Summer Snow
Chapter Four: School Life
"As you people already know, Son Goku here will be staying with us for a few months," the teacher said matter-of-factly. Everyone in the room clapped and cheered for the new student. Even though he was the one being mentioned, Goku wasn't exactly listening. He was looking about the room, which was simply a classroom but he looked around with curiosity. "But what our principal didn't mention," the teacher started again. "….that I will be retiring by the end of this week and you will now be permanently handled by none other than Mr. Genjo Sanzo…. Starting today."
Hearing this, some protested while others cheered silently – but some squealed in delight. Linlin sweatdropped. She knew that their time with Sanzo was going to be like a time spent with the deuce – and she would rather spend time with the real deuce.
When Sanzo heard the announcement, he slid the classroom door open and stepped inside. He surveyed the students and sighed inwardly. Why did he have to handle more idiots? No one was paying attention to the teacher in front and the noise of the students was starting to get on his nerves.
Linlin, seeing that the monk was going to get pissed off, covered her ears and ducked.
Three….. Two….. One…..
TZIIIING! TZIIIING!
The room was frozen silent.
"AAAAA! A MADMAN!" some yelled, almost ready to run.
"SOMEONE CALL THE COPS!"
Chaos was imminent.
Linlin looked at her watch. "Ten seconds in the classroom and he already fires his gun…" she rolled her eyes. "Great."
A group of students gathered around Sanzo and started to pelt him with questions.
"Cool gun.. Where'd you get it?"
-"That's none of your business."
"Can I hold it?"
-"No."
"You have a chakra… are you a monk?"
-"Why do you give a damn?"
The teacher parted the students, looking very furious. Sanzo just looked at her. She grabbed his gun and placed it in her bag. (Sanzo: Hey!) "I'll confiscate this!" she handed her a pointer stick. "Make do with this!" she said and marched out of the room. Sanzo sweatdropped. At least he still had his paper fan….
"Sir! Why do some people do bad things?" one student asked. She was shaking nervously. "Is-is it because they find pleasure in doing so?"
Sanzo leaned on the table behind him. The girl fainted. He ignored this and answered the question. "Well, only those who are deranged find pleasure in doing bad things…."
(Gyokumen Koushii: achew!)
"….But mostly, they do it out of ignorance of the law – and everything else." He said then brought out his paper fan, hitting Goku with it.
"Itai! What was that for?" Goku scowled at Sanzo. "Oops… sorry sensei."
Sanzo continued his lecture, but mostly it was a discussion. Along the way, he had hit twenty-five out of thirty students with his fan, Linlin included.
"You stupid monk!" she yelled at him. "You have no right!"
Sanzo was unfazed by this outburst and answered calmly. "Well, you don't have the right to sleep in class. Detention." Linlin submitted to her punishment and sat back down with a thump. She didn't want to give Maria the satisfaction of seeing her mad, but Sanzo didn't vibe with her at all.
Next was gym class. They had a practicum that day and it was to go through their former military coach's infamous obstacle course. Most of them groaned, but Linlin silently warmed up on the sidelines. She never admitted it to anyone, but the obstacle course was her favorite.
"Hmph!" she heard someone say. "Another obstacle course! It's obvious who's going to perfect it – again! That Kazuya girl… she always does." Linlin ignored them. It wasn't true – she was just good at it.
On the other side of the field by the fence, Goku sat surrounded by boys who pelted him with questions. He wanted to sleep badly, but their questioning won't let him.
"Are your parents anime fans?"
-"Um…."
"Is that gold on your head?"
-"I don't know."
"Is Linlin your cousin?"
-"Huh?"
"Where'd you get your contact lenses?"
-"Contact lenses? Are they edible?"
"Are you related to our Philosophy teacher?"
-"He's my guardian – I think."
"Hey look! It's that snob, Maria Ingram's turn!" one of the boys exclaimed, pointing at the girl. "I'm betting my lunch that she'll finish the obstacle course in ten minutes!"
"You give her too much credit! I'm betting she'll finish it in fifteen minutes!"
"You're on!"
Goku looked as well and realized that it was almost Linlin's turn. He was wondering if she was as good as he sensed her to be. That Maria girl was arguing with the coach, who wouldn't hear any of it. Goku's thoughts were disturbed by more questions.
"What kind of food do you like?"
-"ALL!"
"Are you good at sports?"
-"Hmm, I'm good at fighting…. So, maybe." He looked away from his interviewers and watched as Linlin prepared at the starting point.
"Ready, Miss Kazuya?" when Linlin nodded, the teacher raised his flag, paused and yelled. "GO!"
Goku watched as Linlin passed through the tire obstacle with ease and climb the wall obstacle without even slipping. Even the hurdles were conquered without difficulty. Swinging from one pole to the next wasn't even a challenge. She went over the mud pool by climbing the monkey bars and did a cartwheel on the last part. "Sugoi!" he exclaimed, clapping with the rest. Their coach was even teary-eyed with pride. "How'd she get to be so good?" he asked to no one in particular.
"There's a rumor that her parents had her and her brothers trained when they were still very young," someone said from the other side of the fence. Goku looked behind him and saw a boy who seemed to be from the higher years. He also seemed to be dead serious. "Such agility…" he added, more to himself than to Goku.
"Do you know her?" Goku asked. This brown-haired stranger had caught his attention by the reigns.
"Not personally," the other boy answered. "But I am a detective."
"Really?"
"Really," answered the boy. "And you must be the new student, Son Goku of class 3-A."
"Yup!" Goku answered, smiling at the boy. "That's me! But what's your name?"
"Jei Murikawa."
"Hey Goku! You're next!" the coach called out.
Goku turned to the coach. "Hai!" he looked back to bid good-bye to his new friend, but he was gone. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
"GOKU!"
"Hai!"
Linlin sat under a tree nearby and watched Goku run to the starting point. During the few times that Linlin was with him, she couldn't help but feel such power coming from the boy. She wasn't sure, but she felt that Goku was a very good fighter, even though he was childish.
"GO!"
Goku ran through the tire obstacle with ease and jumped over the wall obstacle. Linlin's sapphire-blue eyes were wide with disbelief. He had leaped over ten hurdles and jumped on top of the poles instead of swinging using a rope. It took him only one jump on the monkey bars to get to the finish line. Linlin's jaw dropped. Compared to his, hers turned out to be kid's stuff.
"WAY TO GO, GOKU!" someone yelled, and everyone started to cheer and carried Goku away. Linlin still couldn't believe it. Mili and Mayumi went up to her.
"Where were you yesterday?" Mili said. "You didn't come back, and we fell asleep."
"You what?" Linlin wasn't sure if she heard correctly.
"We fell asleep because of waiting…." Mayumi explained. "Even Ryoko left us. The guard was the one who woke us up and handed us our finished project. Ryoko must have finished it on her own." Linlin thought this odd, but kept it to herself. "Why didn't you come back anyway?"
"Uhm, my cousin and some of his friends came yesterday, and I had to help my mom fix things up for them." Linlin explained as they followed the entourage into the building. "Where's Ryoko by the way?" Linlin asked as they hurried to change to get to their next class. "I didn't see her at first period."
"Oh, we didn't tell you yet… she's out to a computer quiz bee contest in the division level…" Mayumi answered. "She'll be in and out of class this week I guess…"
Their next class was History and Linlin considered skipping it. But remembering she already had detention, she thought otherwise. Instead, she just looked at the rolling clouds and occasionally threw balls of paper at Goku to wake him up. But on the last fifteen minutes of class, she gave up. Goku wouldn't budge anymore. She just had to wait for the school bell to ring.
"Goku,"
The boy ignored whoever was calling him… he was having a nice dream. An all-you-can-eat buffet after a good fight.
"GOKU IT"S LUNCH TIME!"
Goku was on his feet at once. He registered what was just said to him and ran out of the classroom.
"Hey Goku! Wait up!" Linlin called out, but the boy was out of sight. She sighed and rubbed her temples. "Oh boy…"
She found him resting in one of the tables in the cafeteria beside a tall pile of plates and trays. No one else was in there. That made sense, for the canteen was totally out of food. She sat across him and brought out her own lunch and the lunch her mom asked her to bring for Goku. She offered it to him. "Still have room for this?" The moment she had asked, the box was out of her hands and its contents were devoured in an instant. She sweatdropped. "Where do you put all that food?"
Goku shrugged. "I'm just hungry… that's all," he said then pondered for a moment. "Come to think of it, I may still be making up for the 500 years that I didn't eat."
Linlin choked on her food. "WHAT?"
"He was locked up in mount Gogyo for 500 years,"
Linlin turned to see Sanzo still sporting his paper fan. "500 years? You must be joking!"
"Unfortunately, I'm not," Sanzo answered and whacked Goku on the head with his paper fan "You idiot! My credit card is worth nothing in this place!" He kept hitting the boy with the fan until he was satisfied. "Ch! You'll have to wash dishes here until you've paid off your debt."
"He won't have to," Linlin interjected, bringing out the credit card that had fallen out of nowhere. She handed it to Sanzo. "Here, use it…" When he gave her a skeptical look, she continued: "Believe it or not, I don't own that."
Sanzo looked it over and spotted a telltale sign of the card's origin. It had the same 'Three Buddhas' logo – except that it was silver. It was from Kanzeon Bosatsu. He pocketed it and took the saru by the ear (ITAI! ITAI!). "I'll give it back after we deal with the cafeteria staff."
"Take your time," Linlin said. When the two were out of sight, someone entered the cafeteria. She didn't bother to look. "The cafeteria's closed."
"I know,"
That voice
"Jei!" Linlin exclaimed. She could feel her heart beat faster, but she maintained her usual composure. She turned her attention back to her food as he came and took the seat across the table.
"Why are you here alone?" he asked, then smiled. "The cafeteria's closed…"
"I was with Goku," Linlin answered a little bit flatly. But Jei didn't seem to notice.
"Where is he now?" he inquired, now marveling at the tall stack of trays and plates. "Did he eat all this?"
"Yes, he ate all of that," Linlin answered. "He's with Sanzo right now… to apologize and to pay the bill." She was expecting him to nod inquisitively, but instead, he laughed outright. He's weird.
"By the way, that was a great performance this morning," he commented, respect deep in his coal black eyes. "That was quite a feat!"
Linlin tried her best to hide the blush that was creeping to her face. "Thanks," she mumbled, keeping her lunch box and the one Goku had emptied.
"Where did you learn such moves?" he asked. "I doubt that any tutor would teach those." Linlin's defensive mode was starting to bubble up. How did he know she had tutors? Not many people know that. It wasn't that a big of a secret, but she somehow felt invaded.
"Our Uncle Seth taught us a some tricks a few summers back," Linlin confided. "He's in the army. Actually, I want to be in the army myself."
"Really now…" Jei said, mentally taking down notes. His case may still be in pieces, but just maybe, these bits would fit somewhere. He wasn't sure why Linlin of all people… but he had a gut feeling. "Why the interest?"
Linlin shrugged. "I don't know….ever since I was little, I just wanted to…." She told him. "Don't you ever get that feeling? To like something for no reason at all?" Jei was slightly taken aback. There was a very strong passion when she said those words.
BRIIIIIIINGGGG!
She stood up. "I'll see you around then." She gave him a slight bow and left, leaving him alone with his possible clues.
"Just because, huh?"
Science period…
"Okay class," their stout teacher began. "To your groups." When she saw that Goku didn't move, she assigned him to the third group, Maria Ingram's group.
Maria rolled her eyes. Why did she have to get stuck with Linlin's cousin? As if having both of them as her classmates wasn't bad enough! Linlin didn't have a care in the world and was always sleeping in class and now, mister always hungry comes along. As the lesson progressed, they had to test a chemical and it's effectivity against plant pests. She let the smarts of their group work it out… their grades would all be the same anyway. When her group-mate handed her the bottle of chemical to pour, she looked at it with disgust and handed it to the person beside her. "You do it."
"Okay," Maria gasped when she realized who the person was. "Am I supposed to drink this?"
"Goku! No!" Maria screeched, but it was too late… Goku had drunk the liquid. Everyone else watched with bated breath.
Goku burped, then smiled. "Mmm, yummy,"
Everyone stared in disbelief. What the heck was his stomach made out of? Titanium? Almost everyone sighed in relief with the knowledge that Goku was all right. But one can't help but wonder… was he even human?
Linlin wasn't sure she could still breathe. She was really reconsidering about trying to convince her mom to let Goku stay at home. This was all too much! She watched as their chemistry teacher lecture Goku. Maybe she still had time to sleep…
Gojyo sighed as he wandered around the house. He had just finished roaming outside, and now, he was exploring the underground garage. It was quite dark and he tripped on something, starting a domino effect. A series of clangs and crashes ensued, ending the whole mess with a layer of thick dust. "cough Ow, ow owwww," he muttered, touching his forehead. He surveyed what he could of the mess. Mrs. Kazuya wasn't going to be happy…
"Gojyo!" Hakkai called out from the staircase. "Are you all right?"
"Peachy," he mumbled and got up. Lights blared from above and Gojyo stared at what was before him. A jet-black limousine, a dark blue BMW, and a red Mitsubishi. He rubbed his eyes, thinking he might be seeing an illusion. Nope. He wasn't. The cars seemed to have been unused for quite a while for a fair layer of dust covered them. He didn't notice that the hood of the Mitsubishi was destroyed due to the domino effect earlier. He looked them over and found something covered at the corner of the garage. He took off the cover to find three brand new motorbikes underneath. He whistled. "Wow…"
"I see you found the cars," Mrs. Kazuya said, following after Hakkai and looked at the ruined Mitsubishi. She had a gleam in her eyes that he didn't like at all. She turned to Hakkai. "Hakkai, tell Hakuryu he's on vacation starting today."
Goku entered the detention room with Linlin. He was as surprised as her to find the room full, with only two seats left for them. Even Jei was there and waved a 'hello' to both of them. He noticed that Linlin was red. Odd, it wasn't that warm… They went to their seats, doing their best not to make a sound. It was his first time at detention and he was curious. When he learned that people don't do anything in detention, he looked around, several familiar faces and a few new ones. He was starting to get bored already, and the silence was starting to lull him to sleep.
WHACK!
"Itai!"
"No sleeping."
"Mou."
Maria stepped out of the school with a flare, and looked out for her chaperone. But what greeted her was something she least expected. A sleek limousine was parked at the entrance – and it wasn't hers. Whose was it? She waited with her friends to see who owned that luxurious looking car. Unfortunately, it wasn't who she expected either…. Linlin.
"Here they come!" Mrs. Kazuya exclaimed. "Get to your post, Gojyo!"
Gojyo sighed in defeat. He obligingly stepped out of the limousine, wearing a chaperone's outfit, complete with all the necessary paraphernalia. He tried to hide his face with the cap, but humiliation was inevitable.
"G-gojyo!" it was the saru's voice… he's gonna get it now…."What the heck are you wearing?"
"Shut up and get in the car…."
"BWAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"Stop it, you stupid monkey!" he finally looked up and realized that several students were staring at them. He turned red and opened the door for Linlin, Sanzo and Goku. When the three were in, he closed their door, seated himself in the passenger seat and slammed his door shut.
"Mom, why did you use the limo?" Linlin demanded, she knew her mother well, and this was very unlike her. "I don't need a chaperone."
"Oh, I'm sorry dear…" her mom began. "Hakkai will take the BMW instead."
"Mom…."
"It's just a punishment for Gojyo… he broke your dad's Mitsubishi."
"Makes sense," Sanzo butted in. "But usually it's Goku who causes mishap."
"That's not true!" Goku complained.
"You droopy-eyed monk!" Gojyo said, turning from his seat at the front. "How dare you compare me to this saru?"
"Maa, maa! Stop it you guys!" Hakkai intervened as he drove. He was also wearing a uniform. "Mind your manners, Gojyo, or your punishment won't be lifted." He glanced at the rear view mirror, searching for Linlin. "I hope Goku didn't give you much trouble…"
"Oh, no… he was just fine today," Linlin answered sarcastically. "He got whacked twenty times in Philosophy, impressed our coach to high heavens, slept through History, put the cafeteria out of business, drank an experimental liquid, and awarded himself two weeks of detention."
Hakkai laughed sheepishly. "Oh well… that's typical Goku!"
"Aaa! That was my piece of pie!" Goku yelled, trying to grab it from Gojyo. "Get your own piece!"
"Your slice looks bigger than mine…" Gojyo answered. "And besides…. This is your fifth helping of dessert!"
"But I'm still hungry!"
TZIIIING! TZIING!
Goku and Gojyo jumped at the sound, and stared at Sanzo's gun. "Eh? I thought that was confiscated!" Goku exclaimed.
"I got it back…. What else would stop you two if I didn't have it?"
"Well, it wasn't my fault! He started it!" Gojyo pointed at Goku.
"Did not!"
TZIIING! TZIIING! TZIING!
"If you won't stop, the next bullet will definitely go through your heads!"
The two gulped and continued with the meal quietly, acting uniformly, as if in the military. Hakkai laughed and turned to Mrs. Kazuya. "Mrs. Kazuya… I don't quite understand… you are quite rich, but you don't have a single servant."
"We are quite in the new generation now," Mrs. Kazuya answered. "We're against slavery. And besides, it's good opportunity for the kids to learn to work with household chores… You'll never know where you'll end up in life…. You may be up now, but what about tomorrow? No one can predict what will happen. Why, no one even knows who you're going to end up calling your companions."
Hakkai nodded in agreement and looked out the window, at the moon peeking behind the clouds. He somehow remembered Yaone for a fleeting moment, before being drawn back to reality. Somehow, everything that was happening to them felt nostalgic, and at some point, worrisome. This wasn't their world, and he didn't like what was happening to it.