"Ark! Get more boxes for the new shipment! Arisa! Customer line 4 on front, you're up! Keiichi! Customer line 5, go! We're going home early, so finish that shipment order, George!"
The local post office was in full swing. Smack in the middle of summer vacation, there was a rush of mail orders happening all of a sudden, and I was working on my summer like most others there. Our boss, Takama Rein, worked us constantly to ensure quality of service in his branch as this rush went on, so when the day was over, he heartily congratulated us on our hard efforts and paid for our dinners. Today was no different than yesterday, with his large frame shouting orders left and right while he picked up phone calls, handled stacks of paperwork and tried his best to have three eyes instead of two over everything that was going on. My coworkers Arisa and Keiichi handled this like it was second nature to them, with Keiichi’s cool suave demeanor chilling even the most hotheaded of customers and Arisa’s selfless dedication speeding up the customer line to almost three times the normal processing speed. I was just the handyman of the place, doing a little bit of everything, but because there was so much to do, I was rarely sitting still. I moved from place to place handling packages, empty boxes to the packers, even getting lunches for everyone on my bike, and though the days were pretty long overall, it was satisfactory work. Plus it was only my third week, so the job hadn’t really grown on me yet.
“Ark! Massive letter mail incoming! Go help to sort them out! Kana! Bring me the shipping orders of last week on the office and go help Ark! “
That was the boss calling me up again. My name is Arkimeth Seizen, but everyone calls me Ark for short since it’s easier. I’m 14 years old, working by a miracle of a higher deity after my uncle put in a word for me with Takama-san once I finished 9th grade. I lived with him most of the time, since my parents worked overseas for many months at a time, but he took good care of me and taught me many things. My parents and I talked over the Internet and with phones constantly, so I never really felt separated from them, and since my uncle also worked, I was left by myself most of the time. We lived in a medium-sized city at the southern islands of Japan, but this island was a major trade hub and port stop for ships, so the mail service’s influence was humongous. The opportunities to work were so plentiful, even a young guy like me could find something to do as long as I had the right direction—and the right direction I had, since my uncle was a locally famous ramen chef, so he got along with everyone and knew all the important people. A †˜stroke of luck’, you would call it.
I shifted through the stacks of letters, tossing them into bins in alphabetical order, when I saw one in particular that caught my attention… it was addressed to me? It had an †˜URGENT’ stamp on the envelope with big red letters on a †˜Priority Mail’ packaging. I put it aside as I finished the stacks after a couple minutes, then I took the letter into the bathroom. Nobody saw me leave, so I’d have to be quick about checking this out before they called me out of frustration. I carefully ripped the packaging and the envelope, revealing a note inside. Just as I was about to open it, I heard the boss calling me up, just as expected. It surprised me a little, but I opened up the letter and glanced at it first. It was really short, so I decided to read it real quick, pocket it up, and go back to work:
“Dear Mr. Arkimeth Seizen,
We...”
*BANG BANG* “Ark! Are you in there? Go help the packers when you’re done!”
“…regret to inform you that…”
*BANG BANG* “Ark! What’s taking you so long?!”
“…your parents were…”
“Ark! Answer me, Ark!” *BANG BANG*
………
…
---------
That was last year.
The building my parents were working in had a gas leak at the basement, and a spark caused an explosion. Apparently, the explosion was so compacted and powerful, the foundations were shaken and weakened so much that the weight of the structure crippled them, causing the entire thing to collapse. I cried so much. I cursed the fucking man or woman who was supposed to be doing the maintenance. They could have prevented this. I wasn’t the only one who lost someone in that collapse but I didn’t care. Just as I was starting to get it good, this shit happens? How fucked up is that? A stroke of luck, I said back then… yeah, right.
My uncle Tatsuyuki took care of all the legal stuff for me: because of certain terms of the company my parents used to work for, my inheritance had to wait until I reached the age of majority by American standards instead of Japanese standards (which was fine by me, since American standards were 18 instead of 20). My friends Arisa and Keiichi stayed with me even in the funeral, and we parted ways a few days ago. My uncle had sold his stand and house in the city to move here to the mainland, close to the Nagano prefecture. It was a nice apartment complex facing a lake and close to pretty much every amenity and attraction place. He really tried to get me out of thinking about the family… I can’t blame him, since now my cousin Misha and my uncle are all I have left, and yet… I still can’t accept it.
Such bullshit.
We finished moving the boxes yesterday, and I unpacked everything the same day. I sold a lot of my possessions before I left: my disks, games, books, consoles, even a couple clothes here and there. Keiichi took all of my porn magazines and comics, along with a couple of sneaked eroges I got from another friend. They all gave me good money for it, so I upgraded my TV to a 46” and got myself a nice sound system, the only heavy things I moved in. I still had plenty of money saved up for when I worked in the mail, so I could live comfortably for at least three years before I had to work again-- my uncle insisted on me covering my own expenses to get a feel for what being an adult is (though I think he was just worried about his retirement money), so I saved up as much as I could. I wasn’t used to sleeping in a bed as opposed to a futon, but I would probably get used to it eventually. It was comfortable, to say the least, but I shuffled in my sleep a lot… would I fall? Bah, no use worrying about it now.
…
“Ark.” My uncle addressed me as we ate dinner together, watching the evening news on TV. “This may be sudden, but I finished the preparations today. You will begin school tomorrow.” I was so shocked I almost choked on my noodle. “W-what? School already? Didn’t we just move here, uncle?” He nodded, nibbling on a cracker. “You missed a lot of school days because of all the legal things we had to do.” Fuck. He JUST had to say that. “You have to catch up on your education if you want to have better paying jobs in the future.” You’re just so damn worried about not having to put a cent for me out of your retirement money, aren’t you? My temper was already starting to flare a little bit. It’s not like I didn’t like school, but I thought I’d have at least a DAY to familiarize myself with the area I was going to live in for the next few years and all, but I guess that was too much to ask of life lately.
“I don’t want to work anymore.” I stated flatly, taking a drink of my soda. Uncle just shook his head, biting another cracker before he spoke: “Arkimeth, you’re not serious, are you? What are you going to do with your life if you don’t work?” Dunno. Lots of people make a living leeching off their parents in their basements… but I guess that doesn’t apply to me, since I don’t HAVE parents anymore, huh? “I don’t know what’s gotten into you lately.” What do you mean, lately? When you were away working, I had mom and dad to talk to. I had games, videos, shit I could do. Even though I was the one who got rid of all that to move here, I only want a little time to get used to this place. Is that so hard to understand? Tatsuyuki Seizen nibbled on another cracker. “I’m not going to argue, but you’re going to school tomorrow, and that’s final.” Sigh .
“Fine… Do I have a uniform? I didn’t see anything in my room today.” Come on, I asked an obvious question, give me an obvious answer. “Not yet. An acquaintance of your cousin should be bringing it later tonight.” My cousin Misha Seizen’s been studying overseas for three years now. This should be her last year of education before returning to finish her high school education here. “I will go buy some groceries. Stay here and finish organizing the packages while you wait for the uniform.” He munched on another cracker. Uncle loved those things like he loved schoolgirl porn. Makes me chuckle every time I remember he doesn’t know that I know about his secret fucking fetish. What would Aunt Mamiko think about the trash you’ve become?
I did the dishes and started cleaning up some stuff when the doorbell rang: *BRIIIIIING!* It was such a plain tone. I’d go crazy if I had to listen to that crap go on for more than a minute. I went to open the door, but when I opened it--!
“E-Excuse me… Arkimeth… Seizen-san?” Before me, at my own doorstep, stood an – an amazingly pretty girl?! She wasn’t tall, maybe about 5 feet-something, with short bluish hair tied in twin tails to her sides. She was wearing a green round cap along with a full-body blue coat and short green socks paired up with blue boots, and she was carrying a backpack, and… is that a key as her necklace? Within her slim hands, she was holding a plastic package with some clothes on it… so I presume she’s the one uncle told me about. But damn, she was pretty. Those blue eyes trying to hide behind the bag she was holding forward to me… and those LEGS under the dress! Damn it, woman, come in and have tea with me and something else. “Um… Are you… Arkimeth Seizen-san…?” Oh shit. She’s still here.”*Cough* Ye-yes, that’s me… are you a friend of my cousin Misha?” Wow, I sounded like a total fruit. “Yes! My name is Ka… Ka…” Ka-ka? What kinda name was that, legs? Stop trembling, I’m not going to ea-- “Kawashiro Nitori! I came to bring you your uniform!” *SHOVE* “Uh-um, I’ll… see you… at school—bye!”
…
The tasty legs ran away! AND I JUST STOOD THERE LIKE A DORK. Way to go, Ark. Sigh. I looked at the package this Nitori girl shoved in my hands... it was so neatly packaged. The pants and the jacket seemed pressed, and the shoes were shiny without a single dent or rugged spot in them. That girl must’ve picked it up like that… Why do I hear a loud mechanical rattle noise when she went down the stairs? I went back inside and finished cleaning up, and tried on my uniform when I was done. Where’s that mirror…? The black long pants were crisp and clean, with a single crease in the middle of the legs. The black jacket had two pockets in the front breast area, and golden-finish buttons running down the center. The sleeves had the same crease as the pants did… they felt pretty nice. The white shirt and black tie complemented the set perfectly. The uniform felt comfortable, and it fit my average size just perfectly. I was never really fond of black clothes, because of the contrast with my silver hair and eyes, but this uniform felt just right. There was an elaborate emblem on the left sleeve below the shoulder: “Gensokyo High School”. I guess that’s where I was going? I had no idea where it was… I still have my bike, so I should be fine as long as it’s not *too* far away… I wasn’t much used to trains, since there weren’t that many where I came from down south.
I glanced at the watch—wow, it was getting late quick. I heard my uncle come back to the house, so I went to grab the supplies and put them into my new briefcase. I was getting tired, too… time to call it a night. As I got into bed, I kept thinking about the weird timid girl, Kawashiro Nitori… would there be girls as cute as her in my new school tomorrow? I was looking forward to it!
