Transition and Restart, book six: Secrets unveiling

Chapter four, 2017, petty revenge, part one

Gods! There's spillover everywhere. Yukio groaned silently, but at least he stayed out of the rumour mongering by the shoe lockers.

"Is it true Sugimoto-san transferred last week?"

"It's true. Her parents are divorced and when her mom died she had to move to her relatives."

"Was it suicide?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

It was. Yukio knew that. He also knew Sugimoto-san's mother had absolutely nothing to do with the rapes apart from believing the girls were at fault for getting assaulted. While disgusting it was hardly a reason for dying. Damn Urufu. I should have listened to you.

He dropped his shoes into his locker, and halfway to his classroom he'd listened to three other versions of the rumours. Rumours, because the Sugimotos weren't the only family to have lost a member. Sasaki-san, a freshman, lost his older brother to an armed robbery that looked a lot like revenge meted out by friends of the Korean victim.

While Urufu was adamant Sasaki-san's father was indeed directly involved the dead kid was only guilty of voicing his hatred of anything foreign to whomever was within earshot.

And in the background Kuri continued her own campaign of defamation with the open backing of Jeniferu's father, and he in turn had the silent backing of two nations.

The stairs took Yukio to his corridor and classroom, and just as it had been since the assaults there was a silence clinging to it that had absolutely nothing to do with obedient students. Stench of fear, did you call it that?

He walked to his desk between classmates refusing to meet his eyes and sat down. Yukio barely had time to dig out his books when his name was called out over the PA system.

Visit the headship's office? What is the pig up to this time?

Raking down his books into his still open bag Yukio stood and left the classroom the same way he had entered. After climbing the stairs to the third floor he had a moment of fleeting memories from his freshman year when he stared down the familiar corridor. Then he walked into the one connecting both wings.

He was almost at the door to the headship's office when he heard voices from the inside. Or rather Kareyoshi's voice.

"Your stunt with bringing in journalists again made those in charge change their mind. I'll have you expelled for tarnishing the name of the school."

"That's rich coming from someone who disgraces an entire nation just by being born," came Urufu's voice.

There was a moment of silence before Kareyoshi spoke again. "Laugh all you want. Within a month you're gone from here. Atrocious exam results will suffice as a reason."

You know, you're not really supposed to tell people exactly how you're going to hurt them if they can react to it, Yukio thought. But then Kareyoshi hadn't exactly displayed any evidence of a higher mental capacity. Still, for what it was worth maybe waiting in the corridor was the smarter choice, so Yukio remained where he stood and eavesdropped.

"So you'll use my exam results as an excuse? You know I'm answering questions written in Japanese?"

"That's hardly my problem. If you're not able to learn a civilised language then you aren't fit for receiving an education here."

"You still insist on calling the canned simplifications we're fed here an education?"

"I don't see how you're qualified to comment on the best education system in the world."