Changing Masks

by Nicholas Metelsky

  In Japan, an orphan is sent to the shelter only if he has no relatives, or if all the relatives refuse to foster the child, which was not very common. But before that happened, the Government would deal with me. It might be for a short time, or it might just be social services; one thing was guaranteed —they would get involved. That was not part of my plan. I had never heard of my having any relatives which was strange because, in the two years of my being here, I should have heard about it if I had a grandmother or grandfather. Anyway, all these contemplations were a little far-fetched, a bit crazy and paranoid, but still, there was a grain of truth in them. My reasoning was also based on the fact that alone, I would have more freedom. True, there would be much less to hide.

  So, I decided to lie and swindle my way out of the situation. I told all my neighbors that my parents had gone abroad to earn a living and that they would send me money to live on. It sounds crazy, but it happens. The only problem was my age, but, fortunately, even that worked out, though everyone was outraged by the irresponsible behavior of the parents. Later, I often doubted my decision, and each time I found there were advantages and disadvantages to it. Over time, the number of both only grew. I could do nothing though, because a surviving ten-year-old boy is not quite the same thing as an abandoned child.

  Now, the old man Kenta, who didn't know a thing about my situation, was saying that my parents would pay for my schooling. That put my king 'in check.' What did it mean? First, it meant that the old man might be aware of my real situation. I couldn't imagine what that would cost me or what to expect. For Heaven's sake, why had he kept quiet about it all this time? An interesting question. Koyama Kenta is not the type of person to keep quiet if he thought a child had been abandoned, no matter what. Even if the parents had warned him about me before leaving. He wouldn't pretend that everything was okay and just act as if nothing had happened. He would have made it clear that he knew. That meant he didn't know. It'd be even harder for him to find out later. He could only guess and analyze which this family had the brains for. However, having suspicions is not enough to start a case. Now, six years later, I am the only source from which he can find out the truth. My plan was to baffle and prevaricate while gathering information. I couldn't just tell him to get lost. Secondly, Koyama Kenta may not have known anything after all. It's quite possible that he was just acting off the cuff. It was important for him now to convince me. It might be easy to brush it off: I could just say that I felt it'd be better that way. I could also play the fool and say that I must have misunderstood something, and to sort it out, we should call my parents. I was stuck whichever way I turned. Good thing I had the acumen to come up with a plan.

  'Shinji, we cannot and do not want to interfere in your personal life,' Koyama Akeno, Shina's dad, took over. 'But you perfectly understand the importance of continuing your education. Without one, it'll be hard to be successful in life.' Why is he saying that?

  'Shin-Chan, you're not just a boy neighbor to us; you're practically a relative,' the mother started shrewdly. 'We wish you well and would never advise you to do anything that wasn’t good for you. Dakisyuro High School is a great option.' Checkmate. After Kagami's contribution, it was hard to refuse, at least within reason, especially after the old man had cornered me with that single phrase about my parents. I did not want to offend the family. I had become attached to them. I needed to smooth the corners over about my parents and agree.

  'Well, I never thought that father would call you after he and I... had a disagreement. He knew who to call, clearly. Okay, then tell me why Dakisyuro.' I already knew why, but I wanted to hear their version. 'I hear it's not that easy to get a place there.'

  'Well, let's start with the fact that the school is closer to us. The level of education is excellent. It has outstanding teachers who not only understand their subject but can teach life skills as well. If you ever need help with a problem, they'll give appropriate advice.' Well, that's unlikely. You, Kenta-San, have no idea what kind of problems I might be having. 'There are a lot of different clubs on offer, and you are sure to find something that suits you. At the end of the program, the school gives recommendations and helps you get a job in a prestigious institution that's hard to get into. Overall, it is a good school, and graduating from it will help you greatly in the future. Oh yes, I forgot to mention: many children in Dakisyuro have influential parents. These connections will be very useful.'

  This was the first time I had heard that. Connections are certainly a good thing, but going to school with brats didn't appeal to me. I'd be all right though. Interestingly, I heard no mention of the fact that Shina attended the same school, and Mizuki would start this year as well. Well, that was fine. They left me no choice.

  'Well, Kenta-San, Akeno-San, Kagami-San, you have convinced me.' This was my chance to put them on the spot and teach them not to meddle in my affairs again. 'Why wait? I’ll call my father today and tell him to send the money.'

  'Uh... hmm...' mumbled Kenta. 'Shinji, you know, you better not tell him about us. You see, your father asked us not to mention him in our conversation, and if you give me away, that will make me look like a traitor.' It was time to hit the brakes.

  'If you ask me not to, Kenta-San, then I won't. I’ll say Shina-Chan convinced me.'

  'What?' Shina looked up.

  'Shina,' Kagami said quietly, but her voice was stern and meant to settle down both her biological daughter and me. I'd get in trouble for that later, of course, but right now, it was fun to watch.

  'Well, since we are all agreed, let's be finished with business and pay tribute to the concoction Kagami-Chan has made,' said the old man Kenta and, with a smile from ear to ear, he deftly picked up a deep-fried shrimp with his chopsticks.

  So, what did we have? Koyama felt sorry for the poor boy and wanted to help him. They didn’t so much feel pity for me, so much as just wished me well. My avoidance of the school topic had convinced them that I didn't want to or couldn't go to a high school. That had led to this conversation. Bringing my parents into the picture just proved my conclusions about their suspicions. It was unlikely that everything that had happened there was an improvisation: it'd just be too absurd and illogical. Our conversation turned out to be strange and dangerous. The situation was not clear. I had the feeling it would come back to haunt me in the future.

  * * *

  And so it happened that on the first day of the school year, I was walking to Dakisyuro High School, rather than any other. It all happened that way because of my foolishness. I had had the opportunity to become more erudite in my previous life. At least, I could attend lectures in psychology. Did the Destroyer need it though? No, my job was to kill and destroy, not talk the talk. Now it was time to face the consequences. What really hurts is that I realize all that 'excessive' knowledge would have come in handy even if I hadn’t been thrown out of my own world. It’s true, I'm no fool, but I have done foolish things in my life that, when I think of them now, make me want to howl. I've lived for thirty-eight years but haven't gained any smarts.

  Well, that's enough self-criticism. It turns out, Dakisyuro is an elite school, and so, I had great prospects. Getting into a school like this was not anywhere in the picture for me. It was not just about having enough money and excellent grades. I'd also have needed connections. It turns out that Koyama had those. Well, I guess I could handle hyperactive, little sisters. I wondered where Mizuki was. If I see that daredevil, my walk to school will be quite uncomfortable. I caught up with Shina and asked her about Mizuki.

  'She's running ahead of us.'

  'Is she gonna get into running again?' I was surprised. 'Well, I understand she did it in middle school—the distance was decent, and it was a good workout. Dakisyuro though! It will only take 5 minutes running to get there. She'll break a sweat for nothing.'

  'Girls don't sweat,' Shina cut me off. 'Not in the Koyama family, at least,' she clarified. I was itching to say something funny about sweating girls, but I contained myself. I m
ight offend her. Offending someone was worse than making them mad or embarrassed, especially if they are those close to you, despite the fact that they may annoy you every so often. Shina is easier to deal with because she doesn't hold grudges, and with that, it doesn’t take much to make her mad, embarrassed, make her laugh, surprised, or even scared. What she does not tolerate is dirty cracks about her looks, which, in my opinion, is strange, because everything is great in that department: from her blueish-black hair to her toes. She has her quirks, but I prefer to stay away from that subject, especially now, when I am in close proximity to her.

  The walk to school took a total of fifteen minutes. Approaching the school, I had the chance to check out the local girls. Every one of them was a cutie, and a lot of them were just outright gorgeous. You have to admit that this was unusual. I felt as if I had ended up in a teen sitcom. However, I could have been mistaken because the crowd of students was large. Everyone was moving, and I tried not to gape too much. Those were just my first impressions. I can't speak for everyone — everyone's tastes are different. I was more shocked to see that everyone had an athletic physique, not just the girls. Many did hand-to-hand fighting, which was noticeable by the peculiar gait with which they carried themselves. That gives us... a school full of athletes and hand-to-hand fighters? I thought I'd see rich boys and brats here. Um, for some reason I was getting bad premonitions.

  'Come over here.' Shina stopped me at the school gates

  'I'm sorry, miss, my heart belongs to another.'

  'I couldn’t care less!' Calm down. Reprimanding me, she fixed my collar, tightened my tie, which was an indispensable attribute of the school uniform, and shook something from the sleeve. She glared at me again vexedly.

  'Would you stop that? What else don't you like?' In my humble opinion, I looked pretty decent. I was wearing a brand-spanking-new uniform, which I had ironed last night. Normally, I don't even bother. My shoes were clean. Even my backpack was new. What more did she want? Although I didn't feel annoyed by her glares, her fixation with my clothing was irritating. Shina sincerely believed that my choice of clothing was boring and completely tasteless. But now, for some reason, her glares just made me smile.

  'Calm down. The school uniform looks surprisingly good on you, but there is still something missing. A different tie and a shirt in a darker color would probably be better on you.'

  'Don't even go there. This is a uniform, after all. Even if you're right, you can’t change anything.'

  'You're right,' she sighed heavily, 'though, I really want to.' I shuddered at the memories of our shopping trips, which I avoided like the plague. But, given the frequency of Shina's attempts to drag me there, I had to give in to shopping from time to time. The entire Koyama family always thought there was something wrong with me. Shina, for instance, doesn't like the way I dress. I think I've mentioned before that she has her own issues with looks and appearance. Her mother is convinced I eat too poorly and live on noodles. That's why at best she supplies me with various recipes all the time and at worst, personally gives me a master class on cooking. So, thanks to Kagami-San, I am very apt at the art of cooking. Mizuki, on the other hand, is a clean freak. Can you believe it? That daredevil, as if she were powered by a nuclear reactor, is a clean freak! When she swings by me to drag me to a regular training or spar-beating session, first, she checks the entire house commenting on the state of my quarters and developing a cleaning plan. After the class, she comes home with me and instantly starts cleaning up. I have long given up on the idea of pacifying her. As long as she leaves me alone, I don't care.

  Their father, Akeno-san, was trying to instill in me a love of the martial arts with maniacal persistence and was my main source of knowledge on the topic. He always answered my questions, even now, six years after I first found myself in this world. That was all fine and dandy, but his desire to show me all the greatness of martial arts and style practiced by the Koyama family, in particular, sometimes led to sparring with his daughters. More precisely, I was used as a dummy on which they practiced their strikes. How was I still alive? But the old man Kenta was the most innocuous of them all. He was a firm believer that a guy living alone without his parents must know the laws of the country: criminal, administrative, etc. This was expressed in short lectures on the topic and soliciting various books.

  'You know, I'm starting to think that you are a kind of paradox. You seemed to be the kind of person who could rock any clothes. But as we started picking out clothes for you, it turned out to be an illusion; no matter what I find for you, something always seems to be missing.'

  '...And it seems to me that this topic is driving me nuts.' In response, Shina frowned and gave me a very unpleasant look.

  'Anyway, admit it, it's not gonna be that important anyway if we arrive late at the opening assembly.' Silence.

  'Shall we let it slide and just go? Yeah, it's not good for girls to frown. They might get wrinkles.' Oops, that was uncalled for. A distracting strike to the liver and a subsequent kick to my leg showed clearly that I was right.

  'Koyama women don't get wrinkles, and the men who dream them quickly regret it,' she deprecated.

  'Yes, I already do!' I had no choice, really. I wasn't going to argue back-and-forth with her.

  'Whaat?' she stretched out the word.

  'What do you mean — already do? You already regret it? That is, you see wrinkles on me?'

  'Listen, just calm down. Cool off,' I started slowly retreating. 'Yes, I said a stupid thing. I blurted it out without thinking. I didn't mean to insult or offend you.' I decided it was time to use artillery. 'Anyway, a cute girl like you shouldn't pay attention to a guy like me.' Phew, she seems to be cooling off.

  'Perhaps, you are right. Yeah, you're exactly right. I shouldn’t!' Smack, smack! Dang it! That hurt. Two to the liver and chest — she carried them out with a half-smile that made me very uncomfortable. I ought to talk to her father. She might kill someone one day.

  'Why are you doing that then?' I asked cautiously.

  'So you think twice before you speak the next time, about me, and about yourself.' Huh? What was she talking about?

  'Shina-tyan! Hi girlie!' Shina was approached by another chick, her classmate judging by the color of her bow-tie. 'Are you terrorizing freshmen on the first day of school?'

  'I'm not terrorizing but educating. By the way, meet my neighbor, Sakurai Shinji. And this is my friend, Mineh Kino.'

  'Hmm?' 'Well hello, Sakurai Shinji,' she stretched out her words. 'A neighbor and childhood friend as I take it? Just like in the manga. You know what saying is fitting here? Beating someone is a sign of love!'

  'Kino! You know I love you, too.' She did not flush or get annoyed. It must be normal for them to tease each other.

  'Oh, Shina-Chan, I love you, too! And unlike this creep, I am worthy of being close to you!'

  Well, at that, for me, Mineh Kino lost a decent portion of her charm. She teased Shina, but she was making fun of me, a complete stranger.

  'Hello, Mineh-san. I must say that I admire your boldness, but at the same time, I advise you to find a hideout. Don’t let Shina's father find you.'

  'What?'

  'Huh?'

  'Don't be surprised. He'll never allow his daughter to marry a woman. Don't be fooled by Shina's beatings. The folk sayings aren't always right,' I asserted looking into Kino's eyes. After that, I replaced the serious expression on my face with a more leisurely one. I do not know about this witch Mineh, but Shina was not stupid. As I was walking away from them, they were probably contriving a plan to murder me. However, I had done my best to show that I was only referring to Mineh, so I hoped Shina wouldn’t feel obliged to kill me straight away. Later, she'd cool off. I couldn’t care less about her friend.

  After I walked away a decent distance, the girls snapped out of it and approached me.

  'Hey, neighbor, don’t you think you’re crossing the line?' Mineh asked.

  'Eh, you deserve some beating, Shinji,
so watch your language,' sighed Shina.

  'You see, Mineh-San, there are two sides to every story. I don't know you, you don’t know me, and, if you ask me, I’d rather have it stay that way. You, on the other hand… If you watched your mouth, there'd be no issues.' How's that for a response? Great.

  Ignoring the two chicks, I started walking to the bulletin board that displayed the class schedule. While I was walking up to the bulletin board, which had gathered a decent crowd around it, the girls caught up with me again. They were weirdly silent this time. Apparently, after discussing the situation, they had decided to hush the matter up or postpone it for later. The bulletin board was large enough, so that I did not have to wade through the crowd to get closer to it. Having found my name in column '1-D', I deliberated whether to go to my classroom now or wait for Shina and go with her? I decided not to wait. After all, there was not much going on here.