Losing Masks

by Nicholas Metelsky

  “Make an ad. Put it up all over the school. Phrase it right, so it's clear and unclear at the same time. Otherwise, they won't allow you to make a club like that.”

  “Hm. Give me my bento back.”

  “Hey, finders keepers!”

  “You have a problem with food, you hog!”

  “I’m not a hog! Sean is the real hog! Don't think anything weird, he's just a glutton, that's all.”

  “Your older brother? The one whose shoes give him away as a gentleman?”

  “What does that have to do with anything? He uses manners no matter what he does, including eating. He eats a lot. But he enjoys fine food. In the last five years, he hasn't missed a single reception at the Koyama's.”

  “Do you really get invitations?”

  “Of course. We invite them too. But no one dares to accept their invites except my brother.”

  “How did it happen that we're friends now?” I asked a rhetorical question.

  “Heh. Just like my brother, I don't really care about this relationship. It never affected me. Additionally, the fight is between the families, not the clans.”

  “Ohh. Life is so tough.”

  At lunch, all the spots at the table were taken. On one side of the table sat Rydon, Teijo, and I. On the other side sat Shina, Mineh, and Aniko, whom we had met at the entrance to the cafeteria. Shina glanced with discontent at Rydon and Teijo, who were eating from my bento box. Mineh squinted at Aniko, and Aniko just smiled sweetly. The guys didn't care. It was quite a curious situation.

  When we started talking about the ad, Vakia said that he also hadn't found a club. Apparently, he had never joined a club in middle school and didn't feel like it now either. Hearing about my future plans, he reserved himself a spot at the future club.

  “If I were you, Shinji, I'd talk to the exiles,” said Aniko.

  “Who?” I was surprised.

  “That's what we call the guys who hang out at the old school club building,” she explained.

  “It's a dump, Shinji,” said Shina. “They put all the most idiotic clubs there.”

  “That's the place where you might find a club for lazies,” Mineh noted.

  “Well, I don't know,” Teijo cut in. “My brother told me that it's basically a swamp of idiots.”

  “I wouldn't be so critical,” Aniko said. “My older brother, Hikaru, was once a member of one of them.”

  Ho-ho, as the old man Kenta says. What an interesting family.

  “I'm surprised,” Rydon said. “Who would have thought?”

  “You think the club of the shining sword is a good one?” Aniko asked her brother.

  “What's wrong with it? A sword is a sword, even if it's a shining one,” he finished quietly.

  “What did they do in this club?” I asked.

  “I'm not sure they did anything at all,” Aniko answered.

  “They dragged their brass swords around the school and pestered the girls. That's what they did,” Shina muttered. “A lot of people sighed with relief when they graduated.”

  “Ha, your brother rocks,” Rydon smirked.

  “What other clubs do they have?”

  “I'm not quite sure,” Aniko answered. “I stay away from those kinds of places. I believe they still have the club for profanity fans and opponents.”

  “Yes, they do,” Mineh confirmed. “Maya told me just yesterday that they had a profanity tournament last Friday. I think the profanity opponents won.”

  It’s too bad I wasn't there to see it.

  “We should go see it,” Teijo said and the girls just wrinkled their faces.

  “I agree,” I added.

  “Really...”

  “Rydon, please,” Aniko smiled gravely.

  “I don't have time. Unfortunately.”

  Watch and learn, Shina, how to manipulate men.

  “I'm still going to make an ad. Just in case.”

  “And then they'll send you to the exiles. To be one of the useless clubs,” Mineh said in a cheerful and not at all malicious voice.

  “That's good,” I grinned back. “Away from the gray mass of everyone else!”

  “Shinji, by the way, Ishikawa Nariko asked me to give you her apologies,” Shina said. “I accepted them, and suggest that you do too.”

  “Unless she gives them to me personally, I won't accept them.”

  “That's what I said too. It sounds like she hasn't told her parents.”

  “Ishikawa Nariko... She was at my sister's birthday, wasn't she? Did anything happen?” The oldest Okhayashi asked.

  “Everything's fine, Aniko-san,” Shina said. “Shinji resolved the conflict. Personally, I have no complaints.”

  I believe she's talking about Okhayashi as well.

  After classes, everyone went to their clubs, while Teijo and I stood at the entrance to the main building and wondered what to do next. On the one hand, I wanted to go home, but on the other, I had to visit the exiles. I was saved by the ring of my phone. Actually, both of our phones started ringing at the same time. We looked at each other and took our phones out.

  “Hello dad,” my friend answered.

  “Hello,” I said.

  “Yo, boss, are you done with school?”

  “Taro, damn it. What's up?”

  “I'd like to discuss your call last night. It ripped me out of the wonderful dream I was having and put me through a severe psychological trauma.”

  “Nemoto-san, are you asking me for paid sick leave?”

  “Ummm...”

  “Let me call you back in five.”

  “Okay, boss.”

  I hung up and faced Teijo. He was just about to hang up as well. His conversation consisted of “Alright”, “Gotcha”, “Fine”, “Yes, of course”, “Alright”, “I'm on my way”.

  “I'm sorry,” he said, putting away his phone. “I can't look at the clubs with you today. My dad needs me.”

  “It's ok. I probably have to go too.”

  “See you tomorrow then. I'm out of here.”

  “See ya.”

  We shook hands and parted. I went towards my house. He turned left towards the parking lot. When I was fifty yards away from the school gates, I took out my phone and dialed Taro.

  “Hello again, boss.”

  “Hi. How are things with the lands?”

  “I found what you needed. Literally an hour ago. I checked my connections, and it looks like a perfect choice for you. At least, it meets your requirements. They aren't too far from the city. The area is about 500 square acres that can be bought as private real estate. One thing: there is an abandoned factory building on the land, but I think you'll figure out what to do with it.”

  That's my training range.

  “Is it in the middle or on the edge?”

  “It's in the middle.”

  That was too bad, but it would do.

  “E-mail me the info.”

  “Will do.”

  “Send it to Tanaka as well. I'm going to him right now, and I want him to be in the loop.”

  “Yess, boss.”

  “That's it for now. Call me if anything changes.”

  Excellent. The place of dislocation of my tiny army has been found. It'll even be good for future expansions. I hope I can fit it in the budget. Hopefully, Snake has something to line my pockets with. I have to talk to Hagashi and find out how much he made on bonds. In the meantime, let's go after it! I still have to solve my issues with Kasai, Shidotamoru's Chief Financial Officer.

  Chapter 2

  In the evening, I decided to stop at the Koyama’s and discuss a formal reception. I also wanted to just relax and enjoy Kagami's dinner. Kasai, as I had expected, got on my case about the money that I needed to buy the new territory and get it ready. I had to beg for my own money!

  Screw that man with no soul!

  The yard was empty, but the door of the mansion was open as always. I walked inside and looked around. Then I moved to the kitchen. I passed the hallway and peeked in the doo
rway, slightly surprised to find three members of the noble family there. Kagami was wielding a ladle at the stove, Shina was cutting vegetables, and Akeno was huddled in the corner at a small table, drinking what looked like tea. He seemed kind of bummed out.

  I knocked on the side of the door and greeted everyone.

  “Hello. Is this a good time?”

  “Shinji!” The man exclaimed. “Hello, hello. You're always welcome in this house. Come in,” he pointed at the table where Shina was preparing food. “Actually, have a seat here. Let's not get in the way of the women.”

  After his words, I clearly heard Shina's pfft.

  “You're right, Akeno-san. We don't rule in the kitchen.”

  “Right. Have a seat. I'll make you a cup of tea.”

  Something's not right here.

  “Don't bother and stay where you are, tea master,” Kagami said. “Shina, could you watch the sauce?”

  “Sure, mom.”

  I don't know what Akeno wanted from me, but he had no intention of starting the conversation until I had my cup of tea.

  “Excellent as always, Kagami-san,” I said, taking a sip. “What happened, Akeno-san? What are you so upset about?”

  “Khm. It's fine. Everything's fine,” he answered, looking away. “Mizuki is acting up.”

  Whoa. Mizuki is acting up. Only a couple of words, but so many emotions.

  Akeno's daughter had quite a multi-faceted personality, but sometimes I thought she was out of her mind. Just imagine: her personality combined the character of a little restless girl, a sophisticated woman and a vicious bitch, which was kind of a strange combo. This time Mizuki had entered the bitch mode, and even Kagami couldn’t get through to her.

  It’s not that she had stopped listening, she just couldn't hold a peaceful conversation. In fact, her family had only two ways of solving the issue: tell the girl to go to her room or somewhere else far away, or not touch her at all. All would be well as long as they stayed out of her view. Akeno suffered the most during such times. Being overly passionate about his girls, he couldn't protest, and Mizuki used that to her benefit.

  “What is she struggling with this time?”

  Akeno just shrugged his shoulders, and Shina snorted again.

  “Volume rendering technique.”

  “What's her problem?”

  This time Shina shrugged her shoulders.

  “Not enough control,” Kagami said, not turning away from the stove.

  “Where's Kenta-san?” I asked again.

  It wouldn't be good timing to start the conversation about the reception right now.

  “He's at the Emperor's reception,” the man replied. “Something regarding the negotiation with the Germans.”

  “I see,” I brought the teacup to my mouth.

  “Could you talk to her?”

  Damn! Good thing I didn't take a sip yet. It might have not gone down well.

  I sat there motionless.

  “Excuse me?”

  “Mizuki. Talk to her. Only you can calm her down.”

  “Why is that? Why are you so sure?”

  “You managed to do it before.”

  “Aha. Only twice in the whole time I’ve known her.”

  “You've only seen it happen twice,” Kagami decided to participate in the conversation.

  “I know,” I smiled wryly. “The first time I was bent out of shape myself, and the whole situation turned into a shit show. Excuse my French. That time, I simply talked down to her. The second time, she calmed down on her own. I showed up later.”

  “No, she didn't,” Akemi sounded a little indignant. “She's just afraid of you after the first time.”

  I don't understand how that helped me calm her down. Nonsense. They cling to any straw. They can't work it out with her peacefully and now want to send me to the residence of evil.

  “You know, I don't really...”

  I was cut off by Mizuki, who had just walked into the kitchen from the yard. She stopped in the doorway and, after examining the kitchen, fixed her gaze on me.

  “You're here too,” she said.

  After that, she turned around and left. Shina had told me that whenever Mizuki is crabby, she goes outside and takes it out on the punching bag in the yard. From time to time, she goes back into the house and gets on someone's nerves, as long as Kagami or Kenta don't break down and send her to her room.

  “Well, did you see?” Akeno whispered loudly. “I'm telling you she doesn't want to mess with you.”

  “In my opinion, she doesn't want to mess with the entire household.”

  “Trust me, I know her. You are the reason.”

  “I know her,” I mocked him in my mind. How am I supposed to respond to that? It's totally hopeless.

  “What do you want from me? How am I supposed to CALM her DOWN?”

  “You did it twice somehow,” the man said. “Shinji, I'm begging you. Just talk to her or sit next to her. If everything else fails, just try.”

  Damn it! He's trying to make me feel sorry for them.

  “Ugh. Fine, but I can't promise anything.”

  “Sure, sure. Just give it a try.”

  He's losing his mind.

  The back door of the kitchencame out to the yard. The Koyama mansion had a large yard. It was smaller than the one at Okhayashi's, but still decent. In the far corner of the yard was Mizuki's nook with several training machines and three types of punching bags. At that moment, Mizuki was working on improving her speed and punching technique using a speed bag that was tied to a post shaped like the letter “r”. Red shorts, black t-shirt, and fingerless gloves, hair tied in a bun—she rocked her usual training look. The only thing that seemed to be out of the ordinary were Yaki waves, bursting out of this delicate girl. On the whole, she didn't look like herself: having taken off the mask of a little girl, she looked almost older than Shina.

  I walked up to her and sat down on one of the machines, watching her train. A

  couple of minutes later, she couldn't bear it anymore.

  “What do you want?” She said, sharply turning around and releasing a flash of Yaki.

  “Have I told you before that I like that shirt on you?”

  “What?”

  “You look nice in it.”

  “Ah...” She blanked out for a moment. “What-Do-You-Need?”

  “I need you to chill out.”

  “It's none of your business.”

  “Why am I even here then?”

  “Drooling over what's beyond your reach?”

  “Mmm,” I demonstratively deliberated. “Nah, I don't think so. Plus, you're not my type.”

  “Is that right? You... I'll...”

  “Yes? I'm all ears.”

  “Get out of here, pervert.”

  Pervert? What is she talking about?

  “Why don't you make me?”

  “I don't need any casualties here. I don't want to listen to mother's preaching.”

  “Ho-ho.” Ugh, it stuck to me now. “I see that you have already acquired a superiority complex.”

  Hm. I have an idea. It might work. Or it might make things worse. On the other hand, do I care?

  “How about a sparring match between you and me? But wait, there's one condition. If I win, you can’t use Bahir for two weeks unless it's a life-threatening situation. If you win, I'll owe you a favor. Within reason, of course.”

  Mizuki pondered my words for a minute. She simply blanked out. No Yaki flashes, no evil looks. At the start of the second minute, she answered with a question.

  “Terms?”

  “The terms are...” I uttered pensively. “Sparring without restrictions, without a time limit. The winner is the one who puts their opponent down on the ground three... okay, five times.”

  “So no restrictions? You think I'm going to go easy on you?”

  “I'm relying on your prudence,” I bowed slightly, smiling.

  “That's something I don't have. You should know that by now.”


  “Heh. I'll keep that in mind. If you take me up on it, let's begin.”

  Mizuki’s jump and approach with a hit were fast. She was faster than two-thirds of the Masters I'd known. She was still not faster than me. I leaned back, countered a straight punch to my head and started coming in closer, moving to the side, and dodging the second punch with my arm. I hooked her arm and tripped her foot, slightly pushing her in the shoulder. As a result, Mizuki was on the ground.

  One-zero.

  Quickly jumping up from the ground and hissing, she moved towards me again. This time she didn't jump right at me but didn't slow down either. I blocked a sharp and very fast punch to my torso with my elbow. The last time she definitely hadn’t used her full strength and speed. While her speed was nothing special, blocking her punch was quite painful and not really worth it. Straight after the first punch, there was the second, also to the torso. I could have dodged or pulled it to the side, but I stepped towards her, caught her arm, clasping it in a hook and bending it.

  “Ouch-ouch-ouch!” Foot slide and push, and Mizuki fell on her side like a potato sac.

  She didn't have a chance to protect herself from the fall, so it didn’t feel good being her at that moment.

  “What's the matter?” I said to the girl, rolling to the side. “By the way, two to zero.”

  Yes, I wasn't going to lose. If that would have helped to calm her down, then maybe, but not in any other case.

  I don't even know why I'm so sure that it won't help. I just know.

  I'd known her for six years and seen her every single day. Well, not every day, but often enough. Of course, we couldn’t read each other's thoughts, but I knew well that my win wouldn’t guarantee anything beyond our arrangement. Possibly, even the arrangement couldn’t be guaranteed.

  The third time she approached me, she did so in slow and short steps, but with a look of great determination on her face. At the moment of the attack, I felt a watchful look directed at us from the kitchen, meaning that the girl's epic fall was seen by more people than just me. Irimi-nage is one of the core Aikido techniques. When moving together with your opponent, you bring them into your own pace, go around in circles and finally push them to the ground. It's an effective move if you're able to get a hold of your opponent, which in a real-life fight is not very easy. As a result, when Mizuki was getting back up, I looked at the house and saw Akeno grinning.