'If you don't understand normal language, miss, then listen up: get lost, witch!' Satisfied with the expression of surprise and confusion on her face, I turned to Rydon.
'Let's go now. Let's look at the local clubs.' After we left the dumbfounded girl far behind us, Rydon broke the silence.
'That was impressive how you clipped her wings. I should take a note of that.' The road we walked along led directly to two buildings, joined by a passageway at the level of the second floor. A presentation was already taking place, we were informed by a junior who was passing by. To the left of us, there was a long five-story building, and to the right, a smaller three-story building. The yard was full of students arranging tables, chairs, and pillars. They were carrying in posters and setting up the stage and booth tables. In twenty minutes or so, they would be ready to represent their clubs.
'Shall we go inside? We're not gonna wait for them to get started, are we?' Rydon suggested.
'Aren't they all gonna be outside?'
'No, no. Only the noisiest ones, like music performances, are here and those who can't fit into the club room because they need a larger set-up.' Meanwhile, it was getting louder. A pink-haired girl with a bunch of paper rolls passed by us. Right in the middle of the yard, near a bunch of wooden boards, two guys were arguing with each other, and not far from them, there was a third, laying on the ground with a girl in a gothic dress on top of him who was slapping the guy on the cheeks.
First, we visited the five-story building with two exit doors at both ends. We entered one of them and saw a staircase leading to the second floor. To the right, there were glass doors which led us to a wide hallway that stretched through the entire building.
Ah, spring. Sakura petals, air filled with freedom and new life, a feeling of anticipation. You wonder why I'm saying that? Well, the first sign we saw said, 'Spring Follies Club.' It was the first club I came across in Dakisyuro. I wasn't sure why the name of the club was attached to a certain season, but I was curious to find out. The building had sliding doors, which I moved to the side but then closed in the same instant.
'I didn't see anything. You shouldn't either.' I stated, seriously looking at Rydon. Approaching the next door with a sign that read 'Friends Club,' I heard the sound of the sliding door behind me, stomping footsteps, and Rydon's voice:
'I didn't see anything either.' After all, we didn't want to sneak up on anyone. So, exchanging looks, we turned around and made for the second floor.
Overall, it took us a little over an hour to walk around all five, I mean four, floors. It was kind of cool. The Robotics Club managed to take part in a battle of small robots. Both lost. They even have a paleontology club with a considerable bunch of dinosaur bones. I thought of joining a linguistics club, but after looking at their schedule, I changed my mind. They had too many scheduled trips, visits, lectures, meetings with other schools, and regular club meetings. The schedule was just too busy.
The number and variety of things available was huge. We even came across a bottle cap collecting club; however, to join it, I had to bring a cap which I did not have, and I was too lazy to search for one.
We were about to leave, but we hadn't yet chosen a club to join. So, I suggested making a run through the first floor again, just in case. My surprise had no limits when we stumbled upon a sign that read 'Spiritual Sciences Club.'
'Look at that,' I nudged Rydon. 'They do have this garb here.'
'Seriously, I didn't know,' he said surprised. 'I had no idea they had anything like that. It was a completely random thought.'
'It does not matter,' I said, looking around. 'I'm not going to join any clubs on this floor. Let's get out of here.'
The first thing that caught my eye, when we left the building, was a stage with a performance being given by one of the classes. It was more like a pantomime though, since there were no words. Overall, it was pretty entertaining. A little further down and to the right, there was a track for remote-controlled cars with at least twenty different kinds of existing and toy models.
'All right,' I sighed, 'let's go see the martial arts clubs; you kind of wanted to join one of them.'
'Are you sure? We still have to look in the yard, and there is a second building,' the guy replied. 'Or have you already made up your mind?'
'Nah, I'm just tired of it. I still have time. I'm gonna look some more and might choose something later.'
'I see,' he said. 'Then if you want, we can leave. I've chosen already anyway. I just have to go there tomorrow and sign up.'
'Why tomorrow? And which club is it?'
'They're too busy today with the presentation. They don't accept on the first day. I checked with my sister. I want to join the fencing club because I can learn hand-to-hand fighting at home. I want to expand my horizons, so to speak.'
'I see. Well, then let's find our way out.' The pink-haired girl ran past us with her rolls of paper.
'Is that all she does? Just runs back and forth?' I smirked. A second later, we heard a loud shriek behind us. We turned around and saw the girl stretched out on the ground with a bunch of paper rolls scattered around her.
'We have to help her. Otherwise, they'll stomp all over her stuff,' I thought, but I had no time to do anything. It took the girl literally two seconds to collect her scattered things, jump up, and be on her way.
'Wow.'
'She must be experienced.' That could be. Anyway, I was astounded by the brevity of the moment. There was something ironic about it.
We had almost left the yard when a small crowd of students blocked our way which was kind of annoying. Those nearer the road were watching a group of schoolgirls with musical instruments. The drummer was actually a guy. He looked somewhat... effeminate though. The girls in the band were decent-looking, just like the majority of the locals.
'Do you want to listen? They're about to start,' Rydon said.
'Sure, we're in no hurry.'
'Come on. Let's check out the local babes.' The babes, in fact, were wearing fantastical costumes. Or should I say: anime-fantasy? I didn't recognize the first beats. Not that I was big into music, but I could recognize a few tunes. As I started listening to the song, I almost choked up. It wasn't the fact the song was in Russian—that was normal for this world, as Russian, English, and German were popular languages here. I was astounded by the lyrics. I was one hundred percent sure that I had heard a similar song in my world! Dang, I even remembered the name of the writer! Of course, I had heard songs similar to those that were sung in my world, but this one was exactly the same.
'Two people were standing by a stream, a mountain stream ...'
That's Oleg Ladyzhensky, if I'm not mistaken. That's how it goes in my world, at least. Actually, it's surprising this was happening for the first time because this world and my former world are very much alike. By the way, the girl's voice was not too bad. The accent was hardly noticeable. And the rest of them had pretty faces, too, with the exception of the male drummer.
'I think I know what I’m gonna do!'
'Are you talking about the club? Don't tell me that you decided to join the band,' he said giving me a stare down. 'You're not gonna have any time at all if you join this club.' Then he finally asked me a question that would have made sense to ask first, 'Do you know how to play an instrument? Or sing?'
'Both. However, you're right: I wouldn’t have any time for myself. Nahh. I’ve thought of something else. Let's not talk about it just yet. I don't want to go into details. Plus, I don't want to endanger the possibility of success. If everything works out, I won't have to spend too much time on it.'
'Okay, as you say... But as soon as you find out, tell me.' This Rydon was a cool guy. He didn't poke his nose into other people's business and he was not annoying. All he did was show interest.
'You'll be the first person I share everything with. In fact, I should dig out some information about the clubs. What if I can get out of it somehow?'
'Well, that's unlikely,' my friend s
hook his head. If there were any information on how to get out, then the students would probably know about it. I don't know anyone who has this information.'
'You forget who my neighbors are,' I chuckled.
'Sure, the principal. He might disagree with you though.'
'This family owes me. Let's just wait and see.'
'Mm ... well, you know best,' the young aristocrat said hesitantly.
'Yeah, yeah. Come on, let's break out of here.' We bypassed a crowd of students standing in the middle of the paved road and headed across the lawn towards the school. Rydon stopped at the gate.
‘Where are you headed now?' he asked.
'Just straight down the road. I live not far from here.'
'Lucky. I live on the other side of town. I’m going that way,' he made a gesture with his hand. 'To the parking lot.'
'You’ve got a car? How's the traffic around here?'
'Don't even start. I have a feeling I’d be better taking the metro.'
'During rush hour? I feel bad for you.'
'I told you, don't even mention it.'
'Why don't you rent an apartment in the area?'
'For two reasons. First, there is no way I'd find anything around here: it's an elite district.' Wow, I did not know that! In all the years I’d lived here, I hadn't heard that once. 'Secondly, who's gonna teach and train me? My parents would stay at home. I also need a polygon, a gym, and equipment, after all.'
'Sure, sure.' He was from the clan aristocracy. Martial arts are everything to them. The ancestral technique, secret moves and all that. It's not just about martial arts. As an aristocrat, he is taught just about anything.
'Uh, I see. Well, I'm not bothering with all that. All this bull about managing external energy and the great martial arts isn’t for me. I'd rather spend my time browsing the Internet making some money.'
'You're wrong. Every man should...'
'Eww, let's not start. I hear this from Koyama all the time.'
'Fine. But your whole life could take a drastic turn if you don't know how to defend yourself.'
'Who said I don't know how to defend myself?' I smirked.
'Umm...' I'm sure he had a lot of he could argue against me because martial arts are tightly interconnected with Bahirah, external energy (the full name is bahiraṅga-śakti—God's external energy), but his manners prevented him from doing so. That’s the aristocracy for you. 'Well, you know better, I’m sure. I'm gonna go. I have a long ways to get home.' We said our good-byes and headed our separate ways.
Funnily, we practically did nothing all day but at the same time, I had learned so much that was new and vital to me that my head felt as if it was about to explode. I just needed to sit down, relax, and think over the information I’d received during the day. I had to get home fast so I could eat a snack and drink some tea. I thought I’d stop at a store and pick something up, then sit down, relax, and think about what to do next. I headed home, not pausing to think anything else through any further.
Chapter 2
Home, sweet home, I thought, closing the door behind me, so cosy and inviting. Even though it's just a two-story box, I don't want anything more. I took off my shoes and went into the kitchen, where I left the bag of food I'd bought at the store on the way home from school. I walked into the living room, threw the keys on the coffee table, and went up to my room to put away my school bag. Then I came back down to the first floor and thought should I make dinner first or work? Although, what is there to do? Everything's all running nice and smoothly, I just need to observe and monitor. I was the omnipotent boss of Shidotamoru, not some petty, small company. I was known in certain circles around the world. I was the owner and creator of the most popular search engine and a social network, the first of its kind, inspired by Google and Twitter. These were the company’s most famous products but not it’s only ones. The main difficulty was to remain unknown to the public while still maintaining control. You remember that I’m underage, right? It was hard to pull off without any adult involvement. I got some help with this from Nakata Akemi, who is a very extraordinary person both in the underbelly and legal affairs of the Empire.
I decided to cook. It was still daytime, but I liked cooking in advance, so food was ready when it was needed. I would just check my mail for now in case anything had happened. Fifteen minutes later, I went back to the kitchen after making sure that everything was ok. I hastily put away the groceries and started cooking, reflecting on my first meeting with Akemi.
* * *
It all started a year after my parents disappeared. Back then, I only knew one way to make money—by stealing. I was a bad pickpocket, so I started robbing apartments. In the two years of living with the parents, I learned a thing or two, and when they left, I wasn't in too bad a shape. However, that was only the case with my skills, not my capabilities. That is, I could fight my peers but not adults. A ten-year-old body doesn't have that much strength after all, but my agility was decent. So, my reactions, coordination, to some extent speed, knowledge of course, and other skills gained in the other world, all inspired me to pursue the path of a thief, although at first, it was still tricky. Not knowing the subject well enough almost turned out badly for me. Of course, not knowing the underbelly of things i.e. what, where, to whom, and for how much, made it hard for me to sell stolen items, and I had to settle for just stealing cash. Over time, the problem was solved. After four months of exploring Tokyo at night and suffering from chronic sleep deprivation, I carefully started selling stolen items. Another month later, people in certain circles started recognizing me. Yet another month later, I was asked to steal a particular item from a particular house for the first time. A month after that, they tried to catch me, but unsuccessfully as you might gather. I still don't know why. There are no thieves' guilds in Tokyo, or in Japan for that matter, so there is no way I would have been in someone's way, and as for criminal clans, I was a small fry. I had a lot of assumptions which did not help my understanding, and even now, trying to figure out the mess, I couldn’t find the answer as to why and who might have needed me back then. I was nobody, really.
I should add that to go to each job or to meet a client to sell stolen goods, I always wore a mask that I bought from one of the shrines in Tokyo. Originally, it was a wooden mask of a fox with narrow slits for eyes, smooth and oval, painted in orange and white. But after I cut off the ears and covered the mask with black paint, it turned into a decent accessory complimenting my black clothes that I wore in public and at work. Since I wasn't easy to catch and communicated only through writing in a notebook, no one knew who I was or what I looked like.
At the age of eleven, I had become quite famous. Probably due to my height, many wanted to know who I was, whether a child was involved or a dwarf. Basically, curiosity excites the mind. But in any case, I had earned a certain reputation by that time, and I wasn't deprived of orders. Even though they were mostly simple and, therefore, marginal, I had no choice, as I had to work my way up. The fame came later.
At first glance, the order was pretty simple. I had to steal documents from the office located on the first floor of a small firm in Western Tokyo. For a couple of weeks, I just observed the company. I monitored exits and entrances, made background checks on employees and their management, checked the building's security systems: cameras, alarms, locks. For the entire year, I'd worked and studied at the same time, so I was pretty sure that I could bypass the building's security systems, especially in an office. The only problem was that I had to steal from a criminal gang, not regular people. It was highly likely that I was being used with the possibility of them getting rid of me afterwards. In order to find out, I had to do my business and see what kind of documents I had to steal. That was kind of problematic for me. The order was given through a mediator, and they don't like getting into details and never give away the name of the client. Obviously, the mediator might know the details and even the names. However, there was no way he'd tell me what they were: I wasn'
t at that level. I had no name, not enough reputation.
I decided to take the risk but make some amendments. That's not encouraged. You could get killed for it. I intended to take a peek in the folder 'Three Sakura.' I was going to do it right there in the office, and if I came across something I didn't like, I'd turn back and quietly disappear. Then I'd tell the mediator that I was not going to accept the order. All I had to do was decide when to go: during the day or at night. Both options had their pros and cons. The building was empty at night, not counting the two security guards, but the entire system included alarms on all the doors and windows. During the day, it was the opposite: more guards, fewer electronics. If I was older, it wouldn't have been an issue —it's always been easier for me to deal with people. I was nobody back then, and all that I had was my knowledge. Thanks to my instructors, this wasn't limited to destruction. Being the Destroyer, not a Shadow, or at least an Abolisher, I could still bypass the local security system. I wish I could restore my 'distraction maneuver.'
Okay, so I decided to go at night. At 3:14 a.m., I was standing at the office door of the small rogue firm. I had to find a consultant because the firm was loaded with electronics. Short, cautious searches led me to an old thief called Funtik, who specializes in robbing upscale apartments. Funtik had already been in the business for about fifty years, and had only been caught once. In general, he was a cool old man. At first, he refused to help me, and I had to spend two hours selling him the idea. The entire communication process took a little over 30 minutes: Twenty minutes before and 20 minutes after. The rest of the time, I stood stubbornly in front of his door, banging on it with my foot. I told you, he was a cool, old man. In fact, I did not expect to talk him into helping me so fast; I thought, it would take a couple of days. Most importantly, Funtik knew all the ins and outs of the business, and he was willing to help me in the future. Why hadn't I started looking for a teacher earlier?
Changing Masks Page 4
