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Motivational speech for the school
The following is a motivational message that was sent to all of us in our inboxes. I hope you’ll find it useful, too!
“It’s already been two weeks since we started this new semester and everyone has settled into their classes nicely,” said Professor Mina as she looked at her students from behind the podium. “I’m sure some of you are wondering what your assignments will be like now that there aren’t any more exams or quizzes.” She paused and took a sip of water before continuing on with her lecture.
As usual, most people were listening intently while others slept through class—or pretended they weren’t sleeping so they could read something interesting online instead. It wasn’t uncommon anymore, but still annoying when someone snored loudly enough to wake up an entire classroom full of sleepy students.
The professor sighed and shook her head slightly; then she continued talking about how important it was to work hard in college because if one didn’t put effort into learning, he wouldn’t get anywhere.
That sounded quite familiar… Wait, did I hear that somewhere else? Ah well, whatever. Just another boring lecture in my life, anyway! Not like anyone cares what happens after high school these days. Everyone just wants to go straight into the workforce without having to worry about anything except making money, right? That’s why I don’t even care about getting good grades either…
This thought made me feel better somehow. At least I had company in being indifferent towards academics. But then again, who knows? Maybe things would change once I graduate and start working. If not, maybe I should do research on how other countries education systems differ from ours here in Japan.
Or perhaps study abroad someday. Either way, I’d probably have no choice but to learn stuff outside of class eventually. Guess I might as well try to enjoy myself during this time in my life while I can. After all, in less than four years I’ll be out of here. Then I won’t need to deal with lectures ever again.
Just thinking about graduating cheered me up a bit. Now I wonder if I’ve got enough motivation left in me to make it through the rest of today’s lesson…?
After class ended, I went back home by train (as usual). On my way to meet up with Kiyotaka later tonight, I decided to stop off at a convenience store near campus and grab some snacks for him. As soon as I entered the building, I saw several guys wearing black T-shirts with the words “Kamisama Kiss” written across them.
They were standing around chatting amongst themselves, so I figured they must be members of Kamijou Touma’s fan club. There were also girls dressed similarly nearby, so I assumed they worked for his agency.
They seemed rather excited. Probably because they’re finally getting closer to meeting their idol in person! It was nice seeing fans so enthusiastic, especially considering how much trouble they had gotten into over the past few months.
While I watched them from afar, I realized they were looking at me. When I turned around, they smiled shyly and waved at me. One girl stood out among the group: Her hair was tied in twin tails, which made her look cute despite her glasses. She wore a blue blouse under her shirt, and a white skirt covered her legs. In short, she looked like a normal middle schooler. However, she was clearly older than that. Perhaps in her mid-teens?
She gave me a small wave back before turning away and walking down the hallway. I wondered where she was going. Did she live close to the station or something? Well, whatever. It wasn’t really important anyway…
But suddenly, I heard a voice call out to me.
“Hello!”
When I turned to see who it was, I found a boy waving at me. He was wearing a blue jacket over a red T-shirt, along with jeans and sneakers. His face was round and cheerful, and he had large eyes that reminded me of a puppy dog.
“…Huh?”
He was smiling at me as though we knew each other very well. And yet, I couldn’t recall ever seeing him before in my life.
“Um…”
What should I say? Should I pretend I know him, or tell him I don’t? Oh well, I guess it doesn’t matter either way. So long as I avoid saying anything weird, everything should turn out fine.
With those thoughts running through my mind, I replied with a simple greeting. “…Hey, uh, hi.”
The boy blinked in surprise for a moment, but quickly recovered and responded happily.
“Oh, hey! You’re Amakawa Koyuki, right?! Nice to meet you! My name is Komori Yuiitsu. I’m a member of the fan club ‘Lovey Dovey,’ and I wanted to thank you for helping us out recently. We appreciate it a lot!”
His smile grew wider as he spoke, giving him a friendly, open personality. The fact that he introduced himself first instead of waiting for me to introduce myself meant that he didn’t seem suspicious at all.
I nodded politely. “Nice to meet you too. Um, I haven’t actually done anything special lately, so I apologize if I came across as rude earlier. I hope I didn’t cause any problems for your club or anything.”
Yuiitsu shook his head vigorously. “No, no, nothing like that! Honestly speaking, I think it’s amazing that someone like yourself could help our little club out. That means a lot to us, honestly!”
Wow, I never expected such an honest response from him. This guy seems pretty sincere.
As I pondered what to reply next, the boy continued talking. “Well, um, I just wanted to come to talk to you personally and let you know how grateful we are. Anyway, sorry to bother you. See ya!”
And without another word, he walked off down the hall.
Wait, hold on a second!! What did he mean when he said: “see you”? Was there some kind of meaning behind that phrase? If so, why would he use it now? Or maybe this isn’t even related to the conversation at hand… Wait, but if not, then does that mean we’ll see each other again someday?
My mind raced as I chased after the boy, trying to figure out what he’d meant. But unfortunately, I only managed to catch sight of him disappearing between two buildings.
Damn it… How am I supposed to find him again?
***
Eventually, I arrived at the station, bought some candy and chips, and headed home. After a while, I took a break to eat lunch. Then, once I finished eating, I decided to take a nap.
After waking up later, I went outside to buy more food. As I wandered about aimlessly, I bumped into a familiar man.
“Ah, Mr. Yamada!”
It was Yoshino, one of the members of Lovey Doveys. Like most people, he was dressed casually today—a black sweater and pants.
“Koyuki?!”
“Eep!”
In order to hide my embarrassment, I ran away from him. Unfortunately, he caught up to me easily.
“Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?”
“N-no, I’m fine! Sorry for getting in your way!”
Yoshino held out both hands to stop me, looking concerned.
“You sure you’re alright? Look, I’ve got bandages here if you need them,” he offered.
“That won’t be necessary. Thank you, though.”
“Okay, good. Don’t worry, I can get you back to the station if you want.”
“Really? Thanks!”
So far, things were going smoothly. He seemed nice enough, and I felt comfortable around him. I thought I might have finally met someone reliable.
However, moments later, Yoshino asked me a question that threw me completely off guard.
“By the way, do you go by the nickname ‘Bunny’ because you look cute, or is it short for something else?”
“Wha…? Huh? No, n-not at all! It’s just a common nickname among girls! Nothing special!”
Why would anyone call me Bunny? Of course, I had heard the term “bunnies” used to describe women who looked innocent and sweet, but I wasn’t exactly an adult woman; I was still a high school student. Still, since it appeared to be a popular name for young ladies, I figured I must be mistaken. I tried explaining that to Yoshino, but somehow it turned into a fight over whether or not I really existed.
“…Ugh…”
He kept insisting that I must exist somewhere and that there was no reason to lie about it. And yet, I couldn’t convince him otherwise. Eventually, he gave up and left.
What should I do? Did I make a huge mistake by introducing myself as Koyuki?
Even if I hadn’t lied, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to assume that my real name was Bunny. Many people called me by that nickname already. I doubted the existence of a girl named Koyuki, but she could very well exist. The problem with telling him the truth was that I feared he would start thinking of me as some kind of weirdo.
But now that I knew Yoshino was searching for me, I realized that hiding my identity would probably be pointless. Even if I told him everything, he might not believe me anyway. So instead, I decided to tell him a half-truth: that I didn’t remember who I was.
“Um, excuse me, but where did you say you saw me last?”
I immediately changed the subject. I hoped he would forget about the whole Bunny thing and focus on finding me now.
“Oh, right. You came running past me earlier. That was a long time ago, though. Why don’t you give me your address and I’ll send help?”
“No, thank you, but I think I can manage on my own. My house is near here, so please wait until I return before sending anyone.”
“Sure, whatever you like. Just let me know whenever you’re ready, okay?”
With that, Yoshino walked away without another word.
Should I ask him how he knows about my situation? Maybe he has information about my memory loss. But then again, he also seems pretty suspicious. Shouldn’t I avoid talking to strangers for a while longer?
Maybe I shouldn’t trust any stranger who comes along, especially those wearing a uniform. They seem too much alike to differentiate between them… Wait, but aren’t they all part of the same organization?
As I stood lost in thought, I suddenly noticed a group of men walking toward me. One of them wore the blue jacket and red tie I remembered seeing on the detective.
“Hey, Koyuki. How are you feeling?”
The man spoke to me in English, which made me jump.
“Huh?! Umm, hi…”
My heart began racing. Was this guy Detective Tachibana?
I quickly glanced behind me. There was no sign of Yoshino, but I couldn’t see anything beyond him either. If these guys were after me, I’d better run. However, I was unable to move.
***
“Do you mind answering our questions?”
Detective Tachibana grabbed my arm. His grip tightened painfully.
“Ow! Let go of me!”
His hand was surprisingly strong. I struggled against his hold, trying to break free, but he only gripped tighter.
“Don’t struggle. We’re not going to hurt you.”
Tachibana released one of my arms and put a finger across his throat, indicating that I should remain quiet.
“Let’s take a walk together,” he said calmly.
This isn’t happening! This can’t be real. What am I supposed to do? Am I being kidnapped?
“Please answer our questions first,” Detective Tachibana insisted.
“Fine, fine. Whatever. Wherever we need to go, I’m game.”
Though I wanted to keep fighting, I stopped resisting out of fear.
In fact, even when faced with actual violence, my instinctive reaction was to try and talk sense to whoever threatened me. In other words, I was a coward.
“You don’t look familiar to us, so what’s your name?”
“K-Kaoru… Kaoruko!”
I answered instinctively, despite knowing that I would never get away from this man alive if I revealed my true identity.
“That doesn’t ring a bell. Do you have a family?”
“Nope. Not anymore.”
It felt wrong to lie, but I needed to hide my identity. At least until someone found me.
“Where were you born?”
“Uhh… Tokyo.”
“Tokyo? Isn’t that far away?”
“Yeah, but I lived there for most of my life.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I… just moved around a lot.”
There was nothing else I could say. I had no idea why I was moving back and forth between cities every few months, or whether I really belonged anywhere at all.
“So, you’ve lived in many places over the years?”
“Yup.”
“And it looks like you traveled quite a bit as well.”
“Uh-huh.”
“What kind of things did you like doing during your travels?”
“Well, I guess I liked sightseeing a lot. And shopping sometimes.”
“Shopping?”
“Yes. I love clothes.”
I wasn’t lying; I loved fashion. It was something I always enjoyed.
“Is that so? Well, I suppose I understand. Some people enjoy buying stuff more than traveling.”
He chuckled lightly. He looked very amused by my response.
“How old are you, exactly?”
“Um… Twenty-two.”
“Twenty-three.”
“Okay, twenty-four.”
“Wait, seriously?!”
A moment later, I realized that I must have given myself away. The detective laughed loudly.
“Ha ha! You’re such an honest person. So, where do you live now?”
“Right here in Japan.”
“Are you sure? Because I didn’t recognize your face, but maybe you’re actually older than you appear. Are you sure your age matches up?”
“No way. My birthday is July 3rd.”
“Really? Then I’ll believe you. Haha! That’s great. Now, let’s head somewhere private and talk some more. Come on, follow me.”
Without waiting for my reply, Detective Tachibana started leading me down the street. His hand still held tightly onto mine.
“Hurry up. Don’t make me wait long.”
We continued walking through the crowds of people passing by on both sides of us. I followed close behind Detective Tachibana without saying a word.
After following Detective Tachibana for about ten minutes, we arrived at a small café called “Coffee Break”. Inside, there were several tables set up along the walls, each occupied by their own individual customers. A single waitress served everyone who came into Coffee Break.
She seemed to know my companion fairly well though—she greeted him warmly and gave us a table right next to hers.
“Sorry for making you come all the way out here,” she apologized.
She was probably used to dealing with men coming in after hours to meet women they’d met online.
“Oh, it’s okay. Please sit wherever you want.”
The detective pointed to a seat near the window, which faced the main road outside.
As soon as I sat down, Detective Tachibana locked eyes with me once again.
“Now then, let’s begin. Tell me everything you remember about yesterday evening.”
The End