16 years later.
Present Day, July 2027, Kitanimitsu Town, Miyagi
Jun Hasegawa’s heart was beating hard enough to supply blood to half the students in class 1-1, Kitanimitsu Senior High School. Sweat trickled down his forehead. Hands fidgeted as he clasped them behind his back. Eyes rolled around his head, refusing to settle on any of the faces staring up at him.
Of all the things he hated in the world, class introductions were definitely near the top. Right up there with mosquitos and Kanji, or natto.
And it didn’t help that the other new kid was going before him, and looked like he was going to kill it.
Jun liked charging into his pain head-first and fast. Having to wait was absolute torture. It was just more time to forget his simple lines and dread what questions would inevitably come as he exploded in flames of embarrassment, leaving him burning as he struggled to answer before he died.
"But you don't look Japanese," they would say.
"I'm half," Jun would reply, despite hating the term labelling him as quite literally, half a person. Saying he was a 'double' like his mum did, was too cringeworthy.
Maybe his Dad is Japanese? His new classmates would then think.
"What country is your mother from?" The question to follow.
"Japan."
Ooohhh. Guess not.
Que awkward silence.
After a moment’s contemplation, most would guess his terrible past, his mother the victim of some evil gaijin who left her heartbroken and pregnant, and Jun, a Japanese surname and obviously western DNA, but no father.
Jun was, after all, about a head taller than most of the class. On that face that peaked over the crowds, a sharp nose and prominent brow stood out from eyes with shades of yellow and green mixed in with the usual Japanese-brown. His hair too, was lighter than the jet black standard, which was good considering how white his skin was; he would have looked like a vampire.
Add the fact that there were no foreigners or fellow doubles in the tiny school, maybe even the entire town, and Jun just knew this was going to be bad. Really bad.
"What?! You cant even speak English?" Joined the nightmare scenarios in his head, seeing himself in the vision, red-faced and stuttering, an English, "No," somehow popping out his mouth to be met with hysterical laughter.
He closed his eyes, pushing the thoughts away. For the hundredth time since arriving the week before, he wished to be back in Tokyo, at his old school, with all his friends.
With Miki-chan, the girl he secretly adored but hadn’t had the courage to confess to.
"Good morning, Everyone! My name is Taro Yamada, and I'm from Osaka!"
The loud and confident voice pulled Jun back to the nightmare with a jolt. God, Taro sounded like a tv show host, and had the massive cheesy grin to go with the big voice. Short and slightly chubby, hair a puffy but close cut to his head, Taro didn’t exactly match the usual confidence man type.
But he didn't seem to care one bit. His large round eyes shone as he continued, his Kansai dialect pouring out.
"I like soccer, and my favourite team is Gamba Osaka! I also love gaming and anime. Let's play together sometime! Yoroshiku onegaishimasu!"
With a deep and emphatic bow, he finished, giving Jun a quick wink as he stepped to the side.
"Thank you," Kondo-sensei said, "any questions for Taro-kun?"
A lot of questions about Osaka were answered expertly by Taro, regaling them with tales of big city life.
And then, both too late and all too soon, it was Jun's turn.
"Good morning," Jun bowed as if a robot with one squeaky hinge at the waist, "my name is Jun Hasegawa, I'm from Tokyo. I like...all the same things as Taro, but my favourite soccer team is Iwaki FC.Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."
Jun was done. The words had spilled out fast, but clean, in standard and very boring Tokyo dialect.
He hadn't mentioned karate, boxing or judo. Telling people only led to the sort of problems Jun had learned them to fix. He hadn't always been tall and strong.
But now was the hard part. The teacher asked for questions. Jun's heart began the journey up to his mouth, jamming somewhere in his throat.
A hand shot up.
"Are you even Japanese?" a slouching boy in the front row of single desks asked, lips curling to smile. Some others sniggered.
"I'm, er, a half,"
"Half-what?" someone else said, Jun didn't see who.
"English."
A few heads nodded in approval. Some girls near the back whispered and giggled.
And then the same boy, now firmly marked as an enemy in Jun's mind, put up his hand again. Jun knew what was coming, watching as the seemingly rusty cogs and steam engines in the boys block-like head started to grind and puff into action.
Jun tried to shoot him down with a death glare that, twisted with his nerves, probably looked more like constipation. Block-head’s lips quivered to move.
"Caw!"
A huge black crow flew in through the open windows of the classroom and landed firmly on the boy's head, its feathers jet black with tints of blue, beak like black steel. As if hit by an invisible shockwave, all the students near him leaped out of their desks and away, girls screaming.
Block-head had frozen completely, his hand still in the air, only his eyes darting around and up.
"Aurora!" He suddenly screamed, his voice high and girl-like.
“Caw!”
All heads, except for the one occupied by a bird, turned to look towards a desk by the window. Bathed in light, head covered in unkempt hair that hid her face except for huge glasses and a white mask, was a girl. As if waking from sleep, she raised her head off the desk, straightening her glasses.
"Oh, a crow," she said, her voice quiet, her eyes tiny specks behind thick lenses, seemingly metres behind her own face.
Lifting a hand into the air, the crow flew across and landed upon it. She gave it a curt pat on its razor sharp beak, and then it flew out the window and away with a noisy farewell.
Jun blinked.
"Aurora! You made it do that! You witch!" The boy said, standing from his desk and wiping frantically at his shaven head while laughter erupted around him. He was only a little shorter than Jun, but much wider in the shoulders.
"That's enough excitement for this morning, everyone," said Kondo-sensei, wading into the desks. "Taro, Jun, welcome and thank you for the lovely introductions. It's not every day we get two new students from the big cities and a crow joining the class, especially so soon before summer break. Please take your seats. All of you."
As everyone did as commanded, Taro and Jun taking their seats at the back behind the mysterious Aurora, one student remained standing.
"Kazu-kun," Kondo-sensei said, peering over her glasses,, "sit down, now. No more birds are coming to get you."
With a gaze that didn't leave Aurora, Kazu sat down at his desk amidst a spatter of giggling. Jun noted that no one had questioned Kondo-sensei at all.
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As she began the class, Jun looked over to Aurora, her head on her desk, back rising and falling rhythmically as if asleep once again.
The way she had handled that massive crow: wow. And no one had even commented on it, save for Kazu. That had been some next-level Disney princess stuff.
Jun smiled and stretched out his legs under the small wooden desk. Anyway, he'd survived, and maybe today wouldn't be such a disaster, after all.
Just then, Taro tapped him on the shoulder, his face serious as he passed a folded note. Jun opened it below his desk to see a terribly drawn cartoon-Kazu, a crow squeezing out a poo over his head as a girl who was 90% glasses wiggled long fingers at him.
Jun tried to catch the laugh as it exploded from his mouth, missing it and instead just adding a clap at the end as his hand slapped against his face. A few people, including Kazu, turned. The note, forgotten in his grip, flitted down to the floor beside Aurora.
Like a zombie's hand breaking through the surface soil of a grave, a previously limp arm of the strange girl shot out and grabbed it, even while the rest of her seemed to remain sleeping. Her head, and only her head, turned to look, first at the note, and then at Jun.
If Jun was able to see her tiny eyes, he was sure they would be condemning him with an angry stare.
Then the teacher took it from her.
"Oh, bravo Jun-kun. Although, I wasn't aware the crow had used Kazu-kun's head as a toilet."
The class erupted with laughter while Kazu shot eye lasers at Jun.
"Such fine penmanship should be rewarded. Come to the board. For this first period with me, you can do all the writing."
So much for no disasters.
---
Thankfully the rest of the morning passed without event. Taro had offered a grovelling apology, throwing in some high level items from a game they both played for good measure. Jun would have forgiven him anyway; the loud and cheeky Osakan was great fun to be around and was growing on him fast. It seemed the two of them, city boys through and through, shared a lot in common, including most of their classes, and apparently, lunch.
What Jun couldn’t eat, his appetite sapped by the summer heat, Taro had happily devoured, and then gone for more refills himself.
As all the plates, trays and food were cleared away after, it was time to clean the school.
Kazu had protested that they be assigned the toilets, but Kondo-sensei, citing the need for the 'city boys' to 'decompress', gave them to Aurora and the 'nature room' instead. Donning their white hats and gloves, they made their way down the main corridor, following behind the quiet girl, as terribly out-dated music played over the ancient sound system. Jun hadn't thought it possible, but it was actually worse than his last school.
Sliding across the floor went students, wet towels in hands, covering every inch of the floor with a slick sheen. Along the walls being carefully dusted hung various projects of students, artwork, and a large mural dedicated to the earthquake and tsunami of 2011. Jun glanced at it as they went past. The town had been destroyed, the short sea wall only serving to add to the horror as the water had crashed over it with vengeance.
They turned a corner and came to a large disused classroom; the nature room. Whatever it was supposed to be. None of his previous schools had had one.
Jun could smell it even before they opened the doors; the humid and wet smell of earth and plants.
Aurora disappeared inside.
Jun nudged Taro forward with only one thing on his mind: redemption. “Get in there and tell her it was you who drew the picture, before she curses me or something.”
Jun had been thinking about it all morning. Making an enemy of Kazu was something he could handle. But the girl? She gave him the creeps.
Taro’s perpetual grin disappeared. “But, what if she curses me?” he whispered back.
“Then it’s your own fault, just get in there!”
Aurora’s face popped back round into view, eying the boys suspiciously. Jun ushered Taro in.
It was like crossing over to another world.
All around the edges and up the walls and windows, trelices of plants and flowers grew in a myriad of different varieties, colours, shapes and sizes. Along the worktops in the middle of the room sat various tanks, full of insects and other small creatures, whereas the ones around the edge of the room held potted plants, flower arrangements and trays packed full of growing fruits or vegetables, all carefully labelled, pruned and supported. At the far end of the room, a table of half-made posters sat, pens and coloured paper scattered around it. Sun shone through the foliage around the windows as if through a forest canopy, spreading dancing patterns across the space.
“Wow,” Jun breathed.
Aurora turned to him, her mask rising up ever so slightly as if in a smile.
Taro ran to the tanks, his mission forgotten. “Jun, look at these! They’ve got everything here. Kanahebi, kabuto-mushi, and...man, that has to be the biggest Mukade I’ve ever seen! In fact, all these are massive! What are you feeding them?!”
Jun followed Taro’s jabbing fingers as he scuttled between each. Little lizards, big beetles with different types of horns, and then a giant armoured centipede, its jaws looking big enough to chop off a finger.
“Do you like insects?” Aurora said, her voice soft as she came next to Taro.
“Oh yea! I love them. Did you find all of these?”
“Yeah, these ones I found around the school. Most other students aren’t really interested in insects anymore…”
“Well, I am. You’re amazing, Aurora-chan, doing all this. It’s so cool.”
Jun could see Taro really meant it, and to be honest, even Jun thought the same. Maybe it was because they were just two city boys, out of touch with nature, but it really was cool.
“Yeah, Aurora, it’s really something. My mother would love it here,” Jun said, smiling.
Red suddenly flashed on the skin visible above Aurora’s mask.
“Um, thank you, no one has ever said that before,” she managed to say as she fidgeted with her broom.
Behind her, a flower moved ever so slightly, its petals opening.
“Look at this, Jun! They’ve all moved to the front!”
Jun, transfixed on the flower that seemed to be shining, switched his gaze to the tanks to see the insects all lining up by the glass, looking over to Aurora as if troops, ready for her command.
The image of the crow came into Jun’s mind as his mouth hung open. If it wasn’t for her looks, she would be a disney princess for sure.
Then the cleaning time music changed, the second song beginning.
“Ah!” Aurora said, looking up to the clock on the wall behind leaves and vines, “we need to clean!”
And so the three of them quickly went about their work, sweeping the floors, wiping them down, cleaning and then opening the windows to let fresh air sweep in with the perfumed scent of flowers. It wasn’t long before it was all done.
“Aurora-chan, do we need to clean out the tanks?” Jun asked as he wiped his brow under the cap.
“No, we do that as part of the nature club, but, well, the club is just me, so I suppose…I do it.”
Jun nodded. Clubs were a bit of a sore topic for him. What kind of school didn't have a soccer team?!
Aurora seemed confused by his sudden stern expression, but before he could speak, Taro stepped forward.
“Aurora-chan…” he said, taking his cap off and holding it to his chest, revealing puffy hair slick with sweat.
“Taro-kun?” Aurora said, backing away slightly as Taro moved closer.
“I drew the cartoon you saw earlier, not Jun. Please forgive me!”
He bowed his head low and kept it there. A few moments of awkward silence hung in the air.
“It’s OK, Taro, you don’t have to apologise,” Aurora eventually said, holding the broom as if ready to defend herself against the rotund boy.
Taro’s head rose.
“As a sign of my gratitude for your forgiveness,” he said, his voice taking a regal tone, “I shall join your club.”
“You will?” Aurora shrieked, dropping the broom..
“Yes, and so will Jun, right Jun?”
“Eh?” Jun said.
Aurora was looking at him with eyes so wide he could almost actually see them.
Jun couldn’t do soccer, neither could Taro come to think of it, but... Nature Club? If his friends in Tokyo found out, they would never let him live it down. Dammit, Taro.
He was beginning to think friendship with the boy was going to come with a lot of trouble.
But how could he say no without hurting Aurora’s feelings for the second time that day?
“Count me in,” he said, reminding himself over and over that he could leave at any time.
Aurora seemed lost for words, bouncing up and down in little jumps. As if shaking free from the movement, words spilled out.
“We are going to have so much fun, and we have so much to do! Before summer break there’s the culture festival. We’ll have to finish the posters, and place the plants around the school, and...and…”
She ran across the room, picking up a clipboard.
“First you need to sign up!”
On the page was only one name, Aurora Umegawa, founder. Taro swiped the pen from her grip and scribbled his name before passing it to Jun, completely missing Jun’s hidden glare that promised revenge.
Aurora was still talking, as if in starting, all the words she had saved had to come out now.
“You guys are so nice! I’m so happy. When you came I was a little scared - you are from the big cities after all.”
“Hey, I’m not scary!” Taro jumped in, ”Can’t say for Jun though, he looked like he was going to die during his introduction.”
Aurora laughed. Jun frowned, writing his name with a hard scribble.
“I know, right? I felt bad for him when Kazu was being an idiot. It must be tough having a Japanese name but looking like a gaijin. Why is that, Jun? Where is your Mum from?” Aurora said.
Jun’s stomach lurched. “Let’s just get back to class.”
“Or maybe it’s your Dad? But why the Japanese name then?” Aurora continued, completely missing his cue.
Jun could feel his anger rising through the shame. Please stop, he thought, his eyes darting between her and Taro.
“Oh! I get it! Your Mother is single? That must be really tough! What happened to your Dad? Did they divorce? My—”
Jun threw his broom to the floor.
“My Dad is dead or missing, I don’t know! I never knew him! And no, before you ask, I can’t even speak English! Is that enough information for you, or would you like every single detail of my sad life?!”
Aurora almost fell over as Jun’s voice exploded in her face just as the music came to an end. Taro was completely still, his jaw agape.
Like a wilting flower, Aurora’s posture changed, her head hanging low, shoulders dropping.
“I…,” she said, between sobs that rocked her body.
And just as quickly as it had burst forth, the anger and pent up tension was gone, and Jun suddenly felt like the world’s biggest idiot.
He moved toward her, “Aurora-chan, I’m—”
In a storm of tears, Aurora pushed past and fled the room.
Taro shook his head.
“I’m sorry for your Dad, Jun, but... that was pretty mean.”
Tap. Tap. Tap.
A petal dropped at Jun’s feet as he stared at the floor, avoiding Taro's gaze. Bending to pick it up, he recognised the faded colours. At the side of the room, grey and dead, was the shining flower.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
“What the hell is it doing?” Taro said as he moved toward one of the tanks. The mukade, the armoured and massive centipede, was smashing its head repeatedly against the glass container, its jaws scraping. Jun and Taro shared a look that didn’t need words; that was very weird.
“Well, that was loud enough for the whole school to hear,” came Kondo-sensei’s voice as her head popped round the door. “Hasegawa, staff room. Now.”
---
Jun trudged towards his bike, exhausted but alive as the school day finally came to an end, the hometime chimes blaring away.
He'd made an enemy in Kazu, hurt the innocent Aurora's feelings twice, and found out why everyone was so well behaved around Kondo-sensei. His ears were still ringing. Even the other teachers in the staff room had looked scared.
As first days went, it couldn't have been much worse. Unlocking his bike, Jun found himself feeling relieved that the summer break was only a couple of weeks away; he needed it already.
"There she is," a girl's voice sounded up ahead, loud and brash.
Jun looked up, seeing a group of girls surrounding Aurora and her bike.
"Oi, Rora, what was that today in the classroom you weirdo." The largest girl in the group, hair in a styled ponytail and obviously wearing makeup, pushed Aurora against her bike, her bag falling to the ground. Although she was pretty, Jun had marked her as being around the same level as Kazu; stupid but dangerous. He tried but failed to remember her name.
The other girls in the group sniggered like a pack of hyenas.
"I'm sorry, Fumi-chan," Aurora said, barely audible.
"I don't want your apology, baka. Why do you even come to school. No one likes you."
She pushed Aurora again. Down she fell with her bike, the bell ringing as it clattered to the floor. Laughing, the girls walked down the rank of bikes, coming to Jun.
"Oh hi, Jun-kun," Fumi said, her voice now soft, "I hope you enjoyed your first day here."
She batted her eyes, fiddling with her hair. The other girls stood behind, whispering and giggling.
"You know, the Tanabata festival is pretty big in this town. No one has asked to go with me yet…"
"And no one will if you act so horribly to people all the time."
Fumi froze, her face going red. Jun just stared. He had suffered at the hands of bullies enough in the past. He wouldn't stand for it against others.
Before she could answer, he walked past her to Aurora, who was still on the floor, clutching her knee.
He put out his hand. .
"Get away from me!" Aurora screamed, hitting it away as she rose from the floor. Grabbing her bike, she jumped on and was gone. Fumi and co cackled away behind him.
"Such a hero!" Fumi managed between bursts of laughter mimicked by her cronies as they walked away. .
A fleshy hand grabbed his shoulder.
"My friend," Taro's chubby face was serious, "you may be even worse with women than me."
He then grinned,"Come on, let's get out of here! Day 1, done!"