…To the Pinnacle of Triumph

An hour after classes had started, I slipped in through a gap between the school gates and the fence. But I was too depressed to feel smug about how easy it was.

I’d promised Uncle I’d be at school on Monday but I didn’t say I’d go to class. How could I sit in a room full of people who thought of me as a thief? As a pervert who hid in girl’s lockers to watch while they undressed?

And how could I sit next to Erika as if nothing had happened? I wanted so badly to apologize to her, but still couldn’t bring myself to talk to her yet.

I skulked along a row of hedges on my way to the headmaster’s office. On the way, I passed by my classroom on the ground floor. I wanted to see her again, even if only from a distance, for one last time.

My heart started to hammer as I saw Erika through the window, sitting next to the empty desk I’d never occupy again. For a moment I watched her taking careful notes during the teacher’s lecture. She ran her fingers through her golden blonde hair as her mind wandered, then turned to look out the window.

Quickly, I ducked out of sight before she could see me. I’d spent enough time acting like a stalker. It was time to meet with the headmaster.

When I stepped into the outer office, the headmaster’s secretary looked up and greeted me with a frown. “Nakato Keisuke, what a surprise! We sent someone to your class to bring you here earlier, but you were absent for morning attendance.”

I nodded. “Sorry.”

She sniffed disdainfully, then stood and opened the door to the headmaster’s office. “Mr. Okamoto said to send you right in if you showed up.”

I gulped, then walked into the headmaster’s office, dreading each step.

“Ah, Keisuke,” Mr. Okamoto said, looking up from his pile of papers. “I’m glad you were finally able to make it to school this morning.” Okamoto had this steady, unnerving gaze, made even worse by his round, frameless glasses that seemed to enlarge his eyes. It had made many a student tremble in their stylish shoes.

“Yes, sir.” I decided to get to the point. “Here is my request for resignation from the academy, sir.” I handed the letter to him.

He took the letter from my hands but didn’t seem at all surprised. “Ah, so you wish to resign? Does this have something to do with the, um, how shall I describe it…” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “With the recent incident in the girl’s locker room?”

Of course he knew about that. “Yes, sir.”

“I see.” He read my letter in silence, the only sound coming from an old-fashioned desk fan idly riffling papers secured under heavy paperweights.

When he finished, Okamoto glanced up at me and, without a word, ripped the resignation in half, then into quarters. He dropped the fragments into an overflowing trash can.

“Your resignation is denied.” I had half-expected this, but still felt sick to my stomach.

The academy wasn’t going to accept my resignation. They were going to expel me.

The headmaster stood and glanced at the wall clock. “Come with me please, Keisuke.”

I walked behind him out past his secretary’s desk. She punched a button on her office phone as we passed and held the receiver up to her mouth like it was a radio microphone.

Her voice echoed out over the PA system. “All students, please assemble in the main auditorium.” She repeated this, then hung up the phone and followed the headmaster and me out the door before disappearing down a hallway.

I heard the class bell ring. The halls filled with noisy students heading to the big auditorium, the only one that could accommodate the entire student body and faculty.

Okamoto cleared a path for us, passing through the crowd like a battleship parting waves. I was given the occasional curious look by students, but thankfully couldn’t overhear their whispered conversations.

I kept my head down and followed closely behind Okamoto. I guess the magnitude of the crime demanded a public display, or maybe Hayami’s father who sat on the school board had insisted that I be made an example of.

Oh, well. Too late to run.

We went backstage, past dusty props and costumes on racks, where we waited while the auditorium filled. I was too disheartened to ask any questions.

Finally, he led me onto the brightly lit stage. I was blinded by the spotlights and couldn’t see past the first row of students in the audience. There was a table off to the side of the podium with some kind of picture frame sitting on it.

The headmaster motioned for me to sit in a chair next to the podium, then turned on the microphone.

“Testing, test--” Feedback squealed out of the speakers. I could see the students in the front row covering their ears. “Ah yes, it’s working fine.”

He cleared his throat. “Students, faculty, and staff. I’ve gathered you here today for a brief meeting.

“But first -- ah, I believe our guest is arriving after visiting his old classroom. Everyone, please welcome Commissioner Fukuda Hinata of the National Police Agency.”

I couldn’t help but gape. Escorted by the headmaster’s secretary, a fit-looking man dressed in the blue uniform of the National Police Agency strode down the aisle and walked up the steps to the stage as the audience politely applauded.

He exchanged bows with Okamoto, then stepped up to the microphone.

“Good morning, everyone. As Headmaster Okamoto said, I am Commissioner Fukuda Hinata of the National Police Agency’s Security Bureau. Among other things, the Security Bureau deals with counterintelligence and counter-terrorism.” He let that sink in for a moment before continuing.

He talked for a little about the NPA, his life since he’d graduated from the academy, and other minor details while I tried not to squirm in my chair. What, exactly, was going on?

Finally, he came to the point.

“But I actually came here on official business: to offer recognition and the gratitude of the NPA to one of your fellow students, Mr. Nakata Keisuke, for the invaluable assistance he rendered to our agency.”

Shocked gasps and murmuring came from the audience.

Fukuda waited for the noise to die down, then continued. “Although the details of his participation in an officially sanctioned government operation must remain confidential for now, the operation itself was recently declassified to allow evidence to be submitted in a criminal trial.”

So, the work that I did at YHI was actually an undercover job for the NPA? I could understand now why Uncle didn’t tell me earlier, especially after he’d discovered that I’d leaked the story to Takeda.

The commissioner continued. “Therefore, other interested parties insisted that Mr. Nakata be given recognition for his accomplishments at this time.” He lightly emphasized “at this time.”

He turned to me. “Mr. Nakata, would you please rise?”

In spite of my shock, I managed to stumble to my feet. The headmaster’s secretary opened what looked like a small, padded jewelry box, displaying its contents to the student body. I couldn’t see it, but there were more than a few awed looks from the front row. Okamoto picked up the picture frame from the table.

Fukuda pulled a folded piece of paper from his jacket and read from it.

“For service to the National Police Agency and the nation of Japan, I am proud to present to Nakata Keisuke the Director-General of the National Police Agency Award of Merit.” He lifted a medal out of the jewelry case, supported by a purple ribbon. Scattered applause, which had started when he read the citation, grew quickly into a roar as he hung the medal around my neck.

He had to shout into my ear to be heard over the noise. “Your uncle insisted that this be given to you instead of him, and also gave me a message for you: ‘Loose lips sink ships.’ He said you would understand.”

Fukuda stepped back and bowed, a gesture I hastily returned.

Headmaster Okamoto handed me something I’d mistaken for a picture frame. It was actually a leather-bound folder containing a letter of thanks from the Director-General of the NPA and a copy of the citation.

That wrinkled old dirtbag. Okamoto had known all along what was going to happen and made me sweat until the last minute.

I managed to keep from glaring at him as he gave me a knowing smile.

--------------------------------------------

I don’t remember much of what happened after the ceremony since my brain was still in a whirl from the bizarre presentation. I guessed the citation was Uncle’s way of trying to fix things for me.

After giving me a stern lecture about skipping classes, Okamoto headed back to his office, leaving me alone backstage. I could hear the occasional crash of the auditorium doors as the last few students trickled out.

In the dim light filtering past the stage curtains, I ran my hand over the medal, touching the raised chrysanthemum emblem with my bandaged fingers.

“It looks good on you, Keisuke,” said a familiar voice.

Erika stepped out of the shadows and stood in front of me, shyly holding her hands behind her back.

“Erika!” I gulped and dropped the folder on the dusty plank floor, then bent over in my deepest bow. “Erika, I am so sorry for what I did. Honestly, I was trying to help Hayami catch the real thief, and we thought if I hid in the locker I’d be able to catch him, and --” I finished my explanation in a rush.

Erika reached down and picked up the folder I’d dropped. “Keisuke. Please, stand up.”

I straightened and she handed the folder back to me. “I forgive you. I’m not sure what you were thinking, hiding in my locker like that, but I believe you had a pure motive.”

She laid a hand on my arm. “But, did you know? The real thief has been captured!”

“What? He has?”

“Yes, and I wanted to tell you this morning. He was caught right after the, uh, incident in the girl’s locker room.” She coughed in embarrassment.

“You see, instead of staying out on the field for practice like she normally does, the head coach went to do an equipment locker check to see if you’d taken anything. That’s when she discovered that the master locker key was missing from her desk drawer. She ran over to the girl’s locker room and caught him in the act.

“It turned out that the thief would sneak into the coach’s office when she was outside with one of the teams. He’d take the key, then return it after he’d finished stealing from a locker, so it was never missed. And if it wasn’t for you, he might have continued to get away with it.”

“It would’ve saved me a lot of pain if that coach had bothered to lock her desk in the first place.” I let out a long, grateful sigh. “But I’m glad he was caught.”

Erika looked away, as if unable to meet my eyes. “Keisuke, I’m ashamed of myself. I abandoned you and ran off, instead of trusting you like I should have.”

Reaching out, she took one of my injured hands in both of hers. “Your injuries are my fault. I could have prevented the team from --”

“No, Erika, I’m to blame.” I gave a short laugh. “Just ask my uncle. He’s the one that arranged for this award ceremony.”

“Oh? Your uncle?” She laughed, a musical sound that touched my heart. “I think I might like to meet him one day.”

Then, still holding my hands, she looked me directly in the eyes.

“Keisuke? If it’s okay with you, can we be friends? I wanted to ask you a long time ago, but we always seemed to be going in different directions.”

“What? Yes! I’d love --” With an effort I managed to reign in my enthusiasm. “I mean, yes Erika, I would really like to be your friend.”

Her smile seemed to brighten the entire gloomy backstage area.

The bell rang marking the end of another class period. “Oh, we need to get back to class! You don’t want to be late now, Mr. Hero.”

“Hey, I’m no hero --”

Her voice took on a serious tone I’d never heard before. “Yes, you are. It says so on that citation you’re carrying and on the medal around your neck. Let’s go!”

When I returned to my classroom I was surrounded by my fellow students, all of them wanting to see the medal and barrage me with questions. Any ill-will toward me seemed to have vanished. 

Of course, public recognition by the National Police Agency for participating in a covert operation repaired my social standing somewhat. Thank you, Uncle Kouki.

Finally, students started to wander back to their classrooms. But before the bell rang again, Erika reached into her satchel and pulled out a box. She presented it to me, holding it out with both hands.

It was a gift box, tied with red-and-white ribbon. A red heart with a pink lace border decorated the lid.

Valentine’s chocolates.

“I hope you like these, Keisuke. I made them myself last night, and I’m not sure how good I am at cooking.”

I would have eaten river stones rolled in cocoa powder if Erika had given them to me as a gift. “Thank you, Erika! I’m sure they’ll be perfect!” I gratefully accepted the chocolates, holding them as tightly as my bandaged fingers would let me.

A familiar, overbearing voice froze me in place. “Hey Keisuke, isn’t there something you were going to give Erika?”

Ugh. It was Hayami, sitting with her cheek propped up on her fist and giving me her usual haughty look.

She hadn’t said a word to anyone since the award ceremony. Not surprising, really, since it was her father who was the subject of that operation I’d been cited for.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Hayami,” I said.

In reply, she pointed to my unoccupied desk.

On the seat was a fancy bag from the same downtown confectionery where I’d bought chocolates last week. The chocolates that I’d been planning to give Erika, before Hayami had scattered them across the locker room floor.

Hayami must have purchased a replacement. I looked quickly back at her, but she just sniffed and turned away.

It was probably as close to an apology as I was going to get.

I peeked into the bag, and sure enough, it was the same kind of assorted chocolates I’d bought. I pulled them out and, taking a deep breath, presented them to Erika.

“Would, uh, would you like some chocolates? I know, it’s non-traditional and I didn’t make them myself, I can’t cook, but I wanted to, you know…”

Ah, that smile. Erika’s face beamed with pleasure as she accepted my gift. “Why yes! Thank you, Keisuke, that’s so thoughtful!”

“Thank you too, Erika. Happy Valentine’s Day!”

“Happy Valentine's Day, Keisuke!”

From behind me I saw a hand reach for the chocolates Erika had given me. “None for me?” Takeda asked. “Your best bro? You’re heartless, Keisuke.”

I clutched the box to my chest. “Takeda. If you touch my chocolates, it’ll be me taking you to the clinic for injuries this time.” Even Endo laughed at that.

“Oooh, so hostile! C’mon, you’ve got several --”

“Gentlemen.” Hayami’s voice cut through the conversation. “I’m pleased to see that you’re in such high spirits.” Neither her expression nor her tone of voice indicated she was pleased, but that was Hayami for you.

“However, we have business to discuss.” She lowered her voice. “Unless anyone thinks otherwise, we need to start planning.”

“Is this what I think it is, Hayami?” Erika asked. I’d never seen her look so excited.

“Yes,” Hayami’s eyes swept across all of us. “There are ancient ruins below this school that need to be examined more closely.”

Takeda turned to me with a wide grin. “It’s just like a computer game, Keisuke. We’re going to form a dungeon party!”