'A total mess. Shina made a stink about someone breaking into your place. We didn't understand right away that the someone had managed to get away. She didn't even see the intruder. She could just sense the Yaki concentration in ridiculous amounts. Those are her words.'
'Of course, then they searched the house while we were running.'
'Not sure about that. It's just that my dad and grandpa don't think there was anyone at your place. They think it was you who pressured her with Yaki. In other words, you got sick of her coming to your place as if it were her own house.' Oops, my mistake. Shina is not even aware of it. It could have been worse, but whatever. The mere fact that I'm using Yaki is, evidently, nothing new to them, but I still have to downplay it. Mizuki will help me with that. I very much doubt that the two monsters did not notice her eavesdropping. I think they either sent her on purpose or the Great Kagami is going to question her afterwards.
'I had a nightmare, and then Shina broke into my house. That's why I was on edge.'
'Wow, do you know that you scared even my sister with it?'
'What does that have to do with me? Your sister is a softy who claims to be a Teacher. If she was truly frightened, she'd have stayed out of my room.'
'You shouldn't say that. She was worried about you.' Yeah, strange as it may seem. 'She treats you like an annoying younger brother who needs to be taken care of.' Ouch, that’s humiliating. Younger brother indeed!
'Well, lately she’s been antagonizing me.'
Mizuki sighed in response, and after some time, she totally confused me by saying:
'For as long as I can remember, she's always wanted a younger brother. She wanted to have someone to take care of, to raise, who could become heir to the clan. The title of heiress has always been a strain for her. So you were a good fit, with the exception of the part where you're supposed to become the heir. On the other hand, you're weak. I’m sorry. A male who's weak, you know... That's why she doesn't know what to do. On the one hand, she wants to sing you a lullaby. On the other, that would be inappropriate because you're a grown man. It would seem that he doesn't want to learn, but how is it possible for a man to be a weakling?' Mizuki, Mizuki! I wish you were always so mature, because childish behavior gets annoying sometimes too. Ohhh. Why can't you girls just be? Younger brother—ridiculous!
'Her uncertainty affects me. Not in a positive way. I might blow up one day.'
'Let's hope that she'll make up her mind before then,' Mizuki answered with a smile.
After that, the youngest Koyama switched from smart, mature girl mode back to child mode, running around me and asking silly questions until we reached school. Not far from Dakisyuro, I asked Mizuki a question that had been bothering me since our conversation.
'Why is your attitude towards me different from Shina's? According to you, I am a weakling and all that stuff.'
'Shinji, you're a fool. I don't think you're weak.' I smiled.
Three hundred feet from the school, I saw Rydon. He stood at the door, tired and droopy. I walked up to him and saw a yearning glance directed at the school.
'What, Okhayashi-kun, have you finally come to the realization of what school is all about?' I said, adding sarcasm to my voice.
'Oh no, Sakurai-kun, school is the greatest invention of mankind. What sucks is that it takes forever to get there!' He finished, hunched over.
'Huge traffic jam?' I said with sympathy in my voice.
'The traffic jam wasn't that huge, but there were a lot of them!'
'How did you make it on time then?'
'My sister goes to this school. The driver knows better, and my sister is very experienced in waking me up in the morning.'
'Perhaps, you should think of finding a place that's closer,' I sympathetically patted Rydon on the shoulder, at the same time giving the sign that it was time to go.
'Nah,' he said under his breath. 'If my sister can live with this for a year, so can I. Plus, Aneko might be against it. If she wanted to move, she would have done so long ago.' However, you're looking into your options. I smiled at the thought.
Getting to class was like walking through a minefield. Everyone was in a hurry, running to somewhere. On the first floor, we got hit by people running, twice. I started to wonder whether it was always like this here or whether something had happened.
'So busy,' my classmate said, trying to avoid another collision. As we reached our classroom, we couldn't help it and had a collision anyway, once again, with a girl. This time, Rydon got in trouble. A short, cute girl with long straight hair, that reminded me of the color of a crow’s wing, and a blue bow indicating her sophomore status banged into his chest. He must have relaxed as he got closer to the classroom.
'My apo...'
'Watch where you're...'
'...logies. Are you okay?' The question was right on. She stood there with her little mouth open, wide-eyed, staring at me. She was either frightened or surprised; regardless, her feelings were strong. Having exchanged glances with Rydon and receiving an astonished look in response, I addressed the girl.
'Are you okay? Are you hurt?' She looked at me silently. Looking back at Rydon, I decided to move on to more decisive actions. 'Hey, beauty, are you still alive?' I asked, waving my hand in front of her face. In response, she took a step back and pressed her fists to her chin, her eyes even bigger. 'Well ... I think she's all right,' I finished uncertainly.
'Er, Sakurai-kun, do you know her? Is it possible that you offended her in some way?'
'To hell with it! This is the first time I have ever seen her! Besides, I think she's just scared.'
'Really? I think she's offended.' I got a better look at her. Well. Where is he seeing that?
'I’m not sure about that. Girl, tell us something. Make a peep at least.'
'You know, if she doesn't want to talk, so be it,' Rydon muttered, looking around. 'Let's go to the classroom.' Looking behind him, I realized what was wrong. The knight had not yet appeared but the people were already gathering.
'You're right, at the same time, and the girl will overcome the shock.'
'Can you find out who she was?' I asked Rydon once we had sat down in our seats.
'What about you?' He said adding a note of tediousness to his voice.
'You saw her reaction to me. You, on the other hand, have a sister at this school, and you can ask her.'
'Why do you care? I'd stay away from her.'
'I will. For sure. Aren't you curious?'
'You have Shina-San.'
'I'm not asking her. That's for sure.'
'Hmm? Fine,' he sighed. 'I'll try to find out.' You're a good man, Rydon. You don’t stick your nose where it doesn't belong.
'She'll beat the living daylights out of me trying to find out how I managed to frighten her. I can't keep it from her either. She'll still beat the living daylights out of me. The girl is gonna get it too.' Not like I care about her. But why invite minor troubles if you can avoid them?
'These childhood friends in the Teacher rank though.'
'Yeah, no kidding.'
The girl was obviously frightened of me which was only possible if she knew I was the Tokyo Dwarf. That was not a fact though because I was not a killer. Anyway, I was really curious. I didn't believe that she knew me because I hid too well. I couldn’t imagine how she could have dug up any information on me so that could not be the reason.
The classes were 'terrific.' Two math periods. Algebra and geometry have always been easy for me, so I was really bored. Then we had physics which I never liked, but I had the upper hand anyway because after starting my work at the Special Forces Department, all new warlocks had to undertake the physics course. So yeah, I know physics!
The last class before the long recess was biology. At one time, my daughter had had problems with biology, and so I had to learn it with her from cover to cover. As a result, I was bored out of my skull! I get it: it's always better to know something than not to know. But, my God, this is boring. Where is
the Japanese class, which strains even my trained memory? Where is geography, which I have respect for just like history, tech ed, physical education, arts? Why can't they change it up? Oops, I am sixteen years old, but ranting like a grumpy, old man.
We had lunch with Rydon in the cafeteria. The lunches at the middle school were just okay, but here, yesterday, I found out they weren't bad at all. However, I noticed that many brought cold lunches, and passing by the tables, I looked to see what was in their bento boxes. My bento box making skills aren't that good. Plus, I'm too lazy to spend time cooking. Rydon didn't bother with it either by the looks of things as we both walked to check out the local 'gourmet' food. However, that wasn't meant to happen.
'Shinji!' I looked back in the direction of the voice and saw Shina sitting at one of the tables with a friend. What's her name again? Oh yeah, Mineh Kino.
'Come on, it's time I introduced you,' I nudged Rydon.
'Ah-huh,' he answered uncertainly. Shina in public was not the same Shina as she was at home. Posture, gestures, even her look—everything spoke of her aristocratic roots.
'Shina, Mineh-San, this is Okhayashi Raidon-kun. Okhayashi-kun, this black-haired beauty is Koyama Shina-san, and this is her friend Mineh Kino-san. In response, the girls stood up and bowed to Rydon. Kino bowed a little earlier and slightly lower, giving away her lower status in comparison to Shina's. By the way, she did not bow to me at all. Was I supposed to bow? I don’t remember.
'Have a seat,' Shina gestured to the chairs.
'I'm gonna go and buy something for myself,' Rydon said. Judging by the three bento boxes on the table, I didn't need to buy anything. Who knows though. I silently followed Okhayashi, though I had only taken a step.
'Shinji,' she called out. 'Here, mom made this just for you.' I sat back down at the table—obstinating Kagami's food wasn't worth it—and opened my lunch. Wow. I glanced at the brunette’s bento box and realized one thing: the daughter did not even come close to her mother in cooking skills, and it was not the fact that she would never catch up with her. These exclusive meat rolls, for example. I tried Shina's version, Mizuki's, and even tried making them myself but no one could surpass Kagami-sama. All this was mine now!
'Not bad for fuel, huh?'
'Kino!'
'Fine. Your mom's amazing. How does she find time for everything?' Yes, I find that interesting too. 'You, boy, like living off of women, do you?'
'Kino! I thought we talked about that yesterday.' The girl is nuts. Has she decided to issue an ultimatum and make Shina choose between her and me? Such nonsense. What is she trying to accomplish, the hillbilly? I’ll have to put her in her place.
I gazed at Shina with deliberate surprise and waited until she noticed. Then I grinned.
'The retinue is playing king, eh?' The girl's frowning face expressed annoyance but not with me. Knowing her for years had taught me to read her expressions.
'She's not retinue, but a friend,' Shina muttered after a couple of seconds. Mineh did not interfere in the conversation. She must have not gotten it.
'Frie-e-end,' I stretched out the word. 'You know what smart people say? You should pull your friends up to your level, not stoop down to theirs.
'You are my friend too, remember?' That's a controversial statement.
'That's why I'm trying my best not to stoop down to your level or hers.'
'Wha-a-at?' Mineh hissed, leaning on the table. 'Do you consider yourself superior to us? She only got my smirk in response.
'Enough!' Shina said quietly slapping her hand on the table. 'Enough. Calm down, Ki-chan. Shinji, your words are offensive. Just as yours are, Kino. Calm down.' I am calm. 'But you will answer for this, Shinji!' Great! Why me?
'Answer for this?' I said, getting angry. 'Let's ask your grandpa who's right.'
'Grandpa is... on your side for some reason.'
'Hmm? Then maybe your father? Oh yeah, he's a man, male solidarity and all that. Well then, Kagami-san? What?' I asked, looking at the frowning, reddened face. 'Does she preach too often? And this would be just another excuse for moral preaching? Well, I have no idea who we should ask now. Maybe Mizuki? What?' I asked, noticing her mouth twitch with annoyance. 'What do you have against her? Stop wrinkling your forehead.' Mineh bit her tongue. The conversation appeared to have gone in a direction she did not expect. Perhaps I had gotten a little too excited also. I shouldn't have pressured Shina in front of the others. The situation was saved by Rydon, who returned with a tray full of food. Good boy, he got back just in time. A few minutes later, it would have been too late.
'You look like you're refeeding.' I could not help saying as I glanced at his tray.
'I can't do anything about my stomach,' he grinned.
* * *
After school, Rydon and I split up. He went to search for a fencing club, and I went to look for ways to get out of club activities. The plan was simple: to find a music club and sell them lyrics in exchange for my extremely rare attendance. So what do you think? It wasn't that easy! Of the ten found, only four would be good for it. There was a modern music club, a band, a costumed group, a rock, and a pop group. The rest didn't need my services either because their repertoire didn't have any songs, or because I couldn't offer them anything, like the jazz, retro and opera clubs.
The modern music club told me to go away blatantly. I'll remember that. In the rock club, it turns out, they do remakes of famous songs. The pop club had two guys of their own who were authors, and there was no place for a third competitor. The cosplay club tried bargaining with me. They did not seem to understand, in particular the blue drummer who apparently ran it all. He asked me for one text every two weeks. I make a ton of money from my lyrics and he wants them for free. Okay, so he doesn’t know that and, therefore, could not be aware that it was really too much to ask for. One text every two weeks... But where else would he get that? It also counted as telling me to go away. The guy with his own harem clearly knew what he was doing. A couple of girls flashed their smart eyes and probably understood that their drummer was driving up the price, but I reckoned he would later find a good reason to convince them that he was right.
There I was standing in front of the building and thinking about what was next. I'd be better off organizing my own club but how do you organize a self-indulgence club in a school that controls all the activities of its existing clubs? How depressing. Should I check out fighting clubs, fencing or something else? That's something at least. I might even see Rydon there, and he might offer something sensible. Or should I go home? And then what? I have nothing going on today. Go to The Swallow? Yes, I should find Rydon and visit Honda!
The clubs were located to the east of the stadiums and occupied a large area. The thing is that it was all in the capital, albeit on the outskirts. I was struck by the forest— real forest. The school grounds were pretty lush, and in addition, they had a forest right at the school, right in multi-million Tokyo. What can I say, the Koyama clan that runs the school is awesome, hands down. How did they make it possible for other clans to send their kids here? Did they make a deal with them? On the other hand, what does it matter to me?
The fighting clubs were located between the stadiums and the forest, occupying a vast land area. If it were not for a couple of guys that I had met, I would have spent ages looking for fencing clubs because there weren't many people on the road between the fences.
The territory of the fighting clubs looked like a city block. A lot of Dojo with their own relatively small areas, resembling a parade ground, were surrounded by a stone fence and located one after another in several rows. Here and there, I could hear screaming students and teachers. The sound of voices, counting something, was coming from somewhere in the distance; and elsewhere, stomping sounds could be heard. Interesting! Despite the fact that the streets between the fences were empty, I wouldn't say that I felt lonely.
I was given clear directions: take this many steps, this many turns, and the street is yours. Only after reaching t
he place, did I understand what 'the street is yours' means. Every side of the road had five Dojos and then another five. There were all kinds of clubs here: kendo, European, Chinese, Indian, Spanish fencing clubs, and even Zhogo to Pau. This was just the beginning of the street! At moments such as these, I was glad that I lived in a high-tech world, where cell phones aren't a luxury.
The right building was nearest to me on the left: the European Fencing Club. Standing in front of the gate, I wondered whether they held fights between the Dojo. There were signs with the club's name everywhere, like in the movies.
I didn't know whether I should be looking for him or just wait here. In the courtyard, I saw about twenty people. Some were practicing punches and hits, some were engaged in sparring, and others were just wandering around. I couldn't see Rydon anywhere.
'Still thinking? Or want to sign up?' I was approached by a guy who was taller than the average Japanese with hair to the waist tied in a ponytail. He was wearing pants with the Chinese cut and nothing on top. 'Oh, excuse my ignorance, Akira Mineh.' C'mon, is this the brother? He seems more polite than his sister.
'Shinji Sakurai, Mineh-san,' I bowed in response with the same formality. 'I'm sorry, Mineh-san, but I'm just looking for a classmate. He's signing up right now. If I'm in the way or breaking any rules, I apologize. I will leave the club territory immediately,' I said, then bowed again.
'No, no, you're fine. As long as you keep your distance from the trainees and their swords,' he answered with a smile. 'You're free to wait here for your friend. You can even take a walk and look around, in case you decide to join us,' he finished smiling casually. At first glance, he seemed quite cool, much better than his sister, of course, that was if they were even relatives at all.
'Thanks, Mineh-san,' I smiled. 'Umm, can I ask you a question? I'm not distracting you, am I?'
'No, you're fine. What's your question?'
'Are you related to Mineh Kino?' My question clearly puzzled him.
'Yes, she’s my sister,' he answered in a slightly surprised voice. 'Do you know her?'
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