History Chapter 1 - The Assignment

[Moonshadow]

Gray. The sky had turned very gray outside the lightly frosted window. Just that morning the sun seemed to be making headway against the gloom, but it was not looking promising now. Kaname let out a long sigh in spite of herself.

Why is history always so boring? The Asuka period. Taika Reforms. Fujiwara no Kamatari. Blah blah blah . . . Didn’t we learn this stuff years ago? It’s only the second week of January and I’m already going out of my mind!

The teacher’s voice droned on in its usual flat tone. Students shifted in their seats trying to stay focused. A girl scribbled something in her notebook, tore out half the page, folded it, and passed it silently to the girl in front of her. In the corner, a rather serious looking boy sat writing hurriedly to keep up with the monotonous lesson. He seemed to be the only one really paying attention to the lecture, though you’d never guess it from his test scores. A small smile cracked Kaname’s lips.

“Baka.”

He paused for a moment and met her gaze. She quickly looked away.

It had only been a few weeks since their ordeal on the Pacific Christmas. Only a few weeks since Sousuke had gotten strangely flustered and given her a small blue stone. He had said he wanted to tell her something, but hadn’t ever brought it up again. Since that, things between them had been a little . . .

“And now for your first assignment of the quarter!” The teacher’s words cut through her idle thoughts.

“Most of the things I have told you today, I have no doubt you’ve heard many times before. History may seem dry and distant to you. ‘Who cares what happened hundreds of years ago to people I don’t know?’ This is, unfortunately, a common sentiment among the youth these days. They are more interested in their own futures than our country’s past. However, it is our past that determines where we are going! We all came from somewhere. And that brings me to the assignment.” He paused to make sure he had everyone’s attention.

“I want you to spend some time finding out about your own history. More specifically, I want you to research your family line. Who were your ancestors? What did they do? Where was your grandmother born? Was your great-grandfather an advisor to the emperor? A fisherman? Find things from your family’s history that spark your interest and relate them to what was happening in Japan at the time. Each student will then need to prepare a five to ten minute presentation for class. Presentations will begin in two weeks. That should allow plenty of time for research. You may want to start by asking your relatives what they know and go from there.”

What an unusual assignment! It was definitely more interesting than the normal memorization of dates and names. She would probably need to start by calling her father. As much as she disliked the usually stern conversations she had with him, he would probably know a lot of things that would be helpful in this case. She’d also call her grandfather and uncle who lived near Tokyo.

The bell rang. They bowed and began pulling out their things for lunch. Many started to talk about what the teacher had announced.

“Hey, it’s better than a test!”

“I know my mother’s family were farmers, not sure about my dad’s.”

“So much for our study group on this one!”

“Do you know anything about your family, Kana-chan?” Kyouko brought her lunch over to where Kaname was setting up her bento.

“Ummm, a little. My dad does. I’m sure he’ll be happy to give me a full three hour lecture on the ‘proud history of the Chidori name’ or something like that. Could make for quite a phone bill.”

“Poor Kana-chan!” Kyouko laughed at her friend’s sour expression. “But I’m sure your family history is impressive! Mine’s a little embarrassing, I think. Mostly poor laborers and servants.”

“That’s nothing to be ashamed of!” Kaname said with conviction. She would not have her best friend thinking badly about herself. “If they were hard working and honest, that’s something to take pride in!”

“Hmmm, maybe,” Kyouko still looked a bit doubtful. Then a new thought hit her. “I wonder what Sagara-kun’s family did! I bet they were Samurai or weapons makers or something!”

“Sousuke’s?” Then it dawned on her. This assignment wouldn’t be so easy for everyone in the class. How was Sousuke going to present on a family he didn’t even remember? She looked over to the corner where he was still sitting. He had a somewhat pensive look on his face as he re-read the assignment in his notebook. Clearly, he had been thinking about the same problem.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“But we should really see if Oren-san is feeling better before we decide what we’re doing,” Kyouko was adamant. “If she’s still too tired, it wouldn’t be good to be running around Asakusa Hanayashiki all day.”

“I guess that’s true,” Kaname conceded, “But she was looking much better today. I’m sure she’ll be fine by Sunday. Anyway, an amusement park will help brighten her spirits!”

“Yeah, maybe.”

The shopping district was still rather crowded even though it was beginning to get dark. If the sun were visible through the thick clouds, it would be setting about then. Kaname and Kyouko continued planning their weekend outing as Sousuke followed a few steps behind. He had hardly said a word the whole way home. He was too lost in his own thoughts to pay much attention to the conversation between the two girls.

I want you to spend some time finding out about your own history.

My history? Growing up in Afghanistan? Learning to shoot at age six? Learning to pilot an AS when I was nine? Guerilla warfare? Assassination attempts? Mercenary work in Cambodia? I don’t think that’s what the teacher is expecting.

More specifically, I want you to research your family line.

Family? Mithril is the closest thing I have to that. Should I talk about Commander Kalinin’s work in the Spetsnaz? Mao’s experience living in New York and Hong Kong? Kurz lived in Japan. At least that’s the right country . . . No, that won’t work.

Who were your ancestors?

No idea.

What did they do?

Died . . . that is the problem.

“Sousuke?”

“Hmm?” Kaname and Kyouko had stopped walking and were staring at their companion. “I’m sorry, I was not listening. What did you need, Chidori?”

“Are you feeling okay?”

“Yes, no problems.”

“Well, Kyouko is leaving now,” Kaname still looked at him quizzically.

“Ah, Tokiwa. Have a pleasant evening.”

Kyouko looked at him and then at Kaname. She shrugged and turned down the street towards her home. “See ya tomorrow!” The remaining two continued toward their apartment buildings. They still had a ways to go.

“So what’s going on with you today? You’ve been acting really weird since lunch time . . . even for you.”

“Really?”

“Yes.” Kaname stopped walking and looked at him. She frowned but her eyes were concerned. “So what is it . . . the history project?”

“Uhh . . . affirmative. I am unsure as to how I should proceed with the assignment. As you can imagine, the parameters are somewhat troublesome for someone in my situation. I . . . I have no family.”

She studied his face for a few moments before saying anything else. It was serious and calm as ever, but she thought there were slight twinges of sadness in his voice and a loneliness in his eyes she hadn’t seen before. Or maybe she’d just never noticed it. At that moment he reminded her a great deal of the lost puppy that followed her home from school when she was eleven.

“Well, everyone has a family, Sousuke,” she struggled for something encouraging. “You have ancestors like anyone else. Like the teacher said, ‘We all came from somewhere.’”

“That is true, but I have no way of finding out who they were or what they did. When I said I have no family, I meant that I have no living family to ask for assistance in this case.”

“Hmm,” she thought a minute. “Well, You could just make something up, I guess. I mean, your records are all fake anyway. Do some research on life in different periods and invent people who could have been your ancestors. Think of it as expanding on your cover story.”

“Yes, I suppose that makes sense.” He looked a bit torn. “I would feel somewhat dishonest for not completing the assignment as the teacher specified, but it seems that cannot be helped. I will try my best to invent a normal Japanese history.”

Kaname smiled brightly, proud that she had been able to solve his dilemma. She decided that she would help him with creating believable people. Who knows what he’d come up with if left entirely to his own devices. Probably a long line if otaku military nuts or something even weirder.

For Sousuke, however, an idea had entered his mind that he couldn’t seem to shake. It was something he had purposely avoided since he had come to live in Tokyo nine months earlier.

I want you to spend some time finding out about your own history.

[SOULS_LEADER]

Bows*

Thank you!

[HELLFIRE]

Sounds very interesting. Don't think there's been a serious look into
Sousuke's past AFAIK. Hope to check out the rest of your fic when I get
some time Moonshadow.

Welcome to the boards!














Regards

[Moonshadow]

@SOULS_LEADER:

You're welcome?


@HELLFIRE:
Thanks! Let me know what you think if you have a chance to read the whole thing. Hope you like what I came up with ^_^