Disclaimer: I don't own anything of Rosario+Vampire. Period.
I dedicate this to my parents and the people important in my life. You know who you are!
The Price of Arrogance
I stared outside the dusty school bus window; the frame rattling as trees lazily flew by. Near the front, the man driving the bus looked at me through the rear-view mirror. His eyes seemed to glow eerily, and I felt myself sink further into the vinyl-encased seat.
What a creepy dude.
I tried to focus on looking outside again, but noticed that the bus has entered a tunnel. Shadows enveloped both the exterior and interior, and my eyes struggled to see freely. Adjusting the flag pin that I wore proudly on my plaid dress-shirt, I straightened back out and finally broke the silence. Along with the Americana-styled shirt, I also sported worn Wrangler jeans and dusty Jordan's.
"So how long have ya' been driving?" I inquired, my eyes trying to meet his as the darkness endured. I found that speaking instead of holding my silence helped to ease the tension.
The man driving the bus looked back at me again for what seemed the umpteenth time, and grinned. A cigar was clamped between his molars, and I briefly wondered if they were Cuban. Could you even get Cuban cigars all the way in Japan?
"Long enough to know this old clunker inside and out, sonny. Which is quite a while, for a matter of speaking."
He said all of this while still holding that unsettling grin. The bus hit a bump, and I nearly slid out of my seat with a start. The bus driver laughed under his breath, and I glared back at him as I yanked myself back up. Dim sunlight washed over me, and I observed the change of atmosphere outside as the bus rumbled out of the maw of the tunnel.
The earth was a dreary and cracked gray. Out past a patchy scarecrow overlooking the entrance of the tunnel that we had just exited, there was a jagged plain of rock that shaped up into an austere cliff. As the bus finally slowed down to a stop, I nearly jumped out of my seat with anticipation. Having been riding for over an hour, I was anxious to make my leave and explore the grounds that held what was known as Youkai Academy.
Grabbing my burlap-sack filled with the few material things I owned, I trudged up the aisle and gave a chin-up to the driver. As ominous as he was, he had gotten me to where I needed to go. And I was grateful.
"See ya later chief. Thanks for the ride." I said as I put my feet down the steps and hopped down outside.
His eyes seems to smile and he shot me a nod, the cigar never moving from his mouth as he replied"
"Take care, cowboy. You're sure to have an interesting time here. Might wanna watch your step, yeah? ."
Before I could retort, the door creaked shut with the hissing of hydraulics. With a belching roar, the bus took a turn and noised back into the tunnel; the darkness within quickly devouring it. I stared out after it, and soundlessly pondered his last words a bit as I felt a double-meaning in them.
Since when has school ever been interesting?
I scoffed and fastened my hands around my travel-bag, the scratchy fabric of the burlap digging comfortingly into my palms. The man was obviously quite the subtle sensationalist, and I quickly disregarded his parting words as hype to get me going. Didn't need anything else to haggle my mind at the moment, with all that had happened in just the last twenty-four hours.
Grimacing, I recalled what had resulted in me being here in the first place.
"Zero acceptance letters. Zero! I can't believe this! What were you thinking, kid?"
I glowered at the floor as my dad berated me again and again in the smallness of his apartment. Traffic could be heard rumbling outside in the Tokyo air, and I heard a honk and someone curse in Japanese. My dad, fuming, strode over to the window where the noise flooded from and slammed in shut. I flinched at the sound of the frame hitting the windowsill, and stared at my hands sullenly as he came back towards the dinner table; the urban noise forgotten.
"I never wanted to go to high school anyways. It's overrated, and I can barely keep up with the damn curriculum as it is. What did you expect?" I replied irately.
"I expected more! You're better than this Mike, and I only want you to achieve success. More than what I ever did, at least. What would your mother say if she knew how dismal your academics are?"
I shifted my eyes from my hands to the scuffed dinner table that my dad was leaning up against. He has a point, and it burned in my heart. People, especially folks like my mom, always said that I could do more. That I was capable. To hear my dad mention it out in the open struck a chord in my heart, though. Why didn't I do more? I tried to blame it on the education system of which I had done so poorly in, but knew that was just a false front. There was a reason why I moved from the States to Japan; and Japan's supreme education system was the top reason. Amongst others.
"She would tell me that I had sold myself short. And that I need to take my studies more seriously." I intoned dourly.
My dad rubbed his eyes and sighed. Then he spoke again.
"And you're right, kiddo. What do you expect to get with these grades? Five C's and two D's? How is that gonna help your situation when you have to move out into the world?"
He asked softly as he leaned back on the table, the legs creaking under the increased weight. Wearing a shirt with "U.S. Marines" stamped on the front amidst a solid figure of forty years, my dad was a born and bred serviceman. Trained and battle-hardened, he had took it in his stride to take me in while he was stationed in Japan. Oh, how I missed America.
"I dunno. Perhaps school just ain't me." I muttered under my breath. "I'd rather just do my own thing and enjoy the simpler things in life. Is it so hard to ask of that?"
My dad exhaled sharply and looked at me, and I saw his hands clench in frustration. As tough and rugged as he was, I knew he cared deeply about my well-being. He and my mom had adopted me at the tender age of two, and I had known them as my parents my whole life. There were times when I thought of how much worse life would've been without their support, despite the current circumstances. Now was one of them.
Ignoring what I had just said, my dad tossed a brochure into my hands. Startled, my eyes managed to catch the words Youkai Academy emblazoned on the front before I looked back up to him. He had started speaking again, and there was a stern authority in his voice now.
"Irregardless, you're in luck. I found a school that will accept you, despite your grade shortfalls. You're leaving in the morning, and failure is not an option when it comes to your studies once you arrive." My dad rung, his head nodding back towards the brochure. "It seems legitimate, if somewhat unknown. I asked around, and the few folks who knew about it said it was good-"
"You can barely speak Japanese-!"
"DONT interrupt me boy!"
I held my mouth shut and dropped my glare back down to my hands; my palms sweaty and fingers tightened in frustration. What the heck, man?
As my father droned on about how my chances in succeeding in life were becoming less and less, I merely held my breath and shook my head dully in acknowledgment. What was the point in arguing? In this household, my dad's word was law. No exceptions.
"I want you to pack up what you'll need for once you get there. It's got its own dorms, so bring everything you got. And clean out your room while you're at it. You're gonna be gone for quite a while, and I don't expect you to come dawdling back 'cause you forgot something of consequence."
He said all of this with an air of finality, and then proceeded to hand me an unsealed envelope. I looked at the amount of yen stuffed inside and looked up at my dad questioningly, my blue eyes wide.
He seemed to deflate a bit and said, haltingly, "For the supplies and such that you might need. Enough for a set of school uniforms and a computer, if needed. Don't blow it off; it's all you're getting from here on."
A uniform? Dorms? He was practically shipping me off! I nodded wordlessly and slid the wad of money into the back pocket of my jeans; my hands scraping against my aged smart-phone. Perhaps I could upgrade my service, if the area offered decent cell reception. One could hope, I guess.
"So this is it? Do I get a say in any of this?" I asked with some trepidation laced in my voice.
"You lost that right a long time ago, guy. It's either this or the military. I'm not even sure they would take you, with the budget cuts rolling in. It's this way or the highway."
He stopped talking for a few moments, and then added, "The bus will pick you tomorrow at ten in the morning, I have work, so I won't be able to see you off. ."
Realizing that this was it, I slowly rose up from my seat and headed to my bedroom; my hand gripping the handle of the door as I realized that this would be my last night here. As I slid it open, I heard my dad speak again for the last time that evening.
"I only want the best for you. And that means getting an education." He said quietly, his arms folded across his chest. Even though his eyes were looking out towards the bustling city outside, his words were directed at me. And I felt them burn in my mind relentlessly.
I said nothing and headed into my room, preparing for the road ahead as I packed what little I owned. I looked at the brochure held tightly in my hands, and cursed God for putting another three years of torture on my shoulders.
Sleep came late and hard that night
As I thought about my previous predicament and where that had landed me, my mind flew back to the present with a rush. I looked around at my surroundings, and realized that I had ended up walking to the edge of the cliff overlooking the blood-red sea. The pounding of the waves could be heard crashing down on the rocks below, and I made sure to keep my toes away from the edge into oblivion.
"Caw! Caw! CAW!"
I jumped out of my reverie, and looked up towards the forest where a single crow rested. Its' feathers were blacker than death, and its' talons clawed to the branch of the surrounding tree with a rigid resoluteness. Stepping away apprehensively, I couldn't help but feel like it was looking right at me, and I quickly gathered my wits and started off into the waiting path that led towards the school.
As I walking briskly towards what would hopefully be a better future, I looked back behind my shoulder. The crow was no longer present, and for a second I wondered where it had gone.
Oh well, I thought. It's not like it really saw me for who I was. Although I came from a superstitious family, I wasn't that paranoid.
Somehow, as I made my way up further up the path, I felt a trickle of doubt drip into the bottom of my heart. As the trees swallowed me up in their dark and dead embrace, I thought of just four words. T
To each his own.