Hieda Tooru.
Note: This is also not my writing, but it is important to know what happened to the characters when writing events.
Someone was calling him.
The strong emotions the voices contained sent a jolt through him and he opened his eyes.
He found himself in some alley, sitting on the asphalt with his back leaned against the wall of a building. Before him, a girl and a boy stood peering into his face.
The girl was pretty and the boy was dignified. The eyes they regarded him with were terribly worried, and they looked like they were torn between surprise and nervousness, relief and anxiety.
Still…
"…Who are you two?"
They were not someones he knew. And to begin with, what was this place? And what was he doing in this kind of place?
He tried to remember and failed. No matter how he tried, he couldn't recall when and for how long he had lost his consciousness.
On the other hand, he was aware that he was unconscious for quite a prolonged period of time. Though his memories were in a disarray, he knew that much for a fact through the vague sensations dwelling in his body. It had been days or weeks, or even more than that if he was unlucky enough. When he had become aware of that gigantic blank void in his memory that was imperceivable to him, he was suddenly overcome with anxiety and fear.
Just what happened to his body?
Meanwhile, upon hearing his question, the boy and the girl held their breaths, their features twisting. Seeing those heartbroken expressions made him feel instinctively guilty. But there was nothing he could do except shake in utter confusion.
From a place some distance, a brisk commanding voice could be heard. Then, a muffled sound of an explosion followed, along with the corresponding tremor much like that of an earthquake that he felt through the asphalt he was sitting on. Something unusual was going on. The anxiety and fear he felt got exacerbated.
What an odd awakening this was, raising a myriad of mysteries and questions.
This point of time had become the moment where his memories resumed.
"…High school?" with a complicated expression on his face, Hieda Tooru repeated what had just been said to him.
He was summoned to the Annex 4 of Tokyo Legal Affairs Bureau, also known as Scepter 4, and currently was standing in the office of its head.
"Yes," Munakata Reishi, seated behind the desk, nodded.
"Luckily - though this is not a very appropriate expression in your case - you have already been laid off at your parttime work place, and your contract for the apartment has already expired. That high school has a dormitory, so I believe you will find this a good opportunity to think about your future prospects while commuting to school."
"But I don't have that kind money to—"
"No need to worry about that," Munakata cut him off lightly, glancing from behind his glasses at the Lieutenant standing at his side.
Awashima Seri acknowledged him with a nod. "Timeless Palace… I mean, several privately owned businesses jointly implemented an excellent and generous scholarship system there. We have entered you as an applicant at our discretion and received a word that you have been accepted. As such, for the time being you are exempt from having to pay the enrollment and tuition fee, and you will be provided aid if necessary. If you aspire to further your education, this presents a perfect opportunity."
Awashima's phrasing may have been business-like, but her tone was gentle. It was clear that she recommended that path with his wellbeing in mind. What showed on Hieda's face in response though, was a slightly negative bewilderment. If he thought about it rationally, he should have been jumping with joy - unexpected good fortune had come his way, after all - but as far as his heart was concerned, he wasn't able to be truly happy about it.
If anything…
—Just what exactly is going on?
This question apparently could be read on his face.
"Oya?" Munakata inclined his head to the side in a studied manner. "You do not seem to be very interested, do you? Indeed, age-wise, you would be entering high school 3 years later than normal, but I still think it is not a bad deal?"
"I-I realize that it is a great deal, and I am very grateful. Giving someone like me a chance to attend high school… But…"
"But you cannot help finding it all quite eerie, is that it?" Munakata smiled rather nastily, and Hieda shook his head in panic.
"Do not be afraid to come off tactless. As we have explained earlier, we are in your debt, if indirect, in regards to the aforementioned Jungle case. The fact that you do not remember it does not free us from our obligation to you. The bother you mentioned is no bother to us at all."
"…Haa."
"It is as the Captain said. And actually, we are not the only ones who are indebted to you. It would not be much of an exaggeration to say that all the people of the world are in your debt. So we are asking you to regard the suggestion we made in a positive light as our way to show some of our gratitude, and consider it."
"…Haa."
Thus, face still rueful, Hieda fixed his eyes on the floor.
Just then Munakata, while carefully observing the boy, remarked, "…Besides, a certain person of influence strongly requested us to do everything in our power to help you arrange your life and your future."
"Eh? Wh-Who…?"
"The person whose debt to you is the biggest. In other words, we can make him indebted to us by taking care of you, you see. Oh well, having him obliged to us now is not worth much anymore, but still, it is a nice bonus to gain, on a personal level," Munakata said and smiled broadly.
—I see. There is also that reason, then, huh.
Hieda was beginning to understand. Upon getting a confirmation that Munakata and his organization weren't doing all that for him just out of goodness of their hearts, he felt rather relieved.
But this development raised a new worry in his mind, namely who that "he" was. Just what happened to his body in the period he lost all memory of?
Seeing the conversation come to a pause, Awashima coughed dryly a couple of times.
"In any case, I advise you to take a look at that school. You can decide after that."
"R-Right."
If he really could get a chance to attend high school, it would be more than he ever wished for.
"I would like to add that if you find that attending high school goes against your wishes after all, we can always employ you at our organization. This is quite a stimulating workplace, if I do say so myself."
That made Hieda finally lift his head in even more bewilderment than before.
"In any case, the arrangements for your visit on the school's side have already been made, so please get ready at once. …Ah, and another thing. Using this opportunity, there is another place I want you to stop by on your way to the school. One of my subordinates will guide you there, will that be alright with you?"
"Eh? What place?"
"A bar in the Shizume town. There are people there who also want to meet you. If possible, I would like to ask you to put in an appearance. Quality of the clientele aside, it is by no means a bad establishment."
Hieda Tooru was an orphan. He grew up in a local orphanage and, after graduating from middle school, made a living by drifting from one part-time job to another.
It wasn't like he had a dream or a purpose in life, but neither was he corrupted by his environment. For better or for worse, he was moderate in everything, simply living a bland and honest life. Even he himself thought that his life resembled that of a plant, but he wasn't dissatisfied with the comparison. He wasn't very good at communicating with others, and for that reason, he spent most of his time alone.
Then he come to in some alley, with a girl and boy he didn't know peering at him, more than a year later.
After that, Hieda was taken into protective custody by Scepter 4. Apparently, while he was unconscious.
They didn't tell him what happened to his body during the period he had no memories of for the same reason then, namely because whatever happened had quite a lot to do with that secret.
But then again, the blank year stole a job and a place to live from Hieda. He had already been in enough shock as it was when the talk about giving him a chance to attend high school came up.
In all of his life up until that point, he had never really actively decided anything for himself, just letting whatever was going to be be. That was Hieda Tooru's way of living.
"Ooh~! Shiro-sa— Ah, no. Erm, Hieda-kun, was it? Feel free to take any seat you like. What would you like to drink? Beer, wine, or perhaps a special cocktail…?"
"N-No thanks. I'm still underage."
"Haha. Right, right. How about some tea then? I got a very nice quality blend." Kusanagi Izumo welcome him.
The Scepter 4 member, who led Hieda to this place, not going farther into the bar, he leaned against the wall next to the door.
"Fushimi. You'll have a drink, too, I trust?" Kusanagi.
"…I'm on duty," Fushimi replied glumly.
"So uptight. A cup of tea won't hurt you any, y'know. I won't force you though," Kusanagi said, smiling lopsidedly.
Fushimi Saruhiko, when he was ordered to escort Hieda here, he gave a resounding tongue click.
"—I'm glad to see you doing well," Anna suddenly said.
Hieda got flustered, mumbling out a stammered "Th-Thank you!" and strengthening his back.
"Do you really not remember anything?" Anna asked.
"I'm afraid so. Um… I apologize for that." Hieda.
"I see," Anna murmured quietly. "It may be better that way though. Since you are only a victim who got dragged into all of it regardless of his will."
"…Haa."
"That's why I want us…"
"Eh?"
"…to become friends once again," the girl finished with an extremely serious face.
Hieda found himself lost for words.
Just then, Kusanagi returned, carrying a tray with a tea set on it.
"Take it easy. No need to be so stiff. I understand that we may be coming on too strong for your liking, but the point is, we'd like you to just relax and from now on drop by this bar every now and then. Right, Anna?"
Anna nodded her agreement.
Hieda, reaching a limit of sorts, suddenly blurted out loudly, "Excuse me, but… Wh-Why? Why are you all so kind…? J-Just what happened to me during the period I have no memories of?"
Kusanagi, scratching his head with a troubled face, found it hard to answer right away, "Mm, well…"
Seeing him troubled like that instantly made Hieda regret his careless question. These people must have been silenced by Scepter 4, too.
"I apologize…" Flustered, Hieda rashed to make apologies, then hung his head.
"—You fought together with us," Anna said.
Hieda stared at her in wonder.
—"Fought"…?
"—You and us are precious comrades in arms," Anna continued.
"…I ask you to leave the matter at that," came Fushimi's warning voice from where he stood by the door, still not moving. "The higherups are treading with a lot of caution in regards to his case."
"I know. …Well, let bygones be bygones, then. But like Anna said, now that we finally met each other, let's all be friends. How does that sound to you?" Kusanagi said, winking at the perplexed Hieda.
"Hiya~!" The door to the bar got thrown open with a lot of force, letting in new visitors.
Though, upon entering, the boy froze in plain surprise once he noticed Fushimi standing by the door. Fushimi, on the other hand, awkwardly averted his eyes from him.
"…?! S-Saru… what are you doing here?!" Yata.
"…I'm not here because I wanted." Fushumi.
"R-Right… I see. Yeah. Well, not that I mind… Good to see you… Not! Ah, right! About that strain case from the other day! We're not done talking about that yet!"
"Huh? What are you even talking about? Actually, there's nothing to talk about in the first place."
Unlike Yata who couldn't stop blushing and paling in turns, Fushimi, despite looking embarrassed for a moment, regained his sarcastic attitude right away.
"Ease up, Yata-chan," Kusanagi reprimanded with a displeased face. "This time, Fushimi is serving as a guide on our request, see? So don't pick fights now."
"Huh? But Kusanagi-san, a "guide"? What do you m—" And that was when Yata finally noticed Hieda. "Aah!" he exclaimed, pointing a finger at Hieda.
"You, the Silver—"
"Yata-san! He's that, you know. What we were told before, remember? The body's original…" Kamamoto, standing behind Yata, whispered to him.
Anna snickered and introduced the two to him.
"I see. So you got back one way or another, huh. Haha. Sucked to be you, I gotta say. But good to know that you're alive and kicking after all the shit you've been through!" Yata looked like he was sincerely glad.
"E-Eh?" Hieda's bewilderment knew no bounds.
"Say, whatcha gonna do now? If you're undecided, you can come to us, y'know. You'll be warmly welcome. Right, Anna?" Yata.
"—Yes, if that is what he wishes himself." Anna.
"Uhm, no, wait a se–?!" Hieda.
"…FYI, our Captain is interested in headhunting him, too." Fushimi.
"Huh?! Hey, pal, Hieda, was it? Doncha fall for that offer. Nothing good will come out of joining Scepter 4, I'm telling you!" Yata.
"That's right! If you come to us instead, you'll have all the delicious things you could wish for to eat!" Kamamoto.
"My, my, you all are being too hasty. After all, he has yet to meet the "favorite" of this race," Kusanagi said with a chuckle, outstretching his arm, then added, addressing Hieda, "You're going to visit the school now, right? So first, have a nice long talk with them. It will be most useful to you."
The school's name was Ashinaka Academy High School.
"This whole area is referred to as simply the "School island"," Fushimi, who guided him there, explained.
"I-Is it really OK to let someone like me into such a school…?" Hieda couldn't help asking, but Fushimi bluntly brushed him off with an annoyed "Don't know, don't care."
First thing upon coming onto the school's premises, Fushimi headed to the administration office.
It was already late afternoon, but classes weren't over yet. Guided by the lady clerk, Hieda and Fushimi went on a tour around the school.
—Amazing… To think that a school like this existed.
Hieda almost felt dizzy being there. Picturing himself attending this place was too much for his imagination. He couldn't help thinking that it all might have been some kind of mistake, after all.
"Well then, I have shown you all the main school facilities, but there is still the dormitory left. Do you plan to live in the dorm, Hieda-san? If you do, would you perhaps like to take a look at it?"
"Ah, yes, please. If it's not too much trouble."
That was when the chime announced the end of today's classes. And suddenly, it became a lot noisier all around the school.
"Good. I'm going back then." Fushimi.
"Eh? Fushimi-san, are you leaving already?"
"I still have work to do. You should be fine on your own on your way back, right? Besides… I'd only be in the way from now on," Fushimi informed him with a sour look, but then suddenly showed a tiny smile.
Fushimi, seeing no need to say any more goodbyes than that, turned on his heels and started walking away.
"Th-Thank you for taking care of me!" Hieda tried to thank his retreating back but got no reply.
Abruptly, Fushimi stopped and muttered something under his breath.
"I hope you, too…"
"Eh?" was all Hieda was able to voice.
"I hope you'll find it, too. Your place to belong," Fushimi muttered as if talking to himself, tossing a glance at Hieda over his shoulder, then started walking again.
For a short while Hieda stood stock still trying to grasp the meaning of that completely unexpected remark. By the time he came back to his senses, Fushimi had already been too far to try and say anything to him anymore.
—Fushimi-san…
Hieda bowed to Fushimi's back that became little more than a dot in the distance.
Just then, he heard a ringtone playing behind him. It was his lady guide's. When she took out the PDA, she appeared to be surprised at the caller's name, "From German-sensei?"
Apologizing to Hieda, she answered the call. "Hello. Is something the matter, Weismann-sensei? …Eh? Yes. I'm in the middle of showing him around. We are about to go take a look at the dorm… Yes… Eh? Are you sure? Of course, it would easier for him to understand that way… Yes, yes…"
After talking on the phone for a short while, the clerk hung up and turned to Hieda.
"Did something happen?" Hieda asked.
The woman, her surprise plainly visible, answered, "One of our teachers who lives in the dorm asked about you. To help you learn about the dorm, he invited you to his room… Would you like to take the invitation?"
Just as Hieda suspected, the dorm was also quite grand-scale.
"That is right, "German-sensei" is his nickname. He is from Germany but teaches English and physics. He is a cheerful and sociable teacher, so he is popular with our students, despite starting to work here just recently. Only, he is a little… no, fairly eccentric, to be honest. Like he is out of touch with the world in a sense…" The clerk explained.
Tlady guide stopped in front of a certain room.
—Huh? This room…
Hieda had a feeling that he remembered it from somewhere.
"This is our destination," the woman informed him and knocked at the door.
Just when Hieda was about to wonder what was going on inside, it was thrown opened with a lot of energy, and—
A girl and a boy almost fell out the doorway as they stuck out their heads into the hallway. Those two, he knew.
Hieda's eye went wide and his breath caught at the sight of them. They were the ones he found by his side when he came to in that alley.
"The previous Shiro!" the girl broke into a grin, giving a joyous shout, then spread her arms wide and jumped at Hieda.
"Idiot, stop!" the scandalized boy immediately chastised the girl.
The lady clerk reprimanded the girl as well, "Ameno-san? I did warn you to refrain from behaving in such a fashion, didn't I?"
"Neko! Don't tell me you already forgot what Shiro told you?!" grabbing the girl by the shoulders, the boy said in a hard voice.
"I didn't introduce myself last time we met, so let me do it now. I'm Yatogami Kuroh, but you can call me "Kuroh". And this one is Ameno Miyabi."
"Call me "Neko"!" Neko said.
"I'm H-Hieda. Hieda Tooru…"
"We have a lot of catching up to do, but first, come in. There is someone we'd like you to meet," Kuroh said, and at that, the lady clerk, who was his guide till now, excused herself, "Well then, I am leaving the rest to you." She gave Hieda a smile and left.
Following Kuroh and Neko, Hieda entered the room.
"—Hello."
The silver-haired Caucasian man sitting in the room.
"Being face to face like that feels really strange, I must say. You are Hieda Tooru-san, correct? Nice to meet you. I'm Adolf K Weismann, but you can call me "Shiro" if you want. That's what all my friends call me, and I would like you to call me that, too, if you don't mind."
Hieda voiced the conviction that had settled firmly within him, "…You know what happened to me during the period I have no memories of, don't you?"
"Yup."
"W-Will you tell me?"
"That depends on what you want from your life and from your future…" Shiro replied quietly.
"My future…" Hieda repeated.
"Hey, hey! We decided to take it easy today, not have those complicated talks, no?" Neko.
"True. Besides, the dinner is ready. I've poured all my talent into it, so I hope you'll like it." Kuroh
"Eh? B-But, it's so sudden, I can't possibly…" Hieda.
"…" Having shut his mouth, Hieda was staring at Shiro.
Hieda didn't know what the future had in store for him. But…
"…Well…I guess… If you insist." Hieda.
Let's try deciding for myself starting with tonight's dinner, he thought.
At Hieda's small decision, the room got filled with lively cheers. And then, another bowl of white rice got added to the rest already put on the low tea table surrounded by Shiro and his companions.
After some days,
Hieda Tooru, his circumstances were far too complicated to call him your ordinary student.
"Umm… Hieda-san? Are you close with German-sensei?"
"I heard from someone who lives in the dorm that you always go to German-sensei's room after school, Hieda-san."
It was a break on a certain school day, just after Hieda had just started getting used to his new environment.
"Then, then! Could it be that you're also close with Yatougami-san? That young man that's always by German-sensei's side—"
"Kuroh-san? Yes, well, you could say so. I shared dinner with them last night again."
"You tasted Yatougami-san's home-made cooking?! I'm so jealous!"
"H-Hieda-san… Um… Can I ask you something, too, please?"
"Sure… actually, can you drop the formalities? We're classmates, so there's no need for that."
"Ah, r-really? Um, then I'll take you up on that, and, uh… I was wondering if you happen to know something: is that Yatougami person dating Ameno Miyabi? They always seem to hang out together…"
"Eh? Well, no, I don't think they're dating," Hieda replied, confused.
Hearing his reply, the boy who asked him that question, stuck a triumphant pose, "Alight!"
"Hieda-kun, what is your relationship with German-sensei?" one of the classmates finally asked the question that everybody itched to know the answer to.
"Errr… We're relatives. Very distant," he had to lie every time when asked that particular question.
"You're his relative, too, Hieda-kun? I heard Ameno-senpai is also his relative, right?"
"Isn't German-sensei, you know, German? Why does he have so many relatives in Japan?"
"Yatougami-san is an even bigger mystery, though, don't you think? He's neither a student nor a teacher. So how come he's even in this Academy?"
"Who cares. All three of them are really good-looking, so I'm happy to just have them around, no matter the reason!"
That's why Hieda voiced, "…If you're interested, want me to introduce you to them tonight?"
For a moment, a ringing silence stretched, only to be broken seconds later with today's loudest shouts of joy.
Tonight's dinner promised to be really lively, it seemed.