Finding My Way

Chapter 9

"Have you heard about the new ethics teacher?" an excited girl asks her friend. School was back in session after the winter holidays. Aside from my birthday gift from Kaname—which I thought about more than I'd care to admit—my vacation was very low key. I spent most of my time with my father either helping him with his paperwork or just being with him. The only times I've managed to see him during the semester were for business, so I'm grateful to have the time to focus on family. Zero popped in sometimes, but often enough he'd seek solitude in the stables or just roam around the campus. I pretty much gave him his space, unable to fully relate with what he's going through. I hope that was the right thing to do.

"Why are we getting a new teacher halfway through the year?" her friend questions, seeming confused.

"I don't know, but I just saw him and he's gorgeous!" the first girl replies happily, with a dreamy expression.

Just then, the classroom door opens and a tall, elegantly dressed, dark haired man enters. He has long, dark black hair with a light blue eye visible. He wears an eyepatch over his right eye and generally gives off a tough aura.

He walks slowly into the room, carrying several books and says, "It seems word of my arrival has preceded me." He sets his books down on the desk and looks up to gaze at the other students. "The name is Toga Yagari and I'm going to be your new teacher. Nice to meet you all." Very straightforward, this Toga Yagari is.

Yori whispers to me, "He seems pretty cool for a teacher."

"Yeah, I guess, but..." I begin as I turn to look at her. In my peripheral vision, I see Zero's shocked face. I turn and look at him better. He's even more pale than usual and seems completely stunned. I wonder what's wrong.

"All right," Yagari says, drawing my attention forward, "I'll accept questions instead of doing an introductory speech."

"Professor, are you single?" a bold girl asks.

"I am," he says.

"Do you have a girlfriend?" another asks. I wonder how that's any different than being single.

"You like the personal questions, don't you?" he replies, seeming slightly amused.

People begin shouting out the most random and absurd questions, including "Have you ever seen a UFO?" and "Have you ever been kissed?" The poor man really didn't know what he was getting into when he allowed students to ask questions at random.

The class president, Kaseumi, stands up and yells over the hubbub, "Hey! If you want to ask this man a question then you have to raise your hand first!" He points randomly and energetically around the room as he says this.

A quick hand is raised. Kaseumi says, "Yes?" to the owner of the hand. She stands up. I recognize her as Shindo, a bespectacled girl with brown hair so light it's almost blonde, who styles her hair in braided pigtails. "That eyepatch you're wearing. Is that the latest fashion trend?"

I hear someone stand up behind me, followed by quick footsteps. I spin my head around and see Zero walk out of the classroom. "Zero...?" I question, but know it's too late. I spin around as I hear the professor speak again.

Silence falls across the classroom for a few moments, everyone wondering how the new teacher would react. Yagari simply stares at the door where Zero had left. Finally, he says, leaning against the chalkboard, "This was the cost I had to pay for saving someone's life."

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Zero could not get out of that classroom fast enough. What was his old mentor doing here? And then, that Shindo girl had to bring up the eyepatch. He leaned against the classroom door, breathing deeply, memories surfacing.