Taku was standing at the front of the school gate. It was a fine Monday morning; the clouds were clear. The blue and white colour of the clouds looked more pronounced and colorful.
The sun was hiding behind the clouds like a chick does in the body of a mother hen when it sees the hovering of hawks. Sooner or later, the sun would come out in its full golden brightness.
Students were entering the school compound. They didn't seem late, so they weren't running. Most were gisting while walking, their conversations dwelling on the demon slayer who had killed a demon. Enthusiasm laced with fear was in their voices. Most of all, they were exuberant the demon was killed.
"What if it comes back?" A student asked her friend, fear written all over her face.
"Once a demon is dead, it can't come back to life. We are free from the killings and trauma of the demon. I can't be more elated. The demon slayer must be a great one," her friend beamed, happiness sparkling in her eyes.
"Yes, you are right," She breathed out softly. Her tension was relieved, a smile flashed over her face like sunshine over a flower. The mask of fear obliterated from her face.
Other students continued talking about the demon and the demon slayer as they entered the school premises.
Taku continued standing at the front of the gate. He was contemplating if he should go in or not like a cloudy mirror of options. He knew he would go in eventually, but he wasn't thrilled to.
While other students looked cheerful, he looked really downhearted. His brow narrowed in worry, his lips tensed. He was like a thorn amidst flowers. He just felt like all these happenings to him would disappear in a snap of his finger.
He was still standing there, engrossed in his thoughts when he felt a pair of gentle touch on his shoulder. They were as gently as withered leaves float from a tree.
He snapped out of his thoughts and then turned abruptly. It was his friends, Sota and Jin. He saw Midori coming. She came closer and hit Taku playfully on the back.
"What are you standing here looking at?" she smiled, trying to read his facial expression which seemed blank to her.
Taku, Sota, Jin, and Midori had been friends for a very long time. They had always done things together in school. Sadly, they were all from humble backgrounds, but they had a common understanding and stood by each other.
Sota had a father who didn't care about him. He was always going out and sometimes didn't come home for days. He stayed out late drinking and finally got drunk all the time. He got home and beat Sota at the slightest mistake.
He wasn't like this before; something had happened. Something changed him. Something made him this irresponsible. Something made him frustrated. Something made him bitter. Something made him this angry with himself and eventually took that anger out on anyone, including his son.
What could that something be? What could that something be that had made this once loving, caring, and listening father turned into someone diametrically different?
That something scared Sota, although he didn't know what it could be, no matter how hard he tried. He sure wasn't going to give up. He was going to find that something and eventually bring the father he knew back to himself.
Jin lived with his grandmother, who loved him so dearly. He had lost his parents at a tender age. He couldn't remember who they were or what they looked like. He only knew of his parents through his grandmother.
The actual cause of his parents' death was yet to be revealed to him by his grandmother. Probably now wasn't also a good time for that. His grandmother did not want to weigh him down so much.
She wanted him to finish high school and go to college. He could study a professional course, as she'd seen people do, maybe be a doctor, as she'd seen in the hospital, which she dreaded. She never liked hospitals. She preferred the old way of getting treated for any illness.
She knew the world wasn't like that anymore, but she just couldn't adapt to it, so she would want Jin to follow the way things were done in her time. But was that even Jin's choice? Was that what he really wanted to do?
Midori was the only girl in their circle of friends. She was believed to have reincarnated from her great-grand-aunt, who made a great change during the Edo period. She was a demon slayer who fought the Yoriichi Tsugikuni demon and slayed it.
Although she died at the end of it, her death wasn't for nothing. She brought tranquility to her small village then. Now she was in the body of young Midori, and the name Midori was her great-grand-aunt's name. What she was going to do in the body of young Midori was yet to be known. Why she had reincarnated back to the world, was also yet to be known.
Sota, Jin, and Midori lived in a boarding house. They must have gone home to spend the weekend, which they did some of the time.
"Did you do your homework, Taku?" His eyebrow slightly raised.
"Yes, I did," Taku nodded. "What about you guys?"
"Yes," Jin and Midori replied.
"What about you, Sota?" Midori gestured with her hand. "I guess you didn't do yours again."
He shook his head.
"This won't help. You know that. We all know that," disappointment dancing in her beautiful small eyes. "I would do it for you before the teacher comes in."
"Thank you, Midori," Sota puffed out his cheek in relief. He smiled at her genuinely.
She shook her head and exhaled softly.
"Let's go inside. We can't continue standing here," she thoughtfully said.
They went in.
***
The class was noisy. The loud chatter of the students could be heard even from the outskirts of the city. Why the hell were they making so much noise, like kindergarteners?
The mixed fragrance of soap, body cream, perfume, and hair cream conjoined to give an unknown scent which filled the air.
A girl was making her friend's hair in the class. What was that! Inside the class! Three guys were playing football in the class. This was serious. They did a lot of things when a teacher was not in the class.
The ball hit Midori hard on her head with a thwack, her jew clenched and she screamed furiously. Her eyes blazed in fury and a glow of light red emanated from her eyes.
"Are you guys fucking mad?" she cussed, very enraged. She blinked, and her eyes went back to normal.
Some students saw the colour of her eyes and began murmuring and pointing at her. Others who didn't know what was going on were asking them what they'd seen.
The three boys stood pinned to the spot, surprised at what they saw. Their lips were sealed, not because they didn't want to apologize, but because words just couldn't come out, even when they tried. Fear and astonishment had sealed their lips.
Midori became confused. She didn't understand why people were murmuring, staring and pointing at her like that. She saw Sota and Jin also staring at her like they hadn't seen her before, like she wasn't the one they'd just walked in with to the class.
Just then, the teacher came in. She was a female. Everybody retracted to their various seats. They became coordinated and quiet.
"Good morning, class," she greeted with a high-pitched voice.
"Good morning, Miss Chinami," the students greeted back.
"Before we start the topic we will embark on, submit your assignment to the class captain," she announced.
Her gaze then turned to the class captain, Hiroshi, sitting calmly with his big, bulbous glasses which covered his face. Why would anyone wear such big glasses that covered their face? Most timid people did that though, but he didn't look timid. Well, he had problems with his sight. He had nyctalopia.
Ugh! There was a class captain in the class, and the class was disorganized before the teacher came in. So disappointing!
But all the same, he stood up to collect everybody's assignment.
Sota, Jin, and Midori looked at Taku's seat. It was empty. Anguish and agony covered their faces like a viscous liquid. His bag was also not there.
It seemed Miss Chinami also noticed Taku's absence. Her gaze fell on his seat.
"Taku is absent from class again," she shook head with disapproval. "He'd better not have registered. His parents must be really wasting money on him." She sighed and moved on to the topic of the day.