Raven's Wing: Chapter 1
It was a bright, spring day at Han'a High School in the populous city of Toyama. As students were about ready to head over to their morning classes, a teenage girl walked through the front gates of the school grounds. She wore the school uniform: knee-length, blue skirt with a long sleeved shirt trimmed in blue with a sailor-type collar, and a red bow in the middle of it. She held her satchel in both hands before her, looking very nervous. A wind blew by her, sending wisps of curly, chocolate brown hair over her shoulders. She brushed them away and looked up to reveal a pretty face. She had matching chocolate brown eyes with the bangs falling into them. She sighed heavily and made her way to the office.
Carrie watched outside the school from the classroom wondering if there would be anything exciting today. She was constantly bored in her classes and that boredom always manifested itself as trouble. She had gained herself a reputation as the raven-haired troublemaker. There were a couple of guys that were known as troublemakers as well and two of them were really good friends, but no one came close to the things she did. The old stunts still got the biggest laughs, as they required split second timing and insurance that the sensei was not paying attention. Once in a great while she would come up with a show stopper and she would enlist the help of the two friends to pull it off. They would usually agree because she always picked the teachers that needed an ego check.
"Attention class! We have a new student today!" The older man waited until the class was looking at him, sighing when he saw that Carrie was now paying attention again. "Introduce yourself."
The girl just nodded her head and bowed to the class. "My name is Manor..." she said softly. She lifted her head up and looked at the class nervously. "Shary Manor..." Immediately she didn't like the way some of the boys were looking at her.
Carrie grinned as she took in the slight girl at the front of the class. New people, hmm maybe today wouldn't be a waste after all. Looking at the guys in her class she spoke up since the sensei did not see fit to warn them. "Back off guys. She’ll deal with you when she's ready."
Grinning at the girl's red face she smirked at the instructor and gestured to the open seat beside her. Beings that there were no other open seats for the moment he gestured to the seat.
"You may sit next to Deed-chan for now." He leveled a look that made everyone flinch but did not faze the one it was used on. "And should she give you any trouble you will notify me immediately."
"Yes sir," she said silently. Quietly she went to her assigned seat, actually flinching as one guy leered at her and sat down. She always kept her head lowered and her hands clasped tightly in her lap. Her hair fell over her shoulders, hiding her face from the class as she struggled to keep herself from breaking down.
Carrie felt sorry for this girl, she wasn't like the other new students this year, and she could practically feel the waves of hurt radiating off her. Carrie glared at the guys, her look promised them more trouble than they could handle if they didn't put their eyeballs back in their sockets and focus on the class work. That having been accomplished she wrote the new girl a note.
{Manor-san, don't mind the doorknobs in this class. You need a friend or three and I for one am willing to help you out. Just stick with me and I'll get you through today k?? As it is Most of the guys here are pigs. Just keep reminding yourself that you are here for a reason and that reason is not to please their optical nerves.
Deed Carrie}
She slipped it to Shary and hoped for a favorable reaction. She might not get one if she had been told about Carrie already. But it was worth a shot. ~Bastard, what an ass, never saw that she was uncomfortable up there.~
Carrie was the purveyor of comfort zones and if this new girl's reaction was any indication, she was going to need to call in a few favors to help her out until she got familiar with the school and the city.
Shary slowly took the note and read it. She risked a glance at the girl next to her and felt that she wouldn't hurt her. She wanted to trust her but pulled back. Last time she trusted someone he had hurt her beyond words. She wrote something back and folded it in half. Watching the sensei she slipped it back to the girl and kept twirling the silver ring around her finger.
(Miss Deed-chan~
Thank you for your concern. Forgive me if I seem distance but I am not used to trusting people. I will keep my distance from the boys in class. As for my reason for being here... I wish I knew what that was. Or even my reason for surviving.
Manor Shary)
Carrie cocked her head to one side as she read the note. This girl had some serious issues. However she knew what to do about that and taking out a sheet of paper she wrote another note and folded the paper quickly into the shape of a fish. She repeated the process until she had a Fish, Cat, Crane, Bull, and Shrub in front of her. None of the words were visible and she put them in her bag.
Looking up as the sensei asked her a question she grinned at its simplicity. Dang she hated these classes; she had to take them to get to the advanced classes even though she already knew the information inside out and backwards. Giving her answer she looked back over at the guys in the class and decided that a few of them needed lessons in manners. And so she thought out the proper punishments for the next day.
That taken care of she looked over at Shary. She looked very lost in this world and she was different for some reason even though she couldn't put her finger on it. She wrote another short note and passed it in a natural action that even her friends envied.
{Manor-san, Why not eat lunch with me today and meet some of my friends. I promise that no one will hurt you here and you will be fine. Join me please??
Carrie}
Shary looked at the note for a longtime. Debating whether or not to answer it, she simply wrote one word and passed it back.
(All right.)
Carrie grinned as she set about leaving the little animals where they would be found after class. Looking at Shary she smiled winningly. "Manor-san, what do you have for class next?? You know where it is??"
As the guys looked over Shary they recognized that Carrie had taken this one under her wing. The guys in that class knowing better than to mess with the new student now set about to tell the other guys that this was one student that they shouldn't mess around with just yet. Word spread quickly and one of the note carriers found the notes having anticipated them since he heard that Carrie had taken a new student in. If Carrie did that there was always a favor called in. Always.
She pulled out her schedule and peered at it. "I have physical education next. In the gym." Shary looked over at her. "Is it the big building near the parking lot?"
Carrie smiled and nodded. "Yep, Look, I won't be there to help you out and it is mixed class today. The guys tend to play rough to try to shake the new folk. If the guys start hassling you find a guy in that class named Kento Fung. He's a friend of mine and you need help, just tell him that you are under the Raven's wing and he'll help you out k??"
Carrie was walking with Shary to the gym building explaining things as she went. She did not want this new girl scared out of her wits and at the same time she wanted to warn her as to what could happen and where she could go for help. "Kento's a big guy so he is a little hard to miss. Just remember what I told you and you'll be fine. Just don't get between him and a fight if it happens, he tends to be the local referee to keep them all from killing each other. If you need to see me at anytime, Just let Kento know. He'll walk you to your next class and let you know who to trust there unless I am in that class or it's lunch time ok?? Great! Gotta go, you'll be alright if you just remember what I told you."
Carrie took off for the academics building like a shot leaving Shary just inside the doors of the gymnasium.
The young girl watched her run off. She looked at the doors leading inside and took a deep breath. Then she went in.
The classes consisted of both boys and girls, but with the boys outnumbering the girls two to one. Shary hated that already. She also hated the uniform the girls were forced to wear: very short and tight, blue shorts with a white, long sleeved shirt pushed up to her elbows. She tied her hair in a low ponytail with a purple ribbon. She stood off to the side, wondering what they were going to do today. She was unaware of a group of guys coming towards her.
One of the guys whistled as the guys came about behind her. "Hey, where'd you come from babe?" The other guys started pestering her and pushing her slight form into the other members of their circle. The girls looked jealous as this new girl had gotten the attention of the boys they had all been drooling over. The guys however jeered and hooted as she was pushed about.
As the pushing and jeering continued Shary was finally pushed into a large form. Instead of being pushed back into the circle the hands that took her by the arms pushed her gently behind him and a low voice growled. "Back off!"
"Hey hey hey, Kento m'man, Join the fun. She's cute ya know??" The hoots raised another pitch in decibel as the one named Kento turned to look at the girl he saved from the circle.
"Tell me," he started gently as he could see that she was uneasy and scared half out of her wits. "Do you know anyone here??"
Shary could only look at him with wide eyes. She tried to pull away from him but his hold on her was firm. This brought too many bad memories. "A-a girl... in class... said I was under R-Raven's wing... please... let me go..." she said in a low whisper.
Kento's eyes danced dangerously. He held his anger in check though as he saw her shaking and spoke to her quietly and soothingly. "There is a girl standing in the corner of the schoolyard over there." and he pointed to the girl with his free hand. "Go over to her and stay there for the class. She won't hurt you but I have a lesson to teach these apes about treating a lady in such a manner."
As he released her hand he was still calm to her. "Go, you're safe now." He watched her race across the gym yard and then turned to the crowd of boys that still stuck around. The ones that caught the look in his eyes started to back away. Knowing that they were in for it now they tried to escape only to be backhanded by one of Kento's large hands.
The hands that had been gently holding the slight girl's wrist but a moment before became an instrument of destruction as each of the guys that had been a part of the jeering and hooting crowd was hunted down and punished appropriately. Each of the guys felt like they had been hit by a Mack truck and the sensei who had seen it all knew better than to get in the burley boy's way so he let it go. She had seen it all and knew that the boys had this coming for a long time.
The girl that Kento pointed out put a friendly arm around Shary and let her to a bench in the corner where she could sit down and catch up with herself. "Look, Kento's a good friend. He never mistreats the girls and in fact he is the one usually defending them on days when they single one out. He'll never hurt you, remember that. By the way, my name is Nikki; I've known Ken there since elementary school. Don't you worry; I can read lips even when people stutter. You are under the Raven's Wing now. You'll be fine as long as those creeps don't forget who the raven is."