Mitoma Atsui

Wednesday of exam week. I didn't bring my bike; I walked to school.

My class was reviewing the math section of the exams, which would be on day two. The teacher was going over the formulas, my sheet inked with scribbles and the few empty spaces quickly filled with new ones. I wasn't writing math equations, but poems.

Everything was legible when I started writing, but the more I got into the rhythm of things, the more unreadable my small words became. I didn't really care, because I felt that there was some progress being made:

The road path splits into two,
One leading to a (dark?) jungle desert forest.
The (yellow?) sand cover blanket my toes.

The waves crash collide(?) splash with the land ever so gently,
I'm not confined surrounded by the commanding trees.

Message: Deciding for self | Choices?
Use Karuta style more!

"... Kiyoshi!" A blaring voice rang in my ears with a scold.

My teacher had been calling my name to answer a question and I panicked.
"Y-yes sir!" I shouted, standing up at my desk with haste; I accidentally hit one of the desk's legs.

The desk slightly jittered due to my alarmed state, but that was enough to drop one of my papers to the floor.

This is bad... What if someone around me picks it up and reads it? I'll die!

I answered the teacher – correctly – and returned to my seat. Before I could check the floor to see where my paper landed, I saw it over my desk in the hands of a classmate. It was the boy with heterochromatic hair, and golden eyes. He said nothing as he handed me the paper.

D-Did he read it? This sheet looks like a psycho wrote all over it, so he must've been curious enough to see what it was about. If he did...he knows about my poem writing. Is that a problem?

➼ ➼ ➼

The after school bell indicated that students only had one remaining hour to study at school before the exams began tomorrow. For me, it meant I had an hour of leisure with someone at the garden...or so I thought.

When I arrived, the calendar was in my spot. I thought this meant Rossi-san wanted me on this side again, which I wasn't against, but when I sat down, I noticed a pencil had been used as a bookmark. It was the last page of the book, it wrote:

Sorry!!!!! I'm not at the garden today b/c (<– because, if you didn't know) I'm studying w/ Hanamaru-chan at the library (Thanks btw <– by the way)! I'm super sorry for not informing you earlier, but this was an impulse decision (Want to join us? Fufu). Anyways, I really want to talk to you tomorrow, I hope that's okay with you!

I first thought, Wow... I never noticed how pretty her handwritin' is.
Then I thought, Wait, does she think I don't know text abbreviations? Hurtful. Guess I'm comin' back tomorrow.
I put the calendar in my schoolbag.

I spent the majority of this semester alone in the garden, but it somehow felt foreign to me this time. A part of me thought about leaving school early to play Karuta until tomorrow came, but I decided that I still wanted an hour of leisure at the garden.

I did what I used to do: Write poetry between the bare butterfly weed shrubs and talk. Although there wasn't much talking...anymore. I made many adjustments to poems I already wrote and fabricated new ones on the spot. None really stuck out to me, but I felt like one would soon.

The hour ended at the chime of the bell. I left the garden and saw students funnel like sheep into the hallways towards the exits. They were planning to go home and either sleep or study some more, but not me.

Today's the perfect day to go there, I thought.

Leaving my bike back at the apartment allowed me to go on other modes of transport to different locations. There was a place further south in Kyoto where I occasionally went to browse the latest products related to Karuta. I had been saving spare change found on the ground for weeks, and finally managed to buy a round-trip train ticket.

Down the urban wards of the concrete city, I took a twelve-minute walk from school to Ryukokudai-mae-fukakusa Station. I bought my train ticket at the front and waited roughly four minutes on a wooden bench for the train to arrive. Once it did, I boarded the train car with the least amount of people.

There were other people wearing my school's uniform, but I recognized none of them. I pressed my cheek against the cold, refreshing glass window of the train as it whisked along the Keihan Main Line. The journey took seven minutes when the train arrived at Fushimi-Momoyama Station; southern Kyoto. Dismounting the train and walking to the street, it was a four-minute walk to my destination.

Kyoto, being an elegant symbol of the classical age of Japan, was very rich with history that connected the modern day with traditional periods. Because of this, this city's shops were popular with Karuta; a game about poems created in the 16th-century. I stood at the entrance of the oldest shop: Oshi Tengudo.

A vertical sign with "Karuta" spelt in Hiragana and the shop's symbol of a red tengu mask with a long nose welcomed me into the shop. The airflow of the floral incense breezed the shop like a protected veil. The place was the typical Japanese style, with hard dark wooden flooring, stark white walls, and dimly lit yellow ceilings. Shelves lined the walls, with products from not just Karuta, but other traditional games like Shogi and Go too.

It was like I was transported back into the peak of the Edo period, when this shop was built.

I came to window shop, basically. I didn't have the money to buy any of the newer products, despite them being reasonably priced, but that didn't bug me. Coming to this shop felt like I was truly home.
I whispered to myself, "I'm home," as if this was my actual residence.
I pretended that I owned this shop, and came to inspect my prized possessions in all their glories. That unattainable fantasy made me happy.

Browsing the popular goods, I thought, Oh, they're finally sellin' an English version? That's a good way to study the language, I wish I could buy it. Seems like the "Goshiki 20 poems" is gettin' more popular. Still, the "Hyakunin Isshu" will always be the most popular. Woah, they updated the memory cards?! I should make new ones to study!

Like a kid in a candy shop, the corners of my mouth were ear-to-ear and my problems withered away from my mind with ecstasy replacing them. That was until I maneuvered my way towards the register. Unexpectedly, I ran into someone I'd been talking to recently. My heart dropped to the wooden floor upon hearing my name.

"Shouldn't you be study'n for tomorrow's exams?" the voice asked.

I turned my head with speed out of shock, my body lagging behind, and saw my classmate. His hand raised to part his red and orange hair in order to make eye contact with me.

"Or did you come here t'slack off to?"
He threw his schoolbag over his muscular shoulder.

I tilted my head and furrowed my brows in confusion.
"Wh...What are...Since when...How do you...What?" was all I could spout.

He unzipped his schoolbag and pulled out an object. Dominantly forest green with golden autumn text, my eyes widened and mouth followed as I immediately recognized what he held. He closed the gap between us and stuck out his hand with the box.

Ka-Karuta...?
I slowly stuck my hands out too, figuring he was telling me – without saying – to take the box.

He steadily placed it in my shaking palms. After a quick inspection, I saw raised kanji lettering printed on one of the sides. It was a name:

Mitoma
Atsui

After reading the name, I returned my gaze to him. He had a slight smirk on his face that told me he was thinking of something. He looked to his left – my right – towards an expanded section of the shop. Turning back, his smirk transitioned into a playful smile.
"Want t'play?" he asked. "I read a bit of your paper in class. Poetry write'n is a tough skill to master."

I couldn't verbally respond.
Why's he interested in me? He defended me from the bullies, greeted me day-by-day, and now wants me to play with him?
I wanted to ask him, but if I said something, it might ruin his mood.

He continued, "I'm surprised you knew about Karuta, everyone I know doesn't play. Now that I know you know, tell me... Do you want t'play?"

The ecstasy in my mind had worn off already, and my mind was beginning to cloud with dark thoughts. My heart felt like it was ready to collapse and implode. It would've continued that way if I didn't inhale the floral incense.

Floral. Flowers. Garden.

I thought of her, at the flower garden, even though she lacked relevancy in my current situation. The dark thoughts vanished, as if exhaled with the carbon dioxide. For whatever reason, I somehow perceived this shop located in the center of the school's flower garden.

"Just enjoy the moment" is what Rossi-san would say, right? M-Maybe I should...

I looked at my classmate, who was called Mitoma Atsui, and did my best to replicate his smile back at him. It took awhile for the word in my thoughts to make its way to my voice.
"S-Sure," I said.

I followed him towards the shop's expanded section...where Karuta games could be played.

By his figure, I assumed he was exceptional in physical sports like soccer, but I'd never guess he was as skillful with Karuta. His reaction to the first syllables was near that of the Karuta Master, and sometimes better than mine. We didn't talk much, just played. Mitoma-kun and I played until the shop closed at sundown.

He's a worthy opponent... I thought, laying on my futon.
I replayed the best moments each of us had during our session.
I... I had fun.