Along Came Miki

Along Came Miki

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Many people had praised the Board of Directors of Yamaku Academy for managing to find such an idyllic area for their school. Originally the site of an ancient castle, the Board had managed to secure the deed to the land in a highly publicized campaign that included an appeal to the Prime Minister (whose daughter was diabetic) and the Emperor. After some gentle prodding from some (very) rich benefactors and the massive influx of support from the general public, Yamaku Academy was given the green light, and construction began in the summer of 1954. Following grueling years of logistical nightmares and workers' strikes, Yamaku Academy opened its esteemed gates in 1959. The first of its kind, Yamaku immediately set itself apart from other high schools by enforcing a grueling curriculum, and the alumni of its polished halls have all gone on to be very successful despite, or perhaps in spite of, their disabilities.

Of course, this meant nothing to Miki Miura. An athlete by trade and a tomboy by choice, she couldn't care less about the history of her new school. She was there because she was broken. She knew that. The doctor with his fake smile knew that. Hell, even Dad's moustache couldn't hide that even his oblivious ass knew. Miki glared down at the stump where her left hand used to be and bit back tears. Crying was for wimps. Miki had been called a lot of words in the past, but wimp was never one of them.

Finally deciding to bite the bullet, she swung her long legs over the edge of the bed and began her morning routine.

---

Three doors down, a young woman with sleepy green eyes was just finishing her routine. In her opinion, the first day of a new school year was always one of the best. She would have the chance to see some of her old friends, and she would probably make some new ones. To that end, she made sure she was looking her best. Popping a few caffeine pills and chasing it with half a can of energy drink, Suzu made her way out to the common areas and turned her thoughts to the possibilities this new term would bring.

Deep in thought, she nearly ran face-first into a bagel held by a thin honey-haired girl. The blonde jumped back and broke into a characteristic large smile.

"Hey, Suzu! Wow, you look great! Did you get a haircut? Or new shoes? Or, ooh, is that a new mascara? No, don't tell me...lip gloss! Oh man, did you-"

Suzu offered a yawn and an upheld finger in answer. She snatched a piece of toast from the common room table and turned back to her companions.

"Naomi, it's great to see you too. Say, how about we save the interview for later? It's a bit early for the news, don't you think?"

A shorter brunette with shaggy hair used her cane to leverage herself into a standing position and leaned over Naomi's shoulder. She snagged the bagel from Naomi’s hand and took a bite before waving it at Suzu. "It's never too early for the news, my wakefulness-challenged friend. News happens all the time, so we have to be ready all the time. Speaking of which," Natsume reached up and adjusted her glasses, "have any juicy gossip?"

Suzu rolled her eyes and started eating her toast. Naomi grabbed her bagel back, took a bite, and with her mouth still full, launched into an enthusiastic torrent of school gossip. Suzu listened half-heartedly. She was pretty sure at least half of it was made up, and she was even surer that she didn't really care.

Naomi continued to ramble on. "-to avoid the Student Council. Oh, and we got a new girl in class. Millie Miura. Or was it Mika? Minnie? Hmm. But yeah, so the-"

Suzu perked up at that. A new girl. Hmm. 'I wonder if she would be interested in starting the feminist club back up. Hopefully she isn't from some bigoted country like Molly is. Sweet girl, but...' Suzu’s thoughts came to a stop as she caught a glance of the clock over the shoulder of the still-prattling Naomi.

Stuffing the rest of her toast into her mouth, Suzu mumbled an excuse to her friends and made her way out of common area. She glanced over her shoulder and caught Natsume's glare as the arthritic girl listened to the barrage of words coming from Naomi. Suzu threw one last wave to the girls and walked into the sunshine.

---

‘Once around the tree, back through the hole, up in the-DAMMIT!’
Miki had never tied a tie when she had two perfectly good hands, and damn her if she was going to manage it with just one. The tanned girl gave a frustrated groan and let the limp tie flop down her front. At least she had time for breakfast. Mom should have packed-

RING
RING
RING

"God DAMMIT!!" Miki reached for her bag and cursed when she realized she DIDN'T HAVE A LEFT HAND ANYMORE. Screaming in irritation, Miki grabbed her bag and kicked the door open. She thanked whatever powers that were that she was a runner and took off at a sprint. She was fairly certain that her class was on the third floor. She could find it from there.

The track star cleared the doors to the dorms and was halfway across the school grounds in record time. She turned a corner and nearly tripped over a prone figure lying next to the path. Thankfully, her reflexes allowed her to jump over the obstruction. Miki landed hard and fell to her knees. Scowl set, she turned around and was ready to unleash the full fury of an angry Miura. Her scowl turned into a grimace as she noticed exactly what the blob on the ground was. A young woman with blue-green hair lay across the grass. Miki scrambled to her feet and frantically looked around the courtyard.

'Great. Just great. First day here and some damn fool decides to up and die. Just my luck that I'm the one do find her. I knew I wouldn't be the most broken kid here, but damn.' She shifted her weight from foot to foot and stared at the girl on the ground. 'I don't even know what to do. Is there a nurse? Is there a- oh, she's moving.'

Miki set her bag down and reached for the girl's shoulder. She gave a small shake before abandoning all subtlety and jolting the sleeping girl.

"Yo! Wake up! Dammit. Wake up, Sleeping Beauty! It's time for class! WAKE UP!"

Sleeping Beauty jerked awake and slammed a fist into Miki's nose. "GET OFF ME, YOU PIG!"

Miki reeled back and scrambled away from the hurricane of fists and buzzwords that was the green-haired girl. "I WAS NOT ASKING FOR IT I AM NOT AN OBJECT FOR YOUR PLEASURE CHAUVINIST PIG RAPE RAPE RAPE- what's going on?"

Miki and the rape girl exchanged owlish blinks before the latter devolved into a mess of apologies.

Miki contemplated her options. Any girl that could throw a right hook like that was someone she could respect. Plus, she really wasn't interested in making any enemies just yet. Especially if she had to be late to class anyway. Like Dad used to say: "Bad shit turned good is better than good shit turned bad." Miki wiped a trickle of blood from her nose and held up a hand, er, stump. Grimacing, Miki brought her left arm to her chest and extended her right hand instead. "Yo, don't sweat it. I'll probably get you back some day anyway. Name's Miki. Miura. But just call me Miki. I'm new."

Miki smirked when the other girl's apologies stumbled to a stop and her eyes widened. The girl shakily accepted Miki's hand and offered her own embarrassed introduction. "Oh. Okay. I'm Suzu Suzuki. But, um, call me Suzu, I guess."

Miki balanced her stump on her hip and grabbed her bag from the ground. "Well then, Suzu Suzuki, why don't you help me to class? I'm in 3-3."

Suzu offered a wan smile and picked her own bag up. "Hey, me too! Let's get going. I heard Mutou is a pretty lenient guy, but I don't want to test him on the first day."

Nodding her agreement, Miki fell into step beside Suzu. A few moments passed in awkward silence before Miki turned towards the shorter girl.

"So, uhh, what was the deal back there?"

Suzu raised an eyebrow in question. "What do you mean?"

Miki puffed out her cheeks. "Back there. When I woke you up. You know. You kinda...freaked out."

Suzu dropped her gaze to the floor and mumbled something incoherent.

"What was that?"

The sleepy girl raised her head and met Miki’s determined gaze. "I thought you were a rapist."

The track star straightened up and raised an eyebrow of her own. "Why would you think that?"

"I'm narcoleptic. I fall asleep. All the time. I can't control it. Rape is a big fear of mine. You can't trust men, you know."

"Why would you get raped? You're a schoolgirl at a high school for disabled kids."

"I shouldn't get raped, but you never know. You have a point, though. It takes a weird person to sexualize a disabled girl… Hey, let’s take the elevator. I don’t like stairs,” Suzu said as she turned away from the stairwell.

"I think you're being too paranoid." Miki hefted her bag and hit the elevator button. "I don't think you'll get raped. Anywhere. Guys are more trustworthy than that. Plus," Miki offered a trademark smirk, "any jerk wants to get to a friend of MINE, they have to get through me." She punctuated her statement with a thumb jerk to the chest.

“So you’re saying you’d take on any thug that tried to touch me?” Suzu questioned as she pressed the third floor button. Miki stood a little taller and smirked again.

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, nerd. So? What do you say? I’ll be your knight in shining armor if you show me around this Island of Misfit Teenagers.”

The elevator shuddered to a stop and Suzu offered a wide smile to the tan girl before stepping out of the elevator to the third floor hallway.

"Deal. C'mon, let's get to class."

The two girls stepped up to Class 3-3, and opened the door to a whole new year.