Summer Snow Rebirth
Chapter Three: School Life
When Monday rolled around, Linlin went to school flanked by Goku, Sanzo and Hakkai. The two older men were volunteered by the Kazuya family to teach at the school, while Goku was officially made a student in the same class as Linlin. As they were detailed, Goku was Linlin's cousin who would be staying in town for a while and Sanzo was his guardian. She led the trio to the principal's office before making her way to their classroom.
Upon entering the classroom, she immediately spotted Mayumi and Mili with their completed project. A chill went over her back, realizing what she forgot to do the previous Friday. "You didn't come back last Friday, and we couldn't get ahold of you! What happened?" Mili asked, showing their completed project.
"Oh my god I am so sorry!" Linlin exclaimed, scratching her head, quickly thinking of something. "Uhm, my cousin and some of his friends suddenly visited and they'll be staying a while and I had to help my mom fix things up for them." Linlin explained, looking apologetic, realizing she had forgotten to keep in touch about their project due to consecutive urgent matters in the house. She looked at their project. "It looks great though!"
Mili beamed. "Thanks! I made the finishing touches! Linlin glanced at Mayumi in askance, the redhead nodded.
Before they could discuss further, their homeroom teacher had entered the room, followed by Goku. As the class settled down, the teacher spoke up.
"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. Goku didn't look bad at all with the school uniform. 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 was the least bit pleased. 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…..
Whack! Whack!
A few students were hit in the head with his paper fan outnof nowhere, Sanzo's veins looking they're about to pop from his forehead.
Linlin looked at her watch. "Ten seconds in the classroom and he already tries to discipline everyone…" she rolled her eyes. "Great."
A group of students gathered around Sanzo and started to pelt him with more questions, as if the others were not "taken down".
"You have a chakra… are you a monk?"
"Why do you give a damn?"
"Mr. Sanzo, please, your language.." the teacher begged meekly. "Anyway, I'll leave you in his care." The old teacher left with the others waving out to him, the others following outside to have a few last words.
"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…."
"….Not everyone who does bad things is evil. This is where morality turns into a grey area. But, whatever the law imposes, you will carry the sin in your life, until your next one. It's up to you how to carry these sins." He said then brought out his paper fan, hitting the sleeping Goku with it.
"Ow! 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.
Meanwhile, in another class a few rooms down the hall, Hakkai busied himself teaching math according to curriculum. Writing up an example, he felt a projectile being thrown at him, deftly catching it without looking. It was a piece of crumpled paper. He stopped writing and looked around the class. There were sounds of surprise at his reflexes, and he opened the ball. It showed a caricature of him and the word "faggot" underneath.
"Oh my, my. That's not very nice. Though this caricature is very nicely made!" He smiled. "May I know who threw this?" He asked nicely. Some students eagerly pointed at the green-haired student in the middle of the class who looked at him with his legs up on his desk with a smug expression.
"Got a problem with the truth, fag?" The boy said, obviously trying to rile up Hakkai. The man walked over to the boy's table, gently setting down the crumpled paper.
"If I were gay, is there anything wrong with it? Does it make me any less of a capable teacher?" He asked, his expression unchanging, waiting for an answer.
Realizing he was cornered, the boy slowly got up on his desk and tried to throw a dirty kick at Hakkai which the man deftly blocked, making the kid slip off and fall on the floor. There were yelps of surprise and concern as the boy slowly got up.
"Oh dear, are you okay?" Hakkai asked genuinely concerned. He didn't mean to make a scene. The boy still tried to attack him and to subdue him, Hakkai caught the fist and folded the boy's arm behind him. "I suggest you stop this behavior. I don't want to hurt you." Hakkai said in a low voice, before turning to the class. "I'm afraid the lesson is over for the day, class. I'll have to make a trip to the principal's office with your classmate." Leading the boy by his hold, the two were out the door and off to the principal's office.
Next for 2-A 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.
On the other side of the field by the fence, Goku sat surrounded by boys who bombarded him with questions.
"Are your parents anime fans?"
"Um…."
"Is that gold on your head?"
"I don't know. I think so?"
"Is Linlin your cousin?"
"Huh?"
"Where'd you get your contact lenses?"
"Contact lenses?" Goku gave it a little more thought. "Are they edible?" The person seemed more confused.
"Are you related to our Philosophy teacher?"
"He's my guardian." Out of all the questions they asked him, it was the only one he was actually confident with. The questioning was put on hold as the boys spotted the girls on the obstacle course.
"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. Kicking Gojyo last time exhibited great agility, that's for sure, and it wasn't a fluke. 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 THE FOOD!"
"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 backflip at the end. "Whoa! That was amazing!" 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, impressed.
"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 older than him. 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 caught his attention.
"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 2-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. "Yes sir!" he looked back to bid goodbye to his new friend, but he was gone. "Huh? Where'd he go?"
"GOKU!"
"Coming!"
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 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.
Their next class was History and Linlin decided to skip it, sneaking up to the roof top. She had a quiet space in a specific corner where people wouldn't immediately see you if they weren't really looking. Settling herself there, she was about to doze off when someone peeked at her location.
"I knew that figure was familiar."
That voice.
"Jei!" Linlin exclaimed. She turned to the voice, seeing Jei walk towards her.
"Why are you here alone?" he asked, then smiled. "Can I stay here with you?"
"Suit yourself." Linlin answered a little warily.
"I'm not in any position to ask you why you're skipping class, because obviously, I'm skipping mine too." Jei stated, sitting on the floor in a respectable distance.
"You're part of the school security group, I doubt you're really skipping class." Linlin noted. "The question is, what do you want?"
Jei shrugged and smiled. He should have known better than to make lame excuses with someone like her. "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, touching her fringe.
"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 with the way he was asking.
"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? I'd die not being part of it." Jei was slightly taken aback. There was a very strong passion when she said those words.
BRIIIIIIINGGGG!
The bell for lunch time had rung, and she needed to get to Goku. 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?"
"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. "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. Sipping from her juice box, she looked at Goku, incredulous. "WHAT?"
"He was locked up in Mount Gogyo for 500 years,"
Linlin turned to see Sanzo still sporting his paper fan. "500 years? Is this some elaborate prank? Tell me you're 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 endless pit of a boy by the ear. "I'll give it back after we deal with the cafeteria staff."
"Take your time," Linlin said. When the two were out of sight.
x-x-x-x-x
The afternoon classes started with their Chemistry class where they were tasked into mixing chemicals and reach a specific result. "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 its effectivity against plant pests. She let the smarts of their group work it out… their grades would all be the same anyway. When her groupmate 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. It wasn't even the last for the day.
Back at the Kazuya Residence, Gojyo had finished the last of the repairs from the cat attack that Friday. He had checked in with Mrs. Kazuya and asked if he could roam around nearby and decided to head for the playground a few blocks away. It was a slightly cloudy afternoon, and no kids were around at the time. He figured that their parents were having them indoors in case it rained. He plopped himself onto one of the higher swings and was about to take out a cigarette when a boy and a girl ran into view.
"Ah, the swing's occupied by a delinquent!" the little boy said, pointing at him.
"Oh noo, what are we gonna do? I want to be on the swings!" the little girl said. The boy immediately got a small stick and charged at Gojyo, poking his legs gently.
"Shoo, delinquent, shoo!"
Gojyo felt both amused and annoyed, but he knew he was in the way for the kids and stood up. "Alright alright, I'll move, you got me." He raised his arms in mock surrender and moved to leave the park.
"Hey uncle, can you swing us?" asked both kids, realizing they didn't have enough strength to swing too high.
"Call me big brother and you have a deal." Gojyo muttered, walking back behind the kids.
"Ehhh, but you're too tall to be a big brother." Commented the little girl, wiggling her legs.
"It has nothing to do with height!" he started them off gently so they could swing at the same time. The kids started laughing, giggling, asking to be pushed higher and higher. "Hey, I can't force the swings too much, it might break!"
"Look at this I can fly!" The boy suddenly declared, standing up on the swing chair, feeling the wind in his hair and clothes.
"Hey! That's not safe!" Gojyo yelled but after barely getting the words out, the swing's chain snapped to one side, throwing the kid off the swing. Quick on his feet, Gojyo jumped and caught the kid and landed him safely on the ground. Relieved, he stood up and was immediately hit by the girl's swing seat on the chin, knocking him down. Raising his head, he was rewarded by a kick on the face with the child's returning motion. Jostled in every way possible, Gojyo managed to hold the swing and made it stop.
Both kids were now crying, his ears rang, and he couldn't curse a single word out loud. Massaging his forehead, he felt a bit of blood running down the side of his head. "Oh this is just great…"
"Oh my goodness! What happened here?" the unknown voice made Gojyo turned, seeing a brown-haired young lady looking confused and concerned for all their sakes. She seemed to be the one in charge of them. "Caleb, Riley, are you kids okay?" she immediately checked on the kids for injuries, finding none, she hugged them both trying to make sense of what happened.
Recovering enough, Gojyo sat up properly and addressed the woman. "I was sitting on the swings, and they rightly shooed me off, then asked me to swing them as high as possible." He pointed at the broken swing where Caleb had been.
The woman somehow figured out the rest of the story and giggled. "Oh dear, I'm so sorry for the predicament you found yourself in!" the woman said, not hiding her amusement, but she was apologetic. "Thank you for keeping the kids safe. In the least, let me help you get patched up." She stood up, ushering the kids with her to a nearby daycare. Gojyo quietly followed, holding his head. "Oh, my name is Lottie, by the way." The woman introduced.
"Sha Gojyo." He muttered. He would have gotten a one-liner or two, but he was in a terrible mood. He was led to the teacher's station and sat on a chair that was too small for his long form. Making do, he let the woman check the cut and clean it up. The woman giggled again. "You seem to be in a good mood." He muttered.
"No, it's just that the kids are watching you." She pointed out. Gojyo turned to his left, seeing a small group of 5 to 6 kids gawking at him. They were probably amazed at how a person can be as tall as him.
"Eat your vegetables, sleep early, and listen to your teacher. You'll be as tall as me in no time." He said good-naturedly, grinning at the kids who ooohed and aahhhed. "And, even if you get hurt, you'll get better quickly- ow ow ow!" his bravado was interrupted by the application of antiseptic and ointment before a small gauze patch.
Lottie breathed a sigh of relief and gently patted the first aid job she did. "All done!" she said cheerfully.
"You're not gonna kiss his booboo, teacher?" asked one of the kids innocently.
"Hey hey, there's no need for that.." Gojyo muttered, and was caught off-guard when the woman complied, gently kissing Gojyo's forehead.
"There, there, you'll be all better soon!" Lottie singsonged, smiling at the man. The kids sang along and went on their way playing.
Gojyo was red, uncertain if he should feel flattered or to let the earth swallow him whole.
"You aren't from around here, are you?" Lottie commented, eyeing his features.
"A-ah, yeah, I'm not.." Gojyo trailed off. He didn't want to explain how complicated this all was. "I'm a friend of someone in the area, we're just visiting for a few weeks."
"Oh, so where are you staying currently?" Lottie inquired, preparing to set the kids for going home.
"The Kazuya Residence, a few blocks from here."
"Oh! That place! I know Mrs. Kazuya, I used to babysit her kids when she and her husband had to be away." she looked at Gojyo. "Can you stay here until all the kids have been picked up? I'll join you on your walk back. I haven't spoken to Mrs. Kazuya in a while."
"Hm? Sure, no problem.." Gojyo said, then stood up. "But if it's all the same to you, I'd like to stay outside, where I can stand. My legs are cramping up." Scratching his head, he proceeded to wander outside, reading the quotes on the wall and studying the paintings.
The parents came and went, and he was getting a lot of strange looks from them, probably because of his hair. He felt irritated but he knew he couldn't do anything about it. Eventually, the kids' numbers dwindled to the last two, which was Caleb and Riley.
"Dad's late again.." Caleb muttered sadly. He looked at Gojyo. "Hey, uncle.. will you be here again tomorrow?"
Gojyo smiled and knelt down in front of the boy. "I'm afraid I can't be.." he said honestly. He didn't want the parents to feel threatened to come back here with him around. "This uncle just happened to have free time today." He patted the boy's head. "And besides.. we might get into more trouble if I'm always around, being a "delinquent" and all." He said jokingly. He turned to Lottie. "Although, I wouldn't mind getting more booboo kisses. Heh" he winked, making the woman blush.
"Oh dear, what a smooth-talker." Lottie mumbled with a giggle, spotting the dad of the kids and waving to him. After exchanging stories with the dad and explaining what happened, the woman closed the daycare for the day and the two were soon on their way.
"So, is being a daycare teacher your full time job?" Gojyo inquired, pocketing his hands, glancing at the woman beside him.
"For now, I suppose." She answered. "I'm still in college, but I plan to take up Law soon so I'm saving up for the expenses for more studying."
"I see." Gojyo moved his hands behind his head. "Must be nice. Studying's not quite my forte." He admitted.
"It's never too late to want to." Lottie answered. Turning the corner, they were in sight of the house. "How's Linlin been doing?" she asked.
"Hm? That weird princess?" Gojyo asked, surprised she'd be concerned. "She seems okay, a little violent but I guess that was my fault for teasing her too much." The woman nodded.
"She was close to Alex, their brother who died last year.." she trailed off. "I just kind of wanted to know how she's been dealing with it."
"Huh, I see.. You can ask Mrs. Kazuya yourself." Reaching the gate, Gojyo rang the bell and the gates slowly opened to let them in. Lottie didn't comment on his statement.
"Lottie! It's so nice to see you! What a surprise!" Mrs. Kazuya greeted, giving the other woman a gentle hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Did you just come all this way to return a lost guest?" she inquired, looking at Gojyo with a gauze patch on his head.
Lottie laughed. "It's kind of a long story, Juniper. May I come in?"
Mrs. Kazuya let them both in. Feeling awkward, Gojyo excused himself to the backyard to finally get a few sticks to smoke in peace.
x-x-x-x-x-x
Goku entered the detention room with Linlin. He was surprised to find Hakkai on duty for detention, and there was only one other boy in the room. He wasn't familiar with him, but his green hair was very striking. 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.
A chair creaked, and soon the green-haired boy was in a chair right in front of Hakkai. He seemed to wanted to talk to him about something. Linlin and Goku watched quietly. Hakkai looked up from his book. "Hm? Yes Gab?"
The boy scratched his head. "First of all, thank you for not saying my full name." the boy said, not looking at Hakkai directly. "Second, I want to apologize for my poor behavior in class today." Hakkai sensed that this would be a personal conversation.
"One moment please." He said, addressing the two other kids in the room. "Ms. Kazuya, Mr. Goku, you can leave detention now. I'll let your teachers know that you have served enough time for today."
"Eh? Won't you get in trouble for that?" Goku asked.
"Well, I am a teacher, so I can find a way." Hakkai said, waving them off. Once the door closed, Hakkai focused back on Gab. "You were saying?"
The boy scratched his head again, clasping his hands together. "You scare me."
"Hm? Why is that?"
"Your smile.. I can see that it's mostly fake." Gab was shaking slightly. "I grew up in an orphanage when I was much younger, and.. the people there.. they only seemed nice when there were others around. I learned early to look out for those people, otherwise, I'd get hurt."
Hakkai was silent, slowly closing his book and gently putting it down on the table. "Would you mind if I sat across you instead, without the table? I feel uncomfortable being blocked by it in such a serious conversation." When the boy nodded, he gently got up, moving a chair in a respectful distance from the boy. He sat and leaned forward. "Thank you for telling me this, and trusting me with your story.." he began, looking at the boy. "I'm afraid I can't change how I am, but I want you to know that I understand part of it. I used to live in an orphanage too, so I can see how it must have been like for you."
Gab's eyes showed a bit of surprise, then his own understanding. He nodded. "Things got better when my Uncle Stewart found me after he started becoming a priest in this town. He took me in and adopted two others"
"I see."
"But it didn't change how I could see how adults really are. I could tell if they were dangerous. I've had teachers in the past who were despicable, even if the others didn't see it. I'd pick a fight to show their true colors, and they'd leave. But you didn't, and out of all of them, you knew what to do."
Hakkai smiled quietly. "I've gotten a lot of practice, dealing with challenging youths." He remarked. He sat straight. "Well, Gab, as your teacher, I won't ask you to like me, but I do hope we won't have a repeat behavior of today." The boy nodded. "Since it was the principal's decision to have you on detention for a week, I suggest you start bringing something you like to do to pass the time starting tomorrow. As long as it's something that's allowed in the school and is quiet to do, you can bring it. I'll let the principal know."
The boy nodded gratefully, going back to his seat, bringing out a mechanical trinket and started tinkering with it until the bell rang 30 minutes later.
x-x-x-x-x-x-x