Chapter Text
Approaching the bottom of the mountain, Rio couldn’t help but think that it both looked exactly the same and completely different. For one thing, it didn’t seem as large as it had the very first time she’d stopped at this mountain and looked up at it, wondering just how much lower she could sink. Of course, it was a freaking mountain, so it wasn’t as if it was any smaller. Still, it didn’t seem like an unsurmountable height.
Though, that probably has as much to do with all the mad ninja-leaping we did around the place as it does with the fact that I’m taller and older now, Rio thought wryly as she turned her attention to the main difference. Where once there had been a single, ratty wooden sign half-covered by plants to indicate this was the way to Kunugigaoka’s 3-E Classroom, now there was a proper sign mounted on poles.
Or, to be exact, there was a proper sign just being mounted on those poles at this precise moment. Sugaya was standing on the stepladder next to it, clad in a loose shirt that was covered in old paint splatters (no surprise there, Rio thought wryly). She also noted that his hair had grown longer, enough to be gathered into a thin ponytail. The look suited him, in her opinion, very relaxed-artist vibes. It seemed like he was simply checking the sign was properly in place, when he spotted Rio and waved.
“Yo, Nakamura!”
“Yo, yourself.” Rio grinned.
“Ah, give me a moment.”
Sugaya climbed down and folded the ladder, which he then placed on a flatbed trolley near to the sign, stepping back to admire it. Rio did the same. The words ‘STARTING POINT’ were written in a dark, leafy green script across the soft white background, with the phrase ‘where weaknesses become strengths’ underneath in smaller brown lettering, and right at the bottom of the board were the phone number and contact email address of the school. Then, sitting or standing on or jumping off or dancing around the lettering for ‘STARTING POINT’ were little silhouettes of children and young people, painted in a variety of colours. Finally, the sign was bordered with leaves, flowers and little creatures.
“Wow, as expected from Sugaya,” Rio said with a grin. “I saw some of the pictures, but the end result looks really cool.”
“Thanks,” Sugaya replied. “I’ve got one more to put up at the top, and then there are the name plates for the pegs and cubbies, and I’ve got some spare uniform jackets to put in the storage up there, and a few other bits and pieces. That, by the way, explains why I’m early, if you were wondering.”
“I mean, not really,” Rio said, yawning. “Then again, I don’t have a good explanation for why I’m early. Guess I just felt like it. Are we the first here?”
Sugaya nodded.
“I think so, anyway. I’ve not seen anyone else come by yet.”
“Oh, really? I’d have expected Isogai and-aha, speak of the devil!”
Having caught a glimpse of them out of the corner of her eye, Rio spun around to see Isogai, Maehara and Megu heading towards them. Rio waved and called out:
“Oi, Class Reps! And Maehara!”
“Hey, what do you mean ‘and Maehara’?!” Maehara spluttered. “Am I just an afterthought to you?”
But he grinned throughout this protest, and Rio grinned back.
“Well, I should be calling the three of you ‘Principal’ now, really, shouldn’t I?”
“No, no,” Isogai said. “There’s no need to be so formal between friends. But how are you, Nakamura? Was your flight alright? Is the hotel alright?”
“Yeah, it was fine. Slept the whole way through, and I had a massive breakfast at the hotel, so I’m all bright and breezy. Ah, Megu, do you have your ring today?”
Megu smiled:
“Yes, I thought I’d wear it today. I knew you’d all want to see.”
Megu held out her hand so that Rio could see the pretty white-gold ring with a small, almost hidden diamond set into it. Rio oohed and ahhed at the ring before flinging an arm around her friend’s shoulder and demanding all the details of the proposal as they all walked up the mountain together. Rio hadn’t really met Megu’s fiancé Yoshiro, a high school athletics coach, but knew that he was a good man, and one who’d supported Megu, Isogai and Maehara as they’d worked to make Starting Point a reality. In fact, if she remembered correctly from what some of the other girls had told her, it’d been Isogai who had introduced Megu to Yoshiro.
It had kind of put a pin in the idea of Isogai and Megu becoming a couple. They’d dated in high school but decided that they worked better platonically, but there had always been a small part of Rio who’d still thought of them as ‘class couple’ material. Only a small part, though, because she was genuinely happy for them as they were now.
Especially as long as they’re both happy about it, too, Rio thought. That’s the most important thing.
“So,” Rio asked once Megu had finished spilling all the proposal details. “How many of us are coming today?”
“Um…I think almost all of us?” Maehara said.
“No, it’s definitely all of us,” Isogai said. “Hold on, I’ll just check.”
As Isogai dug around in his bag, an electronic voice chimed from somewhere:
“Isogai-kun is correct, everybody has RSVP-ed ‘yes’ to this reunion party.”
“Ritsu!” Rio exclaimed. “Good morning! Um, where are you talking from?”
“I’m in Isogai-kun’s phone at the moment, but he’s getting out his work tablet at the moment, where I’ll pull up the RSVP list once he’s switched it on.” Ritsu’s voice responded.
Isogai produced a white tablet in a clear case that had Starting Point’s logo emblazoned on it. After a few moments, he turned it around so Rio could see the screen. Ritsu’s avatar twirled and beamed, exclaiming in her sweet electronic voice:
“Nakamura-san, good morning! It appears everything went well with your flight and you managed to make it to your hotel with no problem, is that correct?”
“Yup, that’s right.” Rio replied. “Were you checking up on my flight information?”
“Of course! I know Isogai-kun can communicate with you all to make sure you’re all making your way safely, but I’m gathering what information I can to aid with that. In any case, here’s the list of RSVPs.”
Ritsu’s face shimmered away, replaced with a list of everyone from 3-E. Beside every single name, there was a large green tick. They were marked with differing dates, of course, but nonetheless, there wasn’t a single cross in the list.
“No way.” Rio breathed. “It really is everyone.”
She hadn’t expected that. She’d had to save up annual leave, swap some days with colleagues and all sorts to be able to make it here. Especially as she intended to attend both today’s reunion and Starting Point’s grand opening in a couple of weeks. And while she was the only member of 3-E who lived in another country, she knew that Sugino, Kayano and Yada were regularly taken overseas in their lines of work. Even Karma travelled the country a lot. But regardless of that, there were all the trials and tribulations of adult life to juggle.
Still, one way or another, Rio had been determined that she would make it. She hadn’t been able to attend the last reunion a few years back, and she’d hated that. Perhaps the others had simply felt that way too.
“You must have done some crazy organising to get that to work.” Rio enthused to Isogai.
“Well, it wasn’t really down to me, but to everyone deciding to take the time,” Isogai demurred. “I wouldn’t have expected this either. Even if this did end up being one of the preferred days, and it is spring break, it’s still an odd one. But I’m just grateful, really.”
“Hey, don’t sell us short!” Maehara said. “Of course everyone’s coming together for this. After all, you could say this is the 3-E legacy, right?”
“The 3-E legacy, huh?” Rio mused. “Heavy words, heavy words.”
Then, after a moment, she asked:
“What about opening day, then? Is everyone coming to that?”
“That seems less likely,” Megu answered. “We’re still waiting for confirmation for some people, and I know we’re chasing that up today while everyone’s here.”
“Karasuma-sensei and Bitch-sensei will be there, though.” Maehara said brightly. “Though, not entirely as guests.”
There was a moment of sombre silence at this. Karasuma and Irina’s little daughter Mariya was to be amongst the first students at Starting Point, so that she could regain her confidence while her parents searched for a better school for her. Given how they’d been misled by the first elementary school they’d chosen, they were taking their time in finding an alternative. In the meantime, though, so she didn’t lose out on education and she wasn’t isolated, she was coming to Starting Point.
It’s the obvious solution, after all, Rio had messaged when she’d first heard. After how they helped us that year, now we’re essentially repaying that debt.
“Ah, but you know, I think Mariya-chan’s going to bounce back in no time.” Megu said. “Bitch-sensei sent me a bunch of pictures of Mariya-chan trying her new school jacket on with various different outfits and hairstyles. It was a proper photoshoot, I’m telling you.”
Rio spluttered out a laugh.
“No way. That kid sure is a character.”
“That she is,” Isogai chuckled. “That she most certainly is.”
They reached the top of the mountain, and once the codes in the alarms had been put in, Isogai showed her into the new staffroom to leave her bag and her jacket. When they came back out again, Sugaya had come up, having taken the wheelchair accessible path up instead. Where once there had been a short stone pillar indicating that this was the 3-E building, now there was another set of poles, waiting for a sign just like the one Sugaya had been working on at the bottom.
“I’ll be starting with the sign up here. Nakamura, want to help?”
Rio regarded him sceptically.
“What does ‘help’ mean in this case? I’m not breaking my nails, I got them done especially.”
“Oh yeah, let me see?”
Rio held out her hands so Sugaya could inspect her nails-marbled brown and gold, to match her dress. He ummed and aahed, before nodding sagely.
“Fair enough. Don’t worry, you can just pass me stuff and make sure I don’t fall off the ladder.”
So that was what she did as Isogai wheeled in Sugaya’s trolley and Megu and Maehara went around to unlock everything else. From what she remembered, they had wanted to keep the ‘character’ of the original buildings, so the main section of the building looked exactly the same. The extensions and additional buildings had therefore also been built in the same style. She’d only seen a few pictures of the inside, but she knew they’d also largely tried to keep to the building’s character too, while also seeming modern and fresher.
In the meantime, as she fetched and handed things over for Sugaya, she scrutinised what else she could see. Though cherry blossoms were being blown all over it, the grass was neatly mowed and the plants carefully tended to, no doubt by the rotating group of 3-E members who had come to help with building maintenance from time to time while Starting Point was still being developed. A ramp had been installed in front of the main door, which had a cheerful ‘WELCOME STUDENTS’ sign hanging over it. But in the distance, she noticed something curious. Figuring that Sugaya would have a better view of it, given he was on the stepladder, she asked:
“What’s that fence over there?”
“Hmmm?”
Sugaya looked over to where she was pointing, and then said:
“Ah, it’s for the swimming pool. They’ve got little ones coming here after all.”
“That’s true. Better than getting rid of it, right?”
“Exactly. Now, tell me, how’s the sign look?”
Rio stepped back to take a look at the sign, a twin to the one that was at the bottom of the path.
“Hmm, it’s a little skewed on the right, I think you need to lift it up more…yeah, yeah, that’s perfect.”
“Alright, I’ll take a look myself.”
Sugaya hopped down and came to stand by Rio, looking up. He nodded in satisfaction.
“Yeah, that’s just right.”
It was at that moment another voice called out:
“Woah, that’s the official sign, huh? Looks amazing!”
“Fuwa!” Rio exclaimed, recognising the voice immediately.
Rio spun around to see Fuwa strolling up, dressed in an unbuttoned grey jacket over a button-down shirt and baggy jeans.
“You’re looking well!” Rio exclaimed. “And you sound exactly the same!”
“Oh, really?” Fuwa laughed. “I could say the same to you. London life suits you, doesn’t it? Though you don’t look very tanned.”
“It’s London,” Rio dead-panned. “You get the sun for about five seconds if you’re lucky. Well, that’s not true, the last couple of summers have been pretty hot. But generally speaking, it’s usually just rain and drizzle, some more rain, the occasional hailstones…you get the idea.”
“Yeahhh, that was a stupid question.” Fuwa rubbed the back of her head sheepishly. “But I’m sure you must get some stupid questions about being Japanese, right?”
“Oh, yeah, that’s true. Hi, by the way, Fuwa.” Sugaya said as he folded up his ladder and went to put away.
Fuwa waved, and Rio thought about it.
“I mean, not as much as you’d expect. I work with a lot of people from all sorts of places,” Rio explained. “But you do get the occasional person asking if I’ve met a samurai and shit like that. Though, let me tell you the funniest thing someone asked me once they found out I’m Japanese.”
“Oooh, go on.”
“They went ‘hey, is that the country where the moon was when it got destroyed?’”
Fuwa opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again. But before she could say anything, a familiarly gloomy voice witheringly responded:
“The moon’s in space.”
Rio yelped and spun around to see Hazama there.
“Ha-Hazama! You surprised me there!”
“I see that.”
Hazama smirked, but unexpectedly, after a few moments the expression softened into a softer sort of smile. Rio couldn’t decide if seeing Hazama look genial was unsettling or comforting. She had to admit that it did suit her, though.
“Sorry about that. But did somebody seriously say that to you?” Hazama asked incredulously.
“Yeah, seriously?” Fuwa demanded. “I mean, yes, the causes of the incident came from here, but the moon itself was where it always is! In the sky! Which is everywhere!”
“Sadly, yes.” Rio sighed.
“People can be stupid.” Hazama said simply.
“Yes, they can. Anyway, it’s been a long time, Hazama. How are you?”
“I’m doing well. You?”
“Yeah, yeah, all’s good. What’s been going on with you, then?”
Rio briefly chatted with Hazama and Fuwa, before Hazama then asked:
“Is everything opened up? I’ve got more books for this place.”
“Oh, yeah, it’s all been unlocked.”
“Very well. I will see you in a moment.”
Hazama left, leaving Rio and Fuwa alone. The latter looked up at the sign.
“Starting Point: where weaknesses become strengths,” Fuwa read. “Nice and powerful, that, but couldn’t they have used some expression about blades? Turn your weaknesses into weapons, or some such thing?”
“Well, I’m sure we can make use of phrases like that in the classroom, but also, we’re trying not to scare them off at the door,” Isogai said conversationally, coming out of the main building. “This isn’t an assassination school, even if we are using some of Koro-sensei’s pedagogy.”
Fuwa pulled a face at this, and Isogai laughed.
“But I haven’t greeted you properly, Fuwa. How are you?”
They walked off, so Rio didn’t hear what they were talking about. But she soon lost interest, because she spotted two people she’d been particularly looking forward to seeing.
“Touka! Hinano!”
She flew down the path to hug them, and then walked back up with them.
“Ah, it’s been too long!” Yada exclaimed. “I’m so glad you could make it! I was hoping you would, you know!”
“I was, too-you guys didn’t make it to the last reunion, right?”
“I did,” Yada said. “But Hinano-chan didn’t.”
“That’s right, yeah. Ah, hold on, give me a moment.”
Hinano leant against the sign and got a bottle of water out of her bag. Immediately, Yada looked concerned:
“Are you alright, Hinano?”
“Should you have walked all this way up here?” Rio asked. “How far along are you anyway? Oh, and since I’m seeing you face to face, congratulations again!”
Hinano’s pregnancy wasn’t showing yet, but Rio knew this didn’t particularly mean anything. Enough of her slightly older colleagues had gone and returned from maternity leave over the years that she knew it was different for everyone.
“Thanks, but I’m fine, don’t worry so much,” Hinano waved off their concern. “We walked slowly, and Eita dropped me off right at the start of the path. Besides, I’m just past the first trimester, and it’s important to be active as much as you can.”
“Well,” Rio shrugged. “You’d know better than me. How are you feeling? Do you get sick a lot?”
“Not so much anymore, but sometimes. Seriously though, don’t worry about me.”
“Eita-san’s coming to pick you up as well, isn’t he?” Yada asked.
Hinano nodded, and Rio sighed:
“Oh, your handsome Karasuma-sensei-lookalike?”
“Rio-chan!!” Hinano protested, laughing.
“She has a point.” Yada said with a mischievous smile.
Hinano simply kept laughing, shaking her head. Rio chuckled and said:
“Lucky for some, eh? Oh, let’s take a picture under this sign!”
“Sure!”
They took a few selfies on all their phones, and Rio was just flicking through hers and deciding which ones to send to her girlfriend when Okajima came bounding up the path, and boomed:
“Ladies, ladies. Want me to take a picture for you?”
Rio lowered her hand and turned to raise an eyebrow at Okajima, idly noting that his head was no longer shaved. Huh, he looks like less of a creep that way. Funny how everyone’s changes seem to be suiting them so well.
“Okajima-kun,” Yada asked sweetly. “You’re not going to do anything weird, are you?”
Okajima gasped loudly and put a hand to his chest.
“Me? Do anything weird? No, no, no, I’m a changed man! I’m a husband! And a father! Look, let me show you!”
He took out his phone and immediately brought up an album full of baby pictures, flicking through them so that they could see. Rio wasn’t sure how old the baby was, but it seemed to be halfway between the wrinkly potato stage and the becoming-a-small-person stage. In any case, the variety of pretty outfits it had been photographed in indicated that the baby was a girl. While a lot of the photographs were casual ones, many of them looked comparable to proper studio photographs, or the fancy baby photoshoots she sometimes stumbled across on Instagram.
“Aww, she’s so cute! What’s her name? How old is she?” Hinano asked.
“My little Nonoka is six months old now!” Okajima said with pride. “Isn’t she the prettiest, most sweet, wonderful baby?”
“Yeah, yeah, very cute,” Rio said. “But what I want to know is, how on earth did you of all people end up married?”
Okajima affected a mock-wounded expression, but before he could say anything, Mimura approached, and after saying hello informed them that:
“It’s because his wife’s just as weird as he is.”
“O-oi!” Okajima spluttered.
“No, no,” Hinano said. “It’s just that Aiko-san’s got four older brothers, just like I do.”
“Oh? How come you know his wife, then?” Mimura asked.
“Aiko-san’s two middle brothers, the twins? They’re friends with my third-eldest brother.” Hinano explained.
“Ahhh, I see, I see.” Rio said. “Small world, isn’t it?”
“It sure is,” Mimura said wonderingly. “Anyway, who’s here already? I assume Isogai, Kataoka and Maehara are?”
“Sugaya, Fuwa and Hazama are here too. I guess Ritsu too, but technically she’s always here.” Rio put in. “Other than that, it’s just us, but I’m sure everyone else will be here soon.”
“Wait, everyone? Seriously everyone?” Mimura asked.
“Ah, I thought there was a higher chance of most of us coming,” Yada beamed. “But I wasn’t sure if that was true or not! So it’s really true, huh? This is going to be amazing, isn’t it?”
“Hell yeah!” Okajima cheered.
“That’s crazy though,” Mimura said. “That we all managed to arrange our schedules just so to make that happen…I mean, when my colleagues heard I was attending a class reunion, they were all like huh, a middle school reunion? I’d get a high school one, but why middle school? Middle school ain’t that special. Well, some of them must have really suffered, because one of them went, middle school’s a cesspit.”
“I mean, to be fair, the school was a cesspit,” Hinano said airily. “But our class wasn’t.”
Rio chuckled, mostly because hearing Hinano use a word like ‘cesspit’ was still so surprising.
“Yeah, in the UK, the middle school years and some of the high school years all come under ‘secondary school’ for the most part, so most of them were interested in knowing it was a completely separate thing. Still, even my colleagues were pretty surprised that I’d still be that close with secondary school classmates. Arguably though, they were more surprised to learn that we’re all co-owners of a free school on a mountain.”
“They’re not surprised you also co-own the mountain?” Okajima wondered.
“I mean, that too.” Rio shrugged.
“Ohh, you told your colleagues about this?” Yada asked, gesturing to their surroundings.
“Yeah, I used it during one of those awful ‘two truths and a lie’ ice-breaker things they use for team-building once. Almost everyone picked that as the lie.”
“No way!” Yada laughed.
“Yes way. I think it completely blew their minds.” Rio laughed. “The only one who wasn’t surprised when I did this was my girlfriend, Yasmin, since she already knew.”
“What did your colleagues think?” Okajima asked. “They probably didn’t expect it of you.”
“Well, I just said…”
And Rio cleared her throat dramatically before saying, in English:
“The class that slays together, stays together!”
This was met with groans and laughter, with Mimura shaking his head and saying:
“You didn’t!”
“What? It’s not like I told them I meant it literally!” Rio laughed. “Though, imagine slipping that in there as the ‘lie’ in two truths and a lie?”
“That’s so cheesy, Rio.” Yada shook her head.
“How would you word it, though?” Hinano wondered. “Something like ‘I was part of an elite government assassination squad in my third year of middle school or…’ actually, what is that in British schooling?”
“Um, Year 10, I think?” Rio shrugged. “But yeah, no, I wouldn’t actually spill all the tea. I mean, it’s kinda out there, technically, isn’t it? Just not the finer details.”
They all nodded at that. These days, most people didn’t hear their names and connect it to the incidents related to the moon explosion. For most of the class, having Kunugigaoka Academy on their CVs did lead to some raised eyebrows, with people remembering the infamous 3-E system and how it’d been shut down, but Rio didn’t have that particular problem in London. Still, even if any of their employers had realised who they were, because of the story that had been spun around it, all they’d assume was the carefully constructed story the media had been fed. Nothing more, nothing less. The truth and all its nuances remained a state secret, for the most part.
It mostly suited her that way. She had shared some parts of her past with her girlfriend Yasmin, of course, and picked out some of those bits for her other close colleagues too. But even those were the broad strokes of the situation. Teenage insecurities leading to bad choices. Being sent to a bottom-of-the-heap class full of misfits and being systematically discriminated against as a result. Battling against a system that had therefore decided that she was hopeless, but having an eccentric teacher who’d changed everything. It wasn’t as if those things were lies. They were, in fact, perfectly accurate representations of the situation she’d been in.
They just weren’t the whole truth.
It didn’t matter, though, that she couldn’t really share the whole truth with the others in her life. Because she had 3-E, the ones she’d experienced it with, to talk to instead. Though, watching more of them arrive, Rio thought Ah, I missed being able to chat with everyone so easily. Group chats and phone calls and even the occasional old-fashioned snail-mail were all well and good. But they simply weren’t the same.
As Okajima went to bother more people with his baby photographs, and Mimura went to say hello to Maehara, Rio remained outside with Yada and Hinano for a bit, until Hinano pointed out:
“Oooh, everyone seems to be going inside. Shall we go?”
“Yes, lets!” Yada agreed.
She looped arms with Rio and Hinano, and the three of them headed inside. It seemed that everyone was gravitating towards what had once been their main classroom, but which would now be the classroom for the upper-middle-school and the high-school aged students of Starting Point. Inside, Rio spotted Nagisa, Kayano and Karma and headed straight over to them. She briefly considered trying to needle the former two about whether they were a couple yet but decided to save it for later. There was a whole day ahead of them, after all, and plenty of opportunities for teasing. Instead, they simply chatted, and while they did, Rio listened to the threads of some of the other conversations.
Yada had gone over to Muramatsu, was asking after his wife while he in turn enquired about the health of Yada’s younger brother. In a corner, Hinano and Hara were chatting to some of the others about what they preferred to be called now they had different surnames. It seemed that neither of them minded being called by their old surnames for the most part. But while Hinano encouraged her first name too, Hara pointed out that her married surname (Harada) was only one extra syllable, making her old surname feel more like a fond nickname than anything.
Chiba and Hayami started off talking to Karma and Nagisa about how their new architectural firm was doing, but upon hearing that it closed early on Tuesdays so that Hayami could attend the jazz dance classes she’d recently started again, Okano and Hayami broke off to have a conversation about being office ladies with active hobbies. Apparently, Okano still kept up with her gymnastics, even occasionally competing with the acrobatics troupe she’d established in university. Sugino appeared to be regaling Terasaka and Itona with tales of his baseball exploits, while Mimura and Fuwa were commiserating about the trials and tribulations of TV production and manga editing careers respectively.
Hearing the buzz of all these conversations made Rio feel warm, reminding her of the many moments when she’d been surrounded by a similar buzz and chatter coming from the very same people. They had not exactly had the so-called ‘carefree’ school days that most people reminisced about. Nonetheless, it was enough to make her feel nostalgic. 3-E had been the first place where both sides of her could co-exist, where she could belong as the complicated person she was, rather than having to hide one half or the other. And she didn’t want to go back, precisely, because even without the whole assassination business, adolescence had sometimes been as awkward as hell. But though the self-acceptance she’d developed here had been enough to carry her through the beginnings of adulthood, and she’d built herself an amazing life now, there was still nothing (and nobody) quite like her 3-E.
The class that slays together, stays together, indeed, she thought to herself with satisfaction. I’m so glad I managed to make it to this reunion.
Suddenly, Maehara raised his hands and clapped them loudly, calling:
“Alright everyone, quieten down a bit and gather around.”
They did quieten down, but Itona prevented them from falling into silence by querying:
“Hmm, what’s all this about then? Is Isogai going to be making a speech?”
“No, no,” Isogai laughed. “I’ll be doing enough of that at the opening day. But I thought that since we’re all here, it’d be nice to get another ‘class photograph’ of sorts. Since some of us are leaving earlier, I thought now would be better rather than later. Is that fine with everyone?”
Since everyone unanimously said ‘yes’, Isogai nodded at that in satisfaction and then asked:
“Okajima, would you care to help me with that? Since you’re our resident photographer and all.”
“Oh, hell yeah!” Okajima cheered enthusiastically. “Got another of those tablets to hand? I’ll set up the camera timer while we all get into place.”
Since Sugaya had doodled the very impressive Koro-sensei on the board, it made logical sense for them to pose there, and so that was what they all did, all of them scrambling to find a place.
“Karma-kun, you should probably be somewhere in the centre-no, not on the step!! There!!!”
“What, because I’m so important?”
“No, it’s because you’re so freaking tall! Isn’t he so freaking tall, Nagisa? I swear you’re meant to stop growing after high school!”
“Trust me, Sugino, I remember this every day.”
“Alright, alright, I’ll stand in the middle. Okuda-san and Nagisa, you’ll stand next to me, right?”
“S-sure!”
“I’m standing on Nagisa’s other side! Kanzaki-chan, stand next to me too?”
“Of course, Kayano-san.”
“Who’s going to hold the tablet for Ritsu to appear?”
“Tch, here, give it over!”
“Thanks, Terasaka!”
“Where should we stand?”
“Over here, on the side?”
“Hey, hey, hey, make space for me!”
It was, predictably, good-natured chaos. But they worked it out eventually, and as they gradually settled into position, Maehara asked:
“Alright, shall we call out ‘cheese’ or something when the picture’s taken?”
“No, no, I know what to say.” Rio exclaimed, the idea coming to her in a flash.
“What should we say then?” Nagisa asked.
“’Class 3-E’ of course!”
A few of the others murmured ‘Class 3-E’ experimentally, and Maehara said:
“Alright, that’s what we’ll go for. Ready, Okajima?”
“Yes, yes…..ahh, quick, let me through! Ritsu, give us the signal when it’s time!”
“Got it, Okajima-kun!” Ritsu’s voice called.
Okajima scrambled to join the group, ending up beside Rio and Sugaya near the back. A few of the others switched places quickly, including Mimura going around to crouch at the front, and Muramatsu nudging Itona a little further in so that Hazama could get into the picture.
“Alright, everyone!” Ritsu said, this time just from the camera set-up. “Three...two…one…”
And right on cue, they all cheered:
“CLASS 3-E!!”
…
“Alright, if anybody wants a little tour,” Isogai called out as they started to disperse again. “Then we’re more than happy to give you one, especially if you’ve not seen all the changes we’ve made for Starting Point.”
Sugino perked up at the idea of a tour, since he hadn’t been up here since…well, since his time as a Class 3-E member had ended. But before he could say anything, Muramatsu interrupted:
“Count me out, I’ve got lunch to prepare. Besides, I’ve seen it all already. Itona, Yoshida, Terasaka, you’re coming with me too.”
“Why me?” Itona asked, wide-eyed.
“Because you’re always calling me and Yoshida up saying oooh, come help me with this, come help me with that. Now it’s my turn.” Muramatsu retorted.
“You could in fact say it’s revenge.” Hazama remarked ominously from the corner.
Any reaction to this was overshadowed by Terasaka protesting:
“And what about me, huh? You’ve all been gallivanting up here but I haven’t! Don’t ya think I want to have a good look at this too? I’m a part of it too, after all.”
“How about this, Terasaka?” Isogai said smoothly. “I’ll show you around, and then afterwards we’ll head back to the kitchen to help Muramatsu and the guys out. Speaking of which, Muramatsu, don’t spend all your time in the kitchen, alright? We want to see you as much as we want to see everyone else.”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever.” Muramatsu said, biting back a smile.
“I’ll come along and help too, of course.” Hara added soothingly.
Sugino left them to it and approached Nagisa and Kayano.
“What do you say? Shall we have a look around?”
“It sounds good to me,” Nagisa said. “I don’t think I’ve been up here since before all the renovations started. Didn’t we come up here just before that time, Karma?”
“Oh yeah, we did. You know, I think it was even before Isogai-kun came forward with his idea.” Karma said. “Needless to say, it’s all very different. Anyway, Okuda-san, Kanzaki-san, want to be part of our tour group?”
Sugino felt his cheeks going red as Kanzaki smiled prettily at them. He couldn’t help but think that the long white dress she had on today made her look particularly angelic, and he had to internally berate himself. Pull yourself together, Tomohito, he thought. You’re not a love-struck teen anymore!
“That would be nice, Karma-kun. This was the exact group that we were in when we had the school trip to Kyoto, isn’t it?” Kanzaki asked. “The six of us?”
“Oh yeah, it was!” Kayano exclaimed. “Amazing!”
“Then, shall I take the six of you around?” Megu asked.
“Yes please!” Nagisa, Kayano, Manami and Sugino answered in unison, before laughing.
And so they followed Megu around. Their old classroom was for the very oldest of the students who’d be at Starting Point, but the building had been extended to accommodate three new classrooms. One for kindergarteners and first graders, another for the rest of elementary school, and a middle school classroom.
“Though, these are more rough categories than strict guidelines. For example, it might be that we put a sixth-grader into the middle school classroom or vice versa, depending on their needs.” Megu explained.
Regardless, all the classrooms were freshly painted, with brand-new furniture and equipment. The classroom for the youngest students had a variety of toys, and every single classroom had its own shelf of books, placed in a corner marked off as a ‘quiet zone’ with cushions and a curtain. Each classroom also had a poster with the heading ‘Class Rules’ hanging next to each classroom’s blackboard, though apart from this it was completely blank. Megu explained the reason for this was that each class would come up with their own rules to fill in, supported by their teacher to do this and also to justify why the rules were being put into place.
“There will be basic whole-school rules, of course. Respecting each other, keeping safe and tidy, things like that.” Megu added. “But this something to not only help them all settle in and understand what’s being expected of them, but also to support those that may have trouble with rules.”
“That might not work on all your little rebels, though I imagine you know that anyway,” Karma said thoughtfully. “But certainly, allowing them more autonomy and taking the time to explain why something is how it is rather than just saying ‘oh that’s just how it is’ or ‘because I say so’ will be a gamechanger.”
“That’s the idea, yes.” Megu agreed. “There needs to be some sort of structure, because some will need that. But not to the same extent as traditional schooling, because that’s what will have tripped some of them up in the first place. It’s a balancing act. The more we’ve worked on this place, the more we’ve found that it’s all a balancing act.”
“It seems like you’re balancing it well,” Manami said. “I know I’d like being in these classrooms.”
“Me too.” Sugino chimed in.
They then moved onto what Megu described as a ‘sensory room’, adapted from what had once been a smaller storage cupboard, with an extension added on to increase the space. Of all the rooms, this one was the one that differed the most in appearance, with its colourful foam flooring and furniture, dark walls, soft lighting and bubble tube in the corner. Nonetheless, as Megu explained, it was an important room. Even if eventually, some students would have to be referred to somewhere more specialist where their disabilities and additional needs were concerned, Megu reasoned, every effort should be made to accommodate them in the time they spent at Starting Point.
To that end, there were other accommodations embedded throughout the entire school site. Induction loops for hearing aids, and flashing lights to go with alarms and bells. Braille resources and Ritsu-aided audio description for various learning material. There was of course the additional path that had been constructed up the mountain for wheelchair access, but then any stairs had been replaced or supplemented with ramps, and when renovating, one of the key considerations had been to make sure the doorways were large enough for a wheelchair to get through.
Of course, everyone had seen the staff offices already, so those were skipped over, so the next stop was the canteen and kitchen, which was housed in a new building.
“Ohhh, this looks all very cosy.” Kanzaki said.
The walls of the canteen were painted with cheerful illustrations of different foods and meals, and the tables were brightly coloured. Three of them were large and round with a bench seat, with a few smaller tables and chairs arranged along one wall. There were also spare chairs stacked in a corner.
“Ah, so is this for them to decide whether they want to sit together in bigger groups, or if they want to sit in smaller groups or even alone?” Manami asked.
“Yes, that’s right.” Megu answered. “We’ll let them eat outdoors when the weather’s really nice, but most of the time we’ll gather here. Let’s go have a peek in the kitchen.”
That was what they did, where Muramatsu explained how Starting Point was becoming one of Matsuraiken’s first catering contracts, though only for part of the time.
“Then what do you do for the rest of the time?” Kayano wanted to know.
“Some students will bring in their own lunches,” Megu explained. “But we’re also going to have the students cooking their own lunches too, as part of their home economics curriculums. They’ll also help decide on menus. Of course, we’ll have snacks and things on-site too.”
“So much better than when we were here,” Sugino said with a sigh. “And we’d have to bring everything we wanted to eat up with us, if we didn’t want to trek down again.”
“I know, right?” Kayano said. “Can you imagine if any of us had forgotten lunch? Total nightmare.”
“I’d have shared with you if that was the case, Kayano-san.” Kanzaki said sweetly.
“Oooh, Kanzaki-chan, you’re too nice.”
“You say that like she’s sharing lunch with you now…” Nagisa muttered.
“Hey!” Kayano protested. “It’s the thought that counts!”
Sugino couldn’t bring himself to do anything more than nod cheerfully at that, because he feared it would expose some of the feelings he thought he’d grown out of. It was a little embarrassing, not having been able to fully shake off a middle school crush. But all the same, he smiled at Kanzaki as she and Kayano giggled together. It’s only because it’s been so long since I’ve seen her that I’m going all weird, he told himself. After all, I decided that I’d rather have her in my life as a friend than not at all. I just need to pull myself together, that’s all.
They then admired the recreation room, filled with books, art supplies, board games and comfortable seating as well as a piano in the corner. After that, was the nurse’s office, before they then went back out via the main entrance, with the coat hooks and shoe lockers that were waiting for their nameplates, as well as a small cupboard that had a few spare indoor shoes and some spare uniform jackets. Megu took one of these out for them to see. Rather than a more traditional blazer, it was a practical zip-up fleece with lapels that nonetheless looked quite smart. It was a soft, dark forest-y sort of green with a black zipper, and the Starting Point logo on the chest, and no scratchy labels or seams. This, too, was another example of a ‘balancing act’-the compromise of having some sort of uniform versus being completely casual.
“Alright, now we’re going outside, probably the biggest difference is the sports pitch and the fences and gates that you’ll see here and there.” Megu explained. “We couldn’t use the one that Koro-sensei made when he’d flattened the grass out front that one time, because the lines and things had all washed or faded away by the time we came up here to clean up.”
“Ahh, I’d been wondering about that!” Sugino exclaimed.
“Mhm,” Megu continued. “Plus, Yuuma liked the idea of the students using the space right out front in a more unstructured way, so we’ve located the new pitch off on the side over there, where we’re heading now. It’s a more basic one, but it’s still multipurpose. For other things, they can mark out temporary pitches on the grass, or if any student wants to take part in properly-organised sports, we’ll be arranging things with local sports clubs.”
“Where baseball is concerned, that’s something I might be able to help with. And my offer to come and guest teach a baseball lesson if my schedule allows still stands, Kataoka-san.”
Megu acknowledged his statement with a smile and a nod, and then continued:
“As for the fences, those are really for the little ones. We didn’t want to restrict the students’ freedom in roaming all this outdoor space, but with much younger students you have to be a lot more careful about where they can go.”
“No, no,” Karma said. “I don’t imagine that small children and steep edges really mix well.”
“Neither does the pool,” Megu added. “We won’t go that way, because nothing’s changed there apart from the fences. But yeah, we had to make a lot of changes for us to be approved to take younger students on. Thankfully, Kuraha-ah, I mean, Hinano-san helped us out a lot. She had to make a lot of risk assessments when using the back of the mountain for her nature walks, which also involved small children. So, we used a lot of what she’d worked out to help us make sure we could do the same.”
“It’s another balancing act again.” Nagisa nodded. “But they’ll be spending a lot of time out here anyway, aren’t they? If I remember correctly, you’re incorporating some forest school principles into this, am I right?”
Megu blinked at him, surprised.
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I thought so,” Nagisa nodded. “It’s a little trickier in my case, but with the class that just graduated, I found that taking some of their learning outdoors helped a lot. I might try it with my new class come April.”
“You know, Nagisa-kun,” Kanzaki said thoughtfully. “I’m surprised that you’re not coming to work at this school.”
“Oh, I do intend to at some point,” Nagisa said. “I just can’t right now. It’s just that where I am, I’ve still got targets left to hit.”
“It’s one of the roughest high schools in the area, isn’t it?” Karma remarked.
“It’s getting better now, though, I’ve heard.” Manami said. “One of the researchers I work with had a nephew in your class last year, and she said that she could see the difference between whatever you were doing and whatever other teachers do in that school.”
“Well of course! Nagisa’s becoming a really cool teacher.” Sugino agreed.
Nagisa blushed, and tried to deflect the praise, but then as they walked around and admired the all-purpose sports pitch that had been put in, he said:
“I’ve been teaching third-year classes all of this time, but it’s obvious that the roots of their problems are well-entrenched by the time they get to me. So, if I work with a first-year class, I may just be able to cut the problems off at the knees and eventually cripple them completely.”
“Just like a true assassin,” Kayano said admiringly. “Once there’s a target in his line of sight, he won’t stop until they’re dead.”
Megu laughed and shook her head.
“None of you can really shake off the usage of assassination metaphors, can you?” she asked.
“Can you?” Karma asked pointedly.
Heading towards the storeroom, Megu sighed and shook her head:
“No, not really. The boys are more likely to slip into them in everyday conversation, especially Maehara. But the thinking in terms of battles and defeat and strategy is surprisingly useful for the classroom, so we’re not ditching it completely. Aaand…”
Stopping in the middle of the sports pitch, she turned to them and with a sheepish smile said:
“…don’t you think here’s the perfect place for the kids to play assassination badminton?”
Sugino couldn’t help bursting out into laughter, and the rest of them followed suit.
“Ehhh, Kataoka-san, I wouldn’t have thought you’d be for that.” Karma said. “This is an interesting development.”
“Well, they can play normal badminton too,” Megu said with a shrug. “But assassination badminton was fun, and even though Starting Point is most definitely not an assassination classroom, isn’t that what sparked all of this in the first place?”
Megu looked pensive all of a sudden. She turned to look back at the main building, and then asked:
“Do you remember what it felt like the first time you trudged up here? Or even when you first found out you were going to be sent here?”
“Like a total failure?” Nagisa suggested.
“Yeah, like that,” Sugino agreed. “Like you were completely worthless. I mean, everyone told you that you were worthless once they found out you were coming here.”
“Everyone avoided you like the plague,” Manami added. “Even the ones you thought you got along with. And that was sad.”
“Disappointment.” Kanzaki piped up. “At the time, when I cared so much about what others thought, I hated that I’d disappointed them. I was disappointed in myself too, really disappointed. Especially as I had nobody to blame but myself.”
Manami nodded vigorously at this, and then Sugino added:
“It kind of felt like the end of the world, didn’t it? Even before we found out there was actually going to be an end of the world, that is.”
“Eh, well, when I found out about the whole ‘killing a teacher’ thing, I was pretty excited,” Karma started. “But my feelings before that…well, don’t we all know what betrayal feels like? And, embarrassing as it is to say, I was pretty defeated. What was the point in trying, if it was only to turn out like this? I didn’t really see the point in doing anything different.”
A small throat-clearing noise had Sugino taking a closer look at Kayano, who was fiddling with the bows on the shoulders of her blouse. Her eyes lowered, she softly said:
“The situation was a little different for me, but I didn’t see anything past my own revenge. My own pain. I don’t really think I saw a future past those goals, so it’s a little bit like Sugino-kun said. It was the end of our worlds, wasn’t it?”
There was a moment of silence as they all contemplated this. Nagisa briefly put a hand on Kayano’s shoulder, and she smiled wistfully at him before shaking her head and murmuring, I’m alright, really. Sugino wasn’t surprised that those memories still weighed on Kayano from time to time. It was true for all of them, but Kayano’d had such a significant and shocking role in all of this. But though it had shocked him senseless at the time, nowadays he had a softer view. They’d all made mistakes, after all, and besides, even though she’d been so very wrong, who could blame a lonely, grieving fourteen-year-old for making the decisions she had made?
It was Karma who broke the silence with a nonchalant shrug.
“That’s why they called it the ‘End Class’ after all. Cruel and ridiculous as it was, it was effective in that sense. Why’d you ask anyway, Kataoka-san?” Karma asked.
“Well, it’s just, even though for us coming here ended a lot of things for us, it never was really the end, was it? Sure, we got confronted with the threat of an impending apocalypse. But the ‘end’ of lives as we knew it was the ‘beginning’ of the assassination classroom. The lives we thought we had might have been cut off, but we started a whole new sort of life instead. And that’s something we’ve realised, me and Yuuma and Maehara. Endings are always beginnings, and we got to experience that here, with Koro-sensei and everyone else.”
Megu took a breath:
“Even though this place is going to be a welcoming place rather than a form of exile, the students who are going to come here are going to feel how we did, the first time we came here. We just hope that we can show them that ‘the end’ is always a beginning too, just like the assassination classroom did.”
There was a moment of respectful silence as they all absorbed that. It resonated with Sugino, thinking of how he’d thought his baseball dreams were pointless, until he’d been shown how to play to his own strengths instead of mimicking others. Every single one of them had had stories like that. Mistakes they’d made, weaknesses that had consumed them, all until this class had turned it all around. The number of times they’d been knocked down, the failures they’d racked up…if 3-E had only been an ordinary 3-E, they wouldn’t have ever gotten up again.
Yet they had. Over, and over, and over. Because it had been an assassination classroom, and because it had been them.
“And that’s where the name ‘Starting Point’ comes from, right?” Once more, Karma was the one who eventually broke the silence.
“That’s right,” Megu said. “Anyway, there’s not much left to show, really. Ah, Sugino, do you want to see the equipment you donated to us? We’ve got it all stored nicely in the storeroom, ready to use.”
“Oooh, yes.”
So they trooped to the storeroom, which had also been cleaned up and varnished, with new shelving put in. The storeroom was for all sorts, not just the sports equipment, but Sugino couldn’t help but blush with pride as the others admired the baseball bats, balls and gloves he’d had sent over. Sometimes, he felt a little guilty he hadn’t been here offering hands-on help with putting together Starting Point. He had good enough reason, and he knew that nobody else had ever been bothered by it. Still, he’d have liked to be more active in it all. But he knew how to play to his own strengths and abilities rather than trying to squeeze himself into another’s mould. And so he’d found all these different other ways to be involved. Donated equipment, guest lessons. These things were good enough, he knew.
After a peek around the back of the building to show the sandpit and the playground equipment that had been installed there (including the swings, which they all had to try out, with Sugino particularly enjoying the standing swing), the tour was pretty much over.
As Megu went over to talk with Okano and Yada, the old ‘Group 4’ ended up talking more about how ‘assassination’ habits had bled over into their everyday lives. Nagisa, of course, was an ‘assassination teacher’, it went without saying. Kayano’s fame as an actress had risen since she’d become known for doing her own stunts, even the seemingly impossible ones. But Kanzaki sheepishly confessed a couple of stories where she’d stepped in to manage violent patients or unruly relatives at the hospital where she’d worked, inadvertently alarming her fellow nurses when she restrained people more than double her size with ease.
“They said I looked really frightening, though I didn’t think I was particularly scary. I was trying to stay calm and de-escalate the situation, after all.” Kanzaki confessed.
“Ah, but Kanzaki-san, sometimes being as serene as you are on the battlefield is the scariest thing of all.” Karma remarked.
Sugino could picture it, actually. Though the path Kanzaki had chosen was humbler than one might have expected from her family background, she still carried herself with serenity as she moved through life. But that hadn’t made her meek, or retiring. He’d seen a core of steel in her so many times in the year of the assassination classroom, and somehow the fact she remained softly-spoken even when she was at her sharpest only accentuated that. It was one of the reasons he’d continued to admire her.
“It’s not as bad as what I did once.” Manami confessed.
“What could you have done, Okuda-chan?” Kayano asked. “What sort of things happen in a medical lab that could warrant that?”
“It wasn’t in the lab, but in a breakroom. One of my colleagues was complaining about…well, actually, I can’t remember if it was her boyfriend or ex-boyfriend. But either way, she was complaining about him to the group of us that were sitting there and she went ‘oh, I could just kill him’ and…”
Sugino sucked in a breath at that, while Kayano went round-eyed and Karma, Nagisa and Kanzaki nodded sagely.
“…and then,” Manami said sheepishly, shoulders hunching. “I ended up saying ‘oh, I could help with that’ before I could even think about what I was saying! It was so embarrassing!”
Sugino spluttered, and Kayano chuckled at that.
“Wow, straightforward as always, Okuda-san.” Karma praised. “Did she take you up on the offer?”
“Karma!” Nagisa protested as Sugino found himself incoherently spluttering once again.
“What, wouldn’t you?”
“We would,” Kanzaki agreed. “But I assume the colleague has had…a more ordinary life than us.”
“I did try to backtrack,” Manami explained. “But I know I completely baffled them. Takebayashi-kun sort of smoothed it over, but even he admitted that would have been his first instinct. Though he did say he wouldn’t have voiced it.”
“Ah, well, I wouldn’t beat yourself up about it too much, Okuda-chan,” Kayano said cheerily. “I bet even Sugino-kun has had moments like this.”
“No comment, no comment!”
“But, you know, I kind of miss it,” Manami sighed, the sheepish tension leaving her. “Coming together and carrying out those missions. Not just the different actual assassination attempts, but like…when we had to save Kayano-san and Kanzaki-san in Kyoto or, ohhh, do you remember when we got revenge on Maehara-kun’s ex from the Main Campus?”
“How could I forget?” Sugino retorted. “You were way too pleased with your ‘Victoria Falls’ bullets…but yeah, that was fun. Even if we did get told off by Karasuma-sensei afterwards.”
“Ah, we got told off a lot that year, didn’t we?” Kanzaki mused.
“That was half the fun!” Karma declared.
“Yes, I enjoyed the things we did together,” Nagisa said. “And I get that feeling too, Okuda-san. I think that if there was ever a need to come together and ‘kill’ as a class, I’d definitely take it.”
“Welllll,” Karma drawled. “If necessary, I could always engineer a situation…”
Immediately, in unison with the others, Sugino yelled:
“ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
…
At lunchtime, in the new canteen, Manami found herself sitting with Takebayashi, Kanzaki, Maehara, Rio, Yada, and Hayami. An unexpected combination, but Manami didn’t dislike it. Though not all of them had chosen to eat the acorn ramen, it nonetheless gave them a start to their conversation, reminiscing over their school festival. From there, they’d leapfrogged into various topics. Rio regaled them with funny stories of her colleagues in London, Yada had talked about how she wanted to branch out into hostage negotiations one day, Kanzaki had talked about the flowers she was growing in her garden, and all the girls had asked each other where they’d gotten this or that part of their outfits (much to the consternation of Maehara and Takebayashi). There were, of course, a few lulls as they ate, or got back up to get more food or more drinks. It was during one of those lulls that Maehara exclaimed:
“Man, can you believe that there are already three of us with babies already?”
“And then there’s Hinano,” Rio added. “She’ll be the fourth soon enough.”
“Hara-san’s going to be having a second child too, I believe.” Takebayashi put in.
“See? It’s crazy. I mean, I know we’re all proper adults now, but we’re not that old yet, are we?” Maehara asked.
“Well, I can understand being surprised where Okajima-kun’s concerned, but when you think about it, it’s not that surprising for Hara-san.” Kanzaki pointed out. “If I remember correctly, I think it was always her goal to be a wife and mother.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Yoshida-kun too. Well, not exactly,” Yada said after a moment’s consideration. “I’d have expected him to wait a couple more years, but for some reason it doesn’t surprise me that he’s all settled down now.”
“I suppose you could say the same for Hinano,” Rio shrugged. “It kinda suits her, impending motherhood and all that. I couldn’t do it though.”
“No, neither could I.” Maehara enthusiastically agreed. “I am nowhere near ready to settle down. The thought gives me the shivers.”
“Yeah, no, I can’t imagine you doing the whole domestic bliss thing.” Rio said with a grin.
“Nobody can imagine this guy doing the whole domestic bliss thing.”
This retort came from Okano, walking past.
“OI!” Maehara called out, reddening slightly.
Okano simply stuck her tongue out and walked away. Maehara pulled a face in her direction for a few more seconds before deflating. With a shrug, he said:
“Well, to be fair, she’s not wrong.”
“You know who I can imagine living that sort of life though?” Rio said suddenly. “Isogai.”
“That’s true, yes,” Takebayashi nodded sagely. “He’s always been a family-oriented type of person.”
Manami would have expected Maehara to agree with that, but instead he was frowning almost anxiously.
“Hey, hey,” he said, voice lowered. “Don’t go bugging him too much about that sort of thing.”
“Hmmm?” Rio raised an eyebrow. “Strange thing to say.”
“I don’t mean like, never asking him or anything just…yeah, don’t bug him about it. It’s a bit of a sore point.”
“How come?” Yada asked. “Did he have his heart broken or something? Do we need to plan some sort of retaliation against some girl? Or a boy?”
Manami perked up a little bit at the possibility, but Hayami shook her head and muttered:
“That’s jumping the gun a little, isn’t it?”
“No, it’s nothing like that, exactly,” Maehara said. “It’s just a sore point, that’s all.”
“Well, anyone would be lucky to have him,” Rio said airily. “He’s still quite the catch.”
“You’re 100% correct, but so not the point.” Maehara sighed.
Wondering what the point was, then, Manami was about to ask, when Kanzaki piped up:
“I think romantic relationships can be a lot of pressure, especially as you get older and people expect you to settle down. Regardless of if you want it or not, or if you’re suited to it or not.”
Manami noticed Maehara sigh in relief over this. I wonder what that’s about. But Maehara had said it himself: don’t ask. So she put aside her curiosity.
“Yeah, that’s valid, actually,” Yada said. “Speaking of which, we’re all single on this table, right?”
Manami nodded at that, and most of the others did. The exceptions were Rio, who shook her head and Hayami, who apparently hadn’t heard the question, since she had just turned to talk to Chiba at the next table.
“Oh, yes, if I remember correctly, you have a girlfriend back in London,” Kanzaki recalled. “Have you been together long?”
“A couple of years, yeah.” Rio confirmed.
“Think she’s the one?” Yada asked.
“Yasmin’s amazing,” Rio said warmly. “I’d certainly like to stick it out with her if I could.”
“Is…there a reason you can’t?” Manami asked after a confused pause.
Rio shrugged and pulled a face.
“I mean, it’s all theoretical at the moment, but if I decided I wanted to move back here, then we’d have to break things off. Her family and everything’s all there, she wouldn’t want to move across the world. So. You know.”
“Are you thinking of moving?” Takebayashi asked curiously. “I was under the impression that you were quite settled back in the UK?”
“I ammmmmm,” Rio sighed. “But, I don’t know, it’s something I’m thinking about, that’s all.”
“That’s fair.” Hayami said as she turned back.
“I’m considering making use of the services of a matchmaker in the near future.” Takebayashi announced suddenly.
“A matchmaker?” Manami asked. “How come?”
“Yeah, that’s not particularly romantic. Don’t you just want to meet someone and feel that spark?” Maehara asked.
“It’s true, I’d like to feel some kind of attraction to whomever it is I eventually marry,” Takebayashi nodded seriously. “But romantic feelings can be so fraught, and in the end what I want is a solid, stable partnership, and to perhaps start a family. I think it would be easier to find someone with similar values if it’s in a situation where we both know what we’re looking for.”
He paused, and then added:
“Also, I am more likely to find somebody my family approves of, while still being able to make all the choices myself.”
They all nodded at that, Kanzaki in particular giving Takebayashi a thoughtful, sympathetic look. Family expectations could be hard, Manami knew. Her own weren’t nagging her too much, but she knew that like most parents, they wanted her in a stable relationship.
“That’s a good approach,” Yada said eventually. “I’ve worked with matchmakers and marriage services before, so I know that it can work. It would have to be someone professional though. Online services are…yeeesh. I would not recommend those, ever.”
“I’m in no rush myself but think I prefer being free to meet someone naturally,” Kanzaki said thoughtfully. “Though I think I understand why a matchmaker would be an easy way to go.”
“You do?” Maehara asked incredulously.
Kanzaki nodded but didn’t elaborate. Instead, she said:
“And in any case, there can be cases where attraction and romance can follow after connecting based on shared values and other practical priorities. It’s not something that has to come first, necessarily.”
“Some marriages can be built on friendships, too.” Hayami added.
Yada nodded at this, and Kanzaki agreed:
“Yes, that’s true too.”
“Yeahhh, that’s not for me, but that does make sense, Kanzaki.” Rio nodded.
“Oho, this conversation sounds fun. Can I join?”
Karma seemed to appear from nowhere, making Maehara and Kanzaki jump. Manami simply pointed to the empty chair next to her and said:
“You can sit here, if you want.”
“Thanks, Okuda-san.”
Manami scooted over so that Karma could sit down. He set down a glass of juice, but nothing else.
“We’re talking about matchmaking then?” he asked.
“We’re debating the merits of using or not using matchmakers for our romantic prospects.” Takebayashi said.
“Ah, I see. Are we all interested in getting married then?” Karma asked. “I guess now is the type of time people start thinking about these things, right?”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Yada said. “Though, if I wanted to get married, I’d have to compromise. I guess for that reason, matchmaking’s a good option.”
“Why would you have to compromise?” Manami asked. “I’m sure you must meet a lot of people really easily.”
“You’re right,” Yada said with a wistful smile. “But given this country doesn’t allow same-sex marriage, and I’m not about to move to somewhere that does, it does narrow down my options a lot. And that’s not necessarily a good thing, for me.”
“Ah, give it a few years, I might be able to fix that.”
They all turned to Karma, who smiled beatifically at them.
“…how?” Maehara asked, simply. “That kind of law isn’t in your wheelhouse, is it?”
“And since has something like that ever stopped me?”
Okuda giggled, because something like that had never stopped Karma, and she didn’t see that changing any time soon. Karma winked at her, then grinned at Rio, who was smirking.
“Yeahhhh,” Rio drawled. “I won’t even ask how you’d do that, but I’m sure you’ve got at least three plans up your sleeves.”
“You know me too well, it’s almost disconcerting,” Karma said, not sounding even slightly disconcerted. “Anything for my 3-E classmates.”
“You’re not simply doing this out of altruism though, are you?” Hayami asked pointedly.
“Well, don’t you want to make a few crusty old bigots splutter too?” Karma asked, mock-innocently.
Hayami huffed at this, and Maehara and Rio both cackled.
“Not sure what I can do from across the pond, but I’m always up for that.” Rio said.
“Anyway,” Maehara interrupted. “What are your thoughts on all this? Would you use a matchmaker? I’d imagine that there’s loads of people vying for your attention right now. You’re annoyingly handsome, you’re on the up-and-up, all that jazz.”
“Ehhhh, I don’t know.”
Karma stretched, then swirled the straw of his drink around in the glass before taking a sip. For some reason, Manami found herself on tenterhooks for his answer, and from the way the rest of the table was watching, it seemed like they felt the same. Well, apart from Hayami, who after a moment turned back to the table Chiba was sitting at, quietly asking:
“Ryuu, are you-“
But Manami didn’t hear the rest of the question, because around this time that Karma answered:
“To be honest, doing something so…planned out doesn’t really suit me. I’d rather…”
And so though a little corner of Manami’s mind had gone, hold on a moment, ‘Ryuu’? she pushed the question aside to see how this conversation would play out.
“Meet someone more naturally?” Kanzaki suggested.
“See if a random hookup in a bar leads to true love?” Maehara guessed.
“Absolutely not to Maehara-kun, somewhat yes to Kanzaki-san.” Karma said with a grin.
“For the record, I was joking.” Maehara muttered.
Manami giggled obligingly, especially as she hadn’t actually been able to tell if he’d been joking. That type of sentiment did sound very much like Maehara’s usual self, after all.
“Anyway, what are you thinking? Spit it out.” Rio said.
Karma turned to look at Okuda, his expression briefly becoming serious before he smiled again, more genially, and asked:
“Okuda-san, how about we try it?”
Manami blinked. Wait, is he saying…?
“Actually, let me say it more straightforwardly,” Karma decided. “Okuda-san, what do you say to us trying to date?”
Maehara, Yada and Rio all yelled noises of surprise, while Takebayashi muttered:
“He just came out with it. That takes guts.”
“R-really? Me?” Manami asked, trying to process. “I know we’re friends, but do you-“
“That’s exactly why I want to try,” Karma said easily. “Because we’re good friends. That’s a good starting foundation for a relationship, isn’t it? Wouldn’t you agree, Yada-san?”
Yada, still looking somewhat bemused, answered:
“Well, yes. We were talking about that just before you joined us, actually. Lot of lovers can and do start off as friends, but it’s not a given.”
Manami knew she was far too old to feel embarrassment about hearing the word lovers in relation to herself, but she nonetheless felt her cheeks heat up.
“Oi, Karma,” Maehara muttered. “You’re not just asking her that so she’ll make you more weird potions and shit, are you?”
“Maehara-kun, I think we’re well past the mischief-making phase of our lives…”
This statement was enough to snap Manami out of her embarrassment, and she interrupted Takebayashi to earnestly tell him:
“But I make potions for Karma-kun already anyway.”
Takebayashi spluttered:
“What, but that’s…Okuda-san!!! We’re adults now! That’s just…”
“Don’t worry,” Manami assured him. “I don’t do anything that’s illegal, and it’s always in my home lab.”
“…this doesn’t reassure me in the way you think it does.” Takebayashi pronounced after a beat.
“Don’t you worry,” Karma said. “I’d never ask Okuda-san to do anything that would get her into actual trouble. But don’t you know, we’re never too old for mischief. You just have to…adapt to the demands of age.”
“The demands of age,” Maehara muttered. “Like we’re fifty or something.”
“Says the person who dates like they’re going through a mid-life crisis already.” Yada retorted smartly.
Karma cackled at this, and then turned to Manami, his expression softening somewhat.
“My offer was entirely serious, Okuda-san. But if you’d rather not, there’s no hard feelings on my end.”
Manami blinked. She’d barely processed his request, but now she thought about it properly. She had no illusions about the type of person Karma was. Charming but tricksy, slippery and smart and sometimes dangerous. But she’d never been scared of him, not once. Startled, sure. In awe, sometimes. And there had been times during their 3-E year she’d been scared for him too. It was true that on paper, he seemed like the kind of person she’d have been too intimidated to talk too, even as the much more confident adult she’d become. But in reality, he’d been one of the easiest people to talk to, someone she’d felt safe around. He’d become one of her closest friends in 3-E, and she’d still count him as one of her closest friends now. She also knew that she’d like to keep on counting him as such, no matter how many years stretched by.
A relationship as comfortable as that, it was surely a good stepping stone into a romance, wasn’t it? As long as they didn’t go too fast, as long as they could retain their easy friendship if it didn’t work, the way Isogai and Megu had remained firm friends despite trying and failing to date…well, it could be a good thing, couldn’t it?
So she beamed at him and said:
“Sure! Let’s give it a try.”
“Excellent,” Karma said easily. “Then, tonight I’ll walk you home, and we can talk more…away from these nosy parkers.”
“Oi, like you wouldn’t be a nosy parker yourself if it was someone else.” Rio retorted.
“Exactly.”
It was at this point that Hayami returned, which confused Manami somewhat since she didn’t remember her leaving. Hayami though, looked equally confused as she surveyed the table. Rather than ask, she simply raised an eyebrow before giving Chiba one of the glasses of juice and the slice of cake she was holding and then sitting down with her own. But as she did, Yada gasped and shot out her hand to grab Hayami’s wrist.
“Y-Yada?” Hayami stuttered.
“How did I miss that?” Yada demanded.
It took Manami a moment to realise what Yada was talking about, but then she noticed it-a simple gold band on Hayami’s ring finger. She wasn’t close enough to see, but it looked as if the metal had a textured pattern, possibly one that was meant to be mimicking wood-grain.
“Oh my, Hayami-san,” Kanzaki said. “Is that meant to be a wedding ring?”
“It’s definitely a wedding ring.” Karma remarked.
“How long have you been wearing that for?” Rio demanded.
“That’s what I want to know! How long…I mean, the wedding? When was it? Did you…”
Yada trailed off, looking aggrieved, and let go of Hayami’s hand. Hayami held her hand to her chest, and as she frowned at Yada, something seemed to dawn on her.
“You didn’t miss anything. There wasn’t a wedding.” She stated.
“There…wasn’t?” Yada asked, blinking in confusion.
“No, just the papers signed at the registry office.”
“Oh…well, that’s…”
“But, Yada…”
Now, Hayami’s face creased, but not in annoyance or anger.
“…did we really not tell you?”
Hayami’s genuine confusion made Manami realise that there was something else about this whole business that they’d completely missed. It was, however, Takebayashi who ended up asking the question:
“What I would like to know is to whom you’re married to, Hayami-san.”
Hayami’s befuddled frown only deepened, but then, unexpectedly, Chiba turned and pointedly asked:
“Who do you think?”
There was a beat of silence. Then, slowly, Chiba held up his hand for a brief moment to show that he had a matching ring. Immediately, Rio cackled.
“Oh my freaking god, that’s so obvious.” She crowed. “You two were always together, of course it’s ….but woaaaaah, you kept that one quiet, Hayami.”
“You really did!” Yada said, recovering somewhat. “Even if you weren’t having a wedding, you could have said something! I could have taken you guys out to celebrate somehow!”
“How come you didn’t want a wedding, anyway?” Kanzaki asked.
Now Hayami’s frown was of the more annoyed variety, though only mildly.
“Weddings are expensive. And loud.”
Chiba’s mouth twitched at that as he shot a look at Hayami, but then facing the others, he added a little extra explanation:
“The firm’s still pretty new, and even though it’s doing well, it made sense to save the money.”
“That does make sense, but then why not just wait?” Rio asked.
“Why would we wait, though?” Chiba asked. “We’re sharing our lives already anyway, and we’re going to keep on doing so.”
Karma went ‘mmmmm’, but nobody else seemed to know what to say to this. Though, that’s quite a sweet sentiment, isn’t it? Manami thought to herself. That surprises me, for some reason.
Rio opened her mouth and then closed it. She blinked a few times, and then admitted:
“Yeahhhh, this revelation’s got me stumped, I can’t even lie. Just when did you get married?”
“Only a couple of months ago.”
“A couple of months?” Manami asked. “That’s not so long ago.”
“It’s a long enough time to not even have an inkling.” Rio pointed out.
Manami just nodded at that, because it was a good point. Hayami and Chiba exchanged looks with each other again, before Hayami said:
“It was mostly practical, really. It just makes things a lot easier from an administrative standpoint.”
“Is that really the whole reason? I mean, we were just talking about this kind of thing,” Yada said. “So it’s not like the idea surprises me, but you two…”
“Was it meant to be a secret?” Takebayashi asked.
“No.” Chiba and Hayami both said in unison, very obviously aghast at the idea.
“No, that’s not the sense I’m getting,” Kanzaki mused, tapping her fingers against the table as she voiced her thoughts. “But you two have always been very private people, haven’t you?”
Chiba nodded once in acknowledgement, and then said:
“It just wasn’t that much of a big deal, when it came down to it. So we didn’t think too much about it. It didn’t make sense to do a big announcement about it, or anything like that.”
“A big announcement may have been easier.” Maehara remarked.
“You don’t seem very surprised though, Maehara-kun.” Manami blurted out.
“Don’t tell me?” Yada gasped. “You already knew?”
“These two are up here a lot, given it’s his firm that designed the extensions and renovations,” Maehara shrugged. “So I guess it just came up.”
“IT JUST CAME UP?????” Rio and Yada both yelled at the same time, earning a few confused glances from other tables.
“What?” Maehara asked, all innocent.
“You didn’t think to say something somewhere?” Rio whined.
“Why would I?” Maehara protested. “Anyway, this one doesn’t seem surprised either.”
Manami had noticed this about Karma, since he had just been smirking throughout the entire exchange. But now Maehara was indignantly pointing at him, he simply raised an eyebrow.
“Of course he somehow knew,” Rio snorted. “I bet he’s got a dossier on everyone here filled with all their secrets.”
“I will neither confirm nor deny that.” Karma shrugged.
“Anyway, swiftly moving on,” Maehara said. “How is the fact that these two are actually idiots deep down my problem? Sorry, guys.”
Chiba and Hayami just stared.
“You have to admit this is significant news,” Takebayashi said. “It’s astonishing that you’ve managed to keep a lid on it.”
“We weren’t trying to keep a lid on it.” Chiba sighed, rubbing the back of his head.
“Besides,” Hayami emphasised. “We keep saying, it was entirely practical. I mean, think about it. If something unthinkable happened to one of us, then what about the other? At least this way, we’re looked after.”
Once again, the table was rendered momentarily speechless. Even Karma was blinking. Manami regarded Chiba and Hayami curiously. The way Hayami reddened and huffed and looked away briefly, before sneaking a glance back at Chiba. His hair had always granted him a certain degree of unreadability, but to Manami the warmth in his expression as he glanced back was very clear. As was the fact that they were clearly communicating something in their glances. Thinking about it, they had been the same back in 3-E. Or similar at least. Back then, there hadn’t been the same tenderness back then that she was noticing now. Still, it was interesting to note that at the very least, they could still communicate without words.
Eventually, it was Yada who broke the silence:
“I have to ask, Rinka. Are you...happy?”
She reached out to take Hayami’s hand again, looking at her beseechingly. Hayami blinked, befuddled once more. But then she nodded.
“I am. We are.”
“Good. That’s good. But still, Rinka, I wish I’d known before.”
“I’m sorry, Yada.”
“Same here.” Chiba added.
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. But now I know…Rinka, I’m definitely taking you two out to dinner or something. Because if this is something you’re happy about, then it’s something worth celebrating.”
Yada let go of Rinka’s hand and took out her phone.
“I’ll send you some dates, then we can work out something to do. Alright?”
Another look exchanged between Hayami and Chiba, before both of them nodded at her. Yada gave a satisfied smile and nod as she started looking through her phone, presumably at her calendar. The conversation then shifted to other topics, but as it did, Manami kept glancing first at Karma, then at Chiba and Hayami. Despite the unexpected turn this lunchtime had taken, she still had no idea what her own romantic future would look like, or if marriage would feature. Though she was suddenly feeling optimistic, it was simply too soon to say.
But whatever that future looked like, she hoped that she’d have the rest of 3-E there to share the happiness with.