Chapter 4

Alex the Math Teacher

"I'm not going to keep feeding you forever, you know." Keine Kamashirasawa tells Alex. "You need to get a job of some sort so you can buy your own food."
"But, what kind of job can someone like me get? I mean, we don't learn a lot of practical survival skills or anything where I come from." Alex says, figuring that computer skills won't be of much use in a place without electricity or computers.
"Hmm… What are you good at, then?" Keine says.

"Ehm… I'm pretty good with a sword." Alex says. Keine shakes her head. "What about a Bo Staff, or well, actually I'm pretty good with every weapon I've ever picked up." Alex says. Keine shakes her head again. "Uh… I know martial arts." Alex says.
"Look, we already have incident resolvers; we don't need you to go around trying to be a hero." Keine says. "And besides, the incident resolvers don't get paid." she says.

"Well, um… I'm good at Math." Alex says.
Keine starts shaking her head, but then "Wait. How good at Math?" she says.

"UGH! There's nobody here again!" Alex says, sitting in front of the school in much the same pose as he found Keine. It has been a few days since Alex became a Math teacher at Keine's school, and he has yet to teach a single student.
"Story of my life." Keine, who is sitting beside him, says. Alex raises an eyebrow. "What?" says Keine.
"It's just, I still don't understand this whole language deal. I mean, to me, it seriously sounds like you're speaking English, and even using idioms and the like. But you say we're speaking Japanese, and yet you still understand the figures of speech I use, despite them being distinctly American." Alex says. "It just really bothers me when something doesn't make any sense. I guess that's why I got so good at math. There's always a right answer and a wrong answer, and it doesn't matter how you approach it, if you get the right answer you're right. The problems themselves may be complex, but the concept behind it is actually really simple."

"Yes, I can understand that. I don't feel the same, however. I like teaching history because everyone sees it differently. That's actually why I started this school. I may be able to tell people about the events, and I may know all about said events, but I'm only one person, who can only see things through my biased view." Keine says.
"Yeah… I think that may actually be why I disliked History classes in America. Most of the time, if you didn't agree with the teacher, they said you were wrong. They never let us debate the meaning of events, just forced us to copy down a summary of them and then put the summary on the test." Alex says. "It never really felt like I was learning anything. It felt more like I was being talked at than talked with. I really liked reading though, because it never felt like the books were telling me I was wrong, even if I disagreed with them. It just seemed like the book wanted me to know that its viewpoint existed, rather than trying to shove it down my throat, like newspapers and stuff always would."

"Wait… Newspapers, that's it!" Keine says with a big smile on her face.
"That's what?" Alex says, confused.
"How we're going to get students. Now, we just need to find that Tengu reporter." Keine says, getting up.
"Wait, you never tried to advertise the school in the paper before? And wait, there's a paper?" Alex says, seeming somewhat overwhelmed.
"The Tengu have way more advanced technology than we do. And, although I did try to advertise in the past, now we have something interesting about the school!" Keine says.
"We do?" Alex says while scratching his head.
"Yeah, we have you! Everyone around here is curious about the outside world to some degree, and now we have an outsider as a teacher!" Keine says, visibly shaking with excitement.

Within a few days, almost everyone in the village has gotten the news. The strange man who had nervously walked in one day is an outsider, and, even more surprising, he is now a teacher at Keine's school. However, he will only teach to those who also attend Keine's class, right before his. Also, due to the fact that even most of the adults have only basic arithmetic skills, both Alex and Keine now teach two classes each. One in the morning, which is for children and young teenagers, and one in the evening, which is for sixteen-year-olds and up.

"Mr. Johnson?" one of the children says.
"Yes? What is it?" Alex says politely.
"How long did you stay awake every day when you live in the outside?" the child says.
"I'm sorry, but as you know," Alex points at the sheet of paper, a stack of which he had gotten from the Tengu in return for the 'big scoop', tacked to the wall, "questions about the outside world are to wait until after class."
"But I don't wanna learn math." "I'm just here to learn about the outside world." "My parents said I should come here to learn about you, not stupid math." "When're we ever gonna use this as youkai hunters anyways?" The class erupts in complaints.

Alex sighs, then snaps his fingers and points at a girl in the front row, saying "3+5+7-4 go!"
"Eh-uh-umm-erm" The girl stammers, trying to figure out the answer.
"Too late! You got blasted." Alex says. The class falls silent. "I'll be honest; you're probably never going to use Math anywhere outside of this classroom. However, the things that learning Math teaches you will help you for the rest of your life. Especially if you want to be a youkai hunter." Alex says, glad that Keine's history classes taught him what youkai and youkai hunters were. "The abilities to quickly solve problems and to think of simple solutions to complicated situations are the most important skills you can have in life. When a man-eating monster is shooting thousands of bullets at you, you don't have time to wonder 'oh, is that way safe, or should I go over there. Maybe this is the safest place, but then again, there's also that spot. Maybe I should try rushing through while they're in groups, or maybe I should wait and see what they do when they get over here.' If you take that long to make a decision, you get blasted. Simple as that. I may have never hunted youkai myself, but the way that learning Math has made my brain work would make me pretty good at it." Alex concludes his rant with a sigh. "So, time to learn Math. Any objections?" he says.
"No, Mr. Johnson." the children all say at once.

"Even more strange occurrences in the case of Alexander Johnson. A few dead skin cells belonging to none of the members of Mr. Johnson's family were found on a wooden sword at the scene of the crime. Experts say that while these cells, at first glance, appear to be human, their genetic structure is quite different. No one is quite sure what to make of this, though some people are claiming it to be the work of aliens or demons, citing the present lack of cloning technology, and the fact that the body in the room shares the exact same genetics as Mr. Johnson. Most, however, say that both the similar genes of the body and the missing man, and the inhuman genetics of the skin on the sword are due to an error in the machinery." *click*