"Some rules before you go. First, be respectful to your teachers." Makishimu's father, sitting in the driver's seat of the car spoke up after a long silence during the trip.
"Yes, Dad." Considering the tone of his father, Makishimu responded politely and earnestly.
"Second, keep the hell away off of busy roads. I'm not paying for the hospital bill if you get hit by a car because of your depth perception problem."
"How assuring." Makishimu joked, but obviously it was lost on his father who remained stalwart in his cold look.
"Sorry?" His father asked with a tone of scorn.
"Yes, Dad." The teen sighed and responded in the same way he had earlier.
"Third and final, don't you dare take that eyepatch off when people are around. If I hear any problems about kids getting scared from the hole in your face, I will personally come over there and beat you shitless."
"Yes, Dad." A short period of silence followed this. Makishimu began to pick up his schoolbag and was about to leave when his father spoke up.
"You're a good kid. Don't get into trouble, alright?" His tone was much more friendly and affectionate than before.
"Alright." He smiled as he responded. "Love you, Dad." He opened up the door and left the car. He saw his father nod and he began to drive away. "Well, that's that..." He muttered as he took in the scenery. Since he had an hour before he would be expected at the school, his father had decided to leave him in the nearby town, so he could stretch his legs and become familiar with the area. The town was a typical rural town, with not much of note. Japanese countryside towns are so... uniform. he remarked. There's always a few traditional houses, then a few traditional-slash-westernized ones and then the modern-ish places like convenience stores. Really, the only thing that differs between them is the arrangement. He thought as he looked over the area from the sidewalk in front of a peculiar looking building, that, based on the sign, seemed to be a "teahouse". For the moment, however, he wasn't hungry and he wouldn't be for awhile as his mother had made a bag of various pastries which would probably hold him off for two days if he ate them sparingly.
Looking down at his watch, he muttered to himself. "'Need to be there in about an hour... That gives me two hours to wander around." He smirked at his reasoning. Hearing his voice, he now realized that he was still wearing his headphones and he took his phone out of his pocket to stop the music. 'Savior of Song' was the title of the song. One of his favorites at the moment, masterfully blending more electric parts into a characteristically rock track, reminiscent of western punk rock and other genres. It was also the opening theme to one an anime series he had reasonably enjoyed, Arpeggio of Blue Steel. He had spent a lot of time watching anime when he had been in the hospital, due to a year-long subscription to a HD streaming service his mother had bought for him upon his entry into the hospital. It kept him from getting bored and he had picked up something of an affinity for it; evidenced by the number of series he had watched while bedridden which almost reached the triple-digits.
With slight reluctance, he tapped the pause button and the headphones fell silent. Makishimu slid the headphones down onto his neck and began looking around, deciding where to go. To his left, a road led to the local LAWSON and to his right, a sign indicated the directions towards the school. On the sign, Makishimu could make out braille, a definite giveaway of the school's nature. The boy had mixed feelings about this. Out of the two directions, he decided to go right. All things considered, he had no business in the town and it would be best if he got to the school with some time to spare, so he would have time to waste if he got lost. Turning the corner, he cringed when he saw the semi-metaphorical mountain leading up the school. "You're kidding me..." he muttered as he stared the hill down. With a click of his tongue and a sigh he began to trudge up the hill.
It took him a good moment for him to reach to the top of the hill and when he was winded when he did, being slightly out of shape after his hospital stay, but Makishimu could at least admit that the view was impressive. Iwaku, more so. With western style that contrasted deeply with the architecture of the town, it reminded Makishimu of the house of the rich tsundere character in that one anime he couldn't recall the name of. With his bag slung over his shoulder, he quietly entered through the gate, in awe at the architecture and grounds of the academy. "Damn, Dad must've paid a fortune just to have me here..." He murmured as he looked around. Due to his depth perception problems, it all seemed much larger and further away than it really was. As classes were just finishing, many other students of varying disabilities gathered in the courtyard. He felt somewhat alienated all of the sudden when he considered that he still had all of his limbs and digits. When he thought about it, his "disability" was minor compared to losing an arm or a leg. For a moment, he wondered why he had been sent here when he could have easily continued school in the city with no problems.
However, Makishimu realized that these sorts of thoughts weren't the kind of thing that he should be thinking about in this situation and shook them off for the moment. Checking his watch, he figured he should head directly to where he would meet his homeroom teacher. Putting significantly more stride into his step, he headed to the building that seemed to be where the entry-slash-lobby was. Passing by the students, he noticed a few stare, one point and a girl make a comment. Well, I guess it's inevitable. He made a mental shrug as he moved into the lobby, where he noticed a middle-aged man with somewhat messy hair and wearing a brown coat seemingly waiting. When he noticed the youth, he made a face of recognition and came over to greet him. "Good evening. You're... Maki...?" He stumbled a bit at his name and Makishimu sighed. It was a usual occurrence for him.
"Arakawa Makishimu. It's French. Nice to meet you." He shook the man's hand and he corrected himself.
"That's right. Sorry about that. I'm Mutou and I'll be your homeroom teacher, since you're in class 3-3." Makishimu jumped slightly at the mention of class 3-3.
"Sorry? Class 3-3?" A slight feeling of terror came over him.
"Yes, that's right. Is there something wrong?" Makishimu's good eye widened. No... not the cursed class... he thought to himself. Quickly, however, he realized he was confusing a certain horror anime that he had watched with reality and his features returned to normal.
"...eh... yeah, don't worry about it. It's nothing." He uneasily glanced at a plant. Mutou raised an eyebrow before continuing what he was saying before.
"I'm also the science teacher of 3-3."He said matter-of-factly and Makishimu muttered.
"Great to know." Mutou gave a somewhat bothered look before continuing once more.
"Classes are over for the day, so you'll be introduced to the class tomorrow. For now, here's your dorm room key. I'll let you wander around for a bit, but get some sleep. You look tired." He sounded a bit more direct this time, most likely in response to Makishimu's attitude. Makishimu nodded this time, not wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was and took the key from the teacher's hand.
"Thanks. I'll try to get to class early tomorrow. Good first impressions, right?" He smiled to give off a friendly look, but Mutou shook his head.
"I'd prefer you meet me here in the same place tomorrow, so I can introduce you better. Makes my job easier."
"Alright. Whatever floats your boat. Good bye, then." Makishimu turned around to head to the dorm after the teacher responded to his good-bye. It took him a good moment, but he eventually found the male-dorms. He entered through the door and tiredly walked up the stairs to his room, on the second floor and closest to the stairway. He didn't notice many other students on his way up, but it was probably just due to classes only just finishing. Sticking the key in the hole and turning, he was given a good sounding click as the lock opened and he went in. The room, as expected, had no decoration, with only a plain looking bed, a plain looking desk and a plain looking dresser adorning the plain looking room. His bags were sitting next to the dresser and after taking off his shoes, he grabbed the rectangular one which contained a netbook with 4G capabilities that he had been given before he left. With it in hand, he set off for a place where he could sit down.
Once again, it took a good while for him to find his way around, but he eventually found the library. Not wanting to attract too much attention, he quietly entered the room and headed for an area that was metaphorically off the beaten path. However, most of the good places were taken and he was forced to sit down at a table already occupied by a tall looking girl and another who, like him, also lacked an eye (among other things). "Hope you don't mind me sitting down here..." He said, somewhat intimidated by the look of the shorter girl, who smelled of smoke. Uneasily glancing around him, wondering if he was even allowed to use his computer there, he took out his netbook and opened it up on the table. Surprisingly enough, the 4G coverage wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and he was easily able to connect to the internet. Clicking on one of the few bookmarks he had saved, he opened up Kantai Collection, a game he had grown fond of during his time in the hospital. He muted the computer and once he was logged in, he proceeded to begin preparing for a mission. He tried to remain somewhat discreet as he did so, though, not wanting to bother the other two.
Wait.
Suddenly, he realized something.
Why didn't I just do this in my room...?