Akira Route - Act 3-4 - Kicking Off

A mixture of uncertainty and anxiety flows through my mind as my hand hovers above the silver handle. Before me is a closed door, the signs adorning its wooden surface usually symbolizing aid for someone with a condition like mine.

Today, however, it’s a harbinger of judgment. The weight of a month’s worth of disregard already bears down on me, and I have no doubts that it’s about to be doubled.

'Head Nurse' the brass plate on the door reads.

I can't even begin to imagine the magnitude of the lecture I'll receive upon stepping through this doorway. He knows I haven't been running, he knows my social situation here isn't in the smoothest of positions; hell, I'll bet he'd even know if I wasn't eating healthy.

With reluctance, I raise my hand to the door and rap my knuckles against the glossy surface.

“Come in.” that familiar voice chimes, the sound of a chair rolling across the tile floor indicating that I’ll be the object of his utmost attention here in a few seconds.

I turn the doorknob and take a meager step inside, electing to close the door behind me as check-ups generally involve me having to take my shirt off.

“Good morning, Hisao. I take it you got my message?” the nurse greets from behind his desk, his energetic smile just as bright as usual despite being so early in the day.

I think it would have been rather difficult to miss. It’s every guy’s dream to be woken up by a cute girl, but not when she’s slamming her fist against your door at six in the morning.

At first I thought she had shown up to take a running partner for herself by force, considering that she was already clad in a gym uniform coupled with a pair of steel prosthesis.

‘Nurse says he wants to see you.’ she had commented after handing me a small post-it note. After that it led into a small back-and-forth about school, what I've been up to, and a lively "well just remember that I'll be waiting if you ever want to get out to the track with me!"

Other than that, nothing. I can't help but think that she only said that much out of obligation, to try and keep a tie to someone who could have at one point been a friend.

I suppose I can’t blame her. I pretty much dropped off the face of the earth after my first week here, and it doesn’t help that I avoided saying ‘hi’ the few times I walked by her in the hallways. There's no point lingering on it though; anything I could say about the matter is just ‘shoulda woulda coulda' at this point.

Especially since there’s more pressing matters at hand.

I glance up at the nurse and offer up a reassuring smile, more for myself than him.

“Yeah, Emi dropped it off this morning.” I reply.

“Glad to hear that. I take it you know why you’re here?”

Because the only precautions I’ve been taking in ensuring that I don’t drop dead are keeping up with my medication, and being lazy whenever it comes to physical activity?

“Just a checkup?”

“For the most part, yes. Most students keep up with their visits on their own, but it seems like you’ve been avoiding me, for some reason.” Nurse replies with a cheeky grin, amused by his own joke.

“I’ve been doing fine, really. There’s been a lot going on, so I’ve had to cut back on a few things.” I reply, content to let a little white lie slip.

He wags his finger back and forth in disapproval before responding with “come on, Hisao. There's nursing staff here around the clock. Twenty-four-seven: that's what we tell everyone who walks through those gates. Even our busiest students find time to stop by."

"Ah, well, yeah, but..."

"No buts. Your health should always be a top priority, regardless of how busy you are; I'd like to think that my opinion as a medical professional is something valuable." he replies, cutting me off mid-sentence as he starts to shift into serious mode.

And here’s where it all begins.

His fingers intertwine as he leans in, resting his chin on both hands. "Emi tells me you haven't been coming to the track. Why is that?" he asks, his features becoming more and more steely as he scrutinizes my expression.

"The first time I went there, I wound up having to pace myself. A simple walk was enough to get the blood flowing, and that's what I've been doing around here." I reply.

"A simple walk doesn't quite constitute 'exercise,' I'm afraid. You need to find some other way to push yourself, and I think the solution is obvious enough. Don't you?"

I nod my head, unsure of how to answer.

There’s no doubt that I’ve been dodging any sort of physical strain, but to say I’ve become entirely sedentary is a bit of an exaggeration. I do plenty of walking around, whether it be throughout the campus or into town and back. It’s not a workout, but it’s something, right?

The track doesn’t feel like an option to me at this point. Yeah, I don’t feel like waking up at six in the morning, but that’s not the only problem. I feel unwelcome there, for some reason; Emi’s cheeriness this morning makes it all the more difficult to tackle the task as well, since I wouldn’t want to disappoint her by making another half-hearted attempt.

A job isn’t out of the question, although the fact that I’m still considering such a thing may as well be a testament to how much time I do have on hand.

No, I think the reason it’s been floating through my head so much is because it’s a way out. I can’t go to the track, so why not find a different venue? Something where I can find some kind of success that isn’t academia. It doesn’t even have to be successful; I just want to feel like I’m good for something else!

“Are there any alternatives to the track?” I ask.

My question is met with a raised eyebrow and a look of suspicion. “There’s plenty of ways to get exercise, you don’t just have to go to the track. I’m not sure if you can swim, but we have a pool here as well as a number of other facilities.”

Something besides the school! I don’t want to be trapped here.

“What about physical labor? Like… if I tried to get a job?”

For some reason I cringe as the words leave my mouth. It’s not that I have a problem with the idea of work, but for all I know there could be a policy restricting students from having jobs at all.

“I’ll tell you the same thing as the handbook. Part-time work is allowed as long as it doesn’t put you in danger, and it doesn’t interfere with your studies.” the nurse answers.

Oh. That worked out well, I suppose.

“Speaking of which; I’m pleased to hear that you’re keeping up with your classes. Most students that transfer in this late in the trimester wind up on the wrong foot for the rest of the year.” he adds on.

“Well, I had plenty of time to keep up with my studies over the past few months. It wasn’t too hard to get up to speed, honestly.” I comment.

“Now if only we could get you up to speed on your physical health.” he jabs with a chuckle. “Alright, enough small talk; you know the drill.”

He motions for me to take a seat on one of the beds behind the curtain nearby. I unbutton my shirt and set it down beside me before laying my undershirt down with it, bracing myself against the cold iron surface of a stethoscope.

Deep breaths. Cough. The same old routine I’ve been through a thousand times. He presses the iron instrument against various locations on my chest and back before moving onto other tests, apparently content with the results.

My blood pressure is checked, my eyes and ears are examined, and my heartrate is taken one more time before I’m allowed to stand up again.

“As always, there’s no need for worry as long as you pace yourself and keep out of stressful situations. Also, if you do decide to look for work while you’re here, make sure it’s something easy. I don’t want to find you on a stretcher for trying to reform a pack of gangsters.” Nurse comments, his words accompanied by a hearty laugh.

**********

My head seems to have cleared up since this morning, and the pace of class goes by quicker as a result. I’m not sure if it’s a good idea to be daydreaming or thinking of other things with the end of the trimester in sight, but it hasn’t given me a problem yet.

The thought of work is… relaxing, somehow. Maybe I’m getting my hopes up about this whole job thing. It shouldn’t be easy at all to land something part-time at my age and with my experience, and I doubt I’ll be able to get into a position that will somehow link to what I want to do in life. It’s a given that I’ll have something to do with all this spare time, but with exams coming up, do I even want something to occupy my time?

At least I’m not obsessing over whether a girl halfway across the world received a text message.

Speaking of which, I wonder how Akira is doing right now. Did the visit with her aunt go well? Is she getting along with the family she hasn’t seen in years?

…What did she pick out for her new swims-

“Hicchan, how do you solve this?” a voice beside me asks in a somewhat-quiet tone. I’m sure everyone else heard it as well, but it’s the attempt at whispering that counts, right?

On the blackboard is an example problem, one that I’m able to solve despite the beach-themed daydreams skipping through my head. Mutou paces around the room waiting for one student to grasp the answer, a slim piece of chalk twirling between his fingers.

The sample has been copied into Misha’s notebook, and a few steps have already been taken to solve the problem. I can already see where the issue lies, however, as she forgot to sort things into the right categories.

“Switch ‘Fe’ and ‘N’. One goes in the oxidizing half; the other is part of the reducing half.” I whisper, trying to avoid Mutou’s attention.

Misha switches the two elements around before staring at the paper with a tilted head. She rests her chin in her hand while scribbling in the margin of the notebook before letting the information click into place.

And click it does, as she bounces in her chair and solves the rest of the equation with little issue, humming a made-up victory tune as Shizune glances over and apparently gives the okay.

It would seem that Mutou gives the okay as well, as he paces up to the front of the class and calls upon the pink-haired girl beside me to fill in the blanks and solve the problem on the board.

*******

“Wahaha~, you didn’t think I was going to get it right, did you~?” Misha chimes as she packs away her things in anticipation of the lunch bell, brimming with confidence after completing the example problem.

“I was hoping you’d get it right. I’d be worried if you didn’t since this stuff is so easy.” I reply.

“Hey! I just hit bumps every now and then, no need to be mean~...”

Yeah, I can’t say much to that; it happens to all of us. I do feel the tiniest bit of satisfaction from watching Misha work the problem, though. Something about helping other people understand things just makes me feel warm inside. I guess it makes sense, considering how much I get worked up over not understanding things.

"I'm just having fun. It'd be boring if I just showered you with praise, right?"

"Don't think I didn't catch you smiling when I came back from the blackboard~!" Misha counters, giggling.

"Ah- what? I was smiling?" I counter, conscious of my facial expressions all of a sudden.

“Of course you were smiling, silly~! I'll bet you were just thinking about how wonderful it was that I got the question right~.”

That's probably why, since that's exactly what I was just thinking about!

Have to be difficult! Something else, something else, something else...

“What? That's nice, yeah, but I was just thinking about the three-day weekend coming up.” I respond, trying to shift away from the previous thought.

We have a three-day weekend, right? Or was that next week? I need to start checking the calendar more.

“Ohh? And what do you have planned for the weekend, Hicchan~?” Misha asks through thinly layered skepticism, her brow narrowed and a mischievous smile spreading between her cheeks. Shizune seems to take notice of the conversation as well, as Misha's hands continue to translate anything and everything that is said.

Sleeping, sleeping, and maybe some sleeping.

Well, no, there's at least one thing I need to do. Akira and Lilly get back this Friday, and I'm sure Hanako is going to go meet them there. Maybe I could tag along? It'd be nice to be the first thing Akira sees when she gets off the plane, anyway.

I could even get that package Kenji asked about. I'm only about a week overdue on that, right?

“I've got to go welcome some friends back at the airport, and then there's a couple of things I need to do in the city.” I comment, only to add on “...it doesn't hurt to sleep in every now and then, right?”

“Wahaha~!” Misha bursts out laughing. “I don't blame you, everyone needs their beauty sleep~.”

At this, she adds on “some more than others~,” although I'm sure it came from the dark-haired girl beside her. My thoughts are confirmed when Shizune gives a catlike grin at Misha's “Hey! What's that supposed to mean?”

“Hey, every high school student could use more rest.” I comment, shrugging my shoulders.

Misha sticks her tongue out at me in a taunting manner as Mutou gives some closing announcements, not even bothering to fight against a class whose only focus is on the impending lunch bell.

The same old warnings of exams and to study our notes, the same old lecture on securing a future for yourself, and the same old need to see me after cl-

Wait, why does he need to see me after class? I didn’t doze off or mess anything up today, so it shouldn’t be something like detention.

Without further delay, the bell rings throughout campus, setting a herd of students loose to roam the school. Everyone except me, anyway, as Mutou sits at his desk, fingers intertwined as he waits for my compliance.

“You wanted to see me?” I ask upon approaching the teacher’s desk.

“I’m not here to bark at you or anything, just a few questions. I hope I’m not intruding on your privacy or anything, but I hear you’re looking for a job?” Mutou answers with his own question, resting his chin atop both hands.

“Eh? How do you know about that?”

“Word gets around here fast, you know.” he counters.

He had to have heard it from the nurse. That’s the only person I’ve talked about it with, anyway. I guess confidentiality only refers to medical issues, then; or maybe I have to ask to keep it confidential before anything is actually said.

“Well, yeah, I was hoping to find something to occupy my time. The school doesn’t have any rules against work, right?”

“There are no rules as long as it doesn’t endanger you or interfere with academics. That’s the thing, though, are you sure you want to undertake something like that alongside your studies?”

“I’ve been keeping up with my studies, it shouldn’t be a problem.” I reply.

Strange how this has gone from an idle thought to an actual pursuit worth arguing with a teacher over in the span of less than a day. I never thought myself the ‘live in the moment’ kind of guy.

“I do not doubt that, but are you sure you could put up with the stress? Is there some kind of motive behind this? Students don’t just try to start working.” Mutou comments with a look of curiosity.

What is my motive? Yeah, I can joke around about living in the moment, but there has to be something in me driving this forward. Originally I thought it was about finding a timesink

“Everyone needs job experience, right?” I reply, shrugging my shoulders.

“Of course, but don’t you think it’s too soon? I’d hate to see you crash and burn by trying to take on more than you’re capable of. That’s why you’re here, to learn and know your limits, and how to be most successful in spite of them.” he argues.

How can I learn what I’m good for if I spend all day locked up in my room? I think I’m beginning to understand why this has been eating at me so much.

“That’s the thing; I don’t know what my limits are yet. I haven’t been able to accomplish a single thing ever since I got here besides make a few new friends.” I respond, “I feel like I’m stuck. I don’t know what I can do because I’m not taking any chances with myself.”

At this, Mutou releases a haggard sigh and buries his face in his hands, already frustrated with my answer. It doesn’t seem like he’s used to arguing with students.

Thinking over my words, I can’t help but wonder if I sound like some kind of rebellious teenager.

“Hisao, it’s my job as a teacher to educate and guide you down the right path. What you feel isn’t wrong, at least not the way I see it, but we don’t find out how strong we are by jumping off of cliffs.”

“It’s not like I’m going to join the military or something, I’m just looking for a part-time job.” I respond.

“Where were you thinking of applying?” Mutuo asks.

I open my mouth to answer, but nothing comes out. That’s currently the biggest hurdle; find somewhere I could even work at. There’s more businesses I’d rather not work for than ones I would.

“See, you need a plan, first. You can’t really say you’re what you are or aren’t going to limit yourself to until you’ve actually got some goals set up. Where would you like to work?”

It doesn’t help that I’ve only been thinking about this for a day, so my thoughts are still immature. I’ve got a hastily produced motive, but that’s about it. There’s no goals set as of yet.

“Somewhere I can get some viable experience would be great, but that’s probably getting my hopes up.” I respond.

“Viable experience for your future?” Mutou counters, one eyebrow raised.

“Well, yeah. If I knew how things worked in a lab, don’t you think I’d be able to get a jumpstart on everyone else once I had a degree? But that’s the thing, where would someone like me even get a job?”

The man across me scratches his chin in thought before gesturing for me to wait a moment as he searches through his briefcase.

“I think I’ve got something for you, actually.”

He has something for me? Really? What happened to staying away from work and finding something else to test or strengthen myself?

“Huh? What do you mean by that? What happened to avoiding work?”

“I didn’t say to avoid work, I said to avoid endangering yourself. I’ll give you some info, refer you to a place in the city, and put in a good word; but only if you promise not to go overboard.” he replies, holding a few papers and a business card.

He’ll not only send me somewhere, but he’ll give me his recommendation as well? What’s the catch? Things like this don’t show up on silver platters.

“It depends on what the job is. I can’t pledge to take it easy when I don’t even know what I’ll be doing.” I counter.

“We don’t have clearance to do most of our biology experiments here in the school, so we get some help from a lab in the city. They mainly do large-scale culture incubation and antibody development, but they’re also partnered with a medical corporation here in Japan, so some research happens there as well.” he replies.

“…Huh? How would I get a job there? I don’t know how to do research or if I can even think of anything worth trying to prove. Even if I were some kind of genius, why would they agree to hire me without any qualifications?”

At this, Mutou gives a light chuckle.

“Everyone needs janitors.” he retorts.

“And if… I… oh.” I comment, my words going dead like a deflating balloon.

A janitor? At a biological research lab?!

I’m interested in the opportunity, yeah. I can’t see being a custodian as a particularly taxing position either, so I wouldn’t have any of those ‘dropping dead’ issues. But don’t they need training and what have you?

“So, do we have a deal? You promise not to overwork yourself, and I’ll give you a potential employer.”

He holds out his hand and waits for me to agree with the proposition, the white sheets of paper taunting me from his other side.

No qualifications, no training, and no experience. These people have no reason to hire me on any grounds other than a friend’s recommendation.

So why can’t I turn him down?

“Yeah, I think we have a deal.” I concede, grabbing and shaking Mutou’s hand.

“Good man. I can’t guarantee you the position, sadly. They shouldn’t be giving you any trouble, though, considering how understaffed they are these days.”

“Understaffed in terms of workers that matter, or understaffed in terms of custodians?” I ask as he hands me the bundle of papers.

“Hey now, custodians are the most important workers, sometimes. Especially in the field of biology, because results get skewed if everything isn't clean before tests start. I'm sure Mr. Setou will tell you all about what you'll be doing.” Mutou responds.

Mr... Setou? Hopefully not the same Setou I'm thinking of.

I check over the few papers as he gives me some more advice over job interviews. Things like 'wear a suit,' 'do some research,' and 'be enthusiastic' filling my head alongside the information on the business card.

What all this tells me is that it's a lab in the city, which specializes in pharmacology. There's a phone number and a few names here, so I at least have somewhere to start. At the very least I can find out if they'd even consider giving me an interview.

“Should I call ahead? Or will they be expecting me once you send them a recommendation?” I ask.

“He's a bit of a jumpy guy, so you'll want to call ahead. You've got everything you need, so I think I'll be heading out now. Best of luck, Hisao.” Mutou answers as he finishes gathering his things, letting the briefcase hang from his side as he steps out of the classroom.

Am I making progress?

A job opportunity. And it's not just any regular part-time job, I might actually have a chance to work with other genuine scientists. I'm not sure of what I'll be doing, what the hours will be, how much strain it'll put on me, but...

It feels like I'm scratching an itch, somehow. Like there's been something festering inside of me for the past few weeks, and I'm finally doing something to ease the burden.

A chance to prove this heart condition can't keep me from functioning in society -- that might just be what I was waiting for all along.

Well, no, that's a bit of a stretch. I think all I could say is that it's only one of the things I've been waiting for. There's still some other events that would be nice; like somehow running into a certain blonde-haired woman again. I should hold off on calling her for a little longer though, maybe not until tomorrow.

At least this gives me something to talk to her about when the time does come.