02- I Know Your Intentions

“Holland Jake,” said Mr. Watanabe.

“I’m Jake, nice to meet you and all of that. I like baseball and punk music.”

He had already finished saying that when he got to the front of the classroom. I had been following him through the morning, the first day of school. He’s a boy with curly hair and a foreign looking face. “Definitely not a Japanese,” I thought when I heard his name.

“Holland comes from America, so I’m sure he will be happy to help you all with your English, right, Holland?”

Holland nodded while rolling his eyes and sighing. He didn’t seem happy about it. He didn’t seem happy about anything, at least that morning. The first day of school is difficult for some people, I guess.

He went back to his seat and opened a biology book, ignoring the other students that were introducing themselves in the front.

I wasn’t paying attention either, as I had concluded there would not be any other interesting member of this class, except for me. And… Oh, I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself yet—

“Minamoto Hikari,” said Mr. Watanabe.

“Hello and good day, everyone. You can call me Minamoto Hikari though my real name is unknown even to me. Please don’t be surprised by this, but I want to let you know that I’m an ayakashi—”

“Are those youkai?” interrupted a student, distracting me from my monologue.

“They… Yeah, yeah, spirits… What else? Oh, yeah… what I like… I guess… I like dango… Yeah, thank you,” then I went back to my seat.

I had done it again, couldn’t finish saying what I wanted. I rehearsed my presentation the night before, but this question was unexpected… Why would you ask such a question? You google it later if you’re that curious.

There was no other explanation. It must have been some force from the spirit world, using the body of my classmate to inconvenience me. I have yet to identify who said that. Once I do, I may be able to perform an exorcism… I mean, if it’s not too late.

Nevermind that, I was telling you about Holland.

I saw him first the morning of the first day, as I said, followed by my target. He is probably one of the most important members of the organization, I thought, because when even my target was talking without caring for possible eavesdroppers, Holland kept a low profile.

And there was also the ladder act. He had convinced the entire school, teachers included, about the authenticity of the fall. From what I saw, he must have told my target to fall on his face, risking him breaking his nose.

It made me think that maybe I had my intel wrong. Maybe Holland was my real target, and he was using that upperclassman as a decoy. Maybe he had everything set up in a way that would fool me, predicting my appearance even before moving back to Japan. Did he move back or was that also a deception?

Those were the main reasons I thought I should confront him as soon as possible. I didn’t want to be discovered by him. The hunter could have become the hunted.

After Mr. Watanabe went out the room, Holland stood up. He had clear intentions to walk out the room, so I rushed out through the back door, and waited for him. I had less than ten seconds to prepare.

I checked my surroundings. Three people were walking in the hallway. I wouldn’t be able to throw him to the ground there as I had thought, too many witnesses.

The best idea seemed to be following him until we were alone, then attacking before he reacted. So I waited. And waited.

A long time passed and the next teacher came, so I had to return to the classroom. Holland was still in his seat, reading his book. Was it a coincidence? Did he know about me already? Did he look at me while I was going back to my seat?

Three days went by and I couldn’t get the chance to interrogate him. He knew about me, I was sure by then. I had seen him looking at me in class more than twice, and he never left the room if I was waiting outside.

It may sound like I was getting paranoid, but I was left with no other option except direct confrontation after what happened on the first Thursday.

He was with my target, vandalizing a classroom sign. That was punishable enough, but it was what he wrote that revealed me just in what kind of situation I was.

“Rei.”

It was the kanji for “decree,” but, as you know, it has the same reading as “example” and “spirit.”

He was making a decree that would set an example for spirits. It was a direct declaration of war. As they walked away from that classroom, I stood in front of them.

I wasn’t going to fight there. They would have attacked me together, for sure, as they lacked any form of honor. I was just acknowledging the challenge.

“Holland, I know your intentions.”

He looked at me with a puzzled face. But he wasn’t going to fool me. I kept eye contact until he talked.

“Are you from—?”

“I need to go, excuse me,” interrupted my target.

He walked by my side, and it felt like everything was happening in slow motion. He was as calm as he was supposed to be. Holland had been sent to fight in his place. The last thing I saw of him was his grin. They had deceived me.

I looked back, but the hallway was already empty. It seemed I had no choice but to get Holland first.

“Ignore him… you’re from my class, aren’t you?”

“I… yes. You can call me Minamoto Hikari, but my real name…”

“Oh, yeah, you’re the one that believes in all that stupid spirit stuff, yeah. What’s up?”

“Hey! There’s no need to be rude… well, nevermind… what are your and your organization’s plans? Tell me all you know and you won’t have to die here.”

“I have no organization, and my plans are going to the park right now, so move.”

“You won’t pass until you talk to me,” I said while drawing out Murasaki, my katana.

He looked away, knowing he didn’t stand a chance, and after a long sigh, he surrendered.

“Did you see the guy that was with me? It’s his organization. I’m on your side here. His plans are much bigger than you or I know, and I’m trying to get more information. I’m working for the government, and even when we appreciate your desire to help, I have to ask you to stay away from this.”

As if I would. He had said what I wanted to hear. I put Murasaki away and left Holland there. I’d investigate him later, you can’t trust the government these days.

The rest of that day, and the morning of the next, was spent with preparations for the battle. By the time the last class ended I was ready. I went to meet my destiny.

My target was the last person to get out of the classroom as always. When he did, I was in front of him.

“Even when the whole world is your enemy, you will be okay if you have some allies. Sadly, you seem to have none,” I said. It sounded as cool as planned, and it had to cause a great impact on him.

“Excuse me, do I know you?” he wasn’t even looking at me. Playing dumb again, it seemed.

“I know your intentions, I won’t let you do what you want. Tell me your name!”

“Iwaki.”

“Iwaki-senpai, you better leave right now. Or else I, Minamoto Hikari, will crush you, understood?”

“I have no idea what is this about, but I have no time to spend here with you, my plans can’t wait. If you could move—”

“I gave you a chance, but you didn’t take it…”

I attacked him with Murasaki but a strange force made me miss. I tried again, but it was like an invisible barrier was diverting my strikes. The left wall of the building ended up destroyed.

“It seems I underestimated you,” I said as I retreated.

“I will study him more,” I thought while running away. He seemed not willing to attack while at school, so I had time. And there was also Holland, he may be able to help me, if he ended up being on my side.

As for my reputation, it was not in danger. Only a fool fights a battle she cannot win.