I bolted from my chair, angry. "You're one of those, huh?"
"One of what?" he asked, looking confused.
"One of those...those..." I flapped my hand at him as I tried to find the right word. "Priests, right? You're one of those, trying to get me to follow whatever whacked-out religion you follow! And an American one, at that!"
He smiled softly. "Yes, I am a Christian pastor, that's true. But I'm not here to try to convert you to Christianity or anything like that, if that's what you're worried about. Like I said, I live to serve; whether you choose to become a follower or not is up to you."
I still felt a little betrayed, but realized that he wasn't acting like most religious nuts. "Fine," I growled as I settled back into my seat.
"I'm sorry," he said. "I was so caught up in learning about your situation that I didn't think to tell you about my job. I didn't mean to give you the wrong idea."
"It's fine," I growled again. "I figure if you were one of those religious nuts, you'd be getting on me about every little thing."
"I know what you mean," he said, surprising me. "I used to be like that...then I realized that I wasn't showing a 'servant's heart' with that. I was lecturing people instead of supporting them in their growth."
I studied him while he spoke; I knew that I was still too young to be a really good judge of character, but something about him... "Listen...sorry for snapping at you like that."
"Don't worry about it," he said with a smile. "We Christians haven't exactly been the best examples for the last few centuries. I just want to be what He made me to be and show His love to others."
I sighed heavily. Even if I never became a religious nut, maybe he could teach me some things that would help me become a better person. "All right...Pastor...teach me what you know. As far as becoming 'one of His'...we'll see."
He nodded solemnly. "I'll do my best to not ram the Bible down your throat, but understand that that's where my knowledge and understanding of things comes from." He extended his hand again. "Can you work with that? With my limitations?"
I studied his hand for a minute; it didn't look very old, but it did look very open and honest. If his knowledge could help me win Ryou back...
I reached out and shook his hand. "Sure."
***
I was surprised when I made it to school the next day without being stopped by the police.
My classmates whispered amongst themselves as I entered the classroom and made my way over to my desk and settled into it, placing my bag on the floor next to it.
I heard the door slide open, and cringed as Kyou entered the room, her nose wrapped in a bandage and a bruise on her cheek. She walked straight up to my desk and looked down at me. Whatever she had to say or do to me, I deserved it.
"So the doctor says nothing's broken," she said with a slight 'honk' to her tone. "It's a good thing I didn't hit the desk any harder than I did, huh?"
"I'm sor-wait, what?!"
"I fell asleep and hit my nose on my desk, remember?"
"Oh...right..." Was she trying to cover for me? "Hey, uh...c-can I talk to you...after school?" I asked hesitantly.
She studied me for a minute. "Park area, you and me."
I sighed in relief. Even if she was going to lie for me, I still wanted to apologize properly for my actions. "I'll be there," I promised.
"And we'll talk about how I hit my nose on my desk," she declared through clenched teeth, turning a glare on the rest of my class. "Right?!"
A classroom full of students nodded in unison.
"O-Onee-chan," Ryou giggled, and my heart skipped a beat.
"See you later, Balrog," Kyou quipped as she left the room.
That was a load off my mind.
***
I still didn't trust my temper, though, so at lunch I tried to find someplace where I wouldn't be around anyone else. I sighed contentedly as I settled on the ground next to a tree.
As I opened my bread, however, I felt like I was being watched and looked up to see Fuuko standing before me. For a moment I wondered where she had come from before remembering what Ryou had told me about her. "Hey," I greeted. "I'm not the safest person to be around right now, so..."
"It's okay, Okazaki-san," she said as she settled down nearby. "Fuuko saw what happened."
"You were there, huh? How embarrassing," I grumbled as I finished unwrapping my lunch. "I plan on apologizing to her after school, if she'll let me."
"Why does Okazaki-san need to apologize?" she asked. "She was bullying you; she's bullied you for a long time."
I blinked; pronouns? Well, rather than make an issue of it... "True, but that doesn't make it okay for me to hit her."
"Girls use their words as weapons, and boys use their fists," she retorted, raising her hands in a shrug. "That's just the way they're made. If girls want boys to not use their fists against them, then they shouldn't use their words against boys."
She had a point, but... "That's true, but Kyou being wrong doesn't make me right," I said as I offered her a piece of my bread, which she accepted. "I choose my actions, just like she does."
"Fuuko wouldn't treat you like that," she grumped. "Okazaki's a neat guy who deserves to be treated with respect."
I chuckled. "I wouldn't say that I deserve respect, but thanks."
"I-Is this space taken?"
We looked up to see Furukawa trembling before us, and I realized that it must have taken a lot of courage to approach us. "Honestly, I don't think I'm a safe person right now, so-"
"Right here," Fuuko said, patting the ground next to her. "Okazaki's a safe person, whether he thinks so or not."
"It's not that," Furukawa said with a giggle and an attractive blush. "It just looked like you two were together, and I didn't want to interrupt."
"Oh," Fuuko replied. "In that case, we're very busy right now, doing....talking."
"Knock it off, Fuuko," I said as I waved Furukawa back. Maybe the company would be good for me, even if it was...them. "You're welcome if you don't mind the company."
"I prefer it!" she chirped as she sat down next to Fuuko again. "Who wouldn't want to sit with you, anyway? You're tall and cool..."
"Okay, stop," I said, raising a hand. "You heard about what happened to Kyou, right?"
"I...did," she admitted, "but I also know you well enough to know that you had to have a good reason, right?"
"I wonder..."
"Kyou-san was bullying him!" Fuuko declared.
Furukawa's eyes widened. "R-Really?"
"Stop making it more than it is," I complained. "She and I have had our back-and-forths, but we otherwise get along really well...at least, we used to." I sighed. "I know she lied for me, but I still hope that she'll forgive me."
"She will," came a new yet familiar voice, and I looked up to see Sakagami this time. "If she tried to say anything bad about you at this point, I don't think anyone would believe her, anyway." She gestured to the ground beside me. "Can I sit with you?"
My tree was rapidly becoming the most popular spot on the school grounds as the Student Council president sat down next to me and pulled out her lunch.
"Don't you have council stuff during lunch?" I asked.
"Not today."
I waited for her to say more, but she set about to opening her bento boxes. "Ooookay," I said before returning to my meal.
As we ate I thought back to my conversation with Ashton. "Christian, huh...?" I mused. I'd heard about them, of course, but I'd never talked to one in person; I had figured that Christianity was a religion for white westerners, so it was surprising to find one in Japan, in the city where I lived, no less. "I wonder if the library has a copy of that book..." Maybe if I read it, I could understand Ashton a little more.
"Did you say something, Okazaki?" Sakagami asked between bites.
"Oh, sorry; just talking to myself."
She gave me a look of disbelief. "You have all these beautiful women around you, and you'd rather talk to yourself?"
I chuckled self-consciously. "Sorry, I've got a lot on my mind; I didn't mean to ignore you Beautiful Women."
"D-Don't worry about it," she replied with a tint to her cheeks, and when I looked, the other two were pinked as well. "Just make sure you're paying attention to who you're with," she warned.
"Understood," I said as I planned a visit to the library.