Sasaki and Peeps - Volume 8 - Chapter 3.0

<School, Part Two>

After leaving the bureau, we turned straight around and went back to Karuizawa. We made a few minor preparations at Ms. Futarishizuka’s villa, then set off for my neighbor’s school. Type Twelve brought us back in her terminal, so the whole thing only took a few minutes. Miss Hoshizaki took a separate flight back home by herself.

We arrived at the middle school’s faculty entrance with a little under an hour to spare before the morning assembly.

“For a local public school, this place is gorgeous,” I said. “And all the fields have artificial grass, don’t they?”

“A few years ago, they rebuilt everything,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “The main school building, the gymnasium, and even the schoolyard.”

“Well, at least we’ll have a modern workplace.”

“I hope the air conditioners are in good working order. Otherwise, winter is going to suck.”

“Is it really okay for us to just go in?”

“We made it this far. No point hesitating now.”

“The youngest daughter agrees with Grandmother’s viewpoint. I would like to conduct the process for my school transfer as soon as possible.”

Ms. Futarishizuka and Type Twelve began to walk toward the doors. I followed suit, and passed through the entrance. My colleague had changed out of her usual kimono; she now wore a white button-down shirt, a black jacket, and a skirt. Her skirt was noticeably tight, almost bursting at the seams. I imagined her outfit was exactly what men around the world imagined when they heard the words “female teacher.” But on a little kid like her, it just looked like cosplay.

As we made our way into the building, a faculty member called out to us and introduced himself as the principal. Apparently, he’d been notified of our visit and was waiting near the entrance for us.

When I mentioned our boss’s name, he said he was well aware of the situation.

While it wasn’t clear if he knew anything about psychics or mechanical life-forms, he did seem to realize some unknown VIP had come under his jurisdiction. Otherwise, I doubted he’d be bowing like this to a pair of brand-new teachers. He didn’t say a word about Ms. Futarishizuka and her childlike appearance, either.

After we exchanged greetings, the principal led us to the faculty room. There, he quickly introduced us to our new coworkers.

“My name is Sasaki. I’ll be teaching math. I’m happy to be working with you all.”

“And I’m Futarishizuka. I teach English. I may look like a child, but I assure you, I am an adult. It’s a pleasure.”

We’d both rehearsed our introductions ahead of time and delivered them while standing near the room’s entrance. Meanwhile, the rest of the teachers stood on the other side of a double row of desks, staring at us.

When the others saw my petite colleague, they began to whisper and mumble. She did look like a child. But nobody asked any questions. They’d probably been notified about us in advance. Considering the bureau’s position, though, I doubted the rank-and-file teachers had many details. I figured they’d probably force everyone to treat her like an adult by claiming she had some sort of rare disease or something.

After our introductions, the principal led us to our desks. Mine and Ms. Futarishizuka’s directly faced each other. From there, the principal announced that the vice principal would arrive momentarily to give us a tour of the school and then jogged out of the faculty room.

In the meantime, we spotted a few familiar faces. They’d noticed us as well and quickly walked over.

“Miss…Inukai, was it?” I said. “What are you doing in a place like this?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Sasaki,” she replied, “but I’m going to have to ask you to keep quiet about me.”

“And there’s the bigwig from Yokota, too,” Ms. Futarishizuka commented.

“Hello! What are you talking about?” the man said in stilted Japanese. “I am Robert, the assistant language teacher!”

“Wait, what?” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “I didn’t know you could speak Japanese.”

The woman I’d just spoken with was Ensign Inukai, an officer in the JMSDF. We’d met her and her superior, Captain Yoshikawa, during the ordeal with the octodragon from the otherworld. She was in her mid-twenties and had lovely features.

The man calling himself Robert was Captain Mason. He’d told us himself that he was a foreign soldier normally stationed at Yokota Air Base. The other day, when our pretend family went to the amusement park, we’d run into him and Magical Blue and had lunch together.

I straightened up, a little scared by the prospect of working alongside such dangerous people. I couldn’t imagine they were dispatched by the bureau. They must have been sent in by some other organization outside Mr. Akutsu’s purview. I hoped against hope that we were at least part of the same chain of command.

If Captain Mason had come here personally, he must have been dead serious about getting his hands on Type Twelve.

“I look forward to seeing you around the school!” said the captain.

“I’ll be teaching English,” said Ms. Futarishizuka. “So I believe we’ll be working together.”

“Oh! Then we will have the same classes! Simply marvelous!”

“But are you sure you should be fooling around here? What about your duties at the base?”

“What? My Japanese isn’t so good. I can’t understand you!”

“I see, I see. You must be pretty desperate, huh?”

We gave up on trying to get anything else out of Captain Mason and decided to go along with his and Miss Inukai’s act. Many other teachers were in the room with us, potentially listening in. From Miss Inukai and Captain Mason’s behavior, I figured our new coworkers didn’t know much about their situation. If we said anything careless, the chief would have our heads.

“Father, the youngest daughter would like to clarify the plan regarding my transfer into this school.”

“I think the vice principal is going to explain…,” I said, looking around the room.

Just then, a man trotted over to us. He was older than I was and dressed in a full suit and tie, unlike the other teachers’ casual attire. His hair was black with a dusting of white, arranged in a side part, and he wore black-rimmed glasses. He looked relatively slender for his age.

He came right up to us and spoke quickly. “I’m sorry I made you wait. My name is Ookouchi, and I’m the vice principal.”

“Did the principal tell you about us?”

“He did. I’m well aware of your situation.”

Both the principal and the vice principal seemed to have an understanding of what was going on. Still, I made a mental note to check with the section chief later.

“In that case, I’d like to prioritize her transfer application,” I told him, my gaze darting over to Type Twelve. She stood right next to me, no doubt envisioning her future classroom.

“I understand. I’ll see to it immediately,” said the man. Then he looked at us for a few moments, his face troubled. “By the way,” he added, his tone formal. “I heard there was only going to be one transfer student…” He was looking back and forth between Ms. Futarishizuka and Type Twelve. It seemed he hadn’t been sent any pictures.

“Daddy, do you think I can change into my uniform all by my little old self?”

“This one is the transfer student,” I said, ignoring my colleague’s tasteless remark and pointing to Type Twelve.

The vice principal seemed to understand and hastily turned toward the alien. “I-I’m terribly sorry. I’ll show you around at once.”

“Ha-ha!” Captain Mason shook with laughter. “Ms. Futarishizuka! You’re just as bad as I am!”

“Ha-ha! I’m gonna kick the shit out of you!” Ms. Futarishizuka shot back.

“No bueno! You’re scaring me! Please! I’m terrified!”

Captain Mason was acting completely out of character, and Ms. Futarishizuka was pissed. Maybe Mr. Akutsu dispatched us here partly to be his bodyguard or something. He’d been butting heads with the nerd a lot recently, and considering his opponent was a rank-A psychic, it was only natural for him to want significant combat power on his side.

“Father, Grandmother, the youngest daughter will now prepare for her transfer.”

“Please don’t cause trouble for others, all right?” I said. “For Miss Hoshizaki’s sake.”

“I understand. I promise that I will not do anything that would cause Mother undue worry.”

At that, we parted ways with Type Twelve. She had a lot to do before starting classes, such as changing into her school-designated uniform and collecting her textbooks and supplies. She was in high spirits as she walked away with the vice principal, who was still bowing to us, and together, they left the faculty room.

As soon as they were gone, the principal reappeared. “Mr. Sasaki, if you’re ready, I’ll tell you about the class you’ll be in charge of.”

“Huh?”

That was a weird thing for him to say. I made a confused noise despite myself. I was going to be in charge of a whole class? That was news to me.

“Um, I’m going to be in charge of a class, sir?”

“Well, the teacher assigned to Class 1-A resigned yesterday. I know it’s more work for you, but I’d like you to take over his class. I believe this was all arranged in advance.”

What an awful gift from the section chief, I thought. He’d probably kept quiet about it on purpose. We’d been scoring win after win against him lately; this must have been his revenge. I doubted a man like him would make such a silly mistake.

“Weren’t you told?” the principal asked.

“Never mind. I understand, and I accept the position.”

Considering the situation, I couldn’t help wondering if Class 1-A’s teacher was fired specifically so I could come in and replace him. Or maybe he was already causing problems, and they used that as an excuse to kick him out.

The moment I realized I’d be taking over Type Twelve’s class, I was certain. There was no point trying to resist.

“Also, Ms. Mochizuki, would you mind coming along as well?” said the principal.

“Oh, um, yes, sir. I’ll be there right away.”

Prompted by the principal, Ms. Futarishizuka and I left the faculty room and entered his office.

To prepare us to start work that day, he gave us a hasty lecture in the time before morning homeroom. He also handed us our class registers. I glanced over mine and saw my neighbor’s name and photograph in it.

The principal also informed me that Ms. Mochizuki, who he’d instructed to come with us, would be helping out with my class. I felt like a trainee teacher. According to the principal, veteran assistants were sometimes assigned to newer teachers, so this wasn’t particularly unusual.

Ms. Mochizuki, who was sitting beside the principal on a sofa, greeted us energetically. “Mr. Sasaki, Ms. Futarishizuka, I look forward to working with you both!”

Ms. Futarishizuka and I were seated on another sofa across a low table from them. I offered a deep bow in response.

Ms. Mochizuki was noticeably young. According to her, this was her fifth year teaching. She didn’t look that much older to me than Hoshizaki did when she was wearing her makeup.

She’d entered the workforce after graduating from a junior college, so if she passed the acceptance exam on her first try, she’d be twenty-five this year. The principal described her as very talented despite her young age.

Her black hair, which she wore in a medium bob, went well with her charming features and radiant smile. In a collared button-down shirt with a jacket and a tight skirt, she was dressed a little more formally than the other women I’d seen in the faculty room.

“Mr. Sasaki, feel free to ask me if there’s anything you need,” she said. “I’ll do my best to support you so you can focus on the students. Class 1-A is filled with good kids, so I think you’ll get along well with them.”

“You make it sound like the other classes have problems, Ms. Mochizuki,” remarked the principal.

She seems a bit scatterbrained, I noted, watching her grow flustered and bow in apology. But with her bright, cheerful attitude, any minor mistakes could easily be chalked up to personality. The kids probably love her.

“Ms. Mochizuki,” I said, “I hope you will give me guidance and encouragement during our time working together.”

“Please, you don’t have to be so formal. Aren’t you older than I am?”

“In terms of teaching experience, you’re my senior, so I believe my formality is warranted.”

“Despite what Mr. Sasaki says,” added the principal, “he is an elite from a central ministry. Circumstances dictated his transfer to our school, but his position remains unchanged. Please be considerate toward him.”

“Huh?” she said, surprised. “Oh, um… That must be why you’re so polite with the two of them.”

“Something like that,” he replied. “And please keep all this under wraps, of course.”

“It’s not that big a deal,” I said. “Please go easy on me.”

“The… The pleasure is all mine!”

I began to wonder how exactly Mr. Akutsu had described us to the principal. Sure, we needed a degree of authority on-site, but wasn’t this going too far? I felt like we were causing everyone a lot of trouble. If we put any undue stress on the teachers, the students would feel it, too. I really didn’t want to disrupt their education.

“Should I assume that all goes for you as well?” asked Ms. Mochizuki, glancing over at Ms. Futarishizuka with obvious trepidation.

Before the principal could answer, my colleague spoke up. “Personally, I’d prefer to keep it casual. You can call me Shizu.”

“B-but you’re an elite! That would be disrespectful!”

“Aww, you’re making me sad over here.”

“Ms. Futarishizuka,” I chided her, “let’s not cause problems for Ms. Mochizuki.”

“Isn’t it a bother to call me by my full name?” she said.

“Well, I suppose you’re right about that.”

“I knew it! You were thinking that all along! Don’t you care a whit about your junior colleague?!”

“Please pipe down. Weren’t you the one who brought it up?”

Ms. Futarishizuka had started yakking right away, trying to grasp the initiative at our new post. She must have wanted to make herself look good in front of the principal, who served as the leader of this organization. As always, I was happy to let her stand out. That way, I could keep an appropriate distance and act as a kind of chaperone.

If it came to it, I wanted to let her handle any and all trouble that came up here at school.

The principal looked at us, perplexed, as we traded light banter. “E-excuse me, but may I ask a question as well?”

“Go ahead,” replied my junior colleague.

“Ms. Futarishizuka, you’ll be teaching alongside Mr. Robert in the future. Do you have any questions about that? I’d prefer to address any concerns now while we have the chance.”

As he spoke, I caught a hint of unease in his expression. He was probably asking because he knew the man’s true identity.

Ms. Futarishizuka quickly picked up on the implication and replied impassively. “The higher-ups have been clear with us, so I don’t believe there will be any issues.”

“I got the impression from your exchange in the faculty room that the two of you are already acquainted…”

“And uh, sir, if any issues do arise, our boss will take full responsibility,” I interjected.

“Do you think I should introduce myself to the two of them?”

“Oh, I think they’ll let you know if contact is necessary. I wouldn’t fret, uh, sir.”

Futarishizuka shut the principal right down. His career was on the line, too, and he seemed pretty desperate.

“…All right, then. Once again, I look forward to working with you all.”

More worrying to me were those from other agencies, lurking where neither we nor Mr. Akutsu could keep an eye on them. But for the moment, I hadn’t spotted anyone besides Miss Inukai and Captain Mason.

Eventually, a bell rang, signaling the start of morning homeroom.

“In that case…,” said the principal, “Mr. Sasaki, Ms. Futarishizuka, I have high hopes for the both of you.” He bowed deeply and saw us off. At last, I was headed for Class 1-A.