During the long recess, I was able to check out the school's 'delicacies.' No, I didn't mind Kagami's lunches, but the company that came with them ruined them. If Shina had just handed me the bento box, I'd have been happy as a clam. She could even sit next to me. I just couldn't stand Mineh always being there though. Even just the sight of her annoyed me.
I walked into the cafeteria and looked around, not seeing anyone I knew. That was great. It's time to solve this problem. Why am I even bothering with it? Get it together, Max. Give it hot to this Kino so that she is terrified of even the thought of you. Who cares that she's Shina's friend. She needs to choose. I couldn't care less what her choice is. That's her concern, not mine.
After standing in the queue for six minutes, I went to look for an empty table. All of them were already taken. The cleaning ladies speedily went around the room picking up dishes left by the students. Rydon and I took a cleared table. The moment I proceeded with my lunch, the entertainment began.
'Good day, Ohajasi-kun,' I heard a familiar voice. 'Shinji.' I just waved my hand towards empty seats.
'Good day, Koyama-san, Mineh-san.' Shina sat down and took out two bento boxes.
'Mushroom miso soup. Not the best choice.'
'Pfft.' That was Mineh.
'Not too bad.'
'Try the rice one with crab. Yes, I know, you're not a fan of rice, but it's a very decent soup.'
'As if you weren't Japanese.' Mineh decided to ramp up the pace. I think I should besiege her now before it gets too late.
'Did anyone ask your opinion?' She choked. As soon as she opened her mouth, trying to say something, I let out Yaki. Only a little bit, but I did it sharply and focused. She choked again.
'What's wrong with kids nowadays? Or is just girls?' I said, looking at Shina. Rydon continued eating his soup and observing Mineh. Shina looked at me suspiciously. Mineh stared into her bento, trying to shake it off.
'Take it,' Shina pushed one of the bento boxes towards me, 'I don't want to carry it around. You guys eat anything you see.' Oh, there is something else besides the soup. What's wrong with me? Since when do I turn down Kagami's food?
'Thank you.'
'No problem.'
For the rest of lunch, Mineh did not say a single word. After they left, Rydon asked me something completely unexpected.
'Is this Kagami-san's food?' he asked, pressing the chopsticks to his lips and opening the box. 'The very same Kagami-san?'
'What do you mean—the very same?'
'Koyama Kagami is famous in certain circles. Her cooking is legendary. My older sister was once at a party, hosted by Koyama, and what she told me about the food there... excited my mind. My elder brother never misses a party. I think some of the local students would pay good money for this nondescript box.' Geez. I feel sorry for this guy.
'Do you want it?' I asked, pushing my box towards him. In response, he sucked in the air and carefully put the chopsticks on the plate.
'I don’t mind if I do.'
The advisory started by picking out a leader and an assistant. First, the teacher asked for volunteers for the leader's position. He got silence in response.
'Come on guys. Doesn't any smart, responsible, daring person want to take up this immense responsibility for minimal privileges?' Wow, that's an interesting way of promoting it. I've never heard anyone trying to persuade a crowd like that. What does he expect, I wonder?
'Let's just flip a coin,' one of the students said. I think it was Mayuto from the imperial Key family.
'No, no, no! We can't rely on chance in such a serious business.' I think the advisory teacher wanted to have a discussion, and perhaps, even a debate. Does he think that someone will just raise their hand?
'I want to be the leader.' Wow.
'Imubeh Kaede-chan. The class will not forget your sacrifice.' He is just mocking the children of aristocrats, that's all. 'Now we just have to find you an assistant. Any volunteers?' Rydon rose to it.
'I believe that this kind of responsibility is meant to be. Nothing wrong with throwing a coin.'
'Ohajasi-Kun, in a group of eight people or more, flipping a coin is never appropriate. We can always find a...' I bet he wants to say 'a punchball. '...a worthy candidate. We just have to discuss it. You, for example. I think you'd make a good leader's assistant. What do you say?'
The class began to stir. But Rydon was not going to give up. As a true representative of the most 'fighting' clan of Japan, he defended himself for half an hour against the entire class. The matter was complicated by the fact that he could not say 'Sorry, guys, but I'm dumb as a box of rocks.' The honor of the clan and lineage would not allow such a thing. So Ohajasi showed off his eloquence, varying between demonization and self-eminence, from time to time attacking the enemy and luring it into a trap of irrelevant discussion. And at the end, he made a general assertion.
'The leader, like his assistant, is the face of the clan... I mean, of the class. This face has to be beautiful. I'm not saying that he or she has to be smart because here we have the future elite of our great empire. There are not many unintelligent people here. Our class doesn't have any at all. That's why we have to rely on levels of attractiveness. That's why the fairer sex is better suited to the role. Neither I nor any other guy in this class simply has the right to take away such an honor from them! Ladies! We have to choose the most beautiful among you, and she will represent our class in front of the entire school!'
It was brilliant. If the girls hadn't been that flattered, they would have resisted. However, the guys got on point first. And as a result, the voting took place among the girls alone. I don't know who was more amused at this point, the teacher or the students. But I know one important detail: no one can force you to be a leader or an assistant. It's not spelled out in any Japanese school. Whenever and wherever, these school positions are voluntary. But year after year, students either forget or ignore this fact. I couldn't care less. I was never a candidate.
The next morning, when I was meditating over the boiling water in the kettle, the doorbell rang, and I was surprised to see a faltering Shina, dressed in a tracksuit.
'Good morning, Shinji.'
'Morning,' I replied in surprise. I wasn't used to seeing her this way —I mean, so unconfident.
'I see you're almost ready for jogging,' she said, checking me out from head to toe. I also looked at my shorts and bare torso.
'Yea... almost.' We stared at each other silently. 'Come in.' I let her through and closed the door, following her to the living room.
'Coffee, tea?' I blurted out just to fill the silence. She didn't look herself. The last time I saw her like that was... When was it? Oh yeah, three years ago, when she was still uncomfortable in my presence.
'If you don't mind, I'll make tea for myself.' Now I get it. The Great Master Shina-san has come to apologize! Judging by the fact that she was hesitating, without getting annoyed, Kagami was able to make the point about behaving properly in my home. My hints had worked.
'I don't mind. You're better at it, anyway.' Blushing at these words, for some reason, the girl disappeared into the kitchen.
Looking at Shina, carrying the tray of tea, I thought how domestic she looked and how well it suited her despite the tracksuit, which did not fit into the picture. Was it because of my lack of empathy? Of course, I did not feel anything concrete, but perhaps, it was the overall emotional background? Normally, Shina was irritated by something, and now... Never mind. I would have noticed.
Putting the tray on a table, she put one of the cups in front of me. She placed the second cup next to her and a small teapot between them. She took the tray back to the kitchen. When she came back, she sat next to me.
'There you go,' she started the conversation in a couple of minutes, placing a bunch of keys on the table. 'Mom said no one else has copies.'
Hmm, that's interesting. Why did they need five copies of my keys? For each family member or what? Is it even worth asking? Especially Shina
. I chuckled at the thought of Kagami kicking the unperturbed old man, requesting to give up all his keys.
'What?' Shina reacted at my chuckle. She sounded confused and indignant at the same time.
'I just imagined your mom taking the key away from your grandpa.'
'Yeah,' she smiled. 'Especially considering that she had the key this whole time. 'My dad had one, I had one, and Uesugi-san also had a key.'
'Who's that?'
'Uesugi Saburo is the head guard in the neighborhood.'
'Oh, I see.' By the way, Kagami said that no one else had the keys, but did not say that this is how it would remain. She knows I understand that. I wonder if Shina realized that she was the scapegoat? She was just handed to me with her apologies, which I still hadn't heard.
'And? What's next?' I asked, lifted my eyes from the keys.
'I'm sorry, Shinji. I acted like... not like a friend.' Why couldn't she say that the first time? Had something prevented her from doing so? 'I crossed the line.'
So everything she did before was okay, and she just crossed the line once? Fat chance! She even believes her own words. She's hopeless.
Her words didn't offend me. That was just Shina. If you want justice, stay away from her.
'Oh, baby, you're just a ...' I waved at her with my hand, smiling. 'Let's go for a run.'
'What's wrong? What didn't you like?'
This time I had to wait for Rydon. Not that we had any kind of agreement about it, but I thought that there was still time before the classes. So if I made a mistake and he was now in the classroom, it was okay. But if I was right, it will only strengthen our spawning friendship. Actually, I’ll call him. It probably came from times when I was destitute, had no money on my cell phone account and couldn't use it much. I was going to dial Rydon's number, but at the same moment, he appeared in the parking lot. He was walking with his schoolbag over his shoulder, accompanied by some girl. Judging by the color of her bow, she was a sophomore. This must be his sister.
'Hello, Shinji. Let me introduce you to my sister, Okhayashi Aneko. Sis, this is the same Sakurai Shinji.'
'Okhayashi-san,' I bowed.
'Sakurai-san,' she said as she bowed.
What can I say about Rydon's sister? She's a freaking attractive person. She's feminine, despite her seventeen teenage years, with long eyelashes, honey-colored hair and strong-willed face. Really, she looked like an older sister. For some reason, she reminded me of Kagami,
'Let me note that I feel bad for your brother. He has to look after such a beautiful older sister. It's not easy, I can imagine.' I said with a half-smile. Shina would have replied with something like 'You are the one who needs to be looked after!' Aneko just smiled, slightly closing her eyes and leaning her head sideways. I passed the first impression test. That was enough for today.
'Well, I'm gonna go, Rydon. Don't be late for class.'
'She says that every time. Since middle school. As if I were a habitual truant,' the guy grumbled as soon as his sister walked away.
'You're lucky to have a sister like her.'
'Like I don't know it. We should go. It won't be funny if we're late for real.'
The fun happened when we clashed with the same girl as before. She froze once again as soon as she saw us. This time, it was really hard to pass by her because she stood right in the doorway.
'I'm starting to think more and more that you have offended her.'
'Miss... What did I do to you?' I didn't want to touch her because I didn't know what to expect from her. What if she screamed?
'Are you offended?'
'Well, you have to admit that her face doesn't look like she's scared.' I looked behind the girl's back and saw that the class was staring at us.
'If we have to act, we have to be firm,' with these words, I carefully closed the door right in front of her face. 'Let's retreat. Hey, where are you going? Let's go to the men's bathroom.' We rushed to the bathroom and took up a viewing position there. For the next three minutes, the door remained closed. Finally, it moved, and the black-haired chick took a step outside. Then she sharply turned around and looked at the class. She waited for a bit and walked away.
'What was she doing in our classroom anyway?' asked Rydon rhetorically.
'Let's go and find out.'
We made it to our desks while being crossfired with looks. As we sat down and took out our things, another black-haired girl attacked us. Standing on the opposite side of our desks with her hands on her hips.
'What did you do to my sister?' She asked:
'Watch your words, Akechi-san. They sound too ambiguous.' I replied. So, she's her sister. At least, now we know who she is.
'Huh? What did you do?'
'Nothing, Akechi-chan,' Rydon said. 'We didn't even know who she was until now.'
'You're lying, my sister would not have ... she ... You're lying! This behavior is uncharacteristic of her. She wouldn't freeze like that all of a sudden. No one would.'
'We totally agree with you, Akechi-san. Honestly, we don't know what happened.' She grimaced in response to my words:
'I don't like it when I'm talked to like that.'
'To tell you the truth, we would like to know why your sister acts like this,' I continued. 'You can see for yourself that this behavior is a problem for us. We really don't know. We cannot even apologize if it is our fault.'
Kameko's face took on a puzzled expression, and Rydon clearly wanted to add something to what I had just said. He was probably going to say that her reaction was towards me, not us. But he didn't say anything.
'Okay, I'll find out anyway. And if it's your fault, you’ll regret it.'
'You got it, Akechi-chan. I hope that if we are at fault for something and you're gonna make us regret it, you'll tell us what the problem is first. So we know that we need to apologize.'
'Absolutely. You'll be among the first ones to find out.' With a gloomy face, she went back to her desk.
During recess, Rydon told me a bit about their clan. They had been involved in different things but got famous by selling tea. They were quite successful competitors of tea magnates such as Indian clan Mirasi Khel and Chinese Ai Lao. It turns out that the tea 'Hecuro hugioku', Kagami gives me, is very expensive, and she has it thanks to the Aketi clan. There were also some very elite varieties that weren't for sale in stores and could only be gifted. The clan’s military power was average, their level of influence was slightly above average, and their fame was high. It was an old clan, in which there were relatively few families. It was included in the clan council under the emperor, in which there were only twelve seats. Given that there were little over a hundred clans in Japan, that was quite an accomplishment although membership to the council did not bring any privileges, in reality, just as being leader of the class at school did not. The head of the clan, Akechi Judsuki, had recently reached the rank of Master in hand-to-hand combat. In the Akechi family, the elements of the earth are traditionally used. The head of the clan has two wives and three sons. There's also another brother, nephew, and two nieces. The two nieces were Akechi's sisters. According to rumors, Judsuki worshipped them.
'What else can I tell you? Oh! Konoe Mia belongs to this clan!' Rydon said, pointing his index finger up. Then he fell silent.
'And? I have no idea who that is.'
'What, are you kidding me? C'mon. You gotta know such people!'
'Nope, imagine I don't. I'm not like everyone else.'
'Wow, Shin. Konoe Mia from the Konoe family took fourth place in the world tournament for the ‘fastest blow’ nomination last year.'
'Well, cool. What can I say?' But I still don’t get it. 'And what, the Japanese last year did not rise higher, or what?
'They did, I think... But that's not the point. The thing is that Konoe was then only sixteen.'
'Oh! Nice. Does that make her the fastest Veteran in Japan? At her 17. That's really rad.'
'A Veteran with the fastest blow, to be precise. In this particular ski
ll, she is, probably, close to the level of the Master.'
'Cool. Listen, she might be running around with sophomores somewhere here.'
'Ah, yes, I don't know,' he waved his hand. 'Could be. Don't forget that Dakisyuro is not the only high school in Tokyo.'
'But I heard it's the one that specializes in martial arts. Right up her alley.'
'Tournaments, like international ones, have to be treated primarily as a sport. An aristocrat that can’t fight symbolises the deterioration of the breed. No one will give his daughter into marriage to a partner who has not reached minimum rank in Bahir control. However, it is not necessary to devote one's life to martial arts, especially for a woman. If she wants to become a priestess, then she should be looked for in Seijo. I also intended to go to Danashafa at first. I don't intend to stop my development in martial arts, but I want a career in the clan development department.'
'You know, having heard all that, I have two questions,' I scratched the tip of my nose.
'Spill it, I am being nice today.' He waved his hand in a languid manner and planted his other hand on a window sill.
'What does it mean to 'deteriorate the breed' and how come you ended up at Dakisyuro?' Rydon hesitated before answering. He looked out the window behind his back and changed the supporting elbow.
'Okay, breed. If your ancestors, generation after generation, are engaged in Bahir management, then it'll be easier for their descendants to do so as well. It'd be pretty noticeable. The older the family line, the greater the difference. A clear example for you is the Koyama family line. They haven't had anyone below Master for 250-300 years. Over the past 100 years, they have had three Virtuosos, and Shina-san will most likely become the fourth.'
'Three? And who else, apart from the current head?'
'The Grandfather and father's brother. Both lost their lives in the Second World War,' said Rydon and lowered his head, leaning both elbows on the window sill, while clasping his hands in a lock. I did not interrupt his thoughts. Rydon wasn’t one to constantly withdraw into himself; he seemed to be thinking about something important. 'I'm gonna tell you something now that should remain between us.'
Changing Masks Page 19
