Chapter 6: Beginning of the Routine
When I arrived at the dojo this morning, I am told that we were going to be doing some more training with guns. Instead of going to the shooting range that we went to yesterday, we end up going to an outdoor range. Sensei and the manager, from the range yesterday, are there waiting for us. Trying to reason out why we would need to come to an outdoor range, I come up with, because I am going to use some high-powered weapons. Though I find the idea ridiculous, as I am still a novice, I am completely right.
After I have suited up, I am handed a high-powered sniper rifle. I am in disbelief. How can they expect me to use a weapon like this? I'm just a novice. When will I ever need to use something like this anyways? I start to consider whether or not I should question Sensei about this, but my instincts tell me to leave it be.
When I am ready, I lie down with my rifle and take aim. I remove to safety and begin the process of aiming. I remember a video that I once watched, in my old world. It was about snipers. At the time, I was only watching out of interest. Never thought I would actually need the information. I look at my surroundings, to gauge the environmental effects on the bullet. After making a few adjustments on the scope, to compensate for wind and gravity, I look down the scope at my target. I remember an important piece of information about firing. I mustn't have my eye too close to the scope when I fire. I don't want to show up to my first day of school with a black eye.
I prepare to fire. The target doesn't have any marks on it so I aim for the head, as I think a normal sniper would do. I line the cross-hairs up on the targets head, steady myself by holding my breath, and pull the trigger. The gun jolts back a bit. Thankfully, not enough to hit me in the eye. I let my breath out and look at the target. I hit it.
Shinji comes up to me. "Quite impressive. I'm starting to doubt you, when you say you don't have any previous training with guns."
I reply to him. "I really don't. I watched a show about sniping a while back and I used the information I got from that to make my shot."
Sensei and the manager come up to me. Sensei has a very pleased expression on her face. The manager tells me that I have a knack for guns. I tell him what I told Shinji. "Even with that information, you did well, to judge your adjustments. " I thank him.
After we finish talking, I am asked to take another shot. I lie down again and make the adjustments. My last shot was a bit low so I raise the scope up a click. It was also to the left a bit. I check the wind, and find it to be blowing about the same as my last shot, so I adjust the scope accordingly. I make sure I'm not too close to the scope, center the cross-hairs on the head of my target, hold my breath for stability, and pull the trigger. Perfect. The shot went right through the center of the target's head. I feel a great amount of pride as I see the target through my scope.
I hand my rifle to the manager and he hands me, what looks like a grenade launcher, in return. I take the weapon and head over to the firing point. I release the safety on the weapon and take aim. Since the wind is still blowing, I aim just a little to the side of the target and a little above it. I pull the trigger and the gun goes, *Thoomp*. A second later, I see an explosion behind the target.
"Awesome." I say to no one in particular.
I am awed by the explosion as this is the first real one I've seen in real life. I take aim again, adjusting for the error in my first shot. I pulled the trigger. Again the gun goes, *Thoomp* as the grenade is launched. This time, the target itself explodes. Got it.
I return the gun to the manager. I ask him if that's all and he turns to Sensei. She replies with, "That's all." The manager explains that I will be using some other weapons next time we come. I am unsure if I am excited or a bit frightened. Using weapons like this can be a scary thing. You have soo much power in your hands. Losing control of it would be a very bad thing.
With training being over for the day, we head back to the mansion. We were not there as long as we were yesterday. I assume Mion told Sensei that I am starting school today. When we arrive at the mansion, I head to the kitchen for some breakfast. I see Mion sitting at the table, eating her breakfast. She smiles when she sees me.
I grab some of the breakfast, which she prepared, and sit down next to her. I begin to eat just as she finishes.
"Sorry to rush you Mike, but we should get to the school as soon as possible." She warns me.
"Alright. I'll eat quick." I reply.
I scarf down the food as fast as I can and get ready to go. I meet Mion out in front of the mansion. We begin walking to school together. She is pushing her bike, since I'll be using it later. She looks like she is in a really good mood.
"How was breakfast?" She asks.
"It was very good." I reply. "Wish I didn't have to scarf it down so fast, so I could take the time to savor it more."
"Sorry about that." She apologizes.
"It's fine."
I look at her pushing the bike and I ask to take it from her.
"You aren't going to ride ahead of me are you?" She asks, not really meaning it.
"Of course not. How irresponsible would it be for a gentleman, like myself, to leave a lady behind."
She giggles and hands the bike over. As she does, I grab the center of the steering bar with one hand and reach my other hand out to her. She smiles and takes my hand. We interlace our fingers as walk to school together. Mion moves in a bit closer and slightly leans on me as we walk. I enjoy her presence so much. I am glad that we will probably be able to do this on a daily basis from now on.
The time pasts, and before I realize it, we have reached the school. We release each other's hands and Mion shows me where the bike rack is. I park it and head into the building. Mion follows me, right on my heels. Just as I am about to enter the doorway of the school, she stops. Confused, I turn around to ask her what's up. Just I do, I am hit on the head by what seems to be a large metal pan.
"Oww." I say plainly.
It was more of a surprise than anything else. I turn around right as a girl dashes around the corner, leading to the hallway. I dash into the school to find this, so called, "trap master". I burst into the classroom. The only one I see is Rika, who is sitting at her desk. I don't have any time to examine the room as my sixth sense is telling me that I'm in danger.
I leap into the room, just barely able to escape yet another pan to the head. Just as I am recovering from my roll, I see multiple erasers flying at me. I dodge to the side and manage to avoid them all. She's good. The room is silent. Nothing is moving except for Rika. I cautiously walk over to her. "Rika, have you seen Satoko around? I have something that I would like to discuss with her."
"Mii, I haven't seen her. Sorry Mikey."
Liar.
I move around the room. It is apparent she isn't here. Just as I am about to leave the room, Mion enters. I ask her if she's seen Satoko. She gives me a reply, not unlike Rika's. "Sorry Mike, Haven't seen her."
She's got to be around here somewhere.
I head out into the hall, determined to find my prey. I don't see anyone down the hall so I head back outside. I search around the grounds a bit, but I don't find any traces of life anywhere. I give up. Discouraged I head back to the classroom.
Just as I am about to cross the threshold, I sense another pan. The only thing I am able to do is fall backwards to avoid it. As I am sitting there I hear a voice behind me. "My my, it seems we've got a one that's quick on his feet. I'm going to have to step it up a bit if I'm going to get you now aren't I?" Satoko mocks. I jump to my feet and take after her. Just as I round the corner of the hallway, I run into Chie-Sensei, who Satoko has decided to use as a human shield.
I straighten up immediately.
"Morning Sensei. How are you?"
She scowls at me.
"Mike-kun, I would prefer it if you didn't pester the younger ones. You might leave a bad first impression." She lectures.
"Yes ma'am." I reply.
As she leaves, Satoko sticks her tongue out at me. I glare at her and mouth the words, "After school, you're dead."
I head back to class, following Chie-Sensei. We are pretty early so the only ones here are Rika, Satoko, Chie-Sensei, Mion, and I. Chie-Sensei explains to me what I will be doing once the rest of the class gets here.
Might as well introduce myself as "the guy who came from nowhere". I think to myself in a sarcastic tone.
I take a seat next to Mion, since we are in the same grade. She decides to ask me about Satoko. "So did you give her a stern talking to?"
"No, I wasn't able to. She hid behind Chie-Sensei."
Mion Chuckles. "That's Satoko for you. Never without an escape plan."
With some time before class starts I examine my surroundings. The room itself isn't very big. It's only big enough to fit about twenty people. From what Mion has told me, it sounds like there are fourteen students. Fifteen now that I have joined. As my eyes come across Rika, I see the girl.
She is there, like always, hovering behind Rika. The girl is dressed in a shrine maiden outfit. She has long purple hair that goes down to the small of her back, and what seems to be two purple horns; one growing out of each side of her head. Each horn also seems to have some chips or scratches on them. I decide that I will ask Rika about it during lunch break.
More and more student begin coming into the classroom. One of the students is Rena, who seems to constantly be in a radiantly happy mood. She comes and sits on the opposite side of Mion. We say our greetings to her, and she says hers in, her weird third person way of speaking. Her personality interests me.
When it seems that the entire class has gathered, Chie-Sensei has Mion do the morning commands.
"Stand! Bow!"
The entire class bows and says, "Good morning."
"Be seated!"
After the commands, Chie-Sensei has me come up and write my name on the board. My name consists of four Katakana. I introduce myself the class. As I finish I say, "I hope you hold me in your best regards." Right as I finish, I am flooding with a sudden surge of questions.
Oh no, not this again!
Luckily, Chie-Sensei is able to settle them down, and I am able to return to my seat.
We start the day off with English. We all are asked to read from a textbook, and then asked to read out loud. When it comes my turn to read, I begin reading in a perfect English accent. All the kids are in awe of my ability to read English perfectly. I am embarrassed that I am receiving so much attention.
After English comes Math. I am able to understand my work pretty well. I have begun working even as Chie-Sensei is still explaining how to do the problems to Mion and Rena. I finish after about half an hour and sit back to relax a bit. Mion and Rena are still working, so I decide not to bother them. I see Chie-Sensei helping the younger kids with their problems. I think that it must be tough for her, having to teach all the kids at once. As I look, I see that three kids are asking for her help at once. Being as she is busy, I decide to get up and see what I can do to help.
I come up to a young boy with his hand up and ask, "Which one are you stuck on?" he hesitates for a second, so I give him as reassuring of a smile as I can. Overcoming his unease, he point to a question. I explain to him what kind of problem it is and how to solve it. He doesn't understand it so I think for a second. I come up with a good mental picture for him. After I explain it to him using the image I gave him, he says, "Oh, I get it now." Pleased, I go over to the next student asking for help.
Class continues on like this for two more subjects. I am able to finish a bit early so I spend the rest of my time, going around and helping to answer questions. I quickly find that just explaining the problem and the solution doesn't really work that well, so I learn to think on my feet, and to come up with good mental images to help them understand. After we finish those two subjects we hear the lunch bell ring.
I take this time to go over to Rika and ask her for a moment of her time. She agrees and we head out behind the school. As we stand there, I can see the spirit girl hovering behind Rika.
"What did you want to talk to me about Mikey? Do you not like it when I call you Mikey, and you want me to stop?" She asks.
"No, no. That's fine. I just wanted to ask you a question about something." I reply.
She tilts her head slightly, waiting for my question.
"You might think I'm crazy or something, but bear with me for a sec." I take a breath. "Rika, I think you're being followed by a spirit."
Her mouth drops open. After a second she says, "You…can…see her?"
The spirit girl speaks to Rika, "Au, I told you Rika. I told you that he could see me."
I reply to her, "Yeah, I've noticed her hovering around you. I'm guessing that no one else has mentioned that they can see and hear her?"
She appears to still be in shock. She is finally able to mutter out, "No, I've been the only one. That is, until now."
"I see, well that's all I wanted to tell you about." As I am about to head back into class, I feel that I should become acquainted with this spirit girl, since she appears to be a friend of Rika's. "My name is Micheal. You can call me Mike or Mikey if you wish. It's a pleasure to meet you."
The spirit girl blushes and hides behind Rika. I seems that she is too shy to introduce herself so I turn to leave. As I do I hear, "Au, umm…" I turn back around to face the girl.
"Hau…My name is H-Hanyuu. I-it's a pleasure to meet you as well." I smile at the girl and she blushes even harder.
"Well, Hanyuu. I hope you will hold me in your best regards." I decide to add in something to Rika. "Oh, and don't worry Rika. I won't tell anyone about Hanyuu."
She doesn't seem to be listening to me so I head back into the school building to have some lunch.
"Au, Rika. What do you think this means?"
"I don't know Hanyuu. This is the first time anyone other than me has been able to see you. This is also the very first time Mike-kun has come into our world."
"Au, do you think he is to replace Keiichi?"
"I don't know. Keiichi isn't supposed to arrive till two weeks from now. He may still come."
"Do you think Mike-kun has the key to ending your repeating deaths?"
"Maybe Hanyuu. I really hope he does, because I'm beginning to lose the will to fight this fate anymore."
"Hau, hau."
Rika begins to ponder her fate. Will it finally be solved? Will she finally be able to escape the eternally repeating deaths, she has been subjected to, for centuries? Or is this just another dead-end world, like the rest?
After thinking for a while, she decides to return to the classroom. She doesn't want the others to worry about her. She returns to her childish demeanor, though it is only a mask that she wears, and enters the classroom.
Hanyuu remains outside for a minute worrying about her friend. "Please, oh please, Mike-kun. Please save Rika from her fate."
When I return to the room, I sit down next to Mion and begin to chow down on the bento she prepared for me. Unlike breakfast, I am able to savor Mion's cooking this time. "This is really good Mion. You are quite the cook."
She waves it off like its nothing. "Oh, it's not that great."
"I think it's really good. Here Rena, you try some and tell us what you think." I say as I scoot my bento over to Rena.
She takes some and replies. "Mike-kun's right Mii-chan. This is really good, it is."
Mion begins to blush, "Oh come on you guys. I just kinda threw this together."
"Well, whatever you did, it turned out pretty well."
Rena agrees with me. "Uh huh."
Mion finally accepts our compliments with a smile.
A couple minutes later Rika comes back in. Taking notice of her, Mion becomes curious about what I needed to talk to her about. She starts to interrogate me.
"It was nothing. I just needed to ask her something." I reply as she begins to prod me for answers.
"Oh? You wouldn't be plotting anything with Rika now, would you?" She makes a guess.
I play along, "Not like I would tell you, even if I was."
Mion chuckles. "I see. If that's the case then I'll have to double your punishment game today, when you lose."
"WHEN I lose?" I ask sarcastically. "So it's already decided. If so, then I'll just have to find a way to foil your plans."
She chuckles again. Rena begins to get excited. "Ooh, I wonder what Mii-chan has planned for Mike-kun, I wonder."
I return to my lunch since the time to eat is nearly over. I look over to Rika, who is sitting at her desk. I can't tell what she's thinking since I can't really tell her expression from where I am positioned. Hanyuu is hovering over her like always.
The bell rings and we resume class. The second half of the school day went about the same as the first half. I would finish a little early, and then help the other students who needed help. After class was over Chie-Sensei pulled me aside and thanked me for helping out.
"You aren't just trying to butter me up from this morning are you?" She asks.
"Not really." I reply. "If I am finished with my work, and I see that you are busy, I have no problem helping out the younger ones."
Sensei is pleased with my reply, and heads out. With class over, it is time for club activities. This time, it looks like we are going to play go-fish. I see that the deck, Mion brings out, is not as beaten as the deck from yesterday. I ask if there is anything "fishy" about these cards, and chuckle at my own bad pun. Mion claims that these cards are clean.
"I see, well let's do our best to get to the top then!" I proclaim.
"That's the spirit!" Mion cheers me on.
After a few rounds, I am able to tell that the cards are, indeed, fair. At the end of the game, it turns out that I was able to come out in third place. Mion ends up coming out on top as first place. Rena takes second, then me, of course. After me, follows Rika, and then Satoko, the loser of today's game.
"Don't go easy on her Mion. She isn't new here like I am."
"I won't. I already had something planned for you, but it seems that you were able to avoid your fate." She replies.
I snicker at Satoko.
"Oh well. I guess we can't have Micheal-kun lose EVERY game we play." Satoko replies, to save face.
Satoko is forced to go change into a maid outfit, by order of Mion.
"My my, Satoko. I must say that you look much better in that outfit. Perhaps you should consider wearing that from now on. Ohohoho!" I do my best Satoko impression.
She gives me a ferocious glare.
"I'll make sure to beat you next time Micheal-kun. We'll see who's laughing when that happens." She replies.
Everyone starts laughing except Satoko.
It's about time for me to head to my job so I gather my stuff and wave goodbye to the other club members. Mion follows me out the door. I give her a hug and kiss before I head out to Okinomiya. "I'll see you later Mion."
"Bye, Mike. Work hard." She sees me off.
With the bike, I am able to make it to the store in about twenty minutes. I park the bike around the back of the building. I don't think anyone will take it, but the bike isn't mine so I want to make sure.
There a few more large items that needs to be moved into the main store. After I complete my task, I take the inventory again. It takes me about an hour and a half to finish, so I spend the rest of the time tending to the store. A couple of customers come in. I ask them if they are looking for anything specific, but they tell me that they are just browsing. I let them know to ask me if they have any questions. As 10:00 rolls around, the manager of the store comes to let me know that I've worked enough. I remember Mion telling me that she has work tomorrow and that we won't be having club activities tomorrow. I let the manager know that I will be coming in early tomorrow. He thanks me for my work, and I head out.
I was able to work and extra thirty minutes today, thanks to Mion's bike. Even if it's only thirty minutes, it will add up over time. I am able to make it back home in about twenty minutes. I repeat my routine of grabbing dinner and taking a bath.
After my bath I head to Mion's room to say goodnight. As expected, her light is on, so I knock. I hear the familiar "come in" and proceed to enter the room. She stands as I enter and I move in to embrace her. We stand there, in each other's arms for about a minute, completely silent. We just enjoy each other's embrace and feel each other's warmth against our bodies.
We begin talking to each other, as we embrace. We also begin swaying back and forth, as we hold each other, almost like we are dancing. My heart is full of joy as I hold, and talk to the one I love. We talk about the day. She tells me that she is proud of me for helping the younger kids out. I tell her that it isn't anything special.
After we run out of things to talk about, I tell her that I should probably head to bed now. She whines that she doesn't want me to leave. I suggest that I could sleep in her room tonight. She looks at me like she is really considering it.
"Mion we can't. What is someone comes in? We would be in huge trouble. Besides, I think that it's still too early in our relationship to be doing things like that. It's bad enough that we have started hugging and kissing when we have just begun our relationship."
She frowns, and then asks, "You don't like my hugs and kisses?"
"Of course I like them. I am the happiest I've ever been when I do those with you. It's just that we are moving too fast. I've done this once before, and it didn't turn out well. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."
Her eyes tell me that she doesn't think that we're moving too fast.
"Please trust me on this Mion. I am not about to repeat the same mistake twice."
"Alright." She replies. She then asks me a question. "You've had a girlfriend before?"
"Yes. Back in my old world, I had a girl that I loved very much, but things started moving too fast. We started doing stupid things together, and eventually her mom found out. Needless to say, she was not pleased. She gave us a second chance, but we were unable to change our ways. She found out again and she forbade us from seeing each other, ever again. I have never been as crushed as I was that day. I wept all night long."
Mion squeezes me a little tighter, "Oh Mike. I'm sorry."
"It's ok Mion. I was just doing what my body was telling me. I know now that I need to resist it, and what the consequences are if I don't."
She tries to comfort me.
"I know you'll be able to do it. I have faith in you."
I reply to her. "It's not that easy Mion. Once you start going, it's nearly impossible to stop. Admittedly, the girl that I was with had some major self-confidence issues, and she enjoyed it just as much as I did, but that is no excuse for what happened."
Mion begins to look worried. "How…far did you go with her?"
I sigh and begin telling her the ugly truth.
"First off, I will tell you, that we never had sex."
She looks a little less worried, but still wants to hear what I have to say.
"It started off with basic touching. Similar to what we are doing. After a while we got bored and we started moving on to more things. I started to grope her breasts. That escalated to moving my hand under her shirt. That turned into, me sticking my hand down her pants."
She begins to understand the extent of my impurity.
I continue. "There were times when I would sneak over to her house, when she pretended to be sick. During those times it would sometimes escalate to the point of clothes coming off. The farthest we ever went was me seeing her completely naked. That's about it."
I stand there, in front of this girl, who I have intense feelings for. I am completely ashamed of my previous actions. Thinking about what I did and how it has probably hurt the girl here, who trusts me so much, I feel like I want to die. I am on the verge of tears. I clench my fists, trying to keep it in. Before I realize it, Mion has wrapped her arms around me.
I lose it. I am unable to hold it in anymore. I begin to weep in her arms. I lose strength in my legs and we fall to the floor. I cry bitterly, in shame.
"Mion, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry…."
She shushes me like a mother would, her child.
"You regret what you did, right?" She asks.
"Of course! I ruined that girl. I cared for her soo much, yet I took advantage of her. I'm a friggen monster!" I cry out.
"No, you aren't a monster." She replies in a calm voice. "Your heart is very gentle. You just didn't know how to control your body. I know how hard it is. I get the urge to do things like that as well. To be honest, I would love to have you do those things to me, but I won't let you. Do you know why?"
"No." I reply. Tears are still flowing from my eyes.
"It's because I love you. I don't want to see you suffer like that again. Even if I feel like I want you to do things like that to me, I will hold it in. I want this relationship to work out as well. I am willing to make any sacrifice necessary to make that happen."
A great joy fills my heart. My tears start coming again. This time they are tears of happiness.
"Thank you Mion. Thank you so much. I too will try my best to not give in to my temptations. Before, I thought that there wouldn't be any downfall to what I was doing. Now I know. I will fight for this relationship. I will fight, because I love you too!" I promise to her, with all my heart.
She begins crying tears of her own. We embrace each other, yet again. After we have settled down a bit she asks, "What should we do for now?"
"I think that we are okay were we are for now, but I think that we should not do anything beyond that. We should keep it down to hugs, and short kisses. We can't start making out or anything." I say as I start blushing.
She giggles, "Yeah that sounds reasonable. How will we know when it's okay to do those things though?"
"If I said marriage, would you be mad at me?" I ask.
She laughs. "No, I wouldn't be mad. I'd be a little disappointed, but I can see your point and agree with you."
I smile. We hold each other for a bit longer then release each other. It's about time for me to head off to bed.
"Good night Mion. Sleep well. I'm really glad that I was able to share that with you. I really didn't want to have to keep it a secret forever. I'm sorry if it caused you any hurt. I think you deserve to slap me or something for doing that to you."
She looks thoughtful. "Good night Mike. Don't worry about that. I was hurt a little, but I can see that you were truly hurt by it and you regret it. I won't do anything to take revenge because I believe that you have probably already done so to yourself."
I look down to the floor.
She's right.
Seeing me, she comes over to me. She lifts my chin up a bit to face her, and then proceeds to give me a small kiss on the lips. I am comforted by her gesture and I leave the room with a smile. I head back to my room and lie down, in my futon. I am happy that she understood me and that she still accepts me, even though I did something that could be considered betrayal.
I don't deserve her.
My thoughts wander off. My mind begins to shut down. It is eager to rest from all the emotional stress I went through, not too long ago. My senses dull. My mind goes blank, and I fall asleep. Dreams of Mion begin to flow through my mind. I smile in my sleep and a single tear flows down my cheek.
The boy leaves the room. She suddenly becomes weary from all the emotional activities that just occurred. She lies down on her futon and begins to think. She thinks back to what the boy told her about his actions in the past. Her heart begins to feel a bit of pain. She feels a little betrayed. She would have never guessed that something like this could have happened to the boy she loves.
She then recalls his face after he finished explaining his sin. Her heart breaks. The boy is truly broken. He was about to cry. She remembers how she went to him to comfort him and how he cried on her shoulder. He truly regrets it. She knows in her heart that this is true.
The last thing she remembers is his promise to her. I will fight, because I love you too. Her heart is filled with joy. He loves me. Together they will fight their temptations. They are determined to make this relationship work. Even if it ends up in failure, they will know that they tried their best to make it work.
With that thought in mind, she begins to fall asleep. She is thankful to have this boy in her life. She knows that he is not perfect, but he has a pure heart. He truly wants to make it work out between them. She realizes that the very definition of love is the fight; a couple participates in, to become one in spirit, mind, and body. This thought brings her a great amount of comfort. Her senses dull and her mind shuts off. In her mind, are dreams of a boy who will stop at nothing to make their love, a reality.