FMP Fanfiction

Hitosawagase

by Esoteria

Chapter 2

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The Jindai High School principal heard a soft knock on her door.

"Please come in," she said.

The teacher's stiff figure came inside, closing the door behind him slowly.

"Ah, Kogure-sensei. You seem to be in a much more composed state than earlier this morning. What can I help you with?"

"Principal. I have just heard the results of the drawings for the class."

"In that case, I am pleased, sensei, if surprised, that we did not have a recurring situation here in my office."

"I was prepared from the start for such results."

"I see. I imagine you are concerned for the proper education of these students. Perhaps we should put your mind at ease."

The teacher's eyebrows rose slightly.

"Shall we see how Sagara-sensei's introductory lesson is proceeding?"

The principal stood up slowly and walked to the door. "I have received reports from our liaison in the student council that he is taking his assignment quite seriously." She looked up at the ceiling before opening the door, her eyes collecting a small amount of water. "Ah, how wonderful that our--…. Never mind."

"Thank you, Principal."

The two walked down the sunlit hall. The principal's heels made a crisp echo with each step as she walked firmly down the foyer, her smile broadening with each step towards their destination.

Kogure-sensei walked uncomfortably, hands stuffed in his pockets, feet scuffing the floor with each stride, and sweating slightly more with each step towards their destination.

When they reached the door to Kagurazaka's class, the principal moved to the small window at the top of the door and peered in, while Kogure's perspiration collected. He swallowed while watching the principal's expression. With a brilliant smile and a visible tear falling down her cheek, she turned to him and motioned that he look inside.

Responding with slight confusion, the PE instructor looked inside, fully expecting a pile of weapons to be stacked on the front desk, and for Sagara to have the entire class armed to their teeth.

What he saw, however, was a composed student in uniform writing what appeared to be an outline on the chalkboard, with one hand behind his back. He occasionally placed the chalk at the board and turned to address the class. Kogure-sensei could not discern what was being said, but Sousuke was clearly addressing the class in an attentive manner. The whole group was sitting straight up in their seats and nodding in affirmation to Sagara's words.

"Wow."

"Shh! Kogure-sensei!" the principal whispered. "You'll disturb them."

She began walking down the hall again and after another glance inside, the PE teacher jogged to catch up with her.

"I must say, Principal. I was wrong about Sagara. He appears to be doing a great job." There was more than a hint of regret in his voice.

"I'm glad your worries are assuaged, Sensei. Shall we return to our work?"

"Yes, Principal. Thank you." Kogure-sensei turned down the next hall, parting ways with the principal. He heard the sound of her heels die away as she proceeded.

Kogure looked at one of the class's displays on the wall. Art from a previous event was exhibited.

As he pondered some of the pieces, he said to himself, "Maybe I've been a little too harsh with—"

BLAM! Bla-Bla-BLAM! Gunshots resonated through the halls. The teacher froze.

Looking slowly back to the intersection, he said "Pr-Principal?"

He walked with shaking steps back up the hall and poked his head around the corner, looking down at the class's door. Nothing was out of the ordinary. He looked the other way. There stood the principal, looking up at the sky through the window with her hands clasped at her chest. The sun was clearly dancing off of her sincere eyes even at this distance.

Kogure-sensei rubbed his temples. "I must be imagining things."

----

Sousuke lowered his weapon. "…However, this kind of pinpoint accuracy was not possible with the pistols existing in the First World War, and thus bolt action rifles were the mainstay of foot soldiers."

As he walked back towards the front of the room, he reloaded his weapon, switching back to a different clip. The students in the front of the room sat staring at the chalkboard, their pupils having gotten very small. Those in the back of the room were either sweating profusely or covering their ears. On the chalk board, Sousuke had marked four tiny X's no more than two centimeters wide. The practice rounds from the pistol had erased each X. If not for these marks, no one would have even seen where the shots had hit the sturdy board.

"Regardless of the soldier's skill, it simply could not be done with the equipment they had. On Thursday we will discuss in detail the weapons, from small arms to tanks, which were used in this war, and how they affected the outcome for each side."

Two girls looked at each other in the front of the room. One of them did not notice Sagara standing behind her and took out her planner and a bright-colored pencil.

Thursday: Call in sick!

"Hidaka!"

The girl froze, her pencil tip broken on one of the stars she was drawing next to the note. "Y-yes… sensei?"

"It appears you do not intend to come to the lesson on Thursday."

"U-umm…"

"A pacifist, perhaps?"

"N-no… well…"

Sagara walked towards the front while addressing the class. "Hidaka's theology is a respectable one. However, these weapons were used, and they resulted in the deaths of many soldiers. We can stand to learn a lesson from this."

A few students raised an eyebrow.

"After all… a peaceful resolution is always best."

Several of them collapsed on their desks while the tension broke. One mumbled "Right…"

Sousuke ignored the comment. "Besides that…" He bent down to pick up one of the half-destroyed practice rounds he had shot earlier, inspecting it in front of the class. "The lesson on Thursday will be quite interesting, I assure you. And it will prepare us for our outing on Friday."

Kaname stared at him, a droplet of sweat running down her face. "Don't tell me…"

"As Chidori-san may have already guessed, I intend to take the class on a short field trip on Friday, if it is approved."

Many of the students perked up at the words "field trip." While it was clear that most of them were still scared stiff of the possibilities, they would probably come out of sheer curiosity.

Oh well, thought Kaname, if it's something he came up with, it probably won't get approved anyway.

"Be aware that if this trip is approved, I will not allow anyone who has an absence this week to come, as this mission will require a certain level of familiarity with the material."

A soft chatter erupted in the class.

Before Sagara could regain the attentions of the group, the bell rang.

"Well then, please be prepared tomorrow for the lesson on the pre-war politics. You may direct any questions about the material to me at any time during the day. I have been instructed to use Kagurazaka-sensei's desk for this week. Class is dismissed."

"Stand!" Chidori shouted. Chairs made noise while moving across the floor. "Bow!"

----

When classes were over, Sagara and Chidori met up as usual to walk home.

"Ahh… the weather feels nice, doesn't it?"

Sousuke looked at Kaname, curious at her starting conversation this way. "Yes, I enjoy the fall."

"Really? I didn't think you would really like one season or the other."

"No, the late autumn months are definitely the best. One can see clearly through the bare branches of the trees, making a sniper using infrared while in cover unlikely."

Kaname hung her head. "Oh."

"Also, in late autumn the temperature has not dropped significantly. One can still move tactically at night without the need for well-insulated clothing, which restricts movement."

"I should've known it would be something like that."

Sousuke made an uncertain face. "Hmm, why do you like the weather, Chidori?"

"Hmm… well… that is…"

A long silence. The two's footsteps on the leaves made loud crunching sounds.

"…I don't know." Chidori gave up at last.

"I see."

Another long silence. Kaname had been clearly ignoring the subject of Sousuke's teaching. Still, she couldn't help but notice his school bag bulging.

"Wow… they must have given you a lot of things to teach, huh?"

"Ah. Actually, these papers are information I gathered myself this afternoon. Since politics can be quite uninteresting to most civilians, I decided it would be best if I discussed only the most important facts tomorrow.

"This," he said while removing one of the thick stacks of paper, "is the Chronology of the War." He spoke in English when reading the title. "It is a source of daily war activity from internal politics to the situation on the front lines. It contains a level of detail that was unprecedented for its time."

"Ohhh…" Kaname sounded fairly impressed.

"I also have excerpts from several hundred government documents related to the war."

"Can you really go through all that tonight?" Kaname looked at even more papers when Sagara replaced the Chronology.

"It will take some time; however, I already know much of the information that is contained in these documents. It is still a humbling experience. I was unaware of how much available information there was on this war. I'm glad I was given this opportunity."

Kaname frowned and looked down at the bag she was holding in front of her. "Sousuke…"

"Yes, Chidori?"

"I'm really sorry about earlier today."

"It is not a problem."

"…" Kaname decided not to say anything else.

After a while, the two found themselves at the adjacent apartment buildings.

"Well then, Chidori, if you'll excuse me, I should get started on the material."

"Yeah… okay… see you later."

They parted and entered their respective buildings without another word.

----

The phone in a person's pocket rang. They hit the receive call button.

"Yeah? Who is it?"

"It's me."

"Sousuke? What's going on?"

"I need your help with something."

"Hmmm? Help, from me? Haha. I don't think I heard you quite clearly."

"I won't be entertaining your ego today, but I do think you'll be interested in this opportunity."

"Alright, let's hear it."

(to be continued…)