Two Body Problem (Complete)

[Asoko_Desu]

Testimony
September 24 - Monday


“The aggrieved parties will now have their statements read into the record,” Principal announced.

One of the families’ lawyers had been appointed spokesperson for all of the parties claiming to have a grievance. He stood to speak —

“If it pleases the Principal and the august members of the tribunal, our concern is a simple one - the student known as ‘Student T’ did willfully and with malice attack Student C, taking him by surprise - giving Student C no opportunity to defend himself. This led to Student C being taken to hospital and undergoing extensive dental surgery which he is still recuperating from, and may need additional surgeries in future — all this is known and supported by the facts.”

As the Principal’s assistant typed furiously to capture the opening remarks, Tetsu stood up and raised his hand.


“Not yet - you’ll have your turn, student,” said the Principal. “Although I think I know what’s got your attention - assistant, strike the aggrieved parties’ counsel’s comments starting with ‘all this is known’. Such a conclusion is the purpose of this tribunal and we do not come into this process with preconceived knowledge of its outcome.”

Tetsu sat down - the Principal had been right; the opposing counsel had tried to pull a fast one. It was, perhaps, just as well Tetsu had not spoken — “full of shit” and “take that back or I’ll fuck you up”, while terms of art in certain jurisdictions in the West, would not have resonated well in the minutes of the tribunal.

Tetsu thought, right or wrong, they had so many advantages on their side - numbers, language, and paid lawyers to name a few. What was the point in defending himself? Perhaps it was better to to simply quit and go home - what home he had, anyhow. Still, Tetsu’s defining character flaw was curiosity — he knew that he could quit at any time before the final verdict was handed down, so why not stay and listen? The knowledge might come in handy some day.

“Principal — we hold that this foreign student, an alien in our lands, did willfully assault a native-born son, adored by his parents, loved by his peers, and a friend to all.”

At this, Shizune kept herself from snorting — the deaf students had shunned her as a unit because she had her own interpreter and was, in their words, “too good” to be in the deaf students’ class.

“This brutish outlander - who cannot even speak our language - attacked Student C — my apologies, Principal — we hold that this brutish, hairy, and illiterate outlander attacked Student C without warning, causing Student C grievous harm and we believe the evidence and testimony of Students A & B will support this conclusion.

“Brutish? Illiterate?” Tetsu could feel his face colour. Rage wasn’t a good strategy and obviously the lawyer for the other students was trying to goad him into an immature act, but instead Tetsu’s anger turned cold and he changed his mind - he would in fact testify. No way was he going down without a fight in light of such bald-faced perfidy.

“Very well — present your evidence,” instructed the Principal.

What followed was a lengthy parade of medical reports, x-rays, graphic photographs, and the testimony of students A, B, and C, and the testimony of Student C, repeated for the Tribunal —

[ Students A & B were behind me, walking upstairs - I was looking down - I had kneeled to tie my shoe lace and was kicked in the face while doing that ]

“Student T — do you have a response?”

[ No - that’s wrong - I didn’t kick anyone ]

The aggrieved parties’ lawyer spoke up — “That’s exactly what a bully would say. All attest that you maliciously attacked student C; their stories are all exactly the same. It is the word of three against one — why do you persist in lying?”

[ That’s not how it happened - I was pushed and I fell - I landed on Student C ]

Principal — “Is that your testimony, Student T?”

[ Yes - yes it is ]

“You have nothing to add in your defense?”

[ No .. I don’t know — it’s hard to remember exactly what happened as I ended up in hospital and sedated, but I know I wouldn’t have kicked anyone and I know I was pushed ]

“These three boys say differently - what do you say to that?”


Tetsu knew that simply calling them liars wouldn’t make any impact at all, and worse - would make him look bad - “That’s the kind of thing a bully would say.” He could argue - why would he attack three students at once - but even that was iffy.

[ May I have a moment to respond? ]

“Yes, of course.”

Tetsu’s thoughts raced. The room felt overwhelmingly hot, the chair uncomfortable, and time short. Urgency, however - the mother of all desperate plans and hail-Mary passes - spoke to him —

[ Can you read from the record what was said about their stories? ]

The principal’s assistant flipped several pages back - “All attest that you maliciously attacked student C”

[ And after that? ]

“Their stories are all the same.”

[ No - that’s not what their Lawyer said - he said ‘exactly’ the same ]

“Well, yes, but there’s no difference really.”

[ Yes - yes there is a difference - how could they be the exactly the same — Students A & B were behind me, walking upstairs - they said so - how could they have been looking at me? Student C wasn’t looking at me - he was looking down, tying his shoe lace - that’s what he said. Assuming their story is true - which I disagree with - how could they all be saying exactly the same thing? ]

“Is that everything you have to add?”

[ Yes — if you agree it’s impossible for them all to have exactly the same story, how can any of it be believed? ]

By this point, in his racing heart, Tetsu was beginning to doubt himself, but he believed the facts — they couldn’t have seen the same thing — they were all looking in different directions. He knew he hadn’t kicked anyone — he hadn’t wanted to kick anyone — and he knew he’d been pushed.

“If that is all the evidence, The Tribunal will now recess to discuss its decision,” announced the Principal.

Tetsu sat down, heart still racing, and mopped his brow with his handkerchief. The room was stifling but his hands felt ice cold.

Shizune stood up and raised her hand before the Principal could bang his gavel.

[ Hakamichi? ]

[ One witness hasn’t given testimony yet, Principal - the Tribunal cannot adjourn without receiving all evidence; it’s in the rules ]

[ And who is this witness? ]

[ Me ]


--

[Asoko_Desu]

Shizune
September 24 - Monday


In her capacity as Student Council President, Shizune watched the proceedings intently — so many rules to observe, so many precedents to cite. Seated to the side as she was, she had an excellent view of the main table and of the sign language interpreter at the front.

Shizune had given her statement directly to the Principal as was her prerogative, but as day progressed it hadn’t been mentioned or entered into the minutes - had her account been disregarded or lost? Shizune could feel the roots of her hair stand up at the thought of such sloppiness, or worse - bias.

The Principal adjusted his cloak and announced the Tribunal was about to adjourn - now was the time for her to speak up if she ever was.

Shizune indicates her desire to speak - Principal acknowledges the Student Council President.

[ Principal - there is another witness that hasn’t been called ]

[ Whose testimony is that, Hakamichi? ] The Principal signed back to her, dutifully represented to the rest in attendance by the interpreter.

[ Mine ]

[ Fine, Hakamichi - you gave a brief statement at the time of the incident - would you like to expand on that? ]

[ Saying my statement was brief suggests it was lacking in content - it was succinct - I wish to repeat my statement before the Tribunal so that it can be read into the minutes and debated ] — Tetsu felt he could be mistaken, but he was certain her eyes twinkled when she signed ‘debated’.

[ Proceed with your account then ]

[ Misha and I were not there to see the start of the incident, but we did see its aftermath — Students A&B looking towards Tetsu .. ]

[ Student T, please, Hakamichi ]

[ .. Student T, lying on his back on the stairs, Student C also lying on the stairs — face-first. While it is possible that .. Student T could have ended up as he did if he’d kicked student C, student C had very obviously injured himself by landing face-first on the stair. If he had been kicked, he would have landed on his back, and much further from Student T - rather than beside Student T, which is how he fell ]

Shizune paused.

[ Is that everything Hakamichi? ]

[ No - while Students A, B, and C waited for medical staff to arrive, they communicated amongst themselves and coordinated their story, correcting each other on specific points and discussing how they all had to get their stories ‘right’ for the eventual Tribunal — Student T was in no position to observe this, but Students A, B, and C had not anticipated another witness who could sign being present ]

Shizune folded her arms in front of her with an air of finality.

[ Thank you Hakamichi - you may sit down ]

Shizune turned and signed to Misha - [ It always feels good to have the final move on the board ]

“Not quite, Hakamichi,” Said Mutou, standing up.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Mutou
September 24 - Monday


Mutou signed as he spoke —

“As any teacher at Yamaku might be called on to deal with a deaf student in an emergency, sign language training is part of our introduction to Yamaku and our ongoing professional development. I have been sitting with Students A, B, and C prior to this hearing - and previously - where, out of sight of their interpreter they openly discussed their roles in this situation. They could be forgiven for not realizing that I know sign as Misha interprets for Shizune in my class — this is for Misha’s benefit in her training as a sign language interpreter, not because lessons cannot be delivered in sign and verbally. What can’t be forgiven is Students A, B, and C’s conduct when they felt they were able to speak unobserved.”

“Like Hakamichi, I was a direct witness to them discussing the incident, co-ordinate their stories, and complain about Student T’s retaining his grip on the bannister causing their plan to fail. They fully intended to push Student T over Student C as Student C knelt in front of Student T. By fully incriminating themselves in front of me, their own words support Hakamichi’s testimony and exonerates Student T completely.”

—

Mutou sat down — his normally awkward yet emotionless face clouded with an air of gravity. Gone was his usual approachability; the Tribunal process seemingly having aged him. There was nothing to rejoice about in this whole process — even the rescuing of Tetsu’s reputation was a zero-sum win, only recovering what was lost, if that. And there was the price to be paid - which would continue to be paid - by the other three students. Perhaps they’d find placement at another school for the deaf - Mutou hoped so, but their academic transcripts were stained by this farce and he felt they’d put this behind them neither easily nor quickly.

He reflected that, like so many things in life, the hard choice is often the easier choice when you’ve put yourself in jeopardy - like cutting a finger off if it gets pinned by a boulder while hiking if the alternative is to stay there and starve. Unfortunately, they did not take the hard route of confessing and hoping for what mercy the Principal could afford them — certainly they were going to be expelled no matter what, but if they’d withdrawn from study all they would have had was an unexplained gap in their record - suggestive, but not fatal. Such things were understood - overlooked - by certain institutions that were more strict, more expensive, or both.

Mutou didn’t think of that option as “sweeping the matter under the rug”, more it was a way for them to save face - there would, after all, have been no Tribunal judgement against them to record, as there was now — just the suspicion of misbehaviour that would evaporate like a cloud of ill-smelling smoke after a time. Perhaps then they could have learned from this and grown up, grateful to have avoided the most serious of punishments.

Too late now - they would still grow up, but opportunities would be forever lost to them; even institutions whose mission was to tutor students with checkered pasts balked at accepting students with outright expulsions on their records - too much risk, too many questions should misadventure repeat itself. “What had the administration known, and for how long?” the reputation of the institutions themselves would have been in jeopardy. No - these children would be considered ‘dirty’ and shunned academically — having empathy, that thought was what burdened Mutou most.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Decision
September 24 - Monday


The Principal rose to address the room - choosing to do so in sign language.

[ Student T - Tetsu - this process may seem cruel, given that we had already received Mutou-sensei’s and Hakamichi’s testimony in private, prior to this Tribunal. Rest assured that intentional cruelty was never part of the process - we had to follow the rules of Tribunal and those rules are in place for good, constructive reasons ]

[ The degree and nature of the punishment depends on the nature of the offence, but also on how the accused and defendants conduct themselves - whether remorse is shown, whether candour is shown - these things and more are significant to our judgement and there’s no other way to fairly weigh them other than to go through the sometimes excruciating process of giving testimony and submitting evidence ]

[ Now, however, that the truth is laid bare, there is no need to draw this out further — The Tribunal will not be retiring and will give its verdict now. Student C will have his medical bills covered under Yamaku’s general insurance policy ]

[ Unfortunately, however, given their conduct, Students A, B, and C are to be expelled, effective immediately. Given their conduct and the nature of the evidence against them, this decision cannot be appealed ]

[ As the records of this Tribunal are sealed, none of you may discuss its proceedings or outcomes with anyone who is not part of the Tribunal other than your counsel or your families ]

The lawyer for the aggrieved rose and spoke — “My clients would like to know if it’s not too late to withdraw their complaint, magnificent sir!”

“It is.”

With that, the Principal banged his gavel, gathered his papers, and all stood while the Principal and his assistant exited the room.

Tetsu felt his heart was about to stop - he realized he’d been holding his breath far too long; spots were starting to form in front of his eyes. He inhaled with a gasp as Nurse put his hand on Tetsu’s shoulder —

“You’re OK, aren’t you?”

Tetsu gasped at the air — [ Yes, I think so .. ]

“Good - it would be a terrible time for you to expire!’

Tetsu shot the Nurse an odd look.

“It sounded funnier in my head - promise!”

“Now that’s all done, you have the right to submit a victim statement, but given that the strictest punishment has been applied, we can waive that and save you the trauma if you like. Considering that they were advocating for your expulsion in their victim statement - and possibly criminal charges for what, comparatively, was a lesser offence - feel free to express yourself; whatever you say will end up on their transcript and follow them to their next educational institution - if there is one.”

--

[Asoko_Desu]

How This Ends
September 25 / 26 - Tuesday evening / Wednesday morning


“On their permanent record” - in the West, the threat of something ending up on your ‘permanent record’ was largely bunk, but here, in Japan, he could see such a thing following them for the rest of their lives.

“I have to be honest, Miki, I’d love to see them suffer, but .. for the rest of their lives seems disproportionate.”

“If I were you, I’d have asked to give A & B a rap across the mouth with my fist, but I suppose that would be against the rules.”

“Pretty much can’t see the Principal allowing that.”

“Anyhow, Tetsu - why are you discussing this with me? I thought it was all supposed to be highly confidential hush-hush bullshit.”

“We’re allowed to discuss it with our counsel, the staff involved, the Tribunal, and family. You’re family - they want to kick me out for that, fine - I don’t want to be here.”

“Fuck sakes Tetsu - there’s hella dust in the air; hand me a tissue will you?” Miki wiped away something from her eyes.

“Now what? Is it over just like that?”

“Dunno - it's confidential so no one knows I’m not some monster — I’m sure there’s some who didn’t need much to confirm their suspicions.”

“Why don’t you talk to the Principal about that?”

“I think I’m going to. I’m supposed to meet with him tomorrow to submit my victim statement - or not; Nurse said they’d waive it if I chose.”

—

Tetsu knocked on the Principal’s door — a deep voice offered him entry.

[ Good morning Headmaster ]

“Tetsu — have a seat. Have you thought about your victim statement?”

[ I have — I’ve decided not to submit one ]

“May I ask why?“

[ It could follow them forever — they’re kids; younger than me. Don’t we all get a chance to make a mistake and learn from it? If they’re not allowed to get past this, then how can they learn? Isn’t that why we’re here - to learn? ]

“You’re wiser than you have a right to be, possibly due to having to experience life lessons you shouldn’t have had to at your age - I will respect your decision. Was there anything else?”

[ Yes — there’s been some gossip about the matter, despite it being confidential — I’ve been segregated from the other students throughout these proceedings — I haven’t been able to see my friends, travel from my room to class, or eat unsupervised. I’m sure some, maybe many, who will believe - do believe - I’m guilty of something serious; can you help with that? ]

“Your request wasn’t entirely unforeseen ..” The Principal reached over and opened a drawer of his desk, removing a letter-sized envelope.

“Your fortitude in sticking by your innocence in the face of, seemingly, overwhelming opposition is highly praiseworthy. Having to put you through that trauma is deeply regrettable - we did so for reasons we stated earlier; I believe those reasons are good, but that doesn’t make me any happier about it. That’s what being an adult is like - often choosing the best of several unpleasant outcomes. The least I can do though is make your reputation whole.”

With that the Principal handed over the envelope.

“We cannot, of course, speak to the particulars of the case publicly, but this should suffice to resolve any questions other students may have about your role in it - and then some.”

Tetsu gingerly took out the heavy laminated card stock from the envelope - there, written in fancy calligraphy that Tetsu needed a second to parse, was a simple statement signed with the Principal’s inkan:

“This award of Headmaster’s Honours is presented to Kaiyou, Tetsu for meritorious behaviour exemplary of the highest standards of this institution.”

Principal, Yamaku Academy”

The notice shared the envelope with a second identical copy.

“We were unable to have it framed on such short notice, but we can - I expect you’ll want to display it in your room.

The award will be noted in your permanent records and there will be an accompanying school-wide announcement, as is to be expected in such matters. After that, no more will be said about this matter. I expect that will resolve any outstanding rumours about your behaviour.”

“I anticipate you’ll want to get back to your regular activities — and your friends; one friend in particular who I understand has quite missed you. Also, feel free to take the rest of the day off. You are dismissed.”

Thrilled at the unanticipated outcome Tetsu left, notice in hand.

Principal sat back and adjusted his face mask — “Damn this thing gets hot ..”

—

“.. one friend in particular who I understand has quite missed you.” Tetsu repeated to himself .. “Wonder who he’s talking about ..”

--

[Asoko_Desu]

2023年03月03日


Wait - what — we’re halfway already? How did that happen?

I know, I know — one word at a time. Sometimes several, which is a mess.

Writing is such a weird and magical art - linear, and yet holographic; words in a stream - one after another, describe a landscape, people, places over a span of time.

And words engage our emotions - we develop feelings for fictional characters; we love them, hate them, they make us laugh and cry.

The get in side our heads. Not all of us wake up at 3am with our characters sitting at the foot of our bed, demanding to know if we still have feelings for them — if they still have a future with us, but it’s easy to see how that can happen.

Creativity often speaks in a quiet voice that demands to be heard before we close our eyes at night — “Write this down; it’s important!” So like cats in that way — “I care enough about you to demand you pay attention to me!”

Like cats, words sometimes chew on the scenery, scratch and disturb the neat order of the furniture, make a mess, and demand to be loved.

So here we are.

Writing this I’ve made a tremendous group of friends who I hope will be with me the rest of my life. Come with me, then, friends, for the second half of this adventure. As the title suggests, the second half will end faster than the first, despite being about the same real length — so much like life, that.

If practice is precedent, there will be surprises, laughter, hope, and tears — so much like life, that.

If you’re reading this, thanks for making it this far. I’ve tried to add some scenery along the way to make the trip a bit more entertaining.

It bears mentioning - again - that I am deeply and irreparably indebted to all those - too many to list - who have posted their art and especially their analysis of the characters and the context of the original story. Their questioning stoked my imagination to levels I hadn’t thought possible.

And if I’ve learned anything, along with friends and family, creative expression brings meaning to life.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Exhaling Dust
September 28 - Friday evening


Feeling self-conscious, Tetsu, Misha, and Shizune retired to the Shanghai after what had been an insanely stressful several weeks. Self-conscious, because, by tacit agreement, there was a lot they felt they needed to get off their minds, but it wasn’t entirely clear there was anything they were permitted to discuss.

Arriving, they headed to Misha and Shizune’s usual booth in the back. Fortune was with them - the Shanghai was mostly empty, and what people were there were not from Yamaku.

[ I know we’re not supposed .. ] Tetsu began.

[ So we won’t ] Shizune finished for him.

[ But if no one can see us .. and if we all are using sign - Misha please stop vocalizing - I can hear you ]

[ Sorry ]

[ If no one can see us, and we don’t discuss specifics .. ]

[ That might be acceptable - what did you want to discuss? ]

[ First - I wanted to thank you for offering your testimony - I don’t know if Mutou would have done so if you hadn’t opened the door - you should have been recognized for meritorious behaviour as well ]

[ I was only doing what my office required of me - we shouldn’t normalize praise for just doing our jobs ]

Tetsu thought this was such a Shizune thing to say.

[ Fair point - question - why couldn’t you have told me what you knew sooner? ]

[ Because that would have given you an unfair advantage in the proceedings - also all evidence was given in confidence to the Principal ]

[ Three-on-one wasn’t an advantage? ]

[ You always had truth on your side - you may just have not known it ]

[ Why didn’t you confront them on the stair? ]

Shizune waited to reply as someone came into the cafe — a local, it turned out; no worry of eavesdropping.

[ I admit - it was a shock to me - the blood - you on the stairs - we were trying to figure out what had happened never mind how it had happened - we didn’t - still don’t - know their names - and never will now ]


[ I threw up! ] volunteered Misha.

Shizune continued - her brow furrowed —

[ They needed to be punished and if we’d confronted them, they could have denied it and it wouldn’t have come before the Headmaster - they needed a chance to perjure or redeem themselves - it’s better the way it worked out - how they were to conduct themselves would be the difference between a warning, censure, suspension, or expulsion - or nothing at all ]

They paused as their tea arrived.

[ And now - I’m supposed to just get back to my life? ]

[ Of course - do your best! It’s hard - but what other choice do you have? To lie down in the street and die? Reclaim your life - it does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop ]

Misha wasn’t vocalizing, but her lips still mouthed the words as Shizune signed.

Tetsu thought on what Shizune had said as he waited for his tea to cool — it was unsatisfying, but he had no better suggestion.

[ Thanks - I accept your advice ]

Tetsu continued —

[ We can argue this later - we won, but, I think, only because of luck that you were there and that they did not know Mutou could sign - I want to know how to win next time when luck’s not on my side ]

Shizune’s eyes glittered with eagerness — [ But you’re wrong - it wasn’t luck! Mutou and I merely forced the Tribunal to short-circuit all the back-room paper shuffling by dragging the truth out into the open - your defense was masterful! ]

“Was it?” Tetsu sat back in his seat and drank his tea. Shizune’s eyes still shone — perhaps this was why Tetsu couldn’t stand chess; too formulaic; reality held far more interesting challenges.

[ I’ll try not to let it go to my head ] — Tetsu was innately uncomfortable with compliments, never mind open praise. He accepted that Shizune could be right, but he was going to pick his argument apart word by word until he had convinced himself it stood on its own. Tetsu waved for more tea.

[ I’m going to my parent’s next weekend — still coming? ] Asked Shizune.

[ .. Sure ] Tetsu hadn’t made plans for the weekend, but .. for some reason he hesitated.

[ Good - we leave Saturday morning - Satou’s sister Akira will pick us up at the main gate ]

Tetsu nodded. Lilly has a sister? Well, why not. Obviously not blind, otherwise she wouldn’t be driving. Tetsu wondered what Akira’s handicap was, then immediately shelved the thought — he was so accustomed to being amongst people with one disability or another that it had become the norm and the not-yet disabled the exception.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

A Show of Hands
September 30 - Sunday evening


Tetsu knocked on Rin’s door.

“Come in - it’s open!”

Tetsu waved and held out his notepad — { Hi Rin, can we talk? }

Rin was about to expound on the levels of epistemological wrongness in that question. However, Tetsu was saved by a knock at the door ..

“Wahaha - are you two dressed?”

[ Misha - could you not? ]

“No I couldn’t.”

“Hey, Rin - are we going to the Shanghai?”

Tetsu raised an eyebrow —


“It’s Sunday - our night to ..” At this, Rin shot Misha a sharp look - “.. ah, go to the Shanghai. Really.”

Misha, being Misha, had a bit of Shizune rub off on her and had a devilish thought - “Hey, Tetsu, want to come with us — if Rin doesn’t object?”

Rin looked like a deer caught in the headlights; Misha took that as consent — “Great - let’s go before they give our booth away!”

“Was this their date night?” Tetsu wondered. “If so, why bring me?”

It was a quiet walk down the hill - it would have been impossible to write on a notepad and not trip; Tetsu could have talked to Misha, but that would have been rude. Also, Tetsu felt he could have been mistaken, but there seemed to be some tension in the air.

Arriving at the Shanghai they were greeted by a random wait staff and seated. Orders were quickly taken - the Shanghai menu was reliable, but not varied - nor did it seem to change much so there wasn’t much heavy lifting required when it came to ordering.

Tetsu sat down and set his notepad and pencil on the table; he looked at Rin and started to write —

Misha kicked Rin under the table and gave her an intense look, nodding towards Tetsu, as if to say “Here’s your chance — take it!”

Rin held up an arm towards Tetsu — “No, sign it to me. I want to see your words.”

Tetsu hesitated for a moment, put down his pencil and signed — [ Hi Rin ] He spelled her name slowly — [ You understand sign language now? ]

“Not as well as you understand spoken language .. but I’m learning — Misha’s been teaching me.”

Tetsu was impressed, but also confused — [ Why? ]

Rin shook her hair in an evasive movement —

“I want to talk to be able to talk to you ..”

[ Why? ]

Rin looked at Tetsu directly —

“Because I can’t stop thinking about you — I tried, but you occupy my mind like an invading army camped around my cities, harassing my trade routes, burning and pillaging my fields, stealing my crops. The smoke from your fires clouds my sky — my birds can’t nest in peace; I need to know why. I wanted you to leave, thought you would go away if I didn’t think about you, but that just makes it worse. Being near you makes my chest tight, the soles of my feet sweat, and my heart race, and I need you to stop doing that,” thought Rin in one instant holographic flash. Of course, she didn’t have the words to articulate such an image, so she just said -

“Because I do.”

“This is new,” thought Tetsu - “We know each other, and we hang out, but we’ve never really become friends. Why this? Why now?” Tetsu felt a vague unease at not being certain where this was going.

[ Are you going to tease me if I sign to you? ]

“I don’t understand that word.”

“He said `Tease`,” offered Misha.

Rin looked at Tetsu sideways as if he had offered her first kick at a new puppy.

“No — no I won’t. Mean people tease and I don’t like mean people.”

[ OK .. thanks ]

You’re welcome. Also - please sign a little slower for me.

[ OK ]

“Why would I tease you for signing?”

Tetsu thought back to when he’d first arrived - to the less than enthusiastic reception he’d received from the deaf students - [ People just do, sometimes - they don’t need a reason ]

“That was hard to understand, but I think I do. I got teased when I was younger - and when I first arrived here, but Emi convinced people to stop teasing me. If anyone teases you I’ll make them stop too.”

[ How? ]

I’ll kick them - it hurts. Ask Emi. I kicked her by accident once.

[ Don’t do that please - you’ll get in trouble - I don’t want anyone to get in trouble ]

Rin nodded, and looked pensive. There was obviously something significant on her mind —

“Tetsu .. are you going away?”

[ No. No, I’m not ]

“People were saying you’d been expelled - I couldn’t reach you; they wouldn’t let me into the boy’s dorm to talk to you. A teacher - the science one — ”

[ Mutou ] — Tetsu spelled the name.

“ — Mutou pulled me out of art class to ask me if he could tell me something in confidence.”

[ What was it? ]

“I can’t tell you - it was a secret.”

Tetsu blinked slowly.

[ Was the secret about me? ]

“That would be telling.”

[ Did you promise not to tell what the secret wasn’t about? ]

“.. no.”

[ Was it not about me? ]

“It wasn’t not about you.”

[ Was it not about what might have happened to me? ]



“It wasn’t not about what might have happened to you.”

Tetsu sighed.

[ Please just tell me what he said. Considering I was the one at the heart of the storm, I don’t think anything he could have told you I don’t already know. ]

Rin considered this for a moment. “Fuck it” she thought.

“He said `Don’t worry — you’ll have him back.`”

[ That crafty devil. I’m glad he did that - I guess I wasn’t the only one worried about you when I couldn’t talk to anyone, ] thought Tetsu.

“Tetsu ..”

Tetsu thought he knew what was one Rin’s mind — [ I can’t tell you ]

“. . .” Rin sat silently - she looked pensive, perhaps disappointed that she’d told her story to Tetsu but that he wasn’t playing fair.

[ Really can’t. Maybe after we graduate - it’s that serious. ]

“I told you ..”

[ Look at this ] and from between between pages in his sketch book he produced the Honours award — [ Headmaster gave me this to show anyone in case they have questions about what I was up to / may or may not have done ]


Rin read it — twice. She looked thoughtful.

“Do you have lunch plans Monday?”

[ No ]

“Come eat with Emi and Hisao and me on the roof. ”

[ You’ll tell them what I’m saying? ]

“Yes. Unless you tell me not to.”

[ This isn’t a trick? ]

“No - I promise.”

For some reason not having the barrier of his writing pad made Tetsu feel more vulnerable and added to his anxiety - signing felt entirely more personal and exposed.

Tetsu was still hesitant - this was a significant change — [ That’s what someone who was trying to trick me would say ]

“I didn’t understand all of that, but I understood enough.” Said Rin — “Miura did say Tetsu had issues,” she thought “.. time to break out the big guns - if this isn’t heavy lifting, I don’t know what is.”

Rin put her book bag down and pulled out a spiral sketch pad with her feet - she flipped a few pages and handed it over to Tetsu. “Look.”

On the page was a small, brilliantly executed charcoal sketch of Tetsu’s face in three-quarter profile - he looked introspective and focussed, and somehow lit with an inner light.

“That is how you looked when you helped me paint the mural.”

[ That was a long time ago - when did you do this? ]

“Yesterday. I remembered.”

[ Is this how you see me? ]

“Yes”

Tetsu considered. He wasn’t sure why she’d draw a picture of him, but it seemed like too much trouble to go to just to make fun of him, and it was a really nice picture - plus there was the obvious effort she’d made to learn the rudiments of sign language just so they could talk without the intermediary of the pencil and paper.

Tetsu closed the sketch pad and handed it back to Rin, who took it between her toes and put it back in her book bag.

[ OK - I’ll come ]

Being so engrossed in trying to communicate with each other, neither noticed that Misha had been quiet an almost unnaturally long time - Misha, for her part, was nibbling at her parfait, trying to be as unnoticeable as was possible for her. She felt in her heart a deep satisfaction. Rin was her first sign language student and she was doing wonderfully — Misha didn’t want that feeling of satisfaction to end. Misha felt it was a little like when a butterfly chooses to land on you and to scare it off would be a crime. Silently they all went back to eating their food - Rin and Misha exchanged a glance, and Misha give Rin a small nod as if to say “Good job.”

A small smile crossed Rin’s face, ever so faintly.


--

[Asoko_Desu]

Spoilers
October 01 — Monday morning and noon


Emi was brushing Rin’s hair, which she did more for her own benefit than Rin’s as she enjoyed doing it, but it never stayed neat for very long.

“Emi,”

“Yes Rin.”

“I’m bringing a guest to lunch today.”

“Oh?”



“Yes. Tetsu.” Rin wasn’t sure why, but Misha had suggested Rin tell Emi beforehand.

“Tetsu — wait, isn’t he the guy who beat up three other kids and sent one to the hospital? I thought he got expelled.”

“No — ” said Rin, “That wasn’t how it happened at all — didn’t you hear the announcement? Tetsu received Headmaster’s Honours.”

“Sorry — I must have out running when that got announced. Are you sure we won’t get into trouble hanging out with him?”

“Yes — pretty sure you don’t get honours if you go about beating people up.” “.. Unless they really deserve it,” Rin thought.

Rin seemed somewhat defensive on the topic and a trifle exasperated so Emi let it drop — it wasn’t the first time, nor the last, that Rin would hold a position that made no sense to Emi, but it usually worked out ok.


—


The day was perfect, the sky a clear and perfect blue, dotted with small clouds - the cool of the evening had touched the trees with just the beginnings of fall colours, but the days were still pleasantly warm.

Emi and Hisao were already seated at their bench on the roof —

“Hey Rin — you’ve brought you friend!” Called out Emi, motioning them over to the bench.

“Tetsu was one of the people who helped me paint the mural,” said Rin. “He can’t talk, but he can hear and understand what everyone is saying. He can sign to me and I can interpret that for him.”

Emi and Hisao just nodded at this - of everything, making accommodations for people was, perhaps, the most normal part of their day.

“Me and Hisao helped with the mural too!” Said Emi.

Rin nodded - the less said about Rin’s unspoken response to Emi’s comment the better.

Tetsu signed —

[ Hi Emi - how’s your head? ] — Rin interpreted with a curious look on her face.

“Oh - ha ha - that; you remembered!” Hisao and Rin both regarded Emi’s blushing face expectantly - there was obviously a story here.

“Well, ah, I was in a hurry ..”

“You were running in the halls weren’t you?” Asked Hisao, dryly.

“Hah hah .. kinda? Anyhow, I came around a corner - they’d put down new carpet so I had a lot of traction you see .. and I ran into Tetsu.”

[ Straight into Tetsu .. ]

“Ah, hah ha - yeah - straight into Tetsu. Anyhow, long story short, I bounced off of him and hit my head on the floor, or maybe the wall - my memory’s a bit hazy. He helped me up - I think I said thank you - but had to dash off; I was in a hurry ..”

Tetsu nodded politely.

“Anyhow, yeah, I had a bump for a bit - but I’m fine! I didn’t need my seven times tables anyhow!”

[ Glad you’re ok! Hisao - nice to properly meet you. We ran into each other outside of the Shanghai - though not the way I ran into Emi. You were with Lilly, and Rin was there coincidentally ]

“I did? We did?” Hisao was at a bit of a loss to remember the meeting.

“You did,” confirmed Rin - “It was the night before the day before the festival.”

“Hisao - you didn’t tell me you were out with Lilly that night - I thought you said you were studying?” Emi asked in a very cat-like way.

“I ah, couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d take a walk? It was a while ago?” Hisao squirmed the words out.

Emi made a face that said “Hmph - we’ll talk about this later,” but said nothing.

“I’m hungry.” Said Rin, conveniently. Emi and Hisao were seated opposite each other so Rin could sit across from Tetsu and interpret for him.

[ It’s nice up here - thanks for inviting me to lunch, Rin ]

Tetsu looked up and around, leaning back on his bench so it could see the whole of the sky.

Tetsu sat back up — [ You can’t see the sky like this from the ground - up here, if you look at it right, you could believe there’s nothing but sky in all directions. What would it be like to fall up into the sky? ]

Emi looked at Hisao, then at Tetsu, then at Rin, then back at Hisao in a very brief but decided moment of shared private communication. Rin just sat there staring at her lunch with an expression that was the definition of enigmatic.

“Not those words - not this time. Later.” Rin said to herself, almost inaudibly.

A quizzical expression flashed across Tetsu’s face, before he shook his head, erasing it.

Hisao interrupted - “Don’t mind Rin, she’s, uh ..” Hisao paused, searching for a word —

[ Charming? ]

“.. unique”

Emi let out a light cough to change the topic. Careful to approach a potentially delicate subject with tact, she’d learned from Hisao that if you didn’t ask - if you couldn’t respond if you were called to in an emergency - people’s lives could be at risk.

“Tetsu - what brings you to Yamaku?

Tetsu considered for a second and gave a response that he had, by now, repeated many times in admissions forms and medical profiles.

[ Bad back - ‘Facet Joint Syndrome’ ] He had to spell that out for Rin.

[ My back could go out at any time and leave me basically paralyzed with pain. Should be fine - as long as I do my yoga and core strengthening exercises. Even then though, I need to carry pain killers and muscle relaxants with me pretty much everywhere I go, just in case ]

Tetsu paused before continuing — [ It’s not like I’ll keel over and die if I don’t keep exercising - but not keeping up with them will make life unbearably painful. ]

Tetsu looked dejectedly at his lunch.

Emi looked significantly at Hisao, who she’d been aggressive in getting to exercise regularly.

Tetsu shrugged. Emi nodded quietly - as did Hisao.

[ Emi, I can figure out why you and Rin are here - what’s your damage, Hisao .. if you don’t mind my asking ] Tetsu added as an afterthought.

“Bad heart. Could stop any time if I take a sharp impact or .. stop taking my meds and exercising.” Said Hisao without much enthusiasm, but also with less of his usual reticence. “Am I getting used to sharing my fate with strangers?” Hisao mentally shrugged. “I guess if they can share with me - and it’s no big deal - who am I to be selfish with my story? We’re all here for a reason.”

“Emi’s got me on a special diet and we go running together every morning to keep me healthy.”

Tetsu nodded at the mention of exercise.

[ Sounds familiar - I feel for you ]

Tetsu brightened up —

[ You should build body armour for your chest! I might be able to make some for you in the auto shop - there’s the bonnet from an old VW Bug that’s already got a decent curve to it! ]

“Slow down please Tetsu - that’s a lot to interpret ..” asked Rin.

Hisao appreciated the offer, but somehow the idea of carrying around 50 lbs of steel on his chest didn’t strike him as a life choice he wanted to make if he could avoid it.

“Thanks - I think I’ll just stay away from sprinters running on the halls for now.” which caused Emi to blush considerably.

[ Your funeral ]

“Ouch.”

Tetsu noticed how pained Hisao appeared - “Yet another attempt at humour gone bad” thought Tetsu.

[ Sorry - sometimes words - I don’t always know the right thing to say and hurt people’s feelings - I’m sorry for what I said ]

“No worries - I’ve said my share of things I regretted too.” Said Hisao.

Rin appeared deeply invested in studying the birds landing on the fence railing, looking to pick up some crumbs from lunch - the birds, not Rin.

Emi spoke up to break the heavy mood.

“But you’re not Japanese - or even half Japanese - why Yamaku?”

[ Mom .. ] he paused before resuming — [ My Mother .. ]

The way he signed it seemed that referring to her more formally was, paradoxically, being somehow on more familiar ground.

[ My mother - we had to move far away from our home ]

Here he stopped, looking back and forth from Rin to Emi and back to Rin, unsure whether to proceed. Emi looked her sympathetic best, while Rin looked directly at him with a flat expression. Realizing how recently he’d only met these people he decided to skip the messy details.

[ My school counsellor told me about Yamaku - I realized it was where I wanted to be without knowing it even existed - a fantastic place where I wouldn’t be seen as all that different. An opportunity to start something new - it seemed - and it has been - it took a lot of paperwork and effort to get here - it’s been worth it ]

Hisao listened silently to Tetsu and had an unusually thoughtful look on his face.

[ Being born here doesn’t matter - I taught myself some Japanese because I wanted to watch Anime and so little of it comes to my country translated - knowing a little Japanese already I convinced my mother to send me here as an 18th birthday present ]

Something in Tetsu’s opinion of Yamaku reminded Hisao of what his father and his doctor had tried to tell him on leaving hospital. For Tetsu, Yamaku was a place he got to go, and only after hard struggle - for Hisao, it was a place he had to go - a place he fell into and would have avoided if given the opportunity; a difference that was all the difference in the world. What would he have done had he been in Tetsu’s place? Learned English in order to go to an overseas school for disabled children? Hisao was silently glad that wasn’t a decision he’d needed to make.

“I just had my 18th birthday not long ago - it was no big deal,” said Rin, flatly.

Emi, tactfully avoiding what she could see was a potentially painful subject, hijacked the change of topic.

“That’s really impressive - teaching yourself Japanese - what else have you done?”

[ It’s not much but I used to take physics competitions back home and usually did pretty well ]

“If you’re interested, we’re starting tutoring groups and maybe you could help out? We’re always short on people with STEM skills. And it would help you practice your Japanese,” suggested Hisao.

[ Sure - I’m a bit ahead of the curriculum here in math and science so I don’t need to spend as much time as I thought I would on homework ]

Hisao and Tetsu chit-chatted for a bit about physics and wave-particle duality, with Rin trying her hardest to interpret. Tetsu had a tendency to speak in simple, concrete terms which made the process easier - so much so that Rin felt she almost understood what they were talking about after a while.

Tetsu, for his part, enjoyed finally being able to share his passion for physics with someone else, but his face darkened -

[ Sorry Rin - I didn’t mean to leave you and Emi out of the conversation - I just get really enthusiastic about things and kinda forget where I’m at sometimes ]

“That’s ok. I liked it - it was like seeing Emi at her Emiest; passion can kind of take over.” Rin said enigmatically, with a small smile.

Lunch finished, the school bell rang and everyone shuffled off enthusiastically to class.

—

Later that day, Hisao and Emi were chatting in Emi’s dorm room -

“A week”

“Two”

“Until they realize they were made for each other, or until their first kiss?”

“The latter”

“500 yen?”

“You’re on. No cheating.”

Emi “Me? Cheat?”

Emi flashed her patented puppy-dog eyes.

“Wouldn’t dream of it! But what about all that science-y stuff? Was that for real or was he putting us on?”

“This is the guy you said Rin was interested in? Are you certain we’re safe? I heard he killed a kid overseas and had to come to Japan to beat the heat.”

“Would the Headmaster have given him honours if he’d killed somebody? He’s fine. Probably .. mostly.”

Mostly mollified, Hisao continued — “I didn’t think Rin would fancy someone into science - no idea about the contests he mentioned, but he was spot-on in his physics. We’ve just started studying wave-particle duality and he was going on about Heisenberg uncertainty - stuff that I don’t really expect to get into until university.”

“Great - just what we need - another science nerd. Not sure they even know each other all that well to be honest, but did you see the look on Rin’s face when he went off on the uncertainty of measuring a butterfly’s location? What did he call it - a Boogie wavelength?”

“A `de Broglie wavelength` - of a macroscopic object no less; the guy’s either a genius or he’s a genius and an idiot. Butterflies are totally something Rin’s into and he was so caught up in doing the numbers that he never noticed how raptly she was following along, even though the math probably went right over her head.”

Emi pushed Hisao playfully. “Genius and an idiot - missing lady-like signals; not like anyone I know.”

“Ahem. Well then, speaking of physics - what would you say to helping me solve a two-body problem?”

“You’ve got to be kidding me - that’s the cheesiest ..”

“No - it’s totally a thing! A two body problem is when you have two bodies orbiting each other ..”

And Emi silenced him the way she knew best.

—

Back in her room, Rin crossed and re-crossed her toes repeatedly in agitation as she went over the lunch conversation in her head for the umpteenth time.

“Charming” - “I’m certain that was the sign he used. That’s how I interpreted it and he didn’t correct me .. but Hisao was talking. Did he even hear me? Did he really mean that? Has he ever corrected my signing any other time? There was only one other time .. I can't remember. Does he really think I’m charming or was he just being polite?”

Rin threw herself back on her bed in frustration - “I’m going to have to figure out how to get that question answered somehow,” was her last thought before falling asleep.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

A Personal Therapy
October 03 - Wednesday

Rin sat alone in the forest and poured out her feelings.

“Hello Worry Tree - it’s been a long while .. hope you’ve been well. Let me tell you all about what's happened to me since last we talked ..”

Time passed and Rin poured out her story to her worry tree which, in a very professional fashion, let her proceed at her own pace; share what she needed to share, and keep to herself what she needed to keep private.

“.. and that’s it - I told Nomiya I wasn’t ready to do an art show. He was furious, and disappointed. He yelled, but, I guess, I knew the truth - that I wasn’t ready - and it all washed over me. I think there’s something important there - I hope you’ll help me remember it — if you know what you want, it’s very hard for someone to sell you on want you don’t, but first you have to know.”

“Anyhow .. let me tell you about Tetsu. Have I told you about Tetsu? I don’t think so - he’s not new, but this is new. I’ll explain ..”

“.. so now we can talk I hope we do a lot more - also talk more.”

Rin sat back and a leaf landed on her head; she left it there until it was time to leave.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Weekend at Hakamichi’s
October 06 - Saturday

[Asoko_Desu]

Solomon of the Homeroom
October 11 - Thursday


“Emi - when I’m with Tetsu, why can’t I talk? My words all fly away - it’s like trying to catch birds with my feet.”

“Rin - everyone is like that; I don’t know why. It’s why I go over what I want to say to someone I’m attracted to before I have to say it - practice seems to make it easier.”

Rin became thoughtful. “How do I say `You’re something I didn’t even know I needed until I met you?`”

“You say just that - but not just yet - strong feelings can feel threatening and sharing them too soon can scare people away. Heartfelt confessions of love are really just for mangas and visual novels; reality moves much more slowly.”

“How will I know when to share them?”

“Let him say it first - I know it sounds like a cop-out, but trust me - boys can be counted on to say the right thing at the wrong time, and the wrong thing at the right time; if he realizes that he feels it, he’ll say it. He’ll probably kick himself right after, so be gentle.”

“And if he never realizes it?”

“That’s our job - girls gently nudge boys towards what the boys knew all along, but didn’t realize that they did so they think it’s their idea.”

“That seems complicated - and a bit unfair.”

“It is - I’m sorry, but that’s how things are - and it takes practice. I know it’s hard, and you need to remember - this thing with Tetsu might not work out.”

“Then why bother?”

“Because it might. The reward is worth the risk, don’t you think?”

Rin nodded gently and pursed her lips in determination.

“OK. How do I ‘nudge’ a Tetsu?”

“First, spend time with him - as much as you can, but not too much - it has to be natural. Try inviting him out to do things - picnics are fun, and lunch is good - almost everyone has a free lunch hour sometime in their week, if not daily. Pay attention to his schedule; don’t invite him out at times that would force him to say ‘no’. You’re encouraging him to say ‘yes’ to you through repetition, so that when you say ‘Kiss me’, the ‘yes’ will be a natural response - and if he doesn’t want to hang out, respect that. You have to be a little analytical about picking your opportunities to spend time together I guess.”

Rin thought ‘natural’ wasn’t a term that had ever been applied to her, but ‘analytical’ was definitely her; she could do this - she would do this.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Lo Fi and Chill Out
October 13 - Saturday afternoon


Rainy afternoons were made for Rin. She presented an interesting kinetic sculpture to an external observer - chair back on two legs, her left leg resting on her desk, an extra-large heavy-bond drawing pad propped up on it. She stared intently at the pad, 4B pencil in her mouth. With her right leg she rocked her chair back and forth as she wandered through the images that presented themselves in her head.

“Nope. Go away - all of you. Not interesting at all.”

She kicked the pad up onto her desk and stood up - “Gonna need some help here. Tetsu said he had brought his music collection with him from his home - wonder if he has anything interesting ..”

Rin popped up to standing, slipped her sandals on and headed out towards the boy’s dorm - it wasn’t too late, and anyhow - rules weren’t being enforced as rigorously as they’d been during Tetsu’s “ordeal”.

—

Tetsu’s door was open - Tetsu was home, lying on his back on the floor, bent at the waist - his legs up on his bed.

[ Hi Rin - what’s up? ]

“Me? Why are you on the floor?”



[ I don’t know - because I’m listening to music?” ]

And it was true - Tetsu had his headphones on and was listening to something playing on his laptop.

“I want to draw.”

[ Pull up a chair ]

“But I can’t draw - I need inspiration. You said you had good music — share.”

Tetsu shrugged, at least as well as he could, lying on the broadloom. He took his headphones off, grabbed the headband with his feet, and held them up to Rin — holding the earpieces far enough apart, she wiggled her head into the gap and Tetsu let them close on her ears.

“Not bad — I could draw to this ..” as she started dancing away to the playlist. Tetsu, for his part, was content to lie on the floor and stretch his back.. and appreciate this weird view of Rin.

—

After a while, Tetsu waved up at Rin —

[ Hey - up to anything tonight? ]

“I was going to back to my room to draw, but ..”

[ Want to watch a movie? ]

“You have a TV in your room?”

[ I have a computer and some movies on disc if you want to stop by after dinner ]

“Make me dinner and you’re on.”

[ OK - it’s only 5pm - come by in a couple hours ]

Rin wiggled out of the headphones, helped by her feet, `handed` them back to Tetsu, then headed back to her room to get some drawing in. Tetsu set to getting ingredients together, heading to what he now called the tea room, in honour of Lilly and Hanako.

—

Rin stood at Emi’s door, one foot thumping impatiently on the floor.

“What up - need help in the washroom?”

“I have a date,” said Rin, with some urgency.

“You make it sound painful.”

“Because it is? Sort of?”

“Tetsu?”

Rin nodded.

“What’s the date?”

“Dinner and a movie. In his room.”

“In his room?”

Rin nodded - “He has a computer with a DVD player in it.”

“Oooh - fancy! Rin’s boyfriend is computer literate!”

Rin stared thoughtfully at the ceiling, but said nothing.

“Ok - maybe not boyfriend - yet. Alright, I can work with this. First, you need a better bra - this isn’t doing anything for you - also, it’s too tight.”

“I have some other ones - same size though. Do I have to wear one?”

“Now is not the time to find out if Tetsu has a weak heart - or get busted by the style police. I do have an idea ..”

Emi undid the first and second buttons from the top of Rin’s shirt and put her tie back on.

“When you get there, get him to take your tie off if you can.”

Rin looked dubious - “O-K”

“And this weekend we’re going to take you shopping for new underwear. You never know when something showy is going to come in handy - I think emerald green would suit you." Rin just shrugged.

"Come on now - let’s get you ready; we need to wash your feet before dinner.”

—

The dorm rooms at Yamaku weren’t what you could call roomy - a closet, a desk, a bed with room underneath it to store big items such as luggage, and a dresser made for the typically appointed room.

Tetsu stood in front of his desk - his laptop on it, his headphones on his head. He had changed out of his Yamaku uniform and was standing barefoot in olive-drab cargo pants and a black short-sleeved collared shirt; well, not standing exactly - he was dancing to the music playing through his headphones.

Curiously, Tetsu had attached a clip to his desk and had tethered a headphone extension cord to the clip by way of an elastic cord — clearly he’d pulled his laptop off the desk by dancing about in his room in the past, much as he was doing now - dancing - not pulling his laptop off his desk. If he got overly enthusiastic, the headphones would be yanked out of the extension cord hanging over the desk, and the laptop would be spared.

He stood sideways to his door, but by dint of room design the door was a bit behind him and out of direct view - which means he didn’t see Rin arrive. Being Rin, and unconcerned with time, she was about an hour late - Tetsu had, of course, assumed she had decided she'd changed her mind; he was listening to music to try and take the sting out of waiting - or being stood up, depending.

Rin could see that Tetsu was dancing - a strangely graceful motion in such a constrained space; almost like swaying to a strangely energetic ocean current. Tetsu was painfully aware of what happened to inanimate objects when he connected with them at speed - they usually fared the worse for the exchange and he got a little bit of practice at fixing things. As such, he had developed the habit of carefully conducting himself in constrained surroundings.

He danced, lost in a world of his own creation - a “poster child for living inside his own head” as someone had once said of him.

Rin could hear the music coming faintly from his over-sized headphones and - more surprisingly - he was singing quietly to himself. More surprising still, she could see, obliquely, the traces of tears on his cheeks.

“There’s a lot more here than meets the eye,” she thought. “— I need to know what he keeps in his memory desk.”

Rin kicked off her sandals and leaned over to nudge Tetsu gently with her shoulder. He looked about suddenly and took his headphones off -

[ Hi - Sorry! - Didn’t hear you! ]

“Share,” she said.

[ Share? ]

“The music - I want to listen.”

Tetsu shrugged and opened the bottom drawer of his desk - he pulled out a hand-soldered Y-adapter and a old set of headphones. Rin bowed her head as Tetsu brushed her hair back and put the headphones on her.

[ What do you want to hear? ]

“I want to listen to more of what you were listening too — last time was pretty good.”

[ You might not like it .. ]

Rin studied the ceiling.

[ OK - Ok ]

“Also - take my tie off.”

Tetsu regarded her oddly - Rin was known for doing things that, on their surface, had no discernible motivation. “If something doesn’t make sense, you just don’t have enough information” Tetsu had told himself - and believed the same to be true of Rin.

Tetsu took Rin’s tie off, completely undoing it.

“I usually just loosen it - makes it easier to put back on”

[ It’s OK - I can tie it back up - see? ] And he put it on himself.

The tie, part of the boy’s uniform Rin wore, was ever over-long on her, but fit Tetsu perfectly.

“I’m probably not getting that tie back,” thought Rin.

It took Tetsu a moment, but he realized Rin had the top two buttons of her shirt undone - the look, he felt, suited her; he blushed, catching himself staring. Her bra, though ill-fitting, inadvertently did something quite good for her cleavage.

“Bingo” Thought Rin “Ippon goes to Team Emi.”

Tetsu plugged their headphones into the adapter and pressed play.

They danced, eyes closed; with the same song on repeat, time seemed very far away. Presently the smell from dinner beckoned. Taking a pause from dancing, Tetsu dropped his headphones to his neck and produced a couple of disposable plastic containers from an insulated `cooler` and put them on the table.

“Where did you get the containers?”

[ Cafeteria - They left them out - I figured they’re there for food. No one said don’t take them ]

“The kitchen staff have all gone home by now.”

[ Exactly - what do you want - curry or teriyaki? ]

“You made these yourself?” Rin gave the containers a dubious look.

[ Yes - cooking wasn’t my mother’s favourite thing so I did a lot of it. It’s .. just easier sometimes to do things for yourself than wait for others to do their job ] Tetsu hurried past the last part - it was a heavy conversation he didn’t really want to get in to right now.

Tetsu popped the containers and signed [ try this one ] He took a scoop from the first container and reached over to Rin with his hand under the spoon. Rin took a mouthful chewed, and swallowed.

“Tastes ok .. salmon .. different than teriyaki I’ve had before.”

[ It’s not perfect - I’m still trying to figure out teriyaki. Maybe you’ll like the curry better ] And he held a helping of curry chicken out to Rin, who consumed it with a contemplative look.

“That’s .. really good. Could be hotter, but it’s tasty - I’ll have that one!” she said with enthusiasm. Tetsu spread a sheet on the floor and put the food down between them, the curry in front of Rin. They sat down - Tetsu held out a spoon out for Rin to take and she grasped it with her toes.

[ Is this ok? ]

“Perfect”

--

[Asoko_Desu]

And The Beautiful
October 13 - Saturday night


Dinner was over and cleaned up - it was late, but not too late ..

[ Still interested in that movie? ]

Rin nodded; Tetsu produced a small stack of discs and showed them to Rin -

“I don’t know any of these - are they all in English?”

[ They are - but that’s ok; they’re all very visual. You could figure out what’s happening even with the sound off ]

Grabbing a few off the top of the pile - [ This one’s a western, this is science fiction, another science fiction, this one is a musical, this is animated, and this one is .. weird - so is the animated one. Here’s a Japanese movie; ‘Shichinin no Samurai’ ]

“I think I could probably watch the Japanese one any time - let’s watch the Western.”

[ OK - let me set it up ]

Tetsu put the disk in the tray of the DVD-reader and pressed the close / eject button. The DVD menu popped up - Play, Chapters, Extras. Tetsu clicked on ‘Play’ and the desktop of icons on top of a background blue skies and rolling green hills was replaced by a playback window.

As the studio intro and anti-piracy warnings rolled, Tetsu hopped up on the bed and rested back against the wall, leaving room for Rin to sit beside him. “Ok - we’re doing this - Emi better be right about this being a `strategic play`” Rin said to herself.

Rin hopped up on the bed and scooted between Tetsu’s legs and leaned into Tetsu - leaving no space between them.

“Ok - not freaking out ..” Tetsu thought to himself, reaching over and grabbing a couple of cold boxed drinks he’d gotten from the vending machine; he poked a straw into the strawberry milk carton and held it up for Rin to drink from.

Rin swallowed and asked “What’s the movie called?”, as she settled back against Tetsu.

Tetsu reached around her shoulders to sign — [ The Good - The Bad - and The Ugly ].

“Who is which?”

[ Just watch - you’ll figure it out ]

After long the movie ended - and it was a long one - Tetsu realized Rin hadn’t moved in a while. At some point that he hadn’t noticed, she’d started breathing deeply and had slumped back against Tetsu’s chest. If her eyes had been open she’d have had a fine view up Tetsu’s nose, so perhaps it was for the best that they were not.

Tetsu, on the other hand, had a view of Rin’s sleeping face erased of all worldly cares, even if only for a short while; a young woman’s face on the cusp of joining the world of adult worries - small fatigue lines already starting to form at the corners of her eyes.

“I wish she could always be so peaceful. Beautiful .. has she always been this beautiful?” he thought, and gently set to extracting himself from behind her. Miraculously doing so without waking her — “She must have been exhausted” Tetsu thought to himself.

He laid her down on his bed fully clothed and pulled out a spare flannel sheet to put over her, resting her head on his pillow.

That task done, he dashed to the washroom, took care of matters there, and returned to spread a spare comforter on the floor of his room beside his bed. Taking a spare pillow and sheet out, he stripped down to his boxers and a t-shirt, turned the lights off and made himself comfortable on the floor. “Hope this isn’t awkward tomorrow.” He thought, before he too was off to an unlit dreamland.

--

[Asoko_Desu]

Moonlight Ballet
October 14 - Sunday morning, early


Being nearly a new moon, the only light coming through the window was that of grounds lights.

“This is not my room.” Was Rin’s first thought. Her second thought was “And I hate sleeping in my bra. Ouch.”

Trying to avoid looking at Tetsu’s alarm clock to maintain her ignorance of how awfully late - or dreadfully early it was, she kicked the sheet off of herself and took stock of the situation.

“Fully dressed - no tie though. Well, nothing happened last night; could have turned into a make-out session if I hadn’t dozed off,” she thought, remembering the evening before. She mentally kicked a wall to chide herself for the wasted opportunity. “And here I had hoped 18 was going to be a good year — well, it’s not over yet.”

Realizing she still needed to go to the washroom, she swung herself up to a sitting position, feet nearly kicking Tetsu in the head in the process.

“Right - not in my own room. Usually not bodies on the floor in my room. Never, actually — that I know of.”

She eased herself down carefully and opened the door with her right foot; holding it open with her shoulder she prodded a book between the door and the door frame so it wouldn’t lock behind her.

Making her way silently to the shared washroom, it appeared no one was up yet so there would be no embarrassing encounters. She entered the first stall and closed the door behind herself, locking it - there were no specific ‘handicapped’ stalls at Yamaku; they all were outfitted with special accommodations, such as foot-activated door latches.

“That’s always the easy part,” she thought about the door latch. “Nice that all the doors are footled. Is ‘footled’ even a word? ‘handled’ is, so why not?” The next part would not be so easy; she’d been doing it all her adult life, though that didn’t necessarily make it effortless.

Faint light from the grounds leaked in the washroom window and across the floor, offering sufficient illumination to her dark-adapted eyes. Rin stood in front of the toilet seat and raised her right foot to waist height; using her toes, she divested herself of her lower garments and sat down to do what she had to do.

“Yoga is this girl’s best friend” she thought. “Need to remember to switch sides next time - getting too accustomed to doing that with my right foot.”

Standing up to reverse the process, she thought “Fuck it” when doing up the button on her pants gave her more grief than she felt like dealing with at this time of the morning. “I’m just going to take them off again when I get back to Tetsu’s room .. Now where did that decision come from I wonder ..”

Rin exited the stall and made her way back to Tetsu’s room, nudging the door ajar and closing it gently behind her. Tetsu still lay on the floor, curled up under the thin spare sheet he had - having covered Rin in the warmer flannel one.

“You fucker - you absolute bastard” Rin thought, looking down at Tetsu. “Such a romantic — you’re going to break my heart, aren’t you?”

She kicked her trousers off, pulled a sketchbook from her book bag, and sat cross-legged on the bed. She looked down and over at Tetsu every so often as she sketched him sleeping; capturing his features framed by his creased pillow - lit by the light from the window and shrouded in shadow.

The sketch finished, Rin looked at it, decided that she was satisfied with it, and put it away. With that done, Rin gripped her pillow and flannel sheet with her toes and pulled them off the bed, then laid down on the floor next to Tetsu. She covered them both awkwardly with the flannel sheet and snuggled up against him.

She curled herself into the space left by Tetsu — what Emi would call “Spooning”, except Emi hadn’t taught her that word yet.

“Emi didn’t say to do this, but she didn’t say not to either - feels right though.”

Nameless images flickered briefly across her mind’s eye before she too was engulfed in dreamless sleep.

--