The sound of chalk tapping drones on as Mutou layers diagram upon diagram on the blackboard, embellishing each drawing with a series of formulas and calculations that boggle the mind. We've learned about most of these, but a good few of the other equations are unknown, even to people who've read ahead in the book.
"This is going to be on your final, so make sure you're taking good notes." he calls out to a room of sleeping or otherwise disengaged students.
The man in the brown duster dances back and forth from either end of the chalkboard, pointing to each crude drawing as he reads out of a textbook. At this point he's pacing so fast that he doesn't even bother to wake up any of the less focused pupils.
In fact, we've been speeding through lesson after lesson all week. I'm not sure if we're behind or if Mutou is just more motivated after the symposium on Saturday, but we've definitely been on the afterburner for the past few days.
At least I'm finally starting to settle into my schedule. The days are beginning to blend together, with no indication of whether or not it's Monday or Friday without first checking a calendar. My social abilities could still use some work, however. I haven't gotten out much aside from the occasional greeting in the hallway and the exposure to Kenji's ranting.
There is a difference though. I feel confident for some reason. I don't know if it's because of the science festival, or because of the conversation I had with Akira in the park, but I feel much more energized as of late.
And that liveliness is only bolstered by the sound of the lunch bell ringing, cutting Mutou off mid-sentence.
He quickly recovers to deliver a few closing statements, however. Including a reminder that 'exams are in just a few weeks and that we should be responsible students and remember to study.'
The sound of chair legs scraping against tile fills the room as students venture out in search of lunch. Belongings are shoveled into bags and bags are thrown across shoulders, each leaving the room in sequence.
All except one girl in the back row, who remains stationary. Dark hair combed over one eye, with what looks like scarred flesh covering her right hand. Rather than leave with the rest of the lunch crowd, she elects to camp out in her chair with a novel in hand.
I think I met her in the library once. Hanako Ikezawa, was it? She comes off as rather easy-to-scare, so it probably wouldn't be a good idea to try talking to her; even if I like the book she's reading.
So, lunchtime. Will I be going to the overcrowded cafeteria, or would the vending machines be a better option today?
Either way, there's a girl standing in the doorway. However, her appearance happens to be more familiar, in more ways than one. Golden-blonde hair, above-average height, and a pair of wide, deep eyes. I can't believe there was any doubt in my mind that they were related.
"Good afternoon, Lilly."
The dark-haired girl jumps in her seat as I call out, eyes jerking from me to the girl standing in the front doorway.
"Ah, is that you, Hisao?"
"Yeah, how are you doing?"
"I'm quite alright, thank you for asking. Is Hanako here?"
Before I can answer, the dark-haired girl sets her book down and stands up, slinging her book bag over one shoulder.
"R-Right here..." she replies.
"Are you ready to go?" Lilly asks.
"Y-yeah."
She steps up and places her fingers on Lilly's shoulder, novel in other hand. At this, Lilly and Hanako walk toward the door side-by-side.
Before I can even restrain myself or think the consequences of such a question out, I find my mouth opening and the words "would you mind if I joined you two for lunch?" spilling out.
Hanako's eyes jerk between Lilly and I in a mixture of curiosity and anxiety, like a scared rabbit. I'm not sure if I should intrude on what must be their private time, but...
"Ah, we'd love to have you."
It just can't be helped. I've got to stop being antisocial some day, right? Not like the cafeteria and vending machines were viable options, anyway.
I pack up my own things and follow behind them, winding up at the same vacant classroom on the second floor Lilly and I used last week. And the week before that, now that I think about it.
Once inside; all of our bags are placed beside the table in neat order. Hanako takes the seat next to the window and cracks her novel open, which siphons her attention away from the outside world. Lilly begins to prepare lunch, setting out a stack of plates and that same white tea set.
"Hisao, you and Hanako haven't met, have you?"
"Not formally, no." I answer, unable to hide my embarrassment as I remember the 'incident' from my first week here.
"Well, Hisao, this is Hanako. And Hanako, this is Hisao." Lilly announces as she sorts through a box of what must be at least ten different varieties of tea.
Hanako gives a cautious wave, which I return in the same manner; both of us unsure of how to proceed. I decide to sit opposite her, diverting my eyes to the scene outside.
Was it really that easy? Or is it because it's her friend doing the introducing, rather than some guy she had only known for a day? Either way; I've never really 'met' her outside that one time in the library. Ever since then I've just sort of avoided the chance, since I'd have no idea as to how to go about talking to her.
"So, Hanako, how was class today?" Lilly asks.
"Ah, it was... okay." Hanako answers.
"Did anything happen?"
"N-Nothing much..."
Well, there was that time where she had to duck out of the middle of class. It was only for about an hour, though, and even if she did disappear entirely; what she does is her business, I'm sure there's a reason for it somewhere.
"How about you, Hisao? Settled in yet?"
"I'm getting into the pace of things. No problems in class, as of yet."
"It just takes a little time, I'm glad to hear you're up to speed." she replies, placing a pot of tea on the table between us. Hanako takes the cue and begins pouring the cinnamon-colored liquid into each cup, somehow able to keep it steady despite the rest of her figure shaking with anxiety.
This time, rather than letting such graceful preparations go to waste; I grab the cup and raise it to my lips, letting the drink flow into my-
"AHHHH HOT HOT HOT."
Lilly and Hanako both jump with surprise at my outburst. The white teapot drops to the table with a 'clank' and, thankfully, does not shatter despite the fact that the person holding it nearly flipped out of her chair.
"Hisao! Are you okay?" she asks.
"Ah'm oghay." I reply, fanning my tongue.
Despite my nervous attempts to laugh it off, I'm still left with blood rushing to my head and an overwhelming sense of guilt for injecting such excitement into their lives. Hanako appears to settle down as soon as Lilly takes a seat next to her, even though her eyes still swirl with paranoia as she looks between me and her book.
"So, did you ever find the Akira you were looking for?" Lilly asks as she slides into her chair.
"I did, actually. Turns out she was your sister - I actually feel dumb for not drawing the connection earlier."
"We aren't that similar, if that's what you mean." she responds, giggling. "Did you two get along?"
"Yeah, I actually ran into her in the park yesterday. We talked for a while." I respond.
I'm forbidden to speak of WHAT we talked about, but the fact that we talked should be enough to answer her question. It does provide some conversation for once; something I'm always at a loss to participate in because my life isn't worth talking about.
Hanako returns to her reading in the midst of our conversation, content to let the day's events play out without giving or receiving any input.
"It's nice to hear that you're making other friends. I should warn you that she has a boyfriend, however." Lilly answers with a playful tone.
A boyfriend that annoys her to no end, if yesterday's chat was anything to go by. Even still; it has anything to do with me. I mean, she's a beautiful woman, and as much as I'd hate to prove Freud right; I wouldn't mind spending more time with her.
Of course, that begs the question as to how two people like us would even wind up together in the first place, considering the age gap among other things, like her current relationship status.
"Oh, dang."
"My my, you almost sound disappointed." she returns with a giggle.
"Not quite. She's got to be at least a couple of years older than me." I retort. It's a lie, of course; I'm more attracted to her than I'd like to be, but what would Lilly think if her eighteen year-old classmate felt something for her older sister?
"She's twenty-four, actually, with a birthday coming up quite soon.
"Really? She's up in big business at that age?"
"Not quite big business, Hisao. She's in corporate law - human resources management, if I remember correctly." she answers with a degree of pride.
Human resources management? Aren't they essentially a discipline crew? Keeping everyone in line and working?
"Huh, she doesn't seem like the rule-oriented type in the least." I respond.
Lilly and Hanako both let out a small giggle. I'll take it they're in agreement with that notion, then.
"She really isn't, but that doesn't stop her from being good at what she does." Lilly answers.
"Yeah, even I can tell. Is she ever not working? I've never seen her in anything but a suit." I comment.
"She certainly works quite a bit. Too much, if you ask me." Lilly returns.
>[ ] Switch to something else
>[x] Inquire further
>[ ] Ask about Hanako
"What makes you say that?"
"Even when she first started out, she was at work from eight in the morning to five in the afternoon. Sometimes it would be longer, and she wouldn't even come home for dinner. At one point she working well over sixty hours a week." she starts.
"Some people just love their jobs. I know my parents were the same way." I comment.
"Akira likes her position, but I wouldn't say she works so much because of that. There was a time when it was just my sister and I, and she had to work to get us both to the end of the month. However, she also had to take care of her studies."
"That is downright ridiculous. Sixty hours of work a week plus studies?! I can barely make it through forty hours of school alone most of the time." I mention, unable to keep my jaw from dropping.
My comment gets a chuckle out of both Lilly and Hanako.
"How did she do that? Just cope on six hours of sleep a night?
"Akira is a strong girl - she always has been." Lilly replies, as if that answers the entire question. Or maybe she doesn't feel like delving deeper into details; all things considered, that must have been a both time for both of them.
"Does she at least get time off?"
"Saturday has always a good day to her." Lilly says with a smile. "Originally she was swamped twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This went on for about a year until she put her foot down and secured Saturday for herself, and she's kept that schedule ever since."
One day out of the week for herself. Only one day - everything else is swallowed up by work, school or other responsibilities. I would hope she's strong, since I can't imagine someone who isn't fortified making it through something like that.
At any rate, I guess that explains why Lilly has such a mature air around her. I'm sure she became independent rather quickly, living with arrangements like that.
But still, it's strange. I've met Akira on three separate occasions, and not one of those has been on a Saturday. Has every one of those times been when she was on break from her job? And if so, why wouldn't she take the entire time to visit her sister?
"Her working hours have gotten a little more lenient ever since she graduated, however. She gets plenty of breaks now, and she doesn't mind... abusing the privilege." Lilly continues with an idle giggle.
"So Akira comes by here a whole lot, then?" I ask.
"Not quite. Sometimes it's more, sometimes it's less, but usually it's around once every few weeks." Lilly replies.
Before I can offer any commentary, the blonde-haired girl sitting across from me mentions "ah, Hisao, your tea must be getting cold."
Wait, what?
She's right, I haven't taken a sip out of the dainty teacup ever since I roasted my tongue with its contents - however, saying something like that is suspicious no matter how you look at it. Why would she change the subject all of a sudden, when all my other questions were answered with pride?
Hanako glances between Lilly and I, a look of confusion in her eye as she herself wonders why Lilly steered away so quickly.
Ah, I get it.
Akira said a friend's birthday is coming up. If it's going to be a surprise, then Lilly wouldn't want to mention her coming over so much. If it's Hanako's special day soon, then that would explain everything.
And if it isn't the dark-haired girl's birthday coming up then... I don't know. I think it's a solid guess, though.
I'm not even given a chance to go along with the new direction the conversation has taken before the end of lunch is signaled, indicated by the sound of a loud ringing bleeding through every nook and cranny of the school's architecture.
Lunch felt short today, for some reason. Which is a shame, since the only thing I've had to eat today is some week-old instant ramen I found behind the cabinet. It's also disappointing since I'm sure Lilly had a lot more to say about her sister. Even I can tell that Lilly has a lot of pride for her sister; and I could say the same for Akira, considering how protective she appears to be.
****************************
The rest of class passes without incident, as does most of the free time that follows. Beige fills my vision as I lay back and relax on the bed, content to take the rest of the day off thanks to the stack of completed homework on my desk.
After those twelve pills, my throat could use a little rest as well. There are some things that take a little longer to get used to.
However, there is still one task that needs to be completed.
I hop out of bed and march across the hall with purpose, rapping on the door a couple of times.
No response.
I knock a few more times and take a step back, ready for the door to burst open and a green-suited maniac to jump out at me.
Still nothing.
So it's come to this; eh, Kenji?
I take another step back, bracing myself against my own door before announcing "honeymuffin" at the opposite end of the hall.
Within seconds, about a dozen different tumblers and bolts are undone, with the door practically being ripped off of its hinges as Kenji bursts out. He's dressed up in some sort of Buddhist's meditation uniform with a sock puppet on one hand. The other holds a barbie doll wrapped in duct tape and punctured by a couple of sewing pins.
"Who called for me?" he asks.
The scene before me is so over-the-top that I almost feel like just letting him slide with it.
Almost.
"I did." I reply.
"Hisao?! How did you find out about the pact?"
"The pact? The pact for what?"
"I dunno, pact was the best word I could come up with at the time. But really, how did you find out?"
"You threw a crumpled up piece of notebook paper at me at the grocery store with the password."
"Password? Yeah, that's better. And what do you mean? I only distribute invitations to the most capable femenace fighters."
What are the criteria for that? Was standing around with a bunch of groceries under my arm indicative of someone who is good at coming up with crackpot theories and snake-crawling through public marketplaces?
"You threw a paper ball at me at the Aura mart. Does that count as distributing?" I respond.
Kenji thinks for a moment, pacing back and forth without any attention to the fact that he's dressed up like a maniac.
"Perhaps." he answers, without actually answering anything.
"Okay, well, anyway, when are you going to pay me back for that pizza from a few weeks ago?"
"Oh, that, yeah."
This time, rather than presenting a bunch of nonsense arguments and beating around the bush long enough to escape into his lair; he produces a wallet from god-knows-where and pulls a crisp ¥1000 note out, holding it out for me.
"I had some stuff to take care of, sorry it took so long, man."
That's it? No fighting, no arguing, no nonsense?
"Alright, that works. You bought some milk when I saw you at the grocery store, so is it safe to assume you don't need it anymore?" I comment as I pull the note from his fingers and stuff it into my pocket, unsure of what to think.
At this, he jerks back.
"What? Seriously? Man, I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of carrying it home if I knew you had my back on that." he yells in retort.
"So why didn't you leave it behind when you saw me in town?"
"I didn't see you in town." Kenji counters with a raised eyebrow.
I can already see this going full circle.
"Okay, you didn't see me in town. I found the password on the ground. I guess the guy you intended to invite was already on undercover operations." I comment, trying to flip the conversation around.
"It's a distinct possibility - but still, that note was intended for him. You shouldn't have taken it."
"Why not? I'm not good enough to fight the feminist conspiracy?"
"No, Hisao, you're already in on it! It's just you and me right now though, man. We need to recruit more. Two men can't take down the system."
"We can't?"
"Dude, this is real life. Stuff like pretending to be exterminators to get past security and then blowing up their base from the inside only works in the movies." Kenji retorts.
"Not as exterminators, no, but I don't think it would be too hard to pose as sympathizers; maybe journalists who want an interview with the head honcho. What do you suggest, then?"
"This is hard to explain without my charts, man. First, we need to seduce some of the lower-tier agents so they're willing to give up their contacts - you know, so we can get access to the higher-ups."
"That seems like a lot of work for phone numbers. Why don't you just sneak in, steal the information off their phone, and work from there?"
"Theft is a deplorable act, Hisao. I operate under a code of honor." he starts.
"It's a shame others don't share in this mindset. I had a whole package of ramen in the cabinet, but some assholes decided to help themselves. I left it there for a day and yet there was only one cup left. So I hid the last one behind the cabinet, for later."
"And what do you know, I go back today and it turns out some jackass actually searched around and took it. I worked my ass off to get the money for that stuff; is a man not entitled to the cheap flavor of his instant ramen? Who the hell would do something like that?"
Someone who looked behind the cabinet and saw a cup of week-old dry soup and figured that someone had forgotten about it? I mean, I-they should have thought about it a little harder, but you can't blame them for not assuming that it was hidden.
"I dunno, man."
"It's a doggy dog world we live in, Hisao. That's why I don't leave my food in the kitchen anymore."
"Anymore? But you were just talking about someone stealing your food - just today, even."
"I won't leave my food in there anymore as of three hours ago, then." he concludes.
"Who do you think stole it?" I ask.
"Psh, it doesn't matter. In my eyes, all of the men here are equally guilty - those who stole, and those who failed to report the theft. It is the duty of the people to uphold justice, liberty, and the American way."
"We live in Japan, Kenji."
"Then we have to uphold the Japanese way."
"What's the Japanese way? Hang out in maid cafes and watch crazy gameshows?"
"What? No. I dunno, dude. All I know is that I'm not putting my damned ramen down there anymore, too many vultures."
Before I can reply, he continues on with "and maid cafes are feminist indoctrination facilities."
Wait wait wait. Most of the people who go into maid cafes have already disregarded women as a whole. How would their minds make the shift to feminism?
"But whatever. There will be more time for that... in time. Hey, can I ask you for something?"
"That depends. Am I going to receive just and timely compensation for my labor?"
"Man, I haven't even asked you to do anything yet. And technically you owe me for not reporting the heinous food-theft I've been subjected to."
"Why would I need to report it? You already-"
No. I'm getting pulled into his antics - at least, not anymore than I've already been trapped in.
"Anyway, what did you need?"
"I've got something in the mail that came in yesterday. The tracker says it's in the city, though."
"...Okay? What does that have to do with me?"
"I need you to go get it for me, man."
"What?! You can get your own mail. I saw you in the grocery store the other day, it's the same concept."
"Are you crazy? Post offices are feminist indoctrination facilities. I can't show my face there! It'll only be a matter of time before I get locked up in some kind of FEMA camp."
"What? FEMA is an American thing, what could they possibly do over here? And besides, what would they even have to do with feminism?"
"Oh really, Hisao? Do you even know what FEMA stands for?"
"Something to do with emergency response, I think."
"What? No! C'mon man, I thought you were smarter than this!"
"Alright, so what does FEMA stand for then, Kenji?"
"Feminist Ensnarement of Men and Animals! They won't stop at just men, they have to go out and capture any male animals too."
"Okay, so, let me get this straight... You want me to go get your mail, because you think the post office workers are going to turn you in to the feminist overlords?"
"Nah, man, the post office workers aren't in on it. They're on a need-to-know basis."
What.
"Can you just explain one more time why I'm the one that has to get your mail? It takes maybe thirty minutes to get into the city by bus."
"Because if I get it sent to the school, then it has to go through the student council. I don't want those student council witches looking through my mail - you know they do that, right? They check through mail to make sure there's no anti-feminist propaganda being spread around. I bet they keep all the good stuff for themselves."
Does the student council really have the power to search through mail? I thought they just had to deliver it. I suppose the possibility is there, but are they really so crooked as to intrude on someone else's privacy?
"Okay, that's all well and good, but why ME?"
"You're the only one I can trust, man. I may be the last sane man, but you're, like, the last sane sidekick. In a few years when they make comic books and movies of my noble cause, you'll get royalties."
I've had enough here. I don't know what else there is to do, but anything is better than sitting through this nonsense for much longer.
"Okay, so, all I have to do is pick up your mail?"
"Would you kindly?" he asks, assuming a cordial smile in an instant.
"Sure thing, man." I reply, using every ounce of fortitude in my body to push that sentence out of my mouth.
Without another word, he shuffles back into his room, the same series of bolts and locks tapping against the wooden frame as soon as the door closes. Likewise, I jump back into my room and lock the door as well, just in case Kenji has anything more to say.
So, I've got to go into the city post office and get someone else's mail. Is that even allowed? Won't I need an ID or something? And why is it even in the city? We have a post office here in town.
Whatever the reason is; I've got nothing to do for the rest of the week. It'll be better than just laying around all day, anyway. And hell, if what Lilly said earlier is right; I could wait until Saturday and take the chance of running into Akira. It'd be nice to find out how she's been doing.