"Hmm, sounds alright. But it's somehow doesn't feel connected," I said, scratching my head with my pen. "That was a much older piece of literature, wasn't it? Hard to believe it tangles with this piece of homework," I tapped on his written sentence.

"Makes you wish all this happened closer to the present, you know, so we don't have to go through all this interpretation and stuff."

"Oh hey-"

I tapped a character on his essay- his actual homework.

"You missed a stroke here.And surprise, surprise, it's the kanji for Aoi."

葵

"Did you know that the same character can also be read as "mamoru" (protect)? Interesting, huh?"

[Tech: "Aoi" here means mallow/hollyhock, but is also a common girl's name]

quote:

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"But it's somehow doesn't feel connected."

"That was a much older piece of literature, wasn't it? Hard to believe it tangles with this piece of homework."

---

Inexperienced... is sweet.

"If you weren't so protective of Takako-san, I'd have thought you were referring to something else less pure. NOT that I'm trying to imply anything," I added hastily, raising my hand.

"Would be nice if we had more to continue on," I lamented. "Wish I could just make a copy of that first test (I wrote the word "manuscript" on the paper), makes it easier to prepare for the next."

"I do, however, have another lead, if you're interested. Ready for a math test?"

I took a clean sheet of paper and laid down some lines.

-Natsuba's father had a shadow. Natsuba now displays symptoms.
-Karinushi's brother(?) had a shadow. Karinushi now displays symptoms.
-Ibuki Sagisu had a shadow. _________ now displays symptoms.

I pointed to the drawn line. "Fill in the blanks."

After I asked her if she needed help an expression crept over her face. The kind of expressions you have when you want to answer but don't know what to say. In her case, when you badly want to answer.

quote:

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“No, no, I finished it. Finishing homework is good. I think…”

---

quote:

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"It is? Why so? You seem competent enough to get something good done. Definitely better than the stuff I write."

---

Post last edited by natsuba on 06.30.2008, 05:12 AM.

quote:

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"If you weren't so protective of Takako-san, I'd have thought you were referring to something else less pure. NOT that I'm trying to imply anything,"

---

I smiled. "Yes he is. Now if you're smart enough to get into this school, you'll be smart enough to know what my plan is."

"The papers though," I tapped at the word "manuscript" again, "needs espionage. I can think of three ways."

"One, we ask the teachers for help."

"Two, get somebody in the library club to be our aid."

"Three... we'll that option's a little illegitimate, if you get my drift."

"The last option not applicable unless all methods are exhausted, of course. And the teachers may not be the best people to help us, lest Sergeant Sadist here or Principal Paranoid gets wind of it, and I for one don't plan on allowing either to force a change in test papers, hint hint."

"So that leaves option two."

I leaned forward now, and he did the same. I smiled deliberately, with obvious intentions.

"Wanna make new friends with me?"

She replied

quote:

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"Oh, just... you know. Hehe, no reason..."

---

Post last edited by Loscil on 06.30.2008, 08:50 AM.

He went on to explain a plan that rather co-incidentally (now that a certain desk by the window was unoccupied again) meshed completely with my own designs for the lunchbreak. Hearing him talk through it, it struck me that what he was saying was the test papers were kept locked away. Not on an open shelf with the rest of the, uh, 'papers'. That was new information, but not wanting to sound stupid, I acted like that was expected.

What did puzzle me was this mention of Ibuki Sagisu. Tanaka had mentioned him but my world centred on (apart from the obvious) a different Ibuki-sensei; Sagisu-san was an unexpected name. Nevertheless I made agreeable noises, some "Sure, I'll come," noises.

quote:

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"Wanna make new friends with me?"

---

quote:

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"It was alright, I guess. But that's not what I'm talking about. You approached me asking if I had done my homework even though you had no interest in that at all. I assume it was a disguise for what you, eventually, really want to tell me. So..."

---

Oh, really? That’s… my, that’s a lot of words… Aha. Ha. Ha-ha…

He had… wow, I can only describe them as eyes. That sounds stupid, but these eyes really were eyes, you know? Huge and so… pretty… He came closer, closer.

Waaaah!



In my mind his eyes were headlights, bright and piercing, his head a truck and I was…

…roadkill…

At the last minute the truck swerved aside and I found myself staring at an ear. Holy moly! That was beautiful too! The shape of it! The soft lobe… whooo!

quote:

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"Spit it out."

---

Ah… hahahhaaa…

“Um, it’s… well. Yes. I mean no. I mean…” I lifted a hand from the desk edge where I’d discovered two spare ones clutching at the wood. I brought it up just in front of my face, with my index finger pointing.

“You have. A bit of wax. Just there.”

I frowned.

"Yes, you can," I said. "But I don't think we're on the same wavelength here."

I pulled up my notebook and held it up in my hand in a natural pose, but in such a way as to hide my face.

And my voice.

"Release of that manuscript requires a teacher's permission, and like I said, I don't trust the teachers to keep their traps shut. If you have reason to believe you can trust them, then by all means, continue; it is the best way, I admit that. Hell, I'll gladly join you."

"But I would think it safer to take in one of the librarians under my arm and give me all the materials I need, and maybe more in the future. You never know if there may be more skeletons in the closet."

"And a student is less likely to leak secrets to a teacher. I'm already playing a risky game with Kazami-sensei, I'm not sure I can afford another."

Icchan seemed to have misunderstood me and as he explained it all again in detail I realised I must have made it sound like I'd misunderstood him.

"No, no, it's fine. I got you the first time, you want to gain the confidence or co-operation of one of the student librarians."

"You could always join the library club," I shrugged, though that seemed rather too obvious.

"I had a run in with Sergeant Sadist last week, he basically told me to stop prying into Shadow related things. I was... threatened... so I don't want to go down route one. It could easily be educational suicide for me - if you follow?"

quote:

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"I'm already playing a risky game with Kazami-sensei, I'm not sure I can afford another."

---

BENIBARA NADASHENKO-SENSEI



I came up to class 1-A and entered to find almost all the students quietly studying away and Akuri-sensei sat at his desk observing them. He’s known for discipline but this class looked especially subdued. What’s he said to them now? More sarcasm and insults? I frowned but then putting aside concerns that were not mine smiled brightly and said a cheery “Ohayou!” to the students.

Akuri-sensei departed, his eyeballs leaving the usual slimy train behind him…

“Now class, please all return to your desks,” (one or two did so) “I trust you all had a good weekend? Refreshed and ready to go? Class reps please collect in the homework assignments, then we’ll begin. Take out your “Otogizōshi : The Illustrated Short Prose Narratives of the Muromachi Period” texts and we’ll move on to “Go Rin No Sho” by Miyamoto Musashi… I need a volunteer to stand and read…”

. . .

. . .

NARRATOR



The Japanese Literature lesson proceeded without incident and at 9:15 the end of period bell went. Today’s PE lesson was swimming for the boys and athletics for the girls, in each case another freshman class combining with 1-A.

The students packed away their things and headed off towards the gym.

"Oh..." I said simply. "Okay."

quote:

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"I wouldn't be averse to any kind of games there, risky or otherwise. What have you been up to?"

---

As I waited for her to say something I saw her fidget in the corner of my eye.
I smiled to myself as I heard her fidgety sense expressed in words:

quote:

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“Um, it’s… well. Yes. I mean no. I mean…”

---

He sighed and went away, I was sorry to see him go, that close up he smelled nice.

quote:

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"Okay then, you can tell me another time,"

---

Japanese Lit. ended, chairs scraped, books thudded, voices chattered. I tidied away and stood up, glancing at her as I went to the back of the room, stowed my textbooks and pulled my PE bag out. I turned. It seemed like no-one else in the room existed, they were there but silent and ephemeral, floating and fading like ghosts. I could see movement around me but it wasn’t real, wasn’t relevant, like one of those artsy movies where everyone but the subject of the person’s attention is shown in slo-mo or see-through. I was Trinity in the Matrix, or maybe Dorothy… and this was no longer Kansas. I had the idea that the whole school was like this, all of Tokyo. Everyone in the world was an irrelevant ghost. Except her. I walked back up the aisle between the desks, it took an age, approaching her from behind her right shoulder. She was still sat, her back bent, her hair falling just so, its rich colour the perfect shade against the Isakaya pale green shirt.

The finest artist couldn’t have prepared two more perfectly complimentary colours on her palette.

My left hand went out and three or four finger pads rested on her shoulder. Warmth. Firmness. You. As I went past her my hand turned, the pads described a half circle. I applied pressure, added my thumb in the briefest of strokes then lifted the hand away. She looked up, I looked down.

“Heading over.” It wasn’t a query, my voice tipped it so it came out as an ambiguous mix of question, statement and command.

Post last edited by Maho_Fushida on 07.04.2008, 05:35 AM.

I cleared my desk of the exciting and vibrant world of Muromachi period texts, stashed them away in my locker at back of class and grabbed my PE bag. As people began to get up and go I made my way towards the door via a round-about route that took in the corner where Tanaka sat. She was chatting to a couple of the girls near her so I didn’t stop to distract her.

“Ohayo,” I grinned, “Sorry to interrupt, I’m heading on over. With Icchan. Join us if you like?” I had my back to the side door, facing the windows. I glanced up taking in Hibiki beyond her, hoping she’d catch where I was looking, “Or if you want to walk with someone else, that’s cool. Speak later.” I lifted a hand to her as I went.

Near the front door I passed Icchan’s desk, “Alright? Not changing in class today?” I asked, making a gesture as though to pull my towel out of my bag, “I can hide your modesty if you want to get into your swim trunks here.” I looked at him dead pan, wondering if his skin colouration showed a blush of embarrassment as easily as Japanese faces did.

I stopped my packing and looked at him wide-eyed.

"We're having swimming lessons today? How come no one told me?"

Trunks... trunks... where ARE mine?

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"We're having swimming lessons today? How come no one told me?"

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Post last edited by Saddletank on 07.04.2008, 12:01 PM.