The theme song for the chapter is Silent Minority by Kashitarō Itō.

Arc I: Making a Name
Part 3: Silent Minority

Thursday, February 11, 2021 7:31 AM

I'm sitting in the taxi after an exhausting –not necessarily long– night of unpacking, reading science articles and journal publications on my phone while I wait to get to my destination. It's a bit of a ways out, being a thirty-minute ride into downtown Tokyo where the administrative office is located, but that's the price I must pay to ensure I get into the school I want to be in. In the front of the taxi, the driver appears to be jamming out to some music from a J-metal band, though given I don't hear any audio from the speakers in the back of the taxi, it's not a stretch to assume the sound system is configured to only use the front speakers.

As the taxi turns onto one of the main roads on its way to MEXT headquarters, I put away my phone and open the manila folder sitting on the cool leather of the seat beside me, performing one final review of the content I've organized. I look through the copies of the thesis I've printed on reasons for my acceptance into the school −I don't have to worry about having a copy for myself, since I've already memorized everything on the document− and finger the thumb drive that contains the empirical data I've gathered in the form of various PowerPoint and Excel items.

A moment later, the G-forces of the car braking lightly push me back into my seat, and I take a short breath to refocus myself. I quickly thank the driver and wish him a pleasant day before exiting the vehicle and straightening my tie as I enter the building. I walk up to the receptionist, who is busy typing away at a keyboard. "Salutations and good afternoon, sir. My name is Damien Thompson, and I've been scheduled for an eight AM meeting with the Higher Education Bureau."

The receptionist looks up at me, smiling thinly. "Of course, sir. Let me look that up in the system, one moment." He types away at his keyboard for a few moments, before turning back to me. "Passport and identification for verification, please." I pull both items out and give them to him, and he takes them to a scanner nearby, registering them into the system before he returns to the computer, checking the information over, no doubt. After a moment, he turns to what I recall as being a badge printer, inputs more information, then turns back to me. "If you'll step over to the green line on the floor to the left of the desk, I'll take a picture for the badge."

Ah, so he's making a visitor badge. Makes sense, this is a government building after all. I follow the receptionist's instructions, holding a straight face as the flasher flickers and the shutter snaps. I step back over to the other side of the desk as he turns to the badge printer and pulls a lanyard with a retractable cable from out of his desk. He grabs the newly made badge, stamps an ovular hole at the top, then attaches it to the lanyard and hands it to me. "Here's your visitor badge, Thompson-san, good for ninety minutes from the start of your meeting. If an extension needs to be made, you'll come back here to schedule a follow-up meeting. The Bureau's offices are on the seventeenth floor and another receptionist will log your visit once you're there. Elevator's over there, pass through the security checkpoint and you'll be good to go. Have a nice day."

"Thank you. Don't work too hard," I return kindly as I head over to the checkpoint, where the guard examines my person with a metal detector and a pat-down, checks my identification a second time, and has me sign the visitor log. Once that matter has been squared away, I'm allowed to proceed through to the elevators. I press the call button for one and wait for it to arrive, then step in. I press the close button and then the button for the seventeenth floor, and the elevator smoothly delivers me to my destination. As the doors open, I pass by none other than Nana Nakagawa on my way into the lobby, and as much as I want to stop her and say something, I know there are more important things to attend to, so I refocus and head to the receptionist's desk, where the woman looks up, greeting me with a smile.

"Hello there, Thompson-san. If you'll wait a moment, I will call the director and the board and ensure they're ready for you." I nod curtly, the nerves of what I'm about to do finally catching up to me as I take a few deep breaths to calm myself.

As she talks on the phone, I think over my presentation. Okay, you know what you have to do, Damien. The eSports portfolio is up first, followed by my perfect grades and intelligence tests, then the explanation over the benefits of co-ed versus separate study in a big city like Tokyo ‒ which I'm honestly already certain they're aware of, but have just never had the motivation to PURSUE. Luckily, the money will be the final key to that. I take one final deep breath and refocus as the receptionist hangs up the phone.

"Alright, they're ready for you in room 1726 now, Thompson-san."

I nod. "Thank you for your assistance, it's greatly appreciated." The receptionist nods with a smile as I turn to walk down the hallway and stop briefly at the door to 1726 before opening it. I close the door gently behind me, and turn around to be greeted with a large meeting room with the lights dimmed. A projector is mounted on the ceiling and points toward the far wall, and four men in black suits and one in a formal kimono sit at the meeting table. I individually greet each of them as I make my way to my seat.

As I sit down, the first man stands up. "My name is Kobayashi Nakamoto, and I am the chairman and director of the Higher Education Bureau. A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Thompson-san. Now, according to our ledger, you're here to propose a change to the Nijigasaki Academy school system? I'm sure you realize that is no small ask, so I hope you've come well-prepared to defend yourself."

I nod. "Of course, Nakamoto-sama." I pass the folder containing my various documents over to him, keeping my thumb drive handy since it's not quite needed yet, and he begins looking at the documents as I start my explanation. "My vision for Nijigasaki Academy, being a large and prestigious preparatory institution for education as students prepare for university, is to allow students of all backgrounds and identities to enroll, utilizing the diverse and well-known club system the Academy is known for to encourage growth and excellence. I would begin by introducing various systems to allow co-ed students to attend the Academy, introducing them to clubs and extracurriculars that would allow them to help cultivate their talents and knowledge, while easing the current population, student or otherwise, into the new ecosystem."

"That is an interesting opening proposition, Thompson-san. I trust the data you've given us backs up the veracity of this claim?" Nakamoto-sama responds.

I nod again. "Of course. If you'll take notice of the first document in the folder I've provided, it is a research study performed in 2018 that concludes all previously known concepts of memorization, retention, and recall are unfounded, and that new methods need to be understood. In the study, you'll notice a comprehensive public survey was conducted that asked teachers of various systems around the world whether they believed in the system they had been taught as children themselves, and ninety-seven percent of them claimed that they do hold said belief. This proves that the way we teach, and the way we learn, need to be modified to better suit how children adapt to the world as they develop."

Nakamoto-sama is silent for a moment as he nods before he passes some of the documents to his colleague. This man, who introduced himself privately as Sakane Tōho before the meeting began, stands, and clears his throat. "I primarily handle the financial assets and budget for various institutions across the Kantō region, including Nijigasaki Academy, Thompson-san. Your budget report is rather bold in its claim that more funds need to be allocated. How would you achieve this, and how would said funds be distributed amongst the various sects in the Academy?"

"The funds are for the purpose of increasing the educators' resources so they can discover and implement these new teaching methods, as well as for infusing the club ecosystem with sorely needed contributions. Nijigasaki Academy, in my research, excels in most areas, but the single point of struggle for the institution has always been its extracurricular budget due to having so many different clubs ‒ which, at the time of my research, numbered almost one hundred and thirty. My goal in this endeavor is to give both students and teachers significantly more breathing room in the course of their normal duties to implement and practice new systems they'd otherwise not consider due to the lack of funds."

Tōho-sama nods and sits down, passing some more documents to the third member of the meeting, Daisuke Akijō. Akijō-sama stands as well, examining the documents he's been provided, and turns to me, a sharp and calculating gaze in his eyes. "Thompson-san, one of the requests you've made should this proposal be accepted is to be inducted into the Academy's Student Council at the beginning of the next enrollment term. Is there any reason why you would make such a poignant and blatant request when you are already aware the students elect their own leaders, and no doubt aware of the backlash this may cause in your stated goal of slowly introducing more students? Were this to come to light, you would lose any trust and goodwill you might have forged up to that point."

I consider the question for a moment. "I knew that might be a conundrum, so I've made it a point to elect on the document that that outcome is entirely optional and can be stricken from the record if you deem it dangerous enough, which you certainly appear to, Akijō-sama. The purpose was to help direct the funds throughout the various sects in the Academy using my own financial management experience, as well as to help achieve the brightest future for the Academy. However, I'm no stranger to dedication, research, and leadership, so should it be necessary I'm entirely willing to tackle the task of becoming a member of Nijigasaki's Student Council the difficult way."

The fourth man, Tsubasa Tenjō, clears his throat, and Akijō-sama sits back in his chair. "May I inquire as to the nature of this management experience you speak of, Thompson-san?"

"Of course, Tenjō-sama. My father was a regional director for a large company in the States for a time before he died. After his death, his assets were passed to me. He also allowed me to manage finances by helping him to invest in the stock market at a young age, so I'm familiar with investment, ROI, disbursement, and other such tasks associated with managing one's financial portfolio. My father died in 2018 so I've been managing his estate, which is now my own, for the past two and a half years. And in the time that has passed between then and now, I've only succeeded in the growth of the overall portfolio. The last set of documents show my stock activity for the calendar year of 2020, ending December 31st, when I began selling the stocks I possessed as I planned my move here to Japan."

Tenjō-sama nods and starts looking through the documents. I briefly catch a glimpse of the surprise I had expected to see when one of these men read how much my portfolio was worth, but he schools his features so quickly I wonder if it had even been there at all. "This portfolio is indeed quite extensive, and very well managed. I can acknowledge your strengths in managing your investments, so your claims of increasing the budget do hold some truth to them. I must ask though; do you intend for these expenses to be disbursed out of your own coffers?"

I nod stoutly. "That I do. Given my sizable wealth, which you've now borne witness to, I'm more than willing to personally invest in the development of the next generation, and of those that come after. The world is venturing into dark territory, and we need capable, compassionate, and devoted leaders to help drive us away from our seemingly inevitable doom. Those leaders will not simply appear from thin air, and we must do what is right when we have the means and the opportunity, otherwise our civilization will one day fall to ruin."

Tenjō-sama nods and ponders my argument for a moment. "I have nothing more to add. Maeboshi-dono, what say you? You've simply observed this procedure without making your opinion heard."

The fifth man in the traditional kimono, Akisame Maeboshi, thinks to himself for a long moment. "I feel there is nothing to add. I've seen the boy's conviction in his presentation. He upholds strong beliefs, supplants strong arguments, and provides a substantial backbone of proof that he may hold more answers than those who have tried before. His character is admirable for a boy his age, and he has some spine to match his pedigree. That is something most young men sorely lack in these times."

The other members of the board nod their heads in agreement. Nakamoto-sama stands once more. "Thompson-san, the Bureau will consider your proposal and contact you with our verdict at a later date, but not before the beginning of the next academic term. I trust you remember the way out?" I nod. "Excellent. In that case, you may take your leave now. You've given us much to contemplate." I silently nod, stand, and bow to the men, before calmly walking out of the meeting room.

I check out with the receptionist near the elevator, then retrieve my belongings from the security guard and walk out of the building. As I take a breath of the relatively fresh air ‒fresh compared to the United States, at any rate‒ I pull out my phone briefly as I consider using a rideshare service like I used to get here. Decisions, decisions… Nah, you know what? Walking to the station will do me some good, and it'll give me time to think about the next couple months. Also what sensei mentioned about getting some therapy… Loath as I am to admit it, maybe it is something I need. There were a lot of things I had to deal with that I haven't moved on from, and that's to say nothing of the damage my parents did in my past life.

Thoughts somewhat scattered, I put my phone back in my pocket and turn to start making the walk to the train station for the Hibiya Line, but before I can get very far, I'm stopped by a hand on my shoulder, and turn around with a frown to find Nana Nakagawa staring at me. "You're Thompson-san, right? What business do you have with Nijigasaki Academy? I'm sure you realize it's a girls' school."

I school my expression into a flat gaze, not giving away any tells as to my thoughts. "I apologize, I didn't have a speech prepared to give to people I don't know about Nijigasaki and my vision of the future for it, and possibly a vision of the future of all of Japan. Also, I gave all the documents I had to prove my standpoint to the Bureau during my meeting so I unfortunately can't show them to you either. I'm betting money on the fact you're either a student at Niji now, or intend on becoming one soon?"

Nana's frown deepens, and she takes a few moments to answer. "I suppose you could say that. Though I won't claim to know why you're doing what you are, you know it's most likely not going to happen, right?"

I scoff, rolling my eyes. "If I only did what people told me I could or was able to do, I'd have died in my cradle. My entire existence is built on pushing and breaking through boundaries, and proving naysayers who don't know any better wrong. Not to say you are one, it's just very common in my experience."

Nana hums to herself. "No, I wouldn't say I am, but I just wanted to make sure you're well aware that you're going against the system itself, so even if you could do it, I doubt it would go very far."

"Then how about a friendly wager? One of academic merit, I would say," I propose.

Nana looks askance at me, an eyebrow daintily raised in intrigue. "And what would this proposal be?"

"Let's assume I get past the Bureau and my plan goes forward ‒ I get into the school. That alone would be evidence enough of my conviction, but as an added justification, I'll take the school's exams and the national mock exams, and I'll rank in the top ten in both. If I cannot do that, I will gladly tender my immediate resignation from the program."

Nana laughs lightly. "A very bold claim, especially since you getting into the top ten in the national mock exams implies you'd rank first at the school, and I'll see to it that doesn't happen." She thinks to herself for a moment. "So, what would you want from me if you were to win this wager?"

I shake my head with a smile. "I don't need anything, the opportunity to prove my mettle is more than sufficient for me." Besides, what I truly want no one can give me.

Nana nods, unaware of my internal monologue. "Then assuming the Bureau lets you through, I'll see you in the classroom."

I nod. "If you'd excuse me, I still have a rather busy day today. I need to fix some of my equipment that the movers I hired damaged and take care of a few other things besides."

"Then I bid you farewell for now, Thompson-san." Nana departs the area, and I pull my phone back out of the inside of my jacket, opening Brave and typing 'computer parts store' in the search engine. Several results immediately pop up, and I see there's one about a mile away, still within Kasumigaseki. I open my maps, copy and paste the address and start the navigation, taking my Bluetooth earpiece out of my other inside pocket and putting it on to hear the navigation.

I stretch as I step out onto the street, quickly traversing the crosswalk once the light turns green, and begin my hour-long journey. I spend the majority of my time thinking about what else I need to do and how to plan my schedule.

Eventually, as the sun begins to peek over the shorter buildings to signify the late morning, I step into the electronics store. I look around and find the laptop section and quickly make a beeline for it. Need to get a new mobile workstation, my Lenovo is in pretty bad shape. No surprise considering I've had it for almost six years now.

I enter the laptop section and flag down an associate, and they walk over to me. "Good morning, sir, how may I assist you?"

"Yes, I need a new workstation laptop. I currently have a Lenovo workstation, but I've had it for almost six years now and despite the upgrades and maintenance I've given it, it's starting to become incapable of my intended workload."

The associate nods and directs me to a product lookup station, where he shows me several different workstations the store has in its inventory. I look through the catalog and immediately spot the one I want, a DELL Precision 7540. I point this out to the associate. "I'll take this one. Can you please bring it to the counter at the front of the store? I also need to replace the internals for my streaming desktop, so I'll be a little bit."

The associate nods. "Of course, sir, I'll make sure it's brought up to the front. Do you need any assistance with finding the components you need?"

I lightly shake my head. "No, thank you. I already have an idea what I need to get."

The associate nods one more time. "Of course. In that case, when you're ready just ask for Takahashi-san."

I nod one final time and walk away, heading to the back of the store to find my components. I run through the mental checklist in my head. Pretty much everything needs to be replaced, the tower and motherboard especially. Cords should be fine for the most part but I'll buy spares just to cover my bases. Thank the multiverse Rina-san told me the SSDs could be salvaged, otherwise I'd have had to buy a new computer prebuilt and then spend even more money making my modifications, which considering everything going on I simply don't have time to do. I think for a moment longer. ...actually, screw it, it's probably a safer idea to buy new SSDs and have Rina-san repartition the drives and transfer the data. I don't want to risk a hardware failure erasing all my work after getting everything else replaced. I'll pay her to do it if I have to.

Mind made up, I spend the next forty-five minutes picking out all the hardware I need to repair my computer, telling the associates to send them to Takahashi-san at the front of the store, and I head up to the front myself, standing in line. This lasts all of thirty seconds before I see Takahashi-san dealing with a lady who apparently didn't bring enough money to fully cover her purchase. Wouldn't be surprised if she was expecting a discount on her product but came in too late and the discount no longer applies. I walk up to the counter. "Hello again, Takahashi-san. Apologies if I'm intruding but is the lady having an issue with her purchase?"

Takahashi-san seems hesitant to answer, but the lady answers for him. "I think I might have missed the discount on this product." I turn to respond and have to school my features as I see none other than Karin Asaka standing next to me.

After a moment, I nod. "Makes sense, a lot of people forget." I turn to Takahashi-san. "What's the difference between what she brought and the cost of the product?" I look over to view said product and find none other than the exact same workstation laptop I intended on getting.

Karin's eyebrows shoot up in alarm, and she stammers for a moment. "W-What?! Please don't tell me you intend on paying the difference! I don't want you to do that!"

I casually wave her off. "It's of no concern. Besides, I'm purchasing this exact computer myself so I can make a few guesses as to what you might need it for if you could only get it while it was on discount." I turn back to Takahashi-san. "Takahashi-san, have the other associates already brought up the other components I requested?"

"Yes, sir, the components are ready for you. How would you like to receive them?"

I think for a moment. Yeah, I'm not carrying sixty pounds worth of shit all the way to the train station. "Have them shipped to my address. I'll register with the store once we're done helping her."

"Of course sir. Now, as for the difference for her product, you'll be paying 121, 270 yen. Is that acceptable?"

I nod. "Did the lady already pay for what she could?"

The associate nods. "Yes, sir."

I immediately take out my debit card and hold it to the scanner. A moment later, the terminal sounds off, and I enter my PIN. "Alright, it's been approved." I nod. "I've already rung you up on a separate register, sir. If you would."

"Of course, one moment." I take the receipt for Karin's computer and give it to her. "Here you are, miss…?"

Karin realizes I'm asking for a name, and takes the computer. "Asaka Karin. And you are?"

"My name is Damien Thompson. I'm sure you can tell I'm not from Japan, so I'd prefer you refer to me by my first name and only use -san. I'm not comfortable with anything else."

Karin nods. "Well, thank you for this, Damien-san."

I chuckle. "No problem, I used to be in the same circumstances, so I know how much of a struggle it can be. Have a blessed day."

Karin returns the farewell before leaving the store, and I turn back to Takahashi-san. "Alright, let's get this paid for."

The two of us walk over to the other counter, where I can see some other associates putting my items on a cart to take out to one of the delivery drivers. I pull out my black card as Takahashi-san verifies the list of items. He looks up to me. "Alright, sir, the total for your purchase today will be 4,357,650 yen." I nod and hold the card up to the NFC terminal, and it pings.

"Gimme one moment, I know it's going to say it declined, because my credit card company is about to call me to verify the transaction." Takahashi-san nods.

My phone rings almost immediately, and I pull it out to find the company calling me. I answer the phone. "Good morning, Thompson-san. We're calling to verify a transaction on your card in the amount of 4,357,650 yen that was just declined. Were you the one who made this purchase?"

"Yes, I made the transaction. Please enable the card so it goes through."

"Of course, Thompson-san." A few moments later, the receptionist on the other end clears her throat. "You should now be able to proceed with the transaction. Have a wonderful day."

"You as well." I hang up the phone and put it in my pocket, and nod to Takahashi-san. "Alright, we can start over. Should be good to go now."

Takahashi-san nods and rings everything back up. The total appears on the terminal, and I once again hold my card up to it. This time, the purchase goes through, and I put the card back in my wallet as the long receipt prints out. He hands me the receipt and starts typing at the terminal. "Alright, let's get you registered with the store so we can send your products over to your address."

I spend the next couple minutes giving Takahashi-san my phone number and address, and he verifies the information by reading it back to me. "Alright, Thompson-san, you're good to go now. Everything you bought is under a 180-day limited warranty, so if anything happens in that time, just call us back and bring the part and your receipt in and we'll replace it at no charge to you."

I nod. "Thank you for your assistance, Takahashi-san. Have a good rest of your day."

"You as well." Business concluded, I tighten the strap of my new laptop bag so it holds firm to my side and pull my phone back out of my pocket, opening Brave and typing 'therapist near me' into the search engine. I hit search as I step out of the store and turn down the sidewalk, starting the journey back to the train station.

A few minutes into my walk, I hear a voice calling out to me, which at first I don't recognize, but soon enough, I can hear the voice more clearly. "Damien-san!"

I turn around to find Karin leaning over slightly in front of me, trying to catch her breath. "Asaka-san? Is there something you needed?" Then I remember how Karin was in the anime. Oh wait, I think I know where this is going.

Sure enough, once she's done regaining her breath, Karin straightens up and looks around pointedly, as if to convey confusion. "Do you know where we are? I kinda have a bad sense of direction."

I nod. "That's fair. Even GPS isn't all that reliable these days, and given we live in a big city like Tokyo, it's easy to get lost. So where are you trying to get to?"

"I just started living in the apartment complex slash school dorms next to Nijigasaki Academy in Odaiba."

I smile. "Very convenient that you stopped me, then, as I'm heading there myself."

Karin looks askance at me. "Do you live in the apartment complex there?"

I chuckle. "You could say that. Come on, I was on my way to the train station, so you can just follow me there." I put my phone in my pocket. Looks like finding a therapist is going to have to wait until tomorrow. Probably be better to call in and see when one would be available anyways.

Karin smiles at me. "Thanks again for the help, Damien-san. You're very generous."

"Eh, I'm actually a fairly selfish guy, I just don't want other people to have to go through what I did so I contribute where I can. I didn't have it easy growing up."

Karin frowns as we start walking toward the train station. "What do you mean by that?"

I shake my head. "Let's just say the idea of freedom in the US isn't all it's cracked up to be. Freedom doesn't mean anything when you constantly have people in power vying to strip aspects of it away wherever and whenever they can. And the things they do enable a lot of other people to do bad things themselves, so it's a never-ending spiral of animosity and violence."

Karin looks down. "That doesn't sound very pleasant. I don't want to think about it, honestly."

I nod. "And I don't blame you either. I try not to myself. Gotta move on." I clear my throat. "Alright, no more of that dreary nonsense. What are you trying to do as far as a career goes?"

Karin puts a hand to her chin, thinking for a few moments before she hesitantly responds. "Right now, my current goal is to become a model. After that, I'm not sure."

"No real direction. I know how that feels." I think to myself for a moment. "Guess that explains getting the laptop then. I'm guessing you're primarily self-driven at the moment?"

Karin looks surprised. "How'd you know?"

"I happen to be a technology enthusiast, and the workstation laptop you bought is the most powerful one that's currently on the market. Any experienced user picking up a machine that powerful typically uses it for photo and video editing and rendering, so that alone told me that you currently aren't being sponsored and are having to advertise your own talents."

Karin nods, impressed. "You certainly know your stuff. So is that also why you picked your own up?"

I nod. "Yep. I'm a content creator and I'm not always able to be at my main computer, so I need to have something powerful enough to handle what I typically throw at it. Plus, my current workstation is almost six years old and is starting to die on me so it was about time to get a new one."

Karin nods. "What kind of content do you make?"

"I mostly play video games and make content on them. My main game is a strategy sports game called Rocket League." As I finish telling her this, we arrive at the train station, and given I know Karin's currently broke as a result of the computer purchase, I quickly pay for the tickets. "Don't worry about your ticket, you can just pay me back some other time if you feel you need to."

Karin frowns, but doesn't offer any complaints, probably just relieved to be on the way home. "I believe I've heard of that game before, one of my childhood friends used to play it. Or at least a version of it. They said something about eSports, I believe?"

"Ah, so they probably wanted to go pro then. Very difficult ambition. Did they ever make anything of it?" I ask, seeing this as an opportunity to potentially gain valuable intel on upcoming players in the space.

"Hmm… I'm not sure. I haven't talked to them in several months due to my schedule, so I would have to ask. Why do you want to know?" Karin responds.

"I'm actually a pro Rocket League player myself, and I haven't yet fully established my team for competition or found an org to sponsor it so it'd be valuable information to figure out who's contracted right now and who isn't."

Karin looks askance at me. "What exactly does going pro in a video game mean? I think I've heard something about it before but I don't really understand."

"Going pro means you compete in tournaments, train and practice in the game in the same kind of schedule you'd expect from a real-life job, and get paid for it. The biggest competitions can even have cash prizes big enough for you to buy a house off of."

Karin's eyes widen in astonishment. "That's actually possible?! For playing a video game, that sounds more lucrative than most jobs."

I frown slightly. "It can be, depending on how motivated you are and how much work you put in. But just like people who compete in real-life sports, it's not the kind of job you can make a lifelong career out of. The more aware among us players, such as myself, realize that eventually new talent will come up that are better than anything we can do, and when that day comes we won't be able to make good money out of just competing anymore. That's why many professional players turn to content creation, to have an alternate revenue stream so when being a player fails them, they can still support themselves. I'm sure you're aware the entertainment industry monopolizes a certain set of skills that most other facets of society don't see any use for, so it's one of those things where once you start, you have to commit."

Karin nods once again. "I definitely understand that feeling, of being faced with such a choice. It's not easy to do."

"No, it isn't." The train comes to a stop as that thread of conversation finishes. "It's entirely up to you now, Asaka-san, but we can either get off here and walk the Rainbow Bridge back to Odaiba or keep riding the train until we get to Ariake station."

"I'll keep riding the train. It's barely one in the afternoon but I'm exhausted and the day's not even done yet."

I chuckle and grab the handrail. "Fair enough. I have a few things to check on myself, so I may as well not waste time."

A few minutes later, the train pulls into Ariake, and we both get off. It's a fairly simple and comfortably silent walk back to the complex, where, to my surprise, I find Emma standing outside. She waves at Karin to get her attention, flinching slightly when she sees me walking beside Karin. "Damien? What are you doing here?"

"Oh, good tidings, Emma, I wasn't expecting to see you here either. I live here though, so of course I'd come back to my facilities once I'm done with the day's demands."

Emma thinks to herself for a moment, then nods. "Well, I can't argue that. What are you doing with Karin-chan, though?"

I look over to Karin. "You two know each other, Asaka-san?"

Karin chuckles and nods, clearly having not quite expected this turn of events either. It's right before she speaks that I understand why Emma's here, and internally berate myself for having not realized it sooner. "Oh, remember how I mentioned I was going to Nijigasaki Academy?"

"Yes, you did mention it offhand, even though we were talking about something else."

Karin gestures to Emma, who grins sheepishly. "Well, Emma-san and I are roommates in one of the dorms here."

I nod. "Ah, that would explain it. Well, either way, it was nice talking to you."

I prepare to extricate myself from the conversation, but Emma calls out to me. "Wait, Damien!"

I turn back to Emma. "Is there something you needed, Emma?"

"Oh, I just wanted to check and see how things are going what with getting into the school since you're here."

"Ah, okay." I think for a moment. "I think my chances are fairly good at the moment, though you never know what could happen. I had the meeting with MEXT today and they seemed to take the proposal seriously, though I don't know how long it will be until I hear back from the Higher Education Bureau. Probably a few weeks, government institutions tend to drag things like this out."

Emma nods. "Alright. Well- "

"Ah, Mr. Damien!" Whatever Emma was going to say gets cut off as I hear someone else call my name loudly, and I have a good idea who it is based on the lack of honorifics and the casual formality. Sure enough, I turn around with the girls to find Ms. Ayase waving and smiling at me. "Good day, Mr. Damien. I trust your meeting went over well?"

I nod. "It did, and good day to you as well, Ms. Ayase. How goes the restructuring of the building?"

As Ms. Ayase prepares a response, I steal a glance at Karin and Emma, who are looking at the two of us with a confused glance and whispering to themselves. "As you instructed, I've separated everything out according to use cases. The bottom half of the building aside from the basement and very center floor has been flagged as residential spaces, while the top half of the building aside from the roof has been flagged as the student dorms. Unfortunately, there are numerous residents who are not entirely happy about the change, and some have decided to refuse the arrangement, seeing too much trouble in moving their things from one section of the building to another. Predictably this has also delayed the annual fire department certification."

I think to myself about what funds I have available and what I can do to get things moving forward, and come to a snap decision. "As far as any residents that live in the building and don't want to move around go, make an announcement over the PA that I've already hired the moving service, and I'll pay anyone who doesn't already want to move a hundred thousand yen per adult-age resident each, and fund the following weekend for their families to stay outside the building while things get taken care of. As far as the students, tell them I'll write them a blank check for all school-related expenditures that they or their families haven't already covered for the following trimester."

Ms. Ayase blinks several times in shock, before fixing me with an inscrutable gaze. "Mr. Damien, are you absolutely certain of this course of action? You must surely realize the magnitude of your request. Can you truly afford to cover such a far-reaching decision?"

I nod. "Remember I have my own portfolio, and I do my own work in my quarters besides. My finances will recover well enough in due time. I consider this more important for the building's immediate future. Remember that we have a reputation to restore."

Ms. Ayase blinks uncomprehendingly for a moment, before she sighs and nods. "Very well then, Mr. Damien."

"Also, before I forget, I never got around to reviewing the current occupancy list, so when you get a chance, either later today or sometime tomorrow, please have a copy of that sent up to my quarters so I can peruse it."

"Of course. Is there anything else you require of me?"

"No, that will be all, Ms. Ayase. I've unfortunately quite the workload in the coming weeks, so I'm afraid I will have to retire to my quarters for the afternoon. I bid you a good rest of your day."

"You as well, Mr. Damien." Ms. Ayase retires back to her office, and I walk to the main elevator, Karin and Emma following closely behind me…

…at least, that was the plan, but yet another voice calls out from behind me as I prepare to press the elevator call button. "Damien-san! Hello there!"

I turn around to find Ai running energetically towards us, Rina following along slowly behind her. Upon a closer inspection, Rina seems to be a little bit less shy now, so she and Ai must have become friends quite a bit earlier than expected. Not like I'm going to complain about that, of course, as it'll make my main objective quite a bit easier to accomplish once I get into Niji. "Ah, good afternoon, Ai-san, Rina-san. I trust you've been working hard?"

Ai grins excitedly, her bubbly energy prominent. "Yep! We're getting ready to take our final exams and then the entrance exams will be next week! I'm excited to get in and do my best!" Rina meekly nods beside her.

While preparing a response, I consider my current situation. You know, despite the happenstance, this actually works out. I needed to talk to Rina-san about getting my computer fixed up anyway so I can just kill two birds with one stone. "Sounds good. If you wish, you're welcome to join me in my apartment. I've a few things I need to take care of and I was actually going to see about getting some assistance from Rina-san. With proper compensation, of course." I turn back to Karin and Emma. "You two are welcome to join us if you like, though it's perfectly acceptable if you don't."

Emma nods after a moment of thought, then turns to Karin. "What do you think, Karin-san?"

Karin doesn't respond for a moment, but tentatively nods. "If it's alright with you, I suppose I could join."

I nod. "Just be careful to stay out of the movers' way once we go in, I've got them replacing some things that got damaged while I was moving here." We all step into the elevator as it opens, and I press the button for the top floor. I notice Karin daintily raise an eyebrow out of the corner of my eye.

"Wait, why didn't you just do it yourself? From what I've seen, you're plenty strong, right?" Ai asks me.

A good question, but I have a better response. "Because whenever multiple things need to get done, I prefer if they all get done at the same time. I prefer to do things myself if at all possible, the incident with my computer that you witnessed last month being the prime reason why, but if I can't, I don't mind paying a little money to have other people I trust do it for me. Also because I like to keep my schedule clear as often as I can in case an emergency of some kind comes up. You'd be surprised how many things you can get hit with when you're not ready for them."

Ai nods after a moment, her cheery smile returning. "Makes sense to me! I run around and do a lot of different things too, so I get where you're coming from."

The elevator stops and the door opens, and I step out, the girls following behind me. We reach the door to my apartment, and I punch in my entry code. After a moment, the intercom pings and I hear the mechanism unlock, allowing me to open the door. We all step inside and I take off my suit jacket, neatly folding it and resting it on top of one of the bar stools next to the island. "Now, before I start working on anything else I need to do today, is there anything you girls would like to drink?"

"Can you do an Arnold Palmer?" Ai asks, surprising me a bit.

"I sure can, but I'm surprised people here in Japan actually refer to it by that name. Do you prefer any kind of blend on that, or do you just want it half-and-half? And how much ice do you want?"

"Light ice, please. Also I like having a bit more lemonade than tea."

I nod. "Alright, I think sixty-forty should work. Anything for you, girls?"

Karin is the next to respond. "I'll simply have a glass of water, thank you."

"Do you have orange juice on hand?" Emma asks.

I fill up Karin's glass of water and pass it off to her while I start making Ai's Arnold Palmer. "No, but I do have several different flavors of tea."

"What kinds?"

"Raspberry white tea, watermelon and mixed berry green teas, peach tea. Those are all premade. I also brewed up a batch of matcha last night." I respond.

Emma thinks for a moment. "Can you warm up a glass of the matcha, then?"

"Sure can. What about you, Rina-san?"

Rina thinks to herself for a few moments. "Can I have a glass of apple juice?"

"Hmm… Let me check to see if there's still any left." I finish Ai's Arnold Palmer, dropping a few ice cubes in and passing it to her, then turn and open the fridge, getting out the pitcher of matcha tea and looking around, finding there's a little apple juice left from the container I bought last week. I pull out the apple juice and set both containers on the island, pulling out two glasses and a metal shaker. I pour the matcha into the metal shaker first, then put a pot with a little salted water on the stove. While I do this, I think about Emma and Karin's reactions to being in the apartment. They're taking being in such a big space relatively well thus far, but I'm sure once I've brought Emma her drink, the questions will start flowing in like they always do. Heh, at least it's entertaining to see people who don't think something like this is possible get proven wrong.

I quickly pour the apple juice into the first glass and pas it off to Rina, and while I wait for the water to warm up, I decide to address the elephant in the room. "So, Asaka-san, what do you think? I'm sure you're surprised I live in an apartment like this, everyone usually is the first time they come here."

Karin nods to herself. "I will admit it's very intriguing, I'm fairly certain the number of people our age who have the kind of money that necessitates these facilities and are smart enough to actually use that money properly without any formal training can be counted on one hand."

"So I'm guessing you've already figured out why this is where I'm living, Asaka-san?" I turn to Karin and ask her the question as I place the metal shaker with the tea into the now warm water.

"The only conclusion I can come to is that you bought the property. Would that be right?"

I nod, impressed. "Indeed you are. You have very admirable deductive skills. Though considering your intended career field that's not surprising."

Karin frowns, as if she hadn't wanted that to be brought up. A quick look in her eyes reveals the same issue that initially held Emma back when we had first met ‒ fear of judgement. "You don't have to discuss it if you don't want to, Asaka-san, but I can wholeheartedly promise you that you will find no judgement here. As a matter of principle, I don't let anyone in this apartment that I can't trust to keep an open mind. I swear to you that you're in good company."

Karin takes a minute to think to herself, then looks around at the other girls. "Well, the truth is I'm currently self-employed and I want to become a model in the future."

Ai's eyes sparkle as she grins and looks at Karin excitedly. "Wow, that's amazing! I've always thought models are really cool and mature, I think you'll be a great model! Uh, I don't think I got your name though."

I chuckle at Ai's refreshing enthusiasm as I pull Emma's matcha tea out of the pot, grabbing an oven mitt and pouring it from the metal shaker into its own glass. I bring the glass over to Emma, and she quietly thanks me as Karin blushes slightly from Ai's praise. "Thank you. My name is Asaka Karin, it's nice to meet you."

"Miyashita Ai, same to you! You can just call me Ai-san! And this is Tennoji Rina, she's a bit shy so just be patient with her, alright?" Ai introduces herself and Rina to Karin as she and Emma nod, and Rina delicately waves a hand in greeting.

Greetings get quickly passed around the table, and after a few minutes, everyone except Emma is finished with their drinks. I hear a knock at the door and walk to the intercom, pulling up the camera to reveal three men from the electronics store, as well as several boxes with all my components no doubt in them stacked and resting against the wall. I open the door and let them in, reviewing the packing slip the first man gives me and confirming all the parts I bought this morning are on there.

I direct the men to leave my boxes in the dance area as I head back over to the table where the girls are now happily chatting with one another, aside from Rina, whose posture gives away the fact she's likely still nervous at all this new interaction. "Rina-san, might I inquire after your assistance? The men over there are bringing in the new parts for my desktop, and I'd appreciate if you could help me put everything together."

Rina's posture straightens up a good bit, telling me she's likely glad to have the chance to get a breather even if her face doesn't show it, and she nods. "I can help you, Damien-san. If it's alright with you, can I head down the hall to get my testing and assembly equipment?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Also, could you bring your recovery kit? I decided to buy new SSDs because even though the old ones survived, I can't trust them not to potentially have a hardware failure in the future after what happened."

"Of course. I'll be back in a few minutes, then." Rina excuses herself from the apartment as the men from the store finish putting the boxes, six in all, by the couch in the dance area next to the TV.

Karin and Emma look askance at me. "Desktop parts? Didn't you just buy that workstation laptop, though?"

Emma turns to Karin, then back to me. "Wait, what's going on here?"

"Oh right, I don't think I told you how Asaka-san and I actually ran into each other this morning. I had just got out of the meeting with MEXT that I had told you about when we first met, and I needed to go to the electronics store because when I was moving here, one of the movers dropped my desktop‒" My face briefly contorts into a grimace as I mention that bit, remembering how devastating that had been. "‒so I had to pay a visit there to buy a whole bunch of parts to replace everything that got damaged or fried as a result. I was also there to buy a new workstation laptop for mobile work since the one I have now is getting quite old and doesn't run as well as it used to. While I was there, I ran into Asaka-san‒"

"If it's all the same to you, Damien-san, I don't mind if you call me Karin-san. With everything you've done up to this point and considering you and Emma-san already know each other, I think I can trust you," Karin cuts in.

I nod. "Of course, Karin-san. Honestly, I prefer to use people's first names since I'm from the States and we don't have honorifics like you guys do, I was just trying to abide by Japanese standards and avoid stepping on any toes. Anyway, as I was saying, I ran into Karin-san at the counter when I went to pay for all my equipment, and I helped her out because she was in a pinch and hadn't realized the discount for the laptop she was buying had already expired. After that, we ran into each other again while I was still in the city, and since we were both headed back here, I accompanied her." I turn back to Karin. "I hope that clears up any confusion?"

Karin nods. "Yes, thank you very much. Having your main hardware be so badly damaged must have been very straining on your patience."

I nod curtly. "Oh, it certainly was, that's for damn sure."

Rina returns a few moments later, holding a basket with all her equipment in it. I nod in Rina's direction. "Well, girls, if it's all the same to you, I'm going to take Rina-san with me up to my office to start working on getting my desktop fixed. You're welcome to join us if you want, or you can simply make yourselves at home. There's plenty of stuff to do here, you've got the dance area right there and could probably do karaoke, over there is a theater room to watch TV or movies in, and there's a couple pool tables upstairs as well." I turn to Rina. "If you go upstairs and head off to the left side, my bedroom will be beyond the second door. If you go in and take the back left door, that's my office. I'll meet you up there, I need to carry the boxes up and grab my tools."

Rina pauses in surprise at the mention of my bedroom, but nods and starts heading up. I walk over to the boxes and find the one with my new desktop tower and pick it up, grunting in exertion – no surprise considering the tower is almost forty pounds on its own due to being made from high-grade durable materials. I heft it slowly up the stairs and walk it into my room, where I see Rina sorting her own tools and examining the damaged computer parts. I set the desktop tower down and turn around to head back to grab the rest of my boxes, only to find Ai, Karin, and Emma helping out, each carrying one or two of the remaining boxes. "Oh, thank you very much, girls. You didn't have to go to the trouble."

"Nonsense, I figured it's the least I could do since you've already been so generous to me even though we just met today," Karin quickly replies.

"Hey, friends help each other, right? One good deed deserves another," Emma follows up with her own affirmation.

"I've heard about what Rina-chan typically does though I haven't had a chance to see it for myself, so I wanted to see what you guys are doing anyway!" Ai finishes in her (at this point) trademark bubbly and energetic fashion.

I chuckle at the girls. "Well, in that case come on in. Just don't expect it to be super exciting, technical problems like this tend to be a slog. Though you'll get to see a PC get built from scratch, which not many people who don't do it for a living can say."

2:57 PM

"Alright, can you run that voltage test again, Rina-san?" I ask while checking the connections of the USB sockets to the motherboard to make sure they've been soldered correctly. Rina nods next to me and uses her laptop to check the voltage of the USB connections, and gives me a thumbs-up. "Great, we've got that working, finally. That was a lot harder than I'd expected it would be." I look off to the side and see Ai watching us in fascination, while Karin and Emma are off to the side chatting to themselves while helping to keep everything organized. "Now let's see here, what's next?"

"Next would be making sure the TPM is online so the motherboard is secure."

I groan. "Ugh, I hate dealing with the stupid Trusted Platform Module software. At least I bought a chip that had it licensed out-of-the-box. I'm assuming you've got the fingerprint sensor on hand, then?"

"Yes, I do. It's next to me in its packaging."

I nod. "Alright, I'll work on getting that ready; can you start working with the TPM's code to make sure it's authentic?" Rina nods. I turn to Ai. "Ai-san, can you pass me the welding helmet and handheld plasma cutter? They're off to your right."

"Sure thing!" Ai turns around and grabs the items, bringing them over to the metal table I've set up for Rina and I to perform our work.

I check to verify that she's brought me what I asked for, and once done, I put on the helmet. I turn around. "Alright, everyone, face completely away from the work, there will be ultraviolet light produced from doing this which can severely damage your eyesight." The other girls face away from us, and I turn to Rina. "Rina-san, you have the helmet I lent you on to protect yourself, right?"

"Yes, Damien-san," Rina confirms. Nodding, I turn the cutter on and start cutting the hole I need to put the fingerprint sensor into the front of the tower case. Rina sticks the vacuum into the hole to pick up the metal fragments as the piece gets cut, and a minute later, the cut piece drops to the inside of the case. Rina uses her glove to quickly grab it and yank it out before it can cause damage, and drops it into the water bowl I had set out earlier to let it cool off. Predictably, the water begins to sizzle as the immense heat dissipates.

I take off the helmet and carefully disconnect the cutter, placing both back where Ai retrieved them from. Next, I grab my power tools and start setting up my bit driver. I carefully drive four holes exactly where I'd previously marked them on the case, then have Rina vacuum out the metal shavings. I clean my bit and take it off the driver, setting both tools aside and pulling the battery off the driver. I set up the power drill next, attaching the battery and grabbing my machine screws, and quickly attach the fingerprint sensor to the case.

I set those other tools aside and give Rina a thumbs-up, and she lays down, poking her head into the assembly and reaching in to attach the fingerprint sensor to the motherboard while I grab the graphics driver and pull it out of its packaging. This turns into a steady cycle of me passing Rina one part, her attaching it to the motherboard and mainframe, then running tests on her computer to ensure the parts are working correctly.

After another forty-five minutes, we're hooking up the old OS drive to make sure the system still boots up properly. I watch the BIOS do its thing, before the computer immediately throws a SMART error. I curse under my breath and hit Enter, shutting the computer down. I turn to Rina, gesturing to the tower in an agitated manner. "And that's why I thought it was a good idea to buy new drives. My OS drive is now dead."

Rina nods, frowning herself. "That's a problem. I'll do what I can, but you may need to hire a recovery service."

I nod in return, holding my head in the palm of my hand. "Don't I know it. I've had to do this whole song and dance before back when I could only afford laptops." I sigh in frustration. "It's a good thing I bought a USB install drive." I disconnect the power and reach into the mainframe, disconnecting and removing the culprit before carefully handing it to Rina. "Rina-san, could you start working on that? I can install a fresh copy of the OS and start setting things up from there."

Rina gives me a thumbs-up, and I start the lengthy process of reinstalling Windows 11. Man, I wish I had been born two years later, then I'd have the super-fast update process 2023 got to enjoy. Instead this is gonna take the next hour and a half. I look over to check on Ai, Karin, and Emma, to find Emma has passed out laying on my bed, Karin is sitting on my lounge chair next to my nightstand looking at her phone, and Ai is near the front of the room exercising in what appears to be a bid to keep herself awake. Yeah, it's probably time to bring all this to a stop for now.

I stand up, and my perspective is almost immediately validated when a yawn rips its way out from my diaphragm unbidden. Okay, wow, I'm more tired than I thought I'd be. No surprise though considering I've been up since 4 AM. I clap to get everyone's attention. "Alright, girls, let's go ahead and pack it in for the day. I'm getting fairly tired of dealing with my computer and I need a nap."

Ai stops exercising and Karin stretches, elegantly rising from the lounge chair, and both of them nod to me. I turn to Rina. "Rina-san, you can head with Ai-san and Karin-san. I'll bring over the parts tomorrow and we can figure out the drives, alright? I'll handle waking up Emma-san and having her on her way shortly."

Rina nods. "Alright then, Damien-san. I'll pack my equipment. Have a good day."

I stretch as Ai and Karin head out the door, and as Rina packs her computer equipment, I take my power tools and take a quick trip downstairs, opening up the closet behind the fridge and storing them in my toolbox. I hang the welder's helmets up on the wall rack I installed last week and leave the closet, but not before grabbing my carpet vacuum and cleaning solution. I head back upstairs as the rest of the girls are on their way out, putting the vacuum and solution next to my bedroom door, and head downstairs to brew another matcha tea for Emma.

A few minutes later, once that's done, I pour the matcha into a tall thermos and take it upstairs. Emma is sitting up in my bed, blearily blinking her eyes in what is no doubt confusion. "Hey… where'd everyone else go…?"

"Ah, good afternoon, Emma. While Rina-san and I were working on my computer it seems you fell asleep. Here," I say, passing her the thermos, which she gingerly takes, opening it. "I brewed you another serving of matcha to help you wake up and get moving. Careful, it's still hot."

Emma yawns cutely before taking a sip of the tea, sighing contentedly. When she looks at me again, it's clear the matcha is helping her wake up, as she appears to be significantly more alert than she was a moment ago. "Thanks for this, Damien. Sorry for passing out on you."

I casually wave her off. "Nonsense, computer work tends to be quite tedious unless you're an ethical hacker, which there aren't many of these days due to the risks involved. Just sip on that until you feel you're ready to go and then you can see yourself out. I myself need a nap, I've already been up almost twelve hours and getting all this technical shit done has me exhausted."

Emma giggles and nods, slowly getting out of my bed and sipping on the matcha as I set my Screaming Meanie for an hour from now and plop down on the lounge chair. I set the Meanie on the nightstand next to me and barely even register Emma's next words before I vaguely feel my head loll to the side and my eyes close as my consciousness surrenders itself to oblivion.