GIN IMOSE – BORN YEAR 2185 MONTH 4 DAY 12
I gave my introduction with energy and in a loud voice. “How do you do? I am Gin Imose. My clothing may give you too strong an impression that I am an intellectual, but you will find that on the inside, I am a compassionate and kind person. Please, everyone call me Gin. I look forward to learning with you all!”
Yup, that was an intro without fault! I wonder how the students reacted to it?
I scanned the classroom—
W-W-Wha? Something’s not right.
I was expecting their faces to be filled with curiosity about their new transfer student, welcoming looks, or even unwelcoming looks... But there were none of those. If I were to describe the faces of my classmates in the style of Odaira-sensei, I would say something like this:
EYEZ OPEN WIDE ◎ MOUTHZ ON FLOOR ◇ FACEZ SHOCK ☆
“This is exactly what I was just talking about! Think about what year this is right now!” Kuroha jumped in.
“What year? It’s... Oh...”
Oopsy. It was 201X.
“Listen. I’m going to clean up this mess, so just stay quiet. Not a peep!” said Kuroha, stepping up in front of the class.
“Um, that was a joke,” she said.
No one reacted to her. The classroom was as silent as it was before.
“You know, to break the ice?”
Silence.
“I know how he must seem to people right now, okay? But let me just say it... You’re supposed to laugh now.”
Again silence... or not?
Yuzu-san started to laugh out loud. The rest of the class began to follow along and started smiling.
Thankfully, it seemed like the fact I came from the future was still a secret to everyone. Thank you, Kuroha. Thank you, Yuzu-san.
But I had spoken too soon.
People had already seen through the fact that I had come from the future. Kuroha’s cover-up had not been effective.
The moment homeroom was over a voice called out to me, “Hey, Futureboy!”
Oh no, what will I do?! Kuroha had said that they might expel me if they found out I’m from the future, after all.
“Kuroha, I’m in big trouble!” As I explained the situation, she sighed so long that I thought she might run out of breath.
“Um, that’s just a nickname.”
Let me come clean about something. I had assumed that as a student from the 23rd century, my academic abilities would have far exceeded those of 21st century students. I had imagined that all the other students would be shocked by my amazing knowledge, and would beg me to help them study.
I was from 200 years into the future. Wouldn’t the education from my time far exceed that of the past? It was not out of the question. But the reality of it was the complete opposite.
It was now Japanese class.
“Gin Imose-kun, would you please read from the textbook.” I responded with a “Yes!” and stood up, looking down at the textbook.
It was 暮方 on that 日.
Kanji right off the bat! I mean yeah, it’s Japanese class, but shouldn’t a high school textbook be geared more towards normal people? There should have been more hiragana...
I was in trouble. I decided to try reading just the parts I could, and try and fake it.
“‘It was... on that...’”
A chill came over the class.
Is that good enough, I wonder?
In the tension-filled room, the teacher said, “Hmm, could you please repeat that from the beginning?” showing no mercy.
Crap! It didn’t look like just reading the hiragana parts would be enough to get by.
“Gin-san, you read that as, ‘It was dusk on that day,’” whispered Yuzu-san from the seat next to mine.
O-Okay, got it. Thanks, Yuzu-san!
“‘You read that as it was dusk on that day,’” I read to the class.
The class burst into laughter immediately. It seems I had said something strange, thanks to my nerves.
Th-This is hard... I had steeled myself for a challenge with Japanese class, but it was far worse than I had feared. The other subjects were similarly difficult to understand, with the exception of English. Why does everything have to be so high-level?
The teacher laughed it off with a “All right, that’s enough...” and I sat down dejectedly.
“Gin-san, I apologize for not being clear,” said Yuzu-san.
“Don’t worry about that. I’m sorry for making so much trouble for you all the time.”
“Oh, I don’t mind at all. I’m having fun,” she replied with a warm smile.
Ahh... She’s truly an angel on Earth. It must be against the rules for a girl as unbelievably beautiful as her to be so kind, as well.
I wanted to keep Yuzu-san’s very existence a secret from everyone. If the world found out about her, she’d clearly be treated as some kind of unknown life form. I wouldn’t want that. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I didn’t want her smiling at so many other people...
As I became sucked deeper and deeper into Yuzu-san’s smile, I felt a stare hitting the back of my head like a laser beam. Turning around, I locked eyes with Kuroha from her seat by the window.
Yikes... What a face! You look like some kind of Noh demon mask!
I was actually impressed that such a face was even possible. Perhaps she had a future in the performing arts.
There was a reason that Kuroha was making such an angry face. She had gotten a seat separated from us. Our seats were on the hallway side, but Kuroha was next to the window. The teacher had decided on the seating, it seemed. So Kuroha must have been angry about being left out, but there was nothing she could do about it.
During class, Kuroha continued to follow me with her assassin’s stare. If you could kill with a stare, I would have seen the gates of hell twenty times over, at least.
“Kuroha-san seems worried about you, Gin-san,” Yuzu-san said. It seemed she had also noticed Kuroha’s fearsome stare.
Don’t look straight into her eyes! It’s scary!
It wasn’t long before class was over. A number of students got up from their seats. Kuroha left her seat and strode over to us intently, like some manifestation of anger on the attack.
I was frightened and I turned my back to her. But what I saw was that before I had realized it, Yuzu-san had been surrounded by other boys. Are they friends of hers? It totally threw me off.
It looked like the boys were inviting Yuzu-san out to things. “Karaoke, or maybe an arcade? How about a movie, whatever you want!” they were saying.
Yuzu-san was greeting them all with a smile, but I wondered what exactly was her relationship with them. Hmm...
“A movie? Actually I’ve never seen a movie in a movie theater before.”
“What?! Then perfect! Let’s all go to a movie together!” All the boys nodded together. One of them started checking movie times on his cellphone, and a number of films that were currently showing were listed.
I was curious, so I chimed in. “That movie there... How many of the heroines in it grow into giants?”
All the boys turned to look at me.
“In the era we’re from, all the entertainment films have parts where the heroine turns into a giant,” I explained. “Like where the giant-sized heroine from the Milky Way battles the bad heroine giant from another universe.”
“Giant-sized? What the hell is this guy talking about?” The boys all seemed taken aback from what I had said.
“Aha... Well, there’s this one, actually,” said one of the boys. He fiddled on his phone, and with a teasing smile showed it to me. There was a picture of a girl in a pink outfit.
Magical Girl Super Sadie — The Movie —
This was... It was the anime that Yuzu-san’s brother loved so much!
He read the text aloud. “‘Hurry up and kneel before me! It is I, Sadie, master of a thousand sadisms, here to abuse you! 1,000 names will be drawn in a lottery to win a special alarm clock which will awaken yo
u with my abusive voice!’ it says.”
“Well at least it knows its target audience,” said another boy.
Hey now! Don’t laugh at Sadie in front of Yuzu-san! That’s the same as laughing at her brother! I was indignant.
I looked over at Yuzu-san’s face and, as expected, it was tinged with sadness.
Damn it, I can’t let this stand. Who the hell do these boys think they are? They have no idea about Yuzu-san’s feelings!
I stood up, not able to stand it any more, my chair falling to the ground with a clatter behind me. “Don’t you laugh! Isn’t Sadie cute?”
“Wh-What?”
“Why are you laughing? Are you making fun of moe?!”
“You’re supposed to laugh at stuff like this, right? I mean, even the creators know it’s a joke.”
“You’re wrong!” I cried. “The creators are thinking, ‘Someone is going to be saved by my work’! That’s what telling a tale is for! To say it is a joke is disrespectful!”
“Man, it hurts just to listen to this guy,” said one of the boys.
It hurts?! What hurts here is Yuzu-san’s heart! Yuzu-san was looking at me and the other boys, uneasily. What can I do to make her smile again...? Ah, it’s gotta be that!
“Yuzu-san!” I got down on one knee before her. I was posing like a knight before his queen. “Will you go to a movie with me? To watch Sadie!” I yelled it out with a booming voice, and extended my hand to her.
Yuzu-san and the boys both looked down on me with stunned faces.
“Yuzu-chan would never watch something like that!” one boy objected.
“Yuzu-chan?! If you dare to address her that way, then you must call me ‘Gin-chan,’ as well!”
“Huh? That doesn’t make any sense...”
“Let’s go see Sadie and get verbally abused! We can buy the pamphlet and lick her picture, groveling on the ground!” Just like your brother did! Yuzu-san, come now, take my hand!
Yuzu-san blinked a few times in surprise. She looked at me in silence for a moment, then knelt down on the floor in front of me and clasped both of her hands around mine.
“Gin-san, I’ll be happy to go see a movie with you.”
“Okay!” Yes! I’m going to see a movie with Yuzu-san!
Yuzu-san looked at me with a delicate smile. While I was still enchanted, she let go of my hand and stood up. The look on her face changed to one of regret, and she bowed her head to the boys.
“I know that you asked me first, but I’m sorry,” she said.
The boys all had their own nasty looks on their faces.
“Damn it. Who gives a shit about moe, anyway?”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me...”
The boys all spat out throwaway lines at me as they exited into the hallway.
I stood up and faced Yuzu-san. A big smile came back over her face.
“Gin-san, thank you for standing up for something my brother liked.”
“I just did what anyone else would have done.”
“I was surprised at how serious you got. You raised your voice really loud... It was echoing through the classroom, you know. Especially ‘Lick her picture.’”
“When I get serious, I naturally raise my voice.”
“That’s a lot like my brother.”
“Maybe I’m being possessed by your brother.”
“Oh my, Gin-san...” Tears started to well up in her eyes. They seemed almost hot.
She must have been crying because of those boys laughing at Sadie.
Don’t worry, everything will be okay. There’s no need to cry anymore.
Yuzu-san took a short breather, and then looked toward the hallway where the boys had gone.
“Maybe I did something not so nice...” she said.
“Yeah... Maybe it would be a good idea to make up with them.” I didn’t think they had been trying to be mean. They just had not yet realized the appeal of moe. I really wished I could have them read Oniaka. I definitely recommended Homyura’s panty flashes and panty shots.
“Gin-san, um, about the movie...” Yuzu-san was looking back at me and seemed embarrassed. “When did you want to go?”
“Well, it’s the two of us going, so...”
“—I want to go with you.”
Gya! An eerie voice came from behind me. I felt a wave of wrath pass through my entire body. What an incredibly ominous aura! I turned around, fearing the worst.
There stood the ultimate evil, Kuroha...
“I’m just kidding.”
...or not? Kuroha had calmed down. What an anticlimax.
“I don’t really want to point this out, but if you’re going to see a movie, you don’t have any money, Onii-chan. You’re just going to trouble Yuzu-san more.”
“It’s no trouble at all. I’m happy to pay for a movie or two,” said Yuzu-san.
“Yuzu-san, stop spoiling my brother.”
“But, Gin-san did invite me and all...” replied Yuzu-san.
Kuroha’s temples started to pulse.
“I don’t have many opportunities to go see a movie with someone,” Yuzu-san continued.
I was wrong about Kuroha having calmed down. Her eyes were rapidly glancing up and down, her hair was standing upright... She looked like a Tibetan god of wrath. She’s taken face-making to an entirely new level!
“NO!!!”
I could feel the pressure from her voice, which boomed out, filled with bass.
Yuzu-san was taken aback, and nodded. “Never mind, then...”
Grr... It seemed like it wouldn’t be possible for me to go see a movie with Yuzu-san. What a shame... However it was true that I didn’t have any money, so there wasn’t anything I could do about it. Maybe I should look for a part-time job?
I had given up on going to the movies, but it seemed like Yuzu-san had not.
“What about if you come as well, Kuroha-san?”
“What?” Kuroha was no longer in the form of a Tibetan god of wrath, and had returned to being human.
“We can all go together. Let’s bring Miru-chan and Sensei, as well!”
“Wouldn’t that mean you’d have to pay for all of us, then?”
“I’ll be fine! Let’s all go together!” Yuzu-san was smiling and filled with expectation.
The Mirokuin family was rich, so movie tickets shouldn’t be that much of an expense for them, but...
Kuroha was wavering, but Yuzu-san clinched it with an “It’s decided!”
Yuzu-san, thank you so much for everything you’ve done for me.
So, now I was going to a movie with Yuzu-san, together with Kuroha and everyone else. I was looking forward to it.
...Wait a second. If we’re already going as a group, then... “I just had a good idea! Why don’t we invite all the boys to see Sadie, as well?”
“Oh, that sounds like it would be a lot of fun and excitement.”
“You mean, go together with those guys? Onii-chan, wouldn’t that make you feel awkward?”
“Why would it?”
“It’s that part of you that I actually have to give my respect, Onii-chan. Seriously.”
Okay then, let’s all go to the movies! I’ll show those guys just what’s so great about 2D girls!
I went and invited all the boys who had come back into the classroom to the movie. I figured they’d say okay, but they all said no way.
After yelling “Let’s go have Sadie tell us off!” the third time, they said, “Please stop, it’s embarrassing just listening to you!” and flatly refused.
I don’t get the sensibilities of the people of the past!
After school, Kuroha came over to my seat.
“So, do you have any good ideas?”
“Good ideas?”
Kuroha put her hand to her forehead and sighed. “Onii-chan, why did you come to this school in the first place?”
Why had I come here? That was because—
“Wait, why was it again?” I looked over beside me to Yuzu-san for help.
Ah yes, that’s right.
“Sheesh! It’s because of Yuzu-san’s brother, remember?!” yelled Kuroha.
“Oh yeah, that’s what it was!”
“And how is that going exactly?”
She was right. I had come to this school to help fulfill Yuzu-san’s brother’s wishes. But like Kuroha was saying, I had yet to do a thing.
“Yuzu-san, it might bring back painful memories, but I’d like to just double check on some things. Your brother went to school but became isolated from everyone else in his class. His isolation was because he did a lot of normal everyday things like talking to 2D girls and licking them all over. Am I getting anything wrong?”
“No, that’s correct,” confirmed Yuzu-san.
“Onii-chan, are you sure those are normal things to do?” Kuroha asked. “They seem more like things related to his particular tastes. Maybe they were things people shouldn’t do?”
“Kuroha, Yuzu-san is standing right in front of us!” I stared at my sister. How dare she speak ill of the dead!
“If you think it was her brother’s actions that were the problem, then why don’t we test that theory out? I’ll just do the same things in front of my classmates as he did.”
“Please don’t! You’ve embarrassed yourself enough as it is. Do you want to become some kind of legend at the school?”
“Legend! I like the sound of that.”
“Whoops, I shouldn’t have said that. I forgot how stupid you were.”
“There are times when everyone in the school gathers for assemblies, you know!” suggested Yuzu-san, helpfully.
“You mean do it in front of the entire school, not just the class? That definitely sounds like I’d get my name in the school’s history books.”
“Yuzu-san, please don’t encourage him. He’ll actually do it, you know.”
“What? Did I say something wrong?” Yuzu-san asked.
You didn’t say a thing wrong, Yuzu-san! Kuroha is the person that’s wrong here!
“You want to spread moe, right? Don’t you have anything that will get the attention of a lot of students?” asked Kuroha.
“And if I did, then what?” I replied.
“Then, maybe you could preach to everyone why moe is so great?”
My Little Sister Can Read Kanji: Volume 1 Page 10