The Girl, the Yokai, and the Promise

Yukina's head shot up at that remark. She glared at him, shooting daggers at him. Don't you dare do it or I swear to everything that is holy, I will kill you...she thought. The shrine was her one spot where she was free of all her troubles and worries. If he dared to ruin that by making the entire class go, she would not able to forgive him so easily. A few of the students murmured at the thought. Some made remakes about not knowing where the shrine was, other talked about how the cherry blossoms there are really beautiful when they bloom. There were a few comments about Yukina being the shrine maiden there. A few girls made some nasty comments about her, calling ice queen and other names that weren't very kind. Yukina lower head again, and tried to block them out. "I would love to go there. I heard the shrine maidens there are very pretty...." said the boy that sided with the okamis to his friends. Yukina ignored the boy's comment, since the girls were still talking......
 
Seeing Yukina's head shoot up and glare at him caused Kazuma to laugh and give her a childish grin. Eh, don't worry, it was just a little jest. I doubt any of these kids would anyway. He thought and the winds conveyed that over to Yukina. There wasn't any way he'd ruin her little spot, plus that would mean more people trying to get a peek at him and his clan; he wasn't planning on exposing to any others that yokai were real. It wasn't surprising that he heard some didn't know how to get there, guys talking about cute shrine maidens, and the lovey cherry blossoms that grew there. Though when he heard the remarks and names they were saying about Yukina, his smile turned into a stern and somewhat agitated expression as he was about to speak until the student from earlier spoke up; that caused him to smile. "I think I just found my favorite student." He mumbled softly before raising a hand and pointed at several girls, motioning for them to come up to his desk. "I'm going to tell you this now, I don't condone any rude and crude remarks directed towards another student in my classroom; you're going to be adults, act like it. So why don't you apologize to Miss Yukina or we can have all have a long lecture with the principal?" Kazuma asked, tapping the detention forms on his desk with a polite smile. "Your choice, acting like a bully can get you in some serious trouble with the law."
 
Yukina peeked up from her hiding place when Kazuma called the girls out. This day was slowly getting worst and worst. First, the fight with Kazuma, now these girls. And it seemed like he was back in school so she was probably going to be quite the busy person during. The girls looked at each other, a bit embarrassed and caught off guard from being called out. They muttered their apologies to her, not really meaning it, but doing it so that the teacher got off their back. Yukina just nodded and went back to putting her head down. This wasn't the first time the girls called her names. She had been dealing with it since she started going to school here. It didn't effect her as much as it did before. They were not worth her time anyways......
 
It was obvious from Kazuma's facial and body expression that he was no longer in a good mood or pleased with the girls' apologizes. He could tell they were fake and the wolf shook his head with a sigh and straightened up to look at the whole class. Dismissing them to go back to their seats and once they sat down, he cleared his throat and started. "I'm going to be stricter than your teacher with problems like this, even if I hear just one whisper of an insult I will not hesitate to give you a detention and cleaning duty. These are your last few weeks of school and by now you're all adults or are about to be so it's time you stop acting like first graders, this is high school and your final stop for the real world. Out there, if you insulted someone they'd likely have a worse one for you or they'd like hurt you with violence. It would be wise for those of you who are still acting like kids to get your act together; do you understand?" From the tone of his voice, also, it was clear as day he didn't like saying this to them but it was the hard and honest truth of the world they lived in.
 
Yukina's mood was probably just as bad as his now. The more he talked to the girls about being nice to her the more unlikely it was ever going to happen. He was really hurting her more by embarrassing them. They were going to definitely take it out on her now and what is worst, they were going to find a way to do it where the school won't find out. She wanted to walk out. If she left now, maybe she dodge it. Sadly, it would be painfully obvious she would be leaving because of the girls, and it would give them more ammo. She just rolled her head to look outside. Tears were welling up. This is by far the worst day ever......

The students looked at each other, some muttering yes to his question. The boy that had spoken up about the shrine maidens wasn't really paying attention to his teacher. He was busy looking back at Yukina, a sad expression on his face. Soon the students were settling down and the boy turned back to get ready for the lesson to start.....
 
Kazuma could see Yukina's expression and since he knew her well enough, he could see the tears threatening to fall. That sent a dagger through his chest and pain overwhelmed his body, he was doing it wasn't he; making her life even worse? "Forget everything I said, I've been having some issues with some family members acting the same way. You don't have to be friends or be nice to one another, just tolerate one another's presence then in a few weeks you won't have to worry about it." He said, frowing a little sadly while running a hand through his hair. Maybe Yukina was right, maybe he should have been a janitor or someone not important in school, to him, it looked like Yukina's life had taken a turn for the worse since he reappeared.

Sighing, the yokai walked back to his desk as the girls sighed in awe of her sensitive and kind to others their teacher was, the guys simply groaned. "Okay, since we'll be starting with the Okami, why not start off with how their legend started," He turned to face his students with a curious look, "Does anyone know what the Okami is associated with?"
 
It was a little too late for Yukina. She knew that she was going to have to deal with them. She is not sure what was going to happen but hopefully it would be fast. For now, she just pretended to sleep, listening to the lecture. She was interested because she wanted to know more about Kazuma and who he was but, she didn't want to seem to be.

The students muttered to each other. Some of them asked what the okami were. Other told them they were wolves. It wasn't that the class didn't know that they were, but they weren't sure how the legend started. "Are they not mountain spirits?" said one girl.

"I heard they ate people who wandered up there." said another boy.

"No, no they help those that wander up there to go home." said a girl.

The class continued to mutter, not sure how to answer the question.....
 
Kazuma chuckled to himself softly while leaning against the board and listening to the students, it wasn't really surprising that some didn't even know what Okami were. His kind made it a habit not to be see often unless it was around dusk and it was absolutely necessary to do so. Which is why they really weren't the most well known of the yokai, they didn't really enjoy the spotlight.

Hearing what the three of them said, he gently clapped his hands together to get everyone's attention. "Well," He gestured to the three who spoke up, "You are on the right train of thought. The Okami, or wolf, is associated with the mountains and the mountains'' deity Yama no kami. They are also considered benevolent or malevolent, so which is why each of you are half correct. At times, they are considered monsters who can hide even in a centimeter of grass or in the changing leaves, at other times, they serve as a guardian and follow travelers to eviscerate evil while escorting the good. Yes, they do eat people but they only eat people who are really animals."

Then he had another question for his student's to think about. "Since wolves and Okami are believed to be the same, what other ways do you think this yokai can be benevolent? I'll give you can example to start you off, for rice farming peasants by the mountains, they are seen as a benevolent animal that preys on pests that would naturally invade and destroy the rice patties."
 
A few students mutter to each other, trying to think of an answer. A girl raised her hand. She was the quiet one of the class and was almost as quiet in class as Yukina was. "Well, you said they help travelers. Isn't there a legend about an okami saving a man who wanted to kill himself by leading him back away from the mountain?" she asked, her voice almost as quiet as a mouse...

((Sorry for the shortness....))
 
Kazuma looked at the girl and nodded, letting her have the floor and his attention as she spoke. When she spoke, it brought a smile to his face. "You are correct, there is indeed a legend about a man being saved by an okami. The man had lost everything, money, land, his children, and his wife to a disastrous flood. Seeing he no longer had any reason to live, he traveled to the mountains to either kill himself by jumping from a cliff or letting the wild animals that live there kill him. That is where our okami comes, this yokai was the head of his clan and even for one of his kind very compassionate even towards humans. As the traveler passed his territory, he grew curious and followed the man quite a ways until finally the traveler could handle no more and dropped to his knees, begging for someone to end the pain. Hearing the man's wish, the yokai, Kiragya, approached the traveler and answered his call to the man's dismay. Finally after hours of arguing, Kiragya managed to convince the traveler and pulled him down from the mountain, but took him down a different route; to a village near the river. Upon arrival, the man burst into tears because standing there was his wife and children who had been swept away, before he could thank the yokai, the wolf had disappeared. But now and there were sightings that a large grey wolf would take a few steps out from the forest and he and the traveler would bow their heads before the canine disappeared once again."

((It's okay.))
 
A few students muttered at each other. Some expressed about how interesting the story was. Yukina's eye peered out from over her arms. She thought about the story and how he mentioned it was a clan leader that saved the man. Was Kazuma related to him? She raised her head a little to watch him more. He seemed like he was enjoying himself. You could tell he was passionate about the area. She figured he would considering he was what the stories were about. Her heart a little, remembering she had hurt his feelings this morning. Maybe she should apologize...

Meanwhile, a student scoffed at the answer the teacher gave. "These are just stories, wives' tales. We are never going to need this in the furture so why are we even learning about it......."

((Sorry for the delay. Started school and finally got some free time....)
 
"I was wondering when the 'class hotshot' would appear." Kazuma sighed, leaning his back against the board while looking at the student who had scoffed. "Kind of makes me wonder, do you ever use this," He tapped his head, "before this," the man then tapped his lips, "Or do you simply blurt out whatever nonsense you want to?" Folding both hands behind his back, the teacher started walking along the rows of desk, looking at each student with a smile before returning to the original one as he continued to move. "These 'wives' tales' as you call them, did you ever think that maybe they're useful in teaching you a certain morale; perhaps something called a lesson? Maybe use that said lesson in the real world so you do not make the same mistakes as the characters, look at the Tortoise and the Hare; slow and steady wins the race, or in normal terms, don't rush your work or it could turn out bad."

"Then there's the lesson of this story, 'Never give up and persevere. If you can't make it on your own, then accept and rely on the help from those who wish nothing more than to aid you. For receiving help, no matter how small, is wiser than foolishly charging blind into a matter you cannot hope to withstand.' Now, does that make sense or would you like me to name several other examples, we have all day." Kazuma replied, arriving back at his desk and tapped a phrase that hadn't been there before. 'Open your ears and learn from those that possess the knowledge you need'.

((It's alright, I've been getting swamped by schoolwork lately.))
 
Yukina perked up a little at his last comment 'Never give up and persevere. If you can't make it on your own, then accept and rely on the help from those who wish nothing more than to aid you. For receiving help, no matter how small, is wiser than foolishly charging blind into a matter you cannot hope to withstand.' She started feeling worst about this morning. He was just trying to help her and she was being such a royal......this day was not going good for her.....

The students were hushed by the teacher's response, not being sure if he was annoyed or just frustrated. The student that spoke up retreated back a little, embarrassed by the comment the teacher made. He shook his head a little, not needing more examples. The room was quiet after that. None of the student were sure what to say. weren't sure what to say. Lunch was soon anyways, so many did not want to get into a lengthy discussion.......
 
Rather than being annoyed or frustrated, Kazuma was actually indifferent as he turned and then started erasing the quite on the board. "Ten bonus points to you, though you worded your question poorly, you still brought up a valid concern." He started off, with his back turned until the board was cleaned and he faced around to look at the student and lowered his head slightly. "Well done but you may want to choose your words and tone carefully next time." The young man then pointed out.

Seeing how lunch was in about fifteen to twenty minutes, he wasn't going to start a long lesson, so he might as well go with the basic for right now. "As you all know, some yokai are shapeshifters; also referred to as Obakes. Having an animal or human form, Kitsune, for example are one of the most common yokai people talk about. Then there are Ōkami, Bakeneko, Inugami, and Tengu, along with several others that are too old for man to remember." He stated, absentmindedly twirling the pencil he now held between his fingers. "Though researchers of these legends still do not which form is their true one. For the Okami, some believe they were men and women who that were so close to wolves during their lives that when they died they were reborn as yokai. And a small group, and I mean really small, believe that they came from the Moon and was sent here to place judgement on humanity." Then placing the pencil onto his desk, the yokai placed both hands behind his back and leaned slightly on his right foot. "But the truth of the matter is no one really knows, there are simply too many legends and researches aren't able to tell which ones are true and which are false."
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back