The fire burned steadily, taking possession of more and more of the house as the air filled with the dying laughter of a man burning alive... Shiro was twelve again, watching his father thrash about, engulfed in flames and cackling wildly as the young girl who pushed him watches with eyes that have gone empty and dead inside. It was a terrible thing, to watch your own father die, yet understand the torment he inflicted on your friend to be unforgiveable. He had done nothing while she, already emotionally wounded by his torment, took matters into her own hands. But it wasn't necessary for her to do that. Given the chance, he would have-
"No."
His eyes fixed on the girl, Anri Fuyunaito, one of his dearest friends...
"You lack conviction."
"What...? But..."
And just like that, they were no longer kids anymore, but teens, and the girl in the mostly-blue formal shirt and skirt, the black hair and glasses with the glaring-intense red-brown eyes turned to stare holes through him, rooting him on the spot.
"You're not ready."
"Hey, I'm not the same person I was five years ago."
She shook her head at him.
"That's what worries me, what you will become..."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, just like that, he was up. He was awake three minutes before his alarm was to go off, AGAIN. He hated that, really. Now, what this was...was a small one-person apartment that convinced the Fuyunaitos to help him fund. It was hardly anymore special than a college dorm room, in fact some students had even used the like in lieu of an actual local dormatory room in the past. In the time that Shiro had been here in Danmour, he had managed to largely acclimate himself nicely. Arriving mid-summer, he had managed to get his transfer paperwork and stuff to go through and absorb a load of the local culture. He learned english, he got the layout of the land, and he felt at home enough with his surroundings. Part of him, of course, still missed Japan, and some things would never be forgotten or changed. On the desk by his bed, a picture of his 'benefactors' back together again. In his umbrella stand, apart from the umbrella, his bokuton. A couple of posters, books and light novels, a laptop, and thou. That was the sum of Shiro's niche life in New York state, town of Danmour. Somehow, he still felt out of place. It's not like he was the only Asian boy around, but there were some feelings that just persisted over others.
"Well, to class I go, I suppose."
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Just because he'd beaten his alarm to the punch did not mean he was necessarily awake. There was a term that somebody who passed through here coined as 'zombie mode' when you walk to somewhere automatically without thinking or concentrating on it. Zombies were a big thing in this country, more than anywhere else in the world. And on the way to school, Shiro may have muttered "Zunou..." out of half-joking amusement. He seemed out of it and generally unawake until he heard that announcement about kidnappings, to which he shook his head in irritation. Things were too violent around here, even by the standards of one who trained in self defense. Shiro didn't have anything against the whole group thing, but he also didn't feel like going out of his way for it. It was a token concern, not a realistic belief that they were all in danger here. After the announcement, he made his way to class and sat down in a mid-row, about a seat in from the colume by the door. He was not fully held at attention to his surroundings, thinking to himself, even per se when someone spoke up.
"Good morning everyone!"
"Ohayo..."
FYI: Though he spoke english well enough, he'll go right back into Japanese if he's not careful. And with that, his attention began to waver in and out of the morning announcement of the teacher.
"Blah blah blah Ms. Tanya, blah blah homeroom teacher blah blah blah blah! Blah blah blah blah meet here blah blah blah once in the morning, and once before we leave for the day."
Nope, no good. He wanted to get a coffee on the way in, but the so-named zombie-mode made him forget and he passed the coffee shop without noticing. The dream he'd had bothered him to the exclusion of just about all else and now Ms. Tanya's words were a bit distant. It was only when he noticed people standing up and sitting down that his attention returned...perhaps a second or two slower than he'd liked to. He stood up a tad hurriedly and made a slight bow.
"Shiro Kunekawa. I read, I run, I train, I game. A'thank you, good night."
The last part was an improvised Tonight Show, but it came off a bit forced.