off of me!" Sawaguchi ordered, shoving the angry teen away. "Do that again, and I'll expell you! Ashiya Mizuki is gone and that's it!! It's out of my hands!! Get over it!" And he turned towards the building and walked away, leaving Sano completely enraged.
"I'm going to discuss your actions with your coach." He said, opening the door, not even bothering to look back. "Don't be surprised if you don't compete in the high jump for a while." And he walked through the door, leaving Sano to himself.
He stood there shaking with rage. All of a sudden he screamed, then punched the wall with all the power in his body. He wasn't angry at the fact that he couldn't jump, he was angry about the horrible things his principal said about Mizuki, and the fact that she wouldn't be there when he came home every night. It wasn't right anymore.
"Mizuki..." He whispered as he whinced and felt the searing pain in his hand as he pulled back, blood dripping as it rest by his side.
After four hours of nothing but tours, finding classes, and calming down a bit, Mizuki was finally able to go to her new dorm room. All she wanted to do right now was bury herself in a bed and hope she would wake up from this nightmare.
"Okay, Ashiya-chan, here's your room." Tachibana said as she, Mizuki, and a blonde girl stopped in front of a room labeled 307. "And this is your R.A. for dorm 3, Takashiro Miyami."
"Hi! " She smiled, her brown eyes glittering as she reached out to shake Mizuki's hand. "Welcome to Kaishio Academy! I'm sure you'll love it here! If you ever need anything, just ask, okay?"
"Yeah, thanks..." Mizuki said, shaking her hand. She then grew sad. Miyami's long blonde hair reminded her of Himejima. And even though he was truly annoying, Mizuki actually missed him a little.
"Well, we'll let you get settled in, Ashiya-chan." Tachibana said. "Have a nice night." And she and Miyami left, leaving Mizuki alone.
Mizuki looked at the door for a minute before gathering up the courage to go in and meet her new roommate. "Here goes..." She sighed as she grabbed the knob and opened the door.
Inside revealed a large room with big windows and fancy curtains to go with them. Two beds and desks on either side of the room, and black haired girl sitting on one of the beds. She heard the door open and looked over. After a second, she broke out into a friendly smile. "Hey there! You wan't some help with those?" She kindly asked as she got up to help Mizuki. That made Mizuki feel a little bit better.
"Uhm, no, I'm fine." Mizuki replied, walking in and shutting the door.
"You sure?" The other girl asked. "It looks heavy..."
"Yeah, I'm sure..." She replied.
"Oh yeah! I'm Makane Riko." She introduced herself. "And you are...?"
Mizuki gasped. "Oh, right, sorry!" She said. "Ashiya Mizuki. Nice to meet you Makane-san." Mizuki said, trying her best to smile.
"Oh, you can just call me 'Riko'" Riko said, her green eyes shimmering with kindness. "I hate that ''san'' stuff."
"Okay then, Riko." Mizuki replied, unzipping her suitcase to put all her clothes away. "Uhm...Riko, which...?"
"Here, I'll show you which one's yours." Riko replied, helping Mizuki take her clothes to the dresser on the other side of the room. She opened the drawer and put the clothes in, noticing Mizuki had alot of boyish clothing. "Hey, you sure got alot of-!" She stopped when she heard a sniffle and saw Mizuki shaking. "Hey, Mizuki, what's wrong?" She looked over Mizuki's shoulder and saw a picture of her and a dark haired and eyed boy along with a few others in front of Osaka high. And Riko couldn't help but notice that. "Hey, Mizuki, that one there looks just like you! But, that's impossible, Osaka's an all boys school..."
"That's because it is me..." Mizuki cried, dropping to her knees.
Riko freaked out for a second, from both Mizuki's outburst of tears and the picture revealing what she said to be her former school. "Mizuki...!" She kneeled down to comfort the girl.
-Three Days Later-
Sano sat alone on the ground, leaning against his bed, and bandanging up his purple and swollen hand yet again. He looked at the clock and realized it was dinner time. But it didn't matter, he wasn't hungry.
'It's so lonely without you, Mizuki...' He thought as he gazed up at the ceiling, his mind drifting elsewhere. Everything was just so depressing lately.
But a knock on the door broke it. He looked over and Nakatsu peeked his head in.
"Hey, Sano..." He said. "Can I come in?"
"I don't care..." Sano replied, turning away and looking back up at the ceiling again. Nakatsu shut the door behind him and sat down in front his friend.
"Look, Izumi..." He began, looking around like he didn't really know how say what he was trying to say. "I'm not gonna play around-!"
"Good, I'd rather you not..." Sano replied, still staring at the ceiling.
"Okay then..." Nakatsu replied. "I know I've asked you this before, but with what happened with Mizuki the other day, I have to ask you again: How do you really feel about Mizuki?"
Sano didn't hesitate. "She's the most important person in my life." He said, looking at Nakatsu. "I want her by my side forever, and I'll get her back somehow."
"So you love her?" He asked.
"Absolutely." Sano replied, looking staight into his friends eyes.
"Then we can't be friends anymore..." Nakatsu said, looking completely serious.
"What?" Sano asked. Of all the things he thought Nakatsu would say, that definentely wasn't one of them. "Nakatsu, don't you dare turn this into a game! Mizuki is not a prize for you to earn!!"
"I'm not playing, Sano." He replied, getting up and looking down at Sano. " And I'd never treat her like that. I love Mizuki just as much as you do, even when I thought she was a guy. And I want her to love me the way I love her. That makes us rivals, right? And I'm not giving up until I can have her in my arms."
Sano stood up and stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. "You truly are an idiot, Nakatsu. But you're right...And I won't give up. Not until I have Mizuki. Even if you're in my way..."
"Then it was nice knowin' you, Sano Izumi." He grinned, accepting Sano's words.
"Same here, Nakatsu Shuuichi." He replied. They shook hands to seal their pact, and end their friendship.
'I won't give up...' They both thought, staring into the others eyes. 'Not until I can have you in my arms, Mizuki...'
VvVvVvVvVvV
End of chap. 3! How does everything work out between former best friends/ rivals for Mizuki's love, and, what happens when Mizuki suddenly shows up? Find out in chapter 4!!
Oh yeah, sorry for the wierdness by the way. It's supposed to get more light-hearted and humorous along the way. You know, with the Sano/Nakatsu rival type thing...