part 9:
Striking Back
by Matthew Atanian
©2015 by Matthew Atanian
Striking Back
by Matthew Atanian
©2015 by Matthew Atanian
Matthew's day had started a bit oddly. He'd had a strange encounter with Sarah in the foyer of Maison Ikkoku, followed by a shared walk to the train station with some light conversation, that he still hadn't quite processed.
Was she being nice to him?
Was it a trick?
No, that was beneath Sarah.
But why was she acting this way? It almost felt like how she treated him when he was a she.
Almost, but not quite.
What was going on with Sarah?
Thoughts like this jumbled through his head all throughout his morning train ride, and continued for the short walk from the station to the school and a bit into the morning period.
Matthew's homeroom class, Class 3-4, had their English instruction last today, and so Matt spend most of the day following Yagami-sensei around to other classes she gave more rudimentary instruction to. In those classes, she occasionally sought Matthew's assistance, but for the most part taught the class herself.
Matt was glad for the way the schedule worked out today, as it gave him plenty of time to compose himself before he had to do much active teaching himself. When he and Yagami-sensei finally returned to Class 3-4, he looked over the assembled students. One in particular caught his eye, and his thoughts returned briefly to this morning's conversation in the foyer as he felt a brief twinge of guilt.
But surely, Megumi being in his class was a harmless coincidence. And yes, she had been extremely friendly yesterday when she came to him in the faculty room. But she'd barely looked at him in homeroom this morning, and they had passed each other in the hall at another point during the day and she hadn't even looked his way. So surely, Mat continued to convince himself, there was no need for concern.
He cleared his throat and stepped up to the front of the class. "Good afternoon, ladies. If you can take out the materials I handed out yesterday, we'll continue on with the next part. Anyone who read yesterday who's role continues on today, please continue forward. We do have some new parts today, any volunteers?"
Many, but not all, of the students raised their hands. Matt wasn't too worried about the more reluctant students. There were enough characters that, before the end of the sixth episode, they'd find themselves assigned a part if they didn't wish to volunteer for one. But for now, why force things? He picked a number of students who did have their hands raised, and then, as the narrator, began the reading himself.
"'Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun...'"
The day continued, first with a reading of the second episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then with a lively discussion of the language and grammar that Douglas Adams continued to use in his story,
"Yes," Matt said, answering the final question he was planning to take for the day, "to be truly fluent in a language is more than just understanding vocabulary and syntax. It is also a matter of knowing the local culture, and that is probably the toughest barrier between native speakers and people learning a second language. Or even between two people who grew up knowing the same language, but in different countries.
"So anyway, what was meant when that FX direction said, "SHRUBBERY," was a likening of the dramatic chord indicated to a similar one in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Of course, that wasn't really a cultural reference that we were supposed to be exposed to. It was merely something that the author scribbled in the margins when he was writing it, and that the person in charge of typing up the scripts then dutifully included. And, of course, as just a note on the FX direction, the audience was never actually aware of that bit anyway.
"There is a really great example of this in the next episode, however, which plays off knowledge of grammar and of the opening narration to the television series Star Trek. But I suppose that is something we can look forward to exploring tomorrow. And on that note..."
With impeccable timing, the chimes to indicate an end to the current school day sounded out.
"...I suppose that will be all for today," Matthew concluded. "Thank you, class."
End of day formalities occurred, and the girls -- Megumi included -- all filed out of the class. Yes, Matt thought, nothing to worry about.
He made his way to the faculty room, collected his hat and his coat, and was about to begin to head home when Yagami-sensei approached him. "Headed home, Mr. Atanian?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "Unless you needed something from me first?" He slung his coat over one of his shoulders.
"Nothing much," she answered. "Just a few words, if I can walk with you a moment?"
"Sure." They left the faculty room and began walking towards the door.
"This is an interesting story you are having the students read," Yagami-sensei began.
"Oh," Matt replied. "I hope it is alright. I just figured by beginning with something I was familiar with like this, I could ease my way into the class. And by using a British piece such as this, I could expose the students to a wider range of materials then just what I would bring from my own background. And I had thought of using the novel based on the same material, but I thought that by using the radio scripts and assigning different parts to different students, I could encourage more participation from the class."
Matt squinted a bit as they exited the building. He pulled his hat onto his head to shield his eyes from the sun.
"Oh, please don't take my comment as criticism," Yagami-sensei said. "I was wishing to complement you on your methods. Unorthodox as they are, they do seem to be getting the students' attention."
Matt thought he saw Yagami-sensei's gaze take notice of something behind them, and he was about to turn and look himself when he was startled and dropped his coat. What startled him was a big smack on his back! Then a Megumi shaped blur continued swiftly past them and forward, waving an outstretched hand as she shouted, "Great lesson today, Mr. Atanian!" before disappearing past the school's front gate and around a corner.
Matt reddened a bit as he heard some giggling from some other girls nearby. Meanwhile, Yagami-sensei had picked up his coat and handed it to him. He took this opportunity to pull it on properly.
"I am, indeed," Matt muttered. Odd thoughts from this morning came bubbling back to the surface. "Hopefully not the wrong kind of attention, though."
Yagami-sensei just smiled slightly at him. "Have a good evening, and see you tomorrow," she said as they reached the gate themselves.
Matt was the first to arrive at the Neko Hanten, a.k.a. the Cat Café. He sat down, and a very bouncy looking girl with rather long bluish purple hair attempted to take an order from him. Her English was rather broken, perhaps even slightly worse than Perfume's, but eventually Matt got across the concept that he was waiting for some others to join him, and could he perhaps have a glass of cold water while he waited?
Not long after his water had arrived, the boys showed up. They all looked rather like they had been through the ringer.
"What in Zarquon's name happened to you lot?" Matt asked them.
"Don't ask," Aaron darkly replied.
Mike was slightly more forthcoming, but barely. "Our school's principal's idea of a welcome. Principal Kuno's Little America obstacle course from hell."
"Ah, of course," Matt said, figuring for now that it might be best to just accept this explanation even if it didn't do much to actually explain anything at all. Besides, another question had formed in Matt's head which had become more pressing to him. To prepare to broach this new question, he began by greeting the subject of it. "Hello, Kirstin," he said.
"Hello," she said brightly, despite looking not too dissimilar in dishevelment from the boys.
"Before you ask," Gelinas said, anticipating the question that had been forming in Matt's mind, "she knows."
"Ah," Matt replied.
"She actually sussed out a good chunk of it for herself," Hughes offered. "We just filled her in on the rest during the walk from the school to here."
"Well, I suppose that shouldn't be too much of a surprise," Matt commented. "And nothing to worry about," he said, turning to Kirstin, "since you've been such a good secret keeper for us thus far."
Kirstin took this all in as a complement, and beamed accordingly.
They all sat and joined Matt at the large table he was sitting at. The purple haired girl came back a few minutes later and took their orders. Everyone else ordered quite extravagant sounding dishes, but with his (to put it kindly) limited pallet, Matt just requested a bowl of plain ramen noodles in a simple broth, and a small pot of tea.
Not long after that, their waitress returned again carrying half their bowls and beverages. With her was none other than Perfume, carrying the other half plus one additional bowl. After serving all of them, she placed the extra bowl on the table next to theirs, and sat there so that her back was turned towards them.
After the other waitress was out of earshot, Perfume whispered, "Perfume on break. Not know you. But this way, can listen in on meeting."
A few minutes after they began eating their food, with a jingling of bells a shadow fell upon the table. Matt, the boys, and Kirstin looked up to see Líng Rén standing before them.
Sarah saved the document she was working on, a suggestion of proposed adjustments to a memo before distribution to the American office, then sent a copy of it to Mr. Kataki for approval. Then she leaned back in her chair a bit and stretched. From her desk on the opposite side of the room, Rumi frowned at her when she did this. But Sarah didn't care. She was actually a bit ahead on the work she'd been given for today. So if she wanted to take a moment to stretch, she'd do so!
Then something happened that Sarah didn't expect. A teenage girl, who for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on Sarah thought looked familiar, came bounding into the room and went up to Rumi's desk. Rumi continued to not seem amused. Sarah was getting the impression that Rumi had a major stick up her arse. And since she'd on occasion heard the same thing about herself, if she was seeing it in another then it must be true.
After the girl had talked to Rumi for a bit, Rumi picked up the phone on her desk. Her curiosity peaked, Sarah continued to observe. After talking into the phone for a minute, Rumi placed the phone back down and aimed a stern look in Sarah's direction.
Sarah was rather startled then when, almost immediately, the phone on her own desk rang! She answered it.
"Ah, Sarah," she heard her boss's voice say. "Based on what I have in my inbox, can I assume you've completed your work for today?"
"Yes, Mr. Kataki," Sarah replied. "Was there anything else I might do for you before my shift ends?"
"As a matter of fact, there is. I had asked my daughter Megumi to meet me here after work, and as I am sure you can see, she has just arrived. But I actually have had a few things come up that I must attend to before I leave for the day. I know it isn't exactly in the job description, but could you possibly keep Megumi company for a half an hour or so? Perhaps take her down to the canteen for a snack?"
"Sure, Mr. Kataki, that'll be no problem," Sarah replied.
After finishing the phone call, Sarah looked up to see the teenage girl, presumably Megumi, was now standing in front of her desk. "Hi, I'm Meg," she said brightly. "Dad's saddled you with me, huh?"
Sarah smiled. There was something about this girl's attitude that was somewhat infectious. "I'd hardly put it that way," Sarah replied, "but yes."
"Well," Megumi replied, "good to meet ya!"
Megumi offered Sarah her hand, which Sarah was about to accept, when she saw something that gave her pause. "Your hand... are you bleeding? Are you okay?"
Megumi jerked her hand back, startled at first, but then she laughed. "No, no. I'm sorry, I forgot. I must have looked like a mad woman on the train here. 'The Schoolgirl With the Bloody Hand!'" She then made a mock spooky, "Oooooooooooooo!" noise.
"So what...?" Sarah began. But before she could even finish her question, Megumi answered it.
"Water soluble ink," she said. "Hold on, I'll go wash my hands, then we can go." And with that, Megumi dashed off towards the nearest bathroom.
Líng Rén took a chair and sat at the head of the table, smiling warmly and greeting everyone, including Kirstin, whose presence seemed to not be of any surprise to him.
He also silently nodded in greeting to Perfume when she dared to steal a brief glance in his direction.
After ordering just a pot of tea, and waiting for it to arrive, he finally came down to business.
"I wish to apologize again for the danger you are in," he began. When the others attempted to raise their voices in protest, he would not hear of it. "Those responsible were once associates of mine, so I feel I share the blame in what they do, and bear the responsibility of stopping them.
"In any case, if all goes well, you will remain hidden here for about a year while my organization puts safeguards in place that should allow your safe return home. However, I do feel it best if we have a, how do you put it? A plan B, in case your whereabouts are discovered. And so I intend to train you all in the hopes that you may defend yourselves should the need arise."
This brought to the forefront of Bill Gelinas's mind a question that had been nagging on him for some time. "Yeah, you've mentioned this intent before," he said, "but how exactly will that work? These guys after us are super talented martial artists, right? None of us are martial artists, and some of us aren't even that athletically inclined. It would take a hell of a lot of training to get us even close to their level!"
For once, none of the others assembled felt the need to tell Bill to shut up. In fact, the murmuring that followed seemed to indicate a consensus that this was actually a rather good point.
Líng Rén waited for the assorted murmuring to die down before he continued.
"You are correct. Only one of you is in any way trained in martial arts, and so I will not concern myself with her. Which is probably for the best, as too close an association with her could bring an entirely different peril to your lives.
"As for the rest of you, there is no way that, in the short time allowed to us, you would be able to receive any meaningful training to defend yourself. As such, I have decided to ignore the usual order of training and teach you all each one very special technique, in the hopes that you may use it to catch any potential opponents off guard and effect an escape."
"Michael," Líng Rén then began, "I have a technique in mind for you, but I would like your blessing before making my final decision. Ideally, this technique would have been taught to someone who was, well, younger and less developed. But as the shortest of your group, you may still be just in the physical range necessary to learn this technique. But be warned: if you do learn this technique, you will forever remain at your current height, never growing again. At least, not naturally."
Mike shrugged. "I'm game."
Líng Rén nodded. "Then for you, it shall be the Happōgoensatsu." He turned to Matt. "There is one technique I'd like to teach that only you of your group is suited for, as learning it may require someone who can remain bipedal with opposable thumbs, even in their cursed form."
Matt swallowed nervously, but then nodded his consent.
"Then I shall teach you Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken." Now Líng Rén turned to Aaron. "I hesitate to mention this in front of the present company," he said, having enough tact to not indicate specifically which member of the present company he was referring to, "but I sense a darkness in you. A darkness that, if you will allow me to show you how, can be channeled to devastating effect."
Aaron frowned. "I'm not sure I like what you're saying, but if it will help us get out of this mess, then sure, whatever."
"Then you will learn Shishi Hōkōdan," Líng Rén proclaimed. He next addressed Bill Hughes. "William, you on the other hand have the right qualities for the Mōko Takabisha."
"What qualities are those?" Hughes asked.
"You are almost foolishly sure of yourself," Líng Rén replied.
Hughes grinned broadly and said, "That I am!"
"Finally, you, William," he said, turning this time to Bill Gelinas, "have a very analytical mind. This could be useful in mastering Bakusai Tenketsu."
Bill simply nodded in response.
"For most of you," Líng Rén said, "I will begin training in the near future. Michael, with you it is imperative that we get started as soon as possible however, as there are certain physical changes we will need to make to your body."
Mike looked a bit nervous. "What sort of changes?"
"Do not worry," Líng Rén said. "Nothing that will cause you harm, or that will be outwardly perceptible under normal circumstances. Now, normally I would just go to the one who first developed this technique, and ask him to perform the necessary modifications to you. But..." Líng Rén actually blushed slightly. "He can be of somewhat questionable character, and so I would prefer not to involve him if possible. There is another who may be able to perform the necessary acupressure, however. A doctor operating a clinic in Furinkan. His name is Ono Tofu." Líng Rén slid a piece of paper with an address and directions on it across the table to Mike. "I suggest we meet there tomorrow morning to begin."
Mike nodded.
Líng Rén finished his tea and rose from the table. "Well, if none of you have any questions, I suggest we part for now and you all go on about the rest of your day." At that, he reached into a small pouch on his belt, causing the bells also hanging there to jingle slightly once more, and pulled out some coins that were presumably for the tea.
"Please, don't worry about it," Matt said. "You're doing so much for us, the least we can do is get your tea for you."
"Most kind of you, thank you," Líng Rén replied. He returned the coins to his pouch, bowed slightly to all of them, and then departed.
The others all chatted a bit as they finished their meals.
"I know I'm kind of on the outside of this," Kirstin said, "but all of it seems rather exciting from that vantage point! Except, I suppose, the part about where you are potentially in mortal peril," she hastily amended. But the others had no problem offering her a pass on that point.
Indeed, for the first time since this had all started, they were beginning to feel a bit excited at the thought of what might occur, as well.
"I wonder exactly what all of these techniques will do?" Hughes asked. "I can't wait to master mine!"
"If we're able to master any of them," Aaron reminded him. "It all sounds good on the surface, but still, none of us are martial artists going into this, and they sound like pretty advanced techniques."
"Indeed," Gelnas said. "It is like trying to teach Chopin to someone who hasn't even mastered Chopsticks."
"Shut up, Bill," Mike said. Even if he, again, had a point, they didn't want to concede too much to him. There was tradition to maintain, after all. Having taken effective control of the conversation, Mike then took the opportunity to ponder, "I wonder just what is going to happen to me in the morning."
"We can all come along with you, if it would make you more comfortable," Matt offered.
"Yes, it would," Mike admitted.
Matt then did his own pondering. "I wonder what kind of technique it is that I need to be able to train even in my cursed form? If I accidentally get changed," he pointed out, "it isn't as if it isn't easy enough to change back to continue training."
At that point, the waitress with the purple hair came up to the group with their check. Matt took out enough money to cover his own tab and Líng Rén's tea. "Well, how are we splitting up the rest of this?" he asked.
Everyone else reached into their pockets for their money, and then almost in unison gained startled expressions.
"Um, Matt," Mike then said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but none of us have any money. At least, not in cash."
Matt arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Kirstin timidly pulled out from her pocket a check which Matt saw stated it was from "Nicole Porter Enterprises, LLC, 合同会社." She then asked, "I don't suppose they would be willing to accept these checks?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Matt noticed Perfume face palming at the notion Kirstin had suggested. He then noticed that everyone else had also pulled out similar checks before dejectedly putting them away again.
"No, I suppose not," Kirstin answered herself.
Matt sighed and pulled out his wallet again. "Fine," he said, "fine. You're all lucky I didn't quite blow all of my cash the other day in Akihabara. But," and he made sure to sound quite emphatic on this point, "we're stopping by a bank on the way home!"
Megumi and Sarah were sitting at a table in the, at this time of day, mostly empty canteen within the offices of Mitsumoto Enterprises. Sarah had gotten herself a rather lovely salad, while Megumi had grabbed a small sushi plate.
"So, I have to ask," Sarah began, "what was with the hand?"
Megumi actually blushed a bit at this. "I'm told it is something of a school tradition," she said. "Oh, please don't tell my dad!" she then blurted out. "He'd be furious!"
"Well, unless it is something dangerous or illegal, I promise it will stay between us," Sarah assured the girl.
"Well, when there's a guy you like, you mark him as yours, you see. After all, at an all girl's school, you've got to get your claim in early!"
"Where do you find a guy at an all girl's school?" Sarah asked, fearing she knew the answer.
"The faculty." Before Sarah could respond to that, Megumi continued. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "I grew up in America, you see. So I know that might seem somewhat taboo. But not so much here. I even heard that there was once, years ago, a student at my school who actually married her teacher after she graduated, if you can believe that! And besides, the guy who I'm interested in isn't that much older than me or anything. I think like less than five years."
"I guess that doesn't sound so bad," Sarah said. Mind you, she was only saying this because Megumi was not her responsibility. If Nicole or Kirstin came home with a similar tale to tell, Sarah knew full well she would have quite a different reaction! Nicole dating that Jason had been bad enough, but at least he wasn't her teacher!
But for now, Sarah figured it would just be best to offer some friendly advice. "Just don't do anything stupid that might jeopardize his position. Or yours!"
"Yes, mom," Megumi replied in a friendly yet mocking tone.
Sarah took a bite of her salad. After swallowing she said, "Then I guess we won't have to tell your father about this."
Megumi laughed. She then popped the last bit of her sushi into her mouth.. Silence settled between them for a few moments, which Megumi then took it upon herself to break. "So, how about you? Any special guy in your life?"
"Me? Noooo..." Sarah said very quickly.
Megumi's gossip sense was tingling. "You're holding something back. Come on," she pleaded, "spill. Please...?"
"Well..." Sarah sighed. First Kyoko, then this girl. Was every woman in Japan interested in her love life?
Well, maybe not Rumi.
She sighed again. "Well, there is this one guy," she admitted at last. "He's been interested in me for about a year now, At first, I wanted nothing to do with him! But I have to admit that when we first met, I was in a bad place after a nasty break-up. Lately I've started to wonder if... Well..."
Was Sarah really going to admit this?
"Maybe you haven't given him a fair chance?" Megumi asked.
Damn, Sarah thought, what is this girl, a mind reader? But the only outward reply she gave was a slight nod.
"And now you're half way across the world from him," Megumi said.
"But that's the really weird part," Sarah replied. "It turns out that he's here, too! It just seems like such a strange coincidence, like fate is trying to tell me something. Here I thought I wouldn't even be seeing him for a whole year, and now we're both on the other side of the globe and living under the same roof!"
"Wait," Megumi said suddenly, "he's just come to Japan, too?" Her posture had stiffened slightly, but too subtly for Sarah to take notice of it. "So anyway, this mysterious gentleman have a name?"
"Yeah," Sarah said. "I used to call him 'Mr. Testosterone,'" she said with a laugh, "but as you said, I wasn't really being fair to him at the time. His name's Matt."
His name's Matt. The words rang through Megumi's skull. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at Sarah anew, with a somewhat calculating gaze. Fortunately for her, Sarah was distracted by her own inner thoughts and was paying more attention to her salad then to Megumi.
"Matt, you say," Megumi intoned a moment later.
Before Sarah could reply to that, however, they were interrupted by the appearance of Mr. Kataki. "Ah, here you two are. Not being a bother I trust, Megumi?" he asked.
"No, father," Megumi replied.
Sarah stood as he approached. "Thank you very much, Sarah," he said to her. "We're supposed to be meeting Megumi's mother in the city, you see."
Megumi, always willing to be a little more forward with personal information, supplied, "It's their anniversary, so father's taking us out for a fancy dinner. "
"Megumi," Mr. Kataki scolded, "Sarah is not concerned with that."
"It's okay, I don't mind," Sarah assured him.
"Why couldn't I have gone home and changed first?" Megumi asked her dad. "Now I have to wear my school uniform all evening?"
"There was not time," her father assured her.
"Was that before or after you kept me waiting half an hour?" Megumi shot back.
Her father did not even reply to that. "Come, Megumi, your mother is waiting. Thank you again, Sarah!"
"Bye, Sarah! It was great meeting you," Megumi said brightly. Sarah didn't notice that the girl's eyes did not quite match the tone of her voice.
"Maybe we'll see each other again sometime," Sarah suggested.
"Oh," Megumi said in reply, "something tells me that you can count on that."
Matt, Kirstin, Mike, Aaron, and the Bills all arrived back at Maison Ikkoku. Kirstin noted that Nicole's shoes were not yet here, and neither were Sarah's. Everyone parted, and Matt made his way up to his room.
With mild annoyance, he found his room was not empty when he answered. "Good afternoon, Mr. Yotsuya," he said, taking off his coat.
"Ah, young Mr. Atanian, I trust you have had a good day?" He was seated on the floor on the opposite side of the room, in front of the window, and he was holding a tea cup.
"Up until now, yes," Matt replied. He turned to put his hat and coat into his closet.
"Oh ho!" Mr. Yotsuya exclaimed.
Matt turned back to the intruder. "What is it?"
Yotsuya almost, but not quite, had a smile on his face. "Nothing of import," he insisted. "Yet."
"So, what are you doing in here?" Matt asked.
"Waiting," Yotsuya replied. He took a sip of his tea.
Matt tried to not show his annoyance, but he made a note to have a word with the manager about the hole in the wall. "Waiting for what?" he asked.
Yotsuya took another sip of his tea.
Matt sighed, and went to go sit at his computer.
Yotsuya gazed out of the window, sipping his tea.
Matt checked his e-mail. Then he opened up a story he was working on, and stared at the screen a bit. He was stuck on a scene where he had to figure out how the Massachusetts Branch was keeping secret from both Seele and other branches of NERV that they had a pair of fully operational Eva Units.
Mr. Yotsuya suddenly gulped down whatever tea he had remaining, and swiftly departed the room leaving the door open. Matt sighed. He got up and was about to close it when he heard a strange commotion coming from downstairs.
"What? Hey, let me go!" Sarah's voice?
"Yotsuya-san, nani o shiteru!?" That was the manager's voice.
A trample of footfalls came up the stairs. Before Matt knew what was happening, Yotsuya was back. But he was not alone. He had a furious looking Sarah by the wrist, and a very concerned Kyoko and Yusaku had followed. "Yotsuya-san..." Yusaku said warningly.
Yotsuya released his grip on Sarah's wrist, and instead grabbed Matt by the shoulders and swiftly swung him around so that his back was to everyone else. "Voilà!" he pronounced.
Sarah could not believe what she saw on Matt's back. Right square in the center of Matt's back was a red blotch of ink shaped vaguely like a heart. And suddenly, it dawned on her why she thought Megumi had looked familiar.
Matt turned back around. "What? What is it?" he asked.
Sarah let out an annoyed yell, turned on her heel, and stomped emphatically away. A moment later, a door slammed in the distance.
Kyoko turned to Yotsuya. "Mr. Yotsuya, if you would kindly return to your own room, and stop being a bother to the other tenants," she said firmly.
The object of her ire silently slithered away, and Kyoko turned her attention back to Matt. "If you wish to change your shirt, I can try and wash that out," she offered.
Matt's mind went back to the end of school earlier, when Megumi slapped him on his back. What had she done? "If you'll excuse me a moment," he said, and closed the door to change.
After stewing in her room for twenty minutes, Sarah felt she needed some fresh air. (It didn't help that she was tired of avoiding Kirstin asking her what was the matter.) She walked outside and around the rear of the building, and it was there she came across Kyoko doing some laundry.
"Oh, hello, Sarah," Kyoko said in greeting. "I do apologize for Mr. Yotsuya. Are you okay?"
"I guess so," Sarah replied. "I'm just tired of this kind of thing," she said.
Kyoko could not help but to smile. "I do hate to make light of things," she said, "but I actually find this rather nostalgic."
"How in the hell is this nostalgic?" Sarah asked.
In response, Kyoko pulled a familiar shirt out of the washing machine and went to go hang it on the clothes line. "Matthew is lucky," she said. "The one Godai received when he was a student teacher at the same school never did wash out."
"This happened to him, too?"
Kyoko nodded.
"What did you do?"
"Well, at first I just thought it was a harmless prank," Kyoko said. "I mean, the same thing has been going on at least since when I went to school there!"
"Did you ever do this to anyone?" Sarah inquired.
Kyoko got quiet for a moment. "Yes," she said, a bittersweet tone in her voice. "A lifetime ago."
"I'm sorry," Sarah said, "did I ask something I shouldn't have?"
"No, it is all right," Kyoko said. "It is just something I haven't thought of in a long time. You see, Yusaku was not my first husband. When I first became the manager here, I was... Well, I had recently been widowed."
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Sarah said.
And something Megumi had said floated back into Sarah's mind. I even heard that there was once, years ago, a student at my school who actually married her teacher after she graduated...
Kyoko simply smiled. "There was no way you could have known. And really, there is nothing to be sorry about. I have actually been quite lucky. How many people can say they have found true love twice in their life?
"Anyway," Kyoko said, "that is why this situation seems so nostalgic to me. I've been both the girl who did this... Well, who almost did it... I actually lost my nerve at the last moment and ran off, not that that stopped my classmates endlessly teasing me about it. And I've been the woman who discovered this having been done by someone else to the man pursuing her."
"Well," Sarah asked, "from your unique duel perspective, what should I do now?"
"Based on what you've told me about you and Matthew," Kyoko said, "I think the important take away is that you feel this is a situation that warrants concern in the first place."
Sarah frowned. "Oh god, don't tell me that I'm starting to care about that idiot. I'm not, am I?"
Kyoko couldn't help but to laugh. "Nothing like an unexpected rival to begin to crystallize one's own feelings."
"My feelings," Sarah pondered. "My feelings are that that idiot could use a smack upside the back of his head," she finally announced.
All Kyoko could do was continue to smile.
"Oh hey, I thought I heard voices back here!" Nicole suddenly came around the corner of the building. "Hey, sis, I'm home!" she said brightly. "What'd I miss?"
Matt had not slept well the night before. Still, he somehow managed to get up extra early as planned. He and the boys were intending to leave about an hour before their usual time, so as to meet with Líng Rén as planned at the clinic of one Doctor Tofu.
When they arrived, Líng Rén himself was nowhere in evidence. They were greeted, however, by a man in a dark grey robe, glasses, and longish brown hair that was tied back. "Good morning," he said. "I'm Doctor Tofu! I was told to expect you."
"It is amazing how many people we are coming across who can speak perfectly good English," Gelinas muttered.
"What was that?" Hughes asked him.
"Nothing," Gelinas replied, wishing to avoid the customary response. "Nothing."
"So, which one of you is Mike?" the doctor asked.
Mike gamely raised his hand.
"Excellent!" the doctor said. "Everything has been explained to me, if you'd like to come in, we can get started."
Doctor Tofu opened the door and gestured for everyone to walk inside. They found themselves in a small office. Mike sat down on an examination table while the others stood off to one side of the room.
"Well, then, shall we?" Doctor Tofu asked.
This was all happening rather fast, Mike thought. "Um," he interjected, "I'm still a bit confused as to what exactly is going to be going on."
"Oh, I thought this had been explained to you," the doctor said. He walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed onto a full size model of a skeleton that was hanging there. "Allow me to explain to you on Betty-chan, here!
"By applying pressure to absorption points here," he indicated a spot on the chest, "and here," and a spot on the back, "plus undertaking some therapeutic exorcises, we can retrain your body in a rather interesting way that will have quite a boost to your constitution. Although," he added, "there are some side effects. I was told that at least that part you would already know about."
Mike nodded.
"Good. Then let's begin, shall we?"
Doctor Tofu had Mike lie down, and then spent five minutes applying pressure to various points on his chest. He then had Mike turn over, and repeated the process on his back. Then he herded everyone into the back yard of the clinic, and led them all in a series of exorcises.
"I thought only Mike had to do this!" Matt complained. He had never been a fan of any sort of calisthenics.
"The pressure points, yes," Tofu said. "But there is no reason you cannot all practice these exorcises. They can really be quite good for you! An invigorating start to the day!"
"Well, I suppose it can't hurt this once," Matt grumbled.
"And don't forget to do this again tonight!" Tofu continued. "And every day!"
Matt sighed.
After they'd been there for a total of half an hour, the group prepared to depart. For the boys, it was only a short walk to school from here. But Matt still had to hop on another train to get to his school, and he'd be cutting it close!
"Great job!" Doctor Tofu said as they were leaving. "You're all welcome to return any time you'd like. See you again tomorrow, Mike."
"To... tomorrow?" Mike asked.
"Of course!" Tofu replied. "Didn't you know? For everything to take effect, I have to reapply pressure to your absorption points once a day, every day, for a month."
"A month?" Mike asked.
Tofu, a friendly smile on his face, nodded in the affirmative.
"Well," Mike said, "guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
Matt was somewhat nervous as he walked into class today. He was not surprised when he observed some of the girls looking towards him, giggling, then speaking to each other in hushed tones.
Some graffiti on the chalkboard caught his eye. Something that looked sort of like an arrow pointing upwards, and on either side of the shaft of it written what Matt presumed was a name. He'd seen similar things in anime, so he felt he knew what it was, but in deference to him someone thought to provide a helpful translation to the English equivalent: below and to one side of this was also drawn a small heart, and inside the heart was scribbled, "Megumi + Mr. Atanian."
Oh, crap, Matt thought. He had to erase this before Yagami-sensei arrived. He was reaching for the eraser when he sensed that a silence had overcome the room.
He turned, and saw that not only had Yagami-sensei indeed just arrived, but with her was Megumi! Megumi looked at the chalkboard and then at him, an indecipherable smile on her lips. She kept her gaze on him as she walked to her seat and took it.
"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat. Matt jumped slightly. It was Yagami-sensei. "Interesting, um, artistic expression there, Mr. Atanian."
"It was... it was like that when I got here," he replied lamely.
"Indeed." Her tone was not the usual one she'd used towards him, it was more like that which she used with the students. She picked up the eraser and handed it to him. "Perhaps you'd like to clean the board before class begins?" she asked.
"Yes!" Matt yelped, and he grasped the eraser and jumped to do as instructed.
The class exploded into a fit of giggles.
This was going to be a long day.
When his back was turned, Megumi and Yagami-sensei exchanged a look. As Yagami-sensei brushed her chalk-stained fingers absentmindedly on her skirt, they smiled at one another. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
History would not be repeated.
Was she being nice to him?
Was it a trick?
No, that was beneath Sarah.
But why was she acting this way? It almost felt like how she treated him when he was a she.
Almost, but not quite.
What was going on with Sarah?
Thoughts like this jumbled through his head all throughout his morning train ride, and continued for the short walk from the station to the school and a bit into the morning period.
Matthew's homeroom class, Class 3-4, had their English instruction last today, and so Matt spend most of the day following Yagami-sensei around to other classes she gave more rudimentary instruction to. In those classes, she occasionally sought Matthew's assistance, but for the most part taught the class herself.
Matt was glad for the way the schedule worked out today, as it gave him plenty of time to compose himself before he had to do much active teaching himself. When he and Yagami-sensei finally returned to Class 3-4, he looked over the assembled students. One in particular caught his eye, and his thoughts returned briefly to this morning's conversation in the foyer as he felt a brief twinge of guilt.
But surely, Megumi being in his class was a harmless coincidence. And yes, she had been extremely friendly yesterday when she came to him in the faculty room. But she'd barely looked at him in homeroom this morning, and they had passed each other in the hall at another point during the day and she hadn't even looked his way. So surely, Mat continued to convince himself, there was no need for concern.
He cleared his throat and stepped up to the front of the class. "Good afternoon, ladies. If you can take out the materials I handed out yesterday, we'll continue on with the next part. Anyone who read yesterday who's role continues on today, please continue forward. We do have some new parts today, any volunteers?"
Many, but not all, of the students raised their hands. Matt wasn't too worried about the more reluctant students. There were enough characters that, before the end of the sixth episode, they'd find themselves assigned a part if they didn't wish to volunteer for one. But for now, why force things? He picked a number of students who did have their hands raised, and then, as the narrator, began the reading himself.
"'Far out in the uncharted backwaters of the unfashionable end of the western spiral arm of the galaxy lies a small, unregarded yellow sun...'"
The day continued, first with a reading of the second episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, then with a lively discussion of the language and grammar that Douglas Adams continued to use in his story,
"Yes," Matt said, answering the final question he was planning to take for the day, "to be truly fluent in a language is more than just understanding vocabulary and syntax. It is also a matter of knowing the local culture, and that is probably the toughest barrier between native speakers and people learning a second language. Or even between two people who grew up knowing the same language, but in different countries.
"So anyway, what was meant when that FX direction said, "SHRUBBERY," was a likening of the dramatic chord indicated to a similar one in the film Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Of course, that wasn't really a cultural reference that we were supposed to be exposed to. It was merely something that the author scribbled in the margins when he was writing it, and that the person in charge of typing up the scripts then dutifully included. And, of course, as just a note on the FX direction, the audience was never actually aware of that bit anyway.
"There is a really great example of this in the next episode, however, which plays off knowledge of grammar and of the opening narration to the television series Star Trek. But I suppose that is something we can look forward to exploring tomorrow. And on that note..."
With impeccable timing, the chimes to indicate an end to the current school day sounded out.
"...I suppose that will be all for today," Matthew concluded. "Thank you, class."
End of day formalities occurred, and the girls -- Megumi included -- all filed out of the class. Yes, Matt thought, nothing to worry about.
He made his way to the faculty room, collected his hat and his coat, and was about to begin to head home when Yagami-sensei approached him. "Headed home, Mr. Atanian?" she asked.
"Yes," he replied. "Unless you needed something from me first?" He slung his coat over one of his shoulders.
"Nothing much," she answered. "Just a few words, if I can walk with you a moment?"
"Sure." They left the faculty room and began walking towards the door.
"This is an interesting story you are having the students read," Yagami-sensei began.
"Oh," Matt replied. "I hope it is alright. I just figured by beginning with something I was familiar with like this, I could ease my way into the class. And by using a British piece such as this, I could expose the students to a wider range of materials then just what I would bring from my own background. And I had thought of using the novel based on the same material, but I thought that by using the radio scripts and assigning different parts to different students, I could encourage more participation from the class."
Matt squinted a bit as they exited the building. He pulled his hat onto his head to shield his eyes from the sun.
"Oh, please don't take my comment as criticism," Yagami-sensei said. "I was wishing to complement you on your methods. Unorthodox as they are, they do seem to be getting the students' attention."
Matt thought he saw Yagami-sensei's gaze take notice of something behind them, and he was about to turn and look himself when he was startled and dropped his coat. What startled him was a big smack on his back! Then a Megumi shaped blur continued swiftly past them and forward, waving an outstretched hand as she shouted, "Great lesson today, Mr. Atanian!" before disappearing past the school's front gate and around a corner.
Matt reddened a bit as he heard some giggling from some other girls nearby. Meanwhile, Yagami-sensei had picked up his coat and handed it to him. He took this opportunity to pull it on properly.
"I am, indeed," Matt muttered. Odd thoughts from this morning came bubbling back to the surface. "Hopefully not the wrong kind of attention, though."
Yagami-sensei just smiled slightly at him. "Have a good evening, and see you tomorrow," she said as they reached the gate themselves.
Matt was the first to arrive at the Neko Hanten, a.k.a. the Cat Café. He sat down, and a very bouncy looking girl with rather long bluish purple hair attempted to take an order from him. Her English was rather broken, perhaps even slightly worse than Perfume's, but eventually Matt got across the concept that he was waiting for some others to join him, and could he perhaps have a glass of cold water while he waited?
Not long after his water had arrived, the boys showed up. They all looked rather like they had been through the ringer.
"What in Zarquon's name happened to you lot?" Matt asked them.
"Don't ask," Aaron darkly replied.
Mike was slightly more forthcoming, but barely. "Our school's principal's idea of a welcome. Principal Kuno's Little America obstacle course from hell."
"Ah, of course," Matt said, figuring for now that it might be best to just accept this explanation even if it didn't do much to actually explain anything at all. Besides, another question had formed in Matt's head which had become more pressing to him. To prepare to broach this new question, he began by greeting the subject of it. "Hello, Kirstin," he said.
"Hello," she said brightly, despite looking not too dissimilar in dishevelment from the boys.
"Before you ask," Gelinas said, anticipating the question that had been forming in Matt's mind, "she knows."
"Ah," Matt replied.
"She actually sussed out a good chunk of it for herself," Hughes offered. "We just filled her in on the rest during the walk from the school to here."
"Well, I suppose that shouldn't be too much of a surprise," Matt commented. "And nothing to worry about," he said, turning to Kirstin, "since you've been such a good secret keeper for us thus far."
Kirstin took this all in as a complement, and beamed accordingly.
They all sat and joined Matt at the large table he was sitting at. The purple haired girl came back a few minutes later and took their orders. Everyone else ordered quite extravagant sounding dishes, but with his (to put it kindly) limited pallet, Matt just requested a bowl of plain ramen noodles in a simple broth, and a small pot of tea.
Not long after that, their waitress returned again carrying half their bowls and beverages. With her was none other than Perfume, carrying the other half plus one additional bowl. After serving all of them, she placed the extra bowl on the table next to theirs, and sat there so that her back was turned towards them.
After the other waitress was out of earshot, Perfume whispered, "Perfume on break. Not know you. But this way, can listen in on meeting."
A few minutes after they began eating their food, with a jingling of bells a shadow fell upon the table. Matt, the boys, and Kirstin looked up to see Líng Rén standing before them.
Sarah saved the document she was working on, a suggestion of proposed adjustments to a memo before distribution to the American office, then sent a copy of it to Mr. Kataki for approval. Then she leaned back in her chair a bit and stretched. From her desk on the opposite side of the room, Rumi frowned at her when she did this. But Sarah didn't care. She was actually a bit ahead on the work she'd been given for today. So if she wanted to take a moment to stretch, she'd do so!
Then something happened that Sarah didn't expect. A teenage girl, who for some reason she couldn't quite put her finger on Sarah thought looked familiar, came bounding into the room and went up to Rumi's desk. Rumi continued to not seem amused. Sarah was getting the impression that Rumi had a major stick up her arse. And since she'd on occasion heard the same thing about herself, if she was seeing it in another then it must be true.
After the girl had talked to Rumi for a bit, Rumi picked up the phone on her desk. Her curiosity peaked, Sarah continued to observe. After talking into the phone for a minute, Rumi placed the phone back down and aimed a stern look in Sarah's direction.
Sarah was rather startled then when, almost immediately, the phone on her own desk rang! She answered it.
"Ah, Sarah," she heard her boss's voice say. "Based on what I have in my inbox, can I assume you've completed your work for today?"
"Yes, Mr. Kataki," Sarah replied. "Was there anything else I might do for you before my shift ends?"
"As a matter of fact, there is. I had asked my daughter Megumi to meet me here after work, and as I am sure you can see, she has just arrived. But I actually have had a few things come up that I must attend to before I leave for the day. I know it isn't exactly in the job description, but could you possibly keep Megumi company for a half an hour or so? Perhaps take her down to the canteen for a snack?"
"Sure, Mr. Kataki, that'll be no problem," Sarah replied.
After finishing the phone call, Sarah looked up to see the teenage girl, presumably Megumi, was now standing in front of her desk. "Hi, I'm Meg," she said brightly. "Dad's saddled you with me, huh?"
Sarah smiled. There was something about this girl's attitude that was somewhat infectious. "I'd hardly put it that way," Sarah replied, "but yes."
"Well," Megumi replied, "good to meet ya!"
Megumi offered Sarah her hand, which Sarah was about to accept, when she saw something that gave her pause. "Your hand... are you bleeding? Are you okay?"
Megumi jerked her hand back, startled at first, but then she laughed. "No, no. I'm sorry, I forgot. I must have looked like a mad woman on the train here. 'The Schoolgirl With the Bloody Hand!'" She then made a mock spooky, "Oooooooooooooo!" noise.
"So what...?" Sarah began. But before she could even finish her question, Megumi answered it.
"Water soluble ink," she said. "Hold on, I'll go wash my hands, then we can go." And with that, Megumi dashed off towards the nearest bathroom.
Líng Rén took a chair and sat at the head of the table, smiling warmly and greeting everyone, including Kirstin, whose presence seemed to not be of any surprise to him.
He also silently nodded in greeting to Perfume when she dared to steal a brief glance in his direction.
After ordering just a pot of tea, and waiting for it to arrive, he finally came down to business.
"I wish to apologize again for the danger you are in," he began. When the others attempted to raise their voices in protest, he would not hear of it. "Those responsible were once associates of mine, so I feel I share the blame in what they do, and bear the responsibility of stopping them.
"In any case, if all goes well, you will remain hidden here for about a year while my organization puts safeguards in place that should allow your safe return home. However, I do feel it best if we have a, how do you put it? A plan B, in case your whereabouts are discovered. And so I intend to train you all in the hopes that you may defend yourselves should the need arise."
This brought to the forefront of Bill Gelinas's mind a question that had been nagging on him for some time. "Yeah, you've mentioned this intent before," he said, "but how exactly will that work? These guys after us are super talented martial artists, right? None of us are martial artists, and some of us aren't even that athletically inclined. It would take a hell of a lot of training to get us even close to their level!"
For once, none of the others assembled felt the need to tell Bill to shut up. In fact, the murmuring that followed seemed to indicate a consensus that this was actually a rather good point.
Líng Rén waited for the assorted murmuring to die down before he continued.
"You are correct. Only one of you is in any way trained in martial arts, and so I will not concern myself with her. Which is probably for the best, as too close an association with her could bring an entirely different peril to your lives.
"As for the rest of you, there is no way that, in the short time allowed to us, you would be able to receive any meaningful training to defend yourself. As such, I have decided to ignore the usual order of training and teach you all each one very special technique, in the hopes that you may use it to catch any potential opponents off guard and effect an escape."
"Michael," Líng Rén then began, "I have a technique in mind for you, but I would like your blessing before making my final decision. Ideally, this technique would have been taught to someone who was, well, younger and less developed. But as the shortest of your group, you may still be just in the physical range necessary to learn this technique. But be warned: if you do learn this technique, you will forever remain at your current height, never growing again. At least, not naturally."
Mike shrugged. "I'm game."
Líng Rén nodded. "Then for you, it shall be the Happōgoensatsu." He turned to Matt. "There is one technique I'd like to teach that only you of your group is suited for, as learning it may require someone who can remain bipedal with opposable thumbs, even in their cursed form."
Matt swallowed nervously, but then nodded his consent.
"Then I shall teach you Kachü Tenshin Amaguriken." Now Líng Rén turned to Aaron. "I hesitate to mention this in front of the present company," he said, having enough tact to not indicate specifically which member of the present company he was referring to, "but I sense a darkness in you. A darkness that, if you will allow me to show you how, can be channeled to devastating effect."
Aaron frowned. "I'm not sure I like what you're saying, but if it will help us get out of this mess, then sure, whatever."
"Then you will learn Shishi Hōkōdan," Líng Rén proclaimed. He next addressed Bill Hughes. "William, you on the other hand have the right qualities for the Mōko Takabisha."
"What qualities are those?" Hughes asked.
"You are almost foolishly sure of yourself," Líng Rén replied.
Hughes grinned broadly and said, "That I am!"
"Finally, you, William," he said, turning this time to Bill Gelinas, "have a very analytical mind. This could be useful in mastering Bakusai Tenketsu."
Bill simply nodded in response.
"For most of you," Líng Rén said, "I will begin training in the near future. Michael, with you it is imperative that we get started as soon as possible however, as there are certain physical changes we will need to make to your body."
Mike looked a bit nervous. "What sort of changes?"
"Do not worry," Líng Rén said. "Nothing that will cause you harm, or that will be outwardly perceptible under normal circumstances. Now, normally I would just go to the one who first developed this technique, and ask him to perform the necessary modifications to you. But..." Líng Rén actually blushed slightly. "He can be of somewhat questionable character, and so I would prefer not to involve him if possible. There is another who may be able to perform the necessary acupressure, however. A doctor operating a clinic in Furinkan. His name is Ono Tofu." Líng Rén slid a piece of paper with an address and directions on it across the table to Mike. "I suggest we meet there tomorrow morning to begin."
Mike nodded.
Líng Rén finished his tea and rose from the table. "Well, if none of you have any questions, I suggest we part for now and you all go on about the rest of your day." At that, he reached into a small pouch on his belt, causing the bells also hanging there to jingle slightly once more, and pulled out some coins that were presumably for the tea.
"Please, don't worry about it," Matt said. "You're doing so much for us, the least we can do is get your tea for you."
"Most kind of you, thank you," Líng Rén replied. He returned the coins to his pouch, bowed slightly to all of them, and then departed.
The others all chatted a bit as they finished their meals.
"I know I'm kind of on the outside of this," Kirstin said, "but all of it seems rather exciting from that vantage point! Except, I suppose, the part about where you are potentially in mortal peril," she hastily amended. But the others had no problem offering her a pass on that point.
Indeed, for the first time since this had all started, they were beginning to feel a bit excited at the thought of what might occur, as well.
"I wonder exactly what all of these techniques will do?" Hughes asked. "I can't wait to master mine!"
"If we're able to master any of them," Aaron reminded him. "It all sounds good on the surface, but still, none of us are martial artists going into this, and they sound like pretty advanced techniques."
"Indeed," Gelnas said. "It is like trying to teach Chopin to someone who hasn't even mastered Chopsticks."
"Shut up, Bill," Mike said. Even if he, again, had a point, they didn't want to concede too much to him. There was tradition to maintain, after all. Having taken effective control of the conversation, Mike then took the opportunity to ponder, "I wonder just what is going to happen to me in the morning."
"We can all come along with you, if it would make you more comfortable," Matt offered.
"Yes, it would," Mike admitted.
Matt then did his own pondering. "I wonder what kind of technique it is that I need to be able to train even in my cursed form? If I accidentally get changed," he pointed out, "it isn't as if it isn't easy enough to change back to continue training."
At that point, the waitress with the purple hair came up to the group with their check. Matt took out enough money to cover his own tab and Líng Rén's tea. "Well, how are we splitting up the rest of this?" he asked.
Everyone else reached into their pockets for their money, and then almost in unison gained startled expressions.
"Um, Matt," Mike then said, "I don't know how to tell you this, but none of us have any money. At least, not in cash."
Matt arched an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
Kirstin timidly pulled out from her pocket a check which Matt saw stated it was from "Nicole Porter Enterprises, LLC, 合同会社." She then asked, "I don't suppose they would be willing to accept these checks?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Matt noticed Perfume face palming at the notion Kirstin had suggested. He then noticed that everyone else had also pulled out similar checks before dejectedly putting them away again.
"No, I suppose not," Kirstin answered herself.
Matt sighed and pulled out his wallet again. "Fine," he said, "fine. You're all lucky I didn't quite blow all of my cash the other day in Akihabara. But," and he made sure to sound quite emphatic on this point, "we're stopping by a bank on the way home!"
Megumi and Sarah were sitting at a table in the, at this time of day, mostly empty canteen within the offices of Mitsumoto Enterprises. Sarah had gotten herself a rather lovely salad, while Megumi had grabbed a small sushi plate.
"So, I have to ask," Sarah began, "what was with the hand?"
Megumi actually blushed a bit at this. "I'm told it is something of a school tradition," she said. "Oh, please don't tell my dad!" she then blurted out. "He'd be furious!"
"Well, unless it is something dangerous or illegal, I promise it will stay between us," Sarah assured the girl.
"Well, when there's a guy you like, you mark him as yours, you see. After all, at an all girl's school, you've got to get your claim in early!"
"Where do you find a guy at an all girl's school?" Sarah asked, fearing she knew the answer.
"The faculty." Before Sarah could respond to that, Megumi continued. "I know what you're thinking," she said. "I grew up in America, you see. So I know that might seem somewhat taboo. But not so much here. I even heard that there was once, years ago, a student at my school who actually married her teacher after she graduated, if you can believe that! And besides, the guy who I'm interested in isn't that much older than me or anything. I think like less than five years."
"I guess that doesn't sound so bad," Sarah said. Mind you, she was only saying this because Megumi was not her responsibility. If Nicole or Kirstin came home with a similar tale to tell, Sarah knew full well she would have quite a different reaction! Nicole dating that Jason had been bad enough, but at least he wasn't her teacher!
But for now, Sarah figured it would just be best to offer some friendly advice. "Just don't do anything stupid that might jeopardize his position. Or yours!"
"Yes, mom," Megumi replied in a friendly yet mocking tone.
Sarah took a bite of her salad. After swallowing she said, "Then I guess we won't have to tell your father about this."
Megumi laughed. She then popped the last bit of her sushi into her mouth.. Silence settled between them for a few moments, which Megumi then took it upon herself to break. "So, how about you? Any special guy in your life?"
"Me? Noooo..." Sarah said very quickly.
Megumi's gossip sense was tingling. "You're holding something back. Come on," she pleaded, "spill. Please...?"
"Well..." Sarah sighed. First Kyoko, then this girl. Was every woman in Japan interested in her love life?
Well, maybe not Rumi.
She sighed again. "Well, there is this one guy," she admitted at last. "He's been interested in me for about a year now, At first, I wanted nothing to do with him! But I have to admit that when we first met, I was in a bad place after a nasty break-up. Lately I've started to wonder if... Well..."
Was Sarah really going to admit this?
"Maybe you haven't given him a fair chance?" Megumi asked.
Damn, Sarah thought, what is this girl, a mind reader? But the only outward reply she gave was a slight nod.
"And now you're half way across the world from him," Megumi said.
"But that's the really weird part," Sarah replied. "It turns out that he's here, too! It just seems like such a strange coincidence, like fate is trying to tell me something. Here I thought I wouldn't even be seeing him for a whole year, and now we're both on the other side of the globe and living under the same roof!"
"Wait," Megumi said suddenly, "he's just come to Japan, too?" Her posture had stiffened slightly, but too subtly for Sarah to take notice of it. "So anyway, this mysterious gentleman have a name?"
"Yeah," Sarah said. "I used to call him 'Mr. Testosterone,'" she said with a laugh, "but as you said, I wasn't really being fair to him at the time. His name's Matt."
His name's Matt. The words rang through Megumi's skull. Her eyes narrowed, and she looked at Sarah anew, with a somewhat calculating gaze. Fortunately for her, Sarah was distracted by her own inner thoughts and was paying more attention to her salad then to Megumi.
"Matt, you say," Megumi intoned a moment later.
Before Sarah could reply to that, however, they were interrupted by the appearance of Mr. Kataki. "Ah, here you two are. Not being a bother I trust, Megumi?" he asked.
"No, father," Megumi replied.
Sarah stood as he approached. "Thank you very much, Sarah," he said to her. "We're supposed to be meeting Megumi's mother in the city, you see."
Megumi, always willing to be a little more forward with personal information, supplied, "It's their anniversary, so father's taking us out for a fancy dinner. "
"Megumi," Mr. Kataki scolded, "Sarah is not concerned with that."
"It's okay, I don't mind," Sarah assured him.
"Why couldn't I have gone home and changed first?" Megumi asked her dad. "Now I have to wear my school uniform all evening?"
"There was not time," her father assured her.
"Was that before or after you kept me waiting half an hour?" Megumi shot back.
Her father did not even reply to that. "Come, Megumi, your mother is waiting. Thank you again, Sarah!"
"Bye, Sarah! It was great meeting you," Megumi said brightly. Sarah didn't notice that the girl's eyes did not quite match the tone of her voice.
"Maybe we'll see each other again sometime," Sarah suggested.
"Oh," Megumi said in reply, "something tells me that you can count on that."
Matt, Kirstin, Mike, Aaron, and the Bills all arrived back at Maison Ikkoku. Kirstin noted that Nicole's shoes were not yet here, and neither were Sarah's. Everyone parted, and Matt made his way up to his room.
With mild annoyance, he found his room was not empty when he answered. "Good afternoon, Mr. Yotsuya," he said, taking off his coat.
"Ah, young Mr. Atanian, I trust you have had a good day?" He was seated on the floor on the opposite side of the room, in front of the window, and he was holding a tea cup.
"Up until now, yes," Matt replied. He turned to put his hat and coat into his closet.
"Oh ho!" Mr. Yotsuya exclaimed.
Matt turned back to the intruder. "What is it?"
Yotsuya almost, but not quite, had a smile on his face. "Nothing of import," he insisted. "Yet."
"So, what are you doing in here?" Matt asked.
"Waiting," Yotsuya replied. He took a sip of his tea.
Matt tried to not show his annoyance, but he made a note to have a word with the manager about the hole in the wall. "Waiting for what?" he asked.
Yotsuya took another sip of his tea.
Matt sighed, and went to go sit at his computer.
Yotsuya gazed out of the window, sipping his tea.
Matt checked his e-mail. Then he opened up a story he was working on, and stared at the screen a bit. He was stuck on a scene where he had to figure out how the Massachusetts Branch was keeping secret from both Seele and other branches of NERV that they had a pair of fully operational Eva Units.
Mr. Yotsuya suddenly gulped down whatever tea he had remaining, and swiftly departed the room leaving the door open. Matt sighed. He got up and was about to close it when he heard a strange commotion coming from downstairs.
"What? Hey, let me go!" Sarah's voice?
"Yotsuya-san, nani o shiteru!?" That was the manager's voice.
A trample of footfalls came up the stairs. Before Matt knew what was happening, Yotsuya was back. But he was not alone. He had a furious looking Sarah by the wrist, and a very concerned Kyoko and Yusaku had followed. "Yotsuya-san..." Yusaku said warningly.
Yotsuya released his grip on Sarah's wrist, and instead grabbed Matt by the shoulders and swiftly swung him around so that his back was to everyone else. "Voilà!" he pronounced.
Sarah could not believe what she saw on Matt's back. Right square in the center of Matt's back was a red blotch of ink shaped vaguely like a heart. And suddenly, it dawned on her why she thought Megumi had looked familiar.
Matt turned back around. "What? What is it?" he asked.
Sarah let out an annoyed yell, turned on her heel, and stomped emphatically away. A moment later, a door slammed in the distance.
Kyoko turned to Yotsuya. "Mr. Yotsuya, if you would kindly return to your own room, and stop being a bother to the other tenants," she said firmly.
The object of her ire silently slithered away, and Kyoko turned her attention back to Matt. "If you wish to change your shirt, I can try and wash that out," she offered.
Matt's mind went back to the end of school earlier, when Megumi slapped him on his back. What had she done? "If you'll excuse me a moment," he said, and closed the door to change.
After stewing in her room for twenty minutes, Sarah felt she needed some fresh air. (It didn't help that she was tired of avoiding Kirstin asking her what was the matter.) She walked outside and around the rear of the building, and it was there she came across Kyoko doing some laundry.
"Oh, hello, Sarah," Kyoko said in greeting. "I do apologize for Mr. Yotsuya. Are you okay?"
"I guess so," Sarah replied. "I'm just tired of this kind of thing," she said.
Kyoko could not help but to smile. "I do hate to make light of things," she said, "but I actually find this rather nostalgic."
"How in the hell is this nostalgic?" Sarah asked.
In response, Kyoko pulled a familiar shirt out of the washing machine and went to go hang it on the clothes line. "Matthew is lucky," she said. "The one Godai received when he was a student teacher at the same school never did wash out."
"This happened to him, too?"
Kyoko nodded.
"What did you do?"
"Well, at first I just thought it was a harmless prank," Kyoko said. "I mean, the same thing has been going on at least since when I went to school there!"
"Did you ever do this to anyone?" Sarah inquired.
Kyoko got quiet for a moment. "Yes," she said, a bittersweet tone in her voice. "A lifetime ago."
"I'm sorry," Sarah said, "did I ask something I shouldn't have?"
"No, it is all right," Kyoko said. "It is just something I haven't thought of in a long time. You see, Yusaku was not my first husband. When I first became the manager here, I was... Well, I had recently been widowed."
"Oh my god, I am so sorry!" Sarah said.
And something Megumi had said floated back into Sarah's mind. I even heard that there was once, years ago, a student at my school who actually married her teacher after she graduated...
Kyoko simply smiled. "There was no way you could have known. And really, there is nothing to be sorry about. I have actually been quite lucky. How many people can say they have found true love twice in their life?
"Anyway," Kyoko said, "that is why this situation seems so nostalgic to me. I've been both the girl who did this... Well, who almost did it... I actually lost my nerve at the last moment and ran off, not that that stopped my classmates endlessly teasing me about it. And I've been the woman who discovered this having been done by someone else to the man pursuing her."
"Well," Sarah asked, "from your unique duel perspective, what should I do now?"
"Based on what you've told me about you and Matthew," Kyoko said, "I think the important take away is that you feel this is a situation that warrants concern in the first place."
Sarah frowned. "Oh god, don't tell me that I'm starting to care about that idiot. I'm not, am I?"
Kyoko couldn't help but to laugh. "Nothing like an unexpected rival to begin to crystallize one's own feelings."
"My feelings," Sarah pondered. "My feelings are that that idiot could use a smack upside the back of his head," she finally announced.
All Kyoko could do was continue to smile.
"Oh hey, I thought I heard voices back here!" Nicole suddenly came around the corner of the building. "Hey, sis, I'm home!" she said brightly. "What'd I miss?"
Matt had not slept well the night before. Still, he somehow managed to get up extra early as planned. He and the boys were intending to leave about an hour before their usual time, so as to meet with Líng Rén as planned at the clinic of one Doctor Tofu.
When they arrived, Líng Rén himself was nowhere in evidence. They were greeted, however, by a man in a dark grey robe, glasses, and longish brown hair that was tied back. "Good morning," he said. "I'm Doctor Tofu! I was told to expect you."
"It is amazing how many people we are coming across who can speak perfectly good English," Gelinas muttered.
"What was that?" Hughes asked him.
"Nothing," Gelinas replied, wishing to avoid the customary response. "Nothing."
"So, which one of you is Mike?" the doctor asked.
Mike gamely raised his hand.
"Excellent!" the doctor said. "Everything has been explained to me, if you'd like to come in, we can get started."
Doctor Tofu opened the door and gestured for everyone to walk inside. They found themselves in a small office. Mike sat down on an examination table while the others stood off to one side of the room.
"Well, then, shall we?" Doctor Tofu asked.
This was all happening rather fast, Mike thought. "Um," he interjected, "I'm still a bit confused as to what exactly is going to be going on."
"Oh, I thought this had been explained to you," the doctor said. He walked over to the other side of the room and grabbed onto a full size model of a skeleton that was hanging there. "Allow me to explain to you on Betty-chan, here!
"By applying pressure to absorption points here," he indicated a spot on the chest, "and here," and a spot on the back, "plus undertaking some therapeutic exorcises, we can retrain your body in a rather interesting way that will have quite a boost to your constitution. Although," he added, "there are some side effects. I was told that at least that part you would already know about."
Mike nodded.
"Good. Then let's begin, shall we?"
Doctor Tofu had Mike lie down, and then spent five minutes applying pressure to various points on his chest. He then had Mike turn over, and repeated the process on his back. Then he herded everyone into the back yard of the clinic, and led them all in a series of exorcises.
"I thought only Mike had to do this!" Matt complained. He had never been a fan of any sort of calisthenics.
"The pressure points, yes," Tofu said. "But there is no reason you cannot all practice these exorcises. They can really be quite good for you! An invigorating start to the day!"
"Well, I suppose it can't hurt this once," Matt grumbled.
"And don't forget to do this again tonight!" Tofu continued. "And every day!"
Matt sighed.
After they'd been there for a total of half an hour, the group prepared to depart. For the boys, it was only a short walk to school from here. But Matt still had to hop on another train to get to his school, and he'd be cutting it close!
"Great job!" Doctor Tofu said as they were leaving. "You're all welcome to return any time you'd like. See you again tomorrow, Mike."
"To... tomorrow?" Mike asked.
"Of course!" Tofu replied. "Didn't you know? For everything to take effect, I have to reapply pressure to your absorption points once a day, every day, for a month."
"A month?" Mike asked.
Tofu, a friendly smile on his face, nodded in the affirmative.
"Well," Mike said, "guess I'll see you tomorrow then."
Matt was somewhat nervous as he walked into class today. He was not surprised when he observed some of the girls looking towards him, giggling, then speaking to each other in hushed tones.
Some graffiti on the chalkboard caught his eye. Something that looked sort of like an arrow pointing upwards, and on either side of the shaft of it written what Matt presumed was a name. He'd seen similar things in anime, so he felt he knew what it was, but in deference to him someone thought to provide a helpful translation to the English equivalent: below and to one side of this was also drawn a small heart, and inside the heart was scribbled, "Megumi + Mr. Atanian."
Oh, crap, Matt thought. He had to erase this before Yagami-sensei arrived. He was reaching for the eraser when he sensed that a silence had overcome the room.
He turned, and saw that not only had Yagami-sensei indeed just arrived, but with her was Megumi! Megumi looked at the chalkboard and then at him, an indecipherable smile on her lips. She kept her gaze on him as she walked to her seat and took it.
"Ahem." Someone cleared their throat. Matt jumped slightly. It was Yagami-sensei. "Interesting, um, artistic expression there, Mr. Atanian."
"It was... it was like that when I got here," he replied lamely.
"Indeed." Her tone was not the usual one she'd used towards him, it was more like that which she used with the students. She picked up the eraser and handed it to him. "Perhaps you'd like to clean the board before class begins?" she asked.
"Yes!" Matt yelped, and he grasped the eraser and jumped to do as instructed.
The class exploded into a fit of giggles.
This was going to be a long day.
When his back was turned, Megumi and Yagami-sensei exchanged a look. As Yagami-sensei brushed her chalk-stained fingers absentmindedly on her skirt, they smiled at one another. Everything was proceeding according to plan.
History would not be repeated.
Author's Notes and Disclaimers:
Hey, everybody! Matt here! Wow, another story so soon! Who'd have thunk it?
Before I get on with the notes for this story, a bit of house cleaning for the last story's notes. I'd promised in my notes for that story that I'd let Jason have the last word, and I intended to keep that promise! And so I didn't follow up his notes with any additional notes of my own... But that was then, and this is now! New story! New notes! Mwa ha ha!
He defended his inclusion of Nabiki by claiming that I said only that I didn't wish to include any main characters, and that Nabiki was not a main character. But if that was what I had said, well, as Jason pointed out, Shampoo is more of a main character then Nabiki is, and I've certainly not been shy to include her in the proceedings. Perhaps there was a miscommunication at one point, and I certainly don't wish to get into a big bought of "I said / he said." But suffice to say, whatever miscommunications may have occurred, and whether they occurred on my side, his, or a combination of both, it has always been my intent that, with one brief exception (that we will be getting to probably in part 11), Boy Scouts ½ in Japan would be free to use any characters from the original work except for those with the family names of Saotome or Tendo.
(It is curious that, if as far as Jason knew, that was not my exact intent, I clearly remember us once having a conversation where he mentioned his desire to use Nabiki, pleaded for a bit, and then said he'd be careful to go out of his way to at least not mention her by name, and could I please at least look at the story with her in it before giving a definite no to her use. But since, in the end, after seeing the final story I did decide to let him keep her in it, we'll just leave that in the past and move on with notes for this story...)
Ahem... Where was I? Ah, yes...
Hopefully there have been enough hints in previous stories that the pasts of certain characters may be clear. But let us now review some of those hints and elaborate upon them.
From Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, part 3:
Before I get on with the notes for this story, a bit of house cleaning for the last story's notes. I'd promised in my notes for that story that I'd let Jason have the last word, and I intended to keep that promise! And so I didn't follow up his notes with any additional notes of my own... But that was then, and this is now! New story! New notes! Mwa ha ha!
He defended his inclusion of Nabiki by claiming that I said only that I didn't wish to include any main characters, and that Nabiki was not a main character. But if that was what I had said, well, as Jason pointed out, Shampoo is more of a main character then Nabiki is, and I've certainly not been shy to include her in the proceedings. Perhaps there was a miscommunication at one point, and I certainly don't wish to get into a big bought of "I said / he said." But suffice to say, whatever miscommunications may have occurred, and whether they occurred on my side, his, or a combination of both, it has always been my intent that, with one brief exception (that we will be getting to probably in part 11), Boy Scouts ½ in Japan would be free to use any characters from the original work except for those with the family names of Saotome or Tendo.
(It is curious that, if as far as Jason knew, that was not my exact intent, I clearly remember us once having a conversation where he mentioned his desire to use Nabiki, pleaded for a bit, and then said he'd be careful to go out of his way to at least not mention her by name, and could I please at least look at the story with her in it before giving a definite no to her use. But since, in the end, after seeing the final story I did decide to let him keep her in it, we'll just leave that in the past and move on with notes for this story...)
Ahem... Where was I? Ah, yes...
Hopefully there have been enough hints in previous stories that the pasts of certain characters may be clear. But let us now review some of those hints and elaborate upon them.
From Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, part 3:
“Well, I’ve been set up with a company called Mitsutomo Enterprises. I’ll be doing administrative work for one of their executives who recently returned from an assignment with an American branch of the company.”
Kyoko smiled as a memory of a time past flittered to the surface of her brain. “My husband applied there once, before he’d settled on teaching. It was, well, an interesting experience.”
Sarah raised an eyebrow. “Anything I should worry about?”
“I think not,” Kyoko responded, adding some noodles to her basket. “Not unless the daughter of the man hiring you develops a bit of an obsession over you.”
From this, we can surmise that the daughter of a man high up in the company Sarah is now working for once had some sort of obsession over Kyoko. What kind of obsession could this have possibly been? Perhaps, an obsession towards a rival?
Do we know the names of any other employees of Mitsutomo Enterprises? Perhaps if you read the prequel trilogy, In Japan Origins, particularly the one centered on Megumi, you might recall this tidbit from when her father was announcing that they would be moving back to Japan:
Do we know the names of any other employees of Mitsutomo Enterprises? Perhaps if you read the prequel trilogy, In Japan Origins, particularly the one centered on Megumi, you might recall this tidbit from when her father was announcing that they would be moving back to Japan:
“I have finally heard back from Vice President Yagami regarding my request.”
Could this Vice President of the company Megumi's father works for be any relation to the Yagami-semsei that Matt is working with?
We know that the school that Matt is teaching at is Kyoko's alma mater, and Yagami-sensei also described herself as an alumnus in part 7. And, we know that at some point while Yusaku was student teaching at the same school, someone planted a red heart on his back.
But is there any evidence that, in fact, Kyoko and Yusaku may have specifically known Yagami-sensei back when she was a student?
Here's one last little tidbit, this time from Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, part 2:
We know that the school that Matt is teaching at is Kyoko's alma mater, and Yagami-sensei also described herself as an alumnus in part 7. And, we know that at some point while Yusaku was student teaching at the same school, someone planted a red heart on his back.
But is there any evidence that, in fact, Kyoko and Yusaku may have specifically known Yagami-sensei back when she was a student?
Here's one last little tidbit, this time from Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, part 2:
“Please,” Kyoko said to Yotsuya‑san, “just promise no alcohol to the minors.”
“Madam, I am shocked you think so low of me.”
“Need we remind you of Yagami?” Yusaku asked.
Add this all up, and it is starting to look very much like Yagami-sensei, in her own student days, may have had a crush on her teacher! (Or, you could just go read or watch Maison Ikkoku, and see for yourself if this is or isn't true. Spoiler: It is!) And obviously, since Yusaku ended up married to Kyoko, it seems very much like the younger Yagami may not have been successful in her efforts. And perhaps she sees something of her own past playing out once more as she observes Megumi and Matthew. Certainly explains any declarations that may have been made to the effect of history not repeating itself, yes?
So, what has Matt gotten himself into? What will happen now that Megumi and Sarah are also aware of each other? Will Mike complete his sessions with Doctor Tofu, or will the good doctor suffer from a dangerous distraction? What will happen when the others start undergoing their own training? Will Perfume's grandmother ever find out the truth, putting our heroes at risk? And will Nicole ever take over all of Japan?
Stay tuned for the next installment of Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, where none of these questions will be answered!
Disclaimers: Yusaku, Kyoko, Mr. Yotsuya, Yagami-sensei, the school Matt is at, and of course, the location of Maison Ikkoku are all from the series Maison Ikkoku. The boy's school, its principal Kuno, The Cat Café, the purple haired waitress (Shampoo), Doctor Tofu and Betty-chan, the various techniques Líng Rén intends for our heroes to learn, and of course, while not directly appearing in this story, the curses our heroes suffer from are all elements from the series Ranma ½. Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½ were both created by Takahashi Rumiko, and ownership of these elements is not claimed by this author.
This story is not endorsed by or intended to reflect upon the values of the Boy Scouts of America.
See you next time!
So, what has Matt gotten himself into? What will happen now that Megumi and Sarah are also aware of each other? Will Mike complete his sessions with Doctor Tofu, or will the good doctor suffer from a dangerous distraction? What will happen when the others start undergoing their own training? Will Perfume's grandmother ever find out the truth, putting our heroes at risk? And will Nicole ever take over all of Japan?
Stay tuned for the next installment of Boy Scouts ½ in Japan, where none of these questions will be answered!
Disclaimers: Yusaku, Kyoko, Mr. Yotsuya, Yagami-sensei, the school Matt is at, and of course, the location of Maison Ikkoku are all from the series Maison Ikkoku. The boy's school, its principal Kuno, The Cat Café, the purple haired waitress (Shampoo), Doctor Tofu and Betty-chan, the various techniques Líng Rén intends for our heroes to learn, and of course, while not directly appearing in this story, the curses our heroes suffer from are all elements from the series Ranma ½. Maison Ikkoku and Ranma ½ were both created by Takahashi Rumiko, and ownership of these elements is not claimed by this author.
This story is not endorsed by or intended to reflect upon the values of the Boy Scouts of America.
See you next time!