Chapter 381
"I can't believe this. Three days and the alien is just sleeping out there," Serena said.
"You'd think it would do something," Mina said.
"Just what was it sent here to do anyway? Sleep?" Lita asked.
"Well..maybe it wasn't sent here at all, it could just be an accident it landed here," Amy said. "Or maybe it is in control of what it's doing."
"But, there are probably better places in the universe to fall asleep then here," Serena said.
"And even if Earth, why Tokyo?" Raye asked.
"I know that is the disturbing part," Amy said. "But what can we do without any information?"
The others nodded.
"I just hope it is a nice thing, it is cute and if I had to blow it up, well that's just annoying. I don't even understand it," Serena said.
"That's the thing," Lita said. "If we at least knew why it was here we could make a decision, and if it were to just start attacking things we'd have to try and stop it without even knowing if we were right."
"We would be right to defend the city," Raye said. "Still..it is annoying that this creature isn't making itself clear."
"Perhaps it has no idea how to," Amy said. "But then again, the chances of it just rampaging may be small, after all, it hasn't yet."
"How am I supposed to focus on school with this hanging over my head though?" Serena asked.
"Oh no you don't," her four friends said.
"This is hardly the time for excuses," Amy said. "We've only got a year of school left."
"Yeah..yeah.I know," Serena said. "When are they just going to give up on me?"
"They're not supposed to give up," Raye said. "Though I guess in your case they've had to try extra hard."
"But I haven't asked them too," Serena said. "That's all I'm saying. It's all their fault."
"Why are we even discussing this?" Lita asked.
"It just came to mind," Serena said. "But guys, am I so wrong to realize that I'm not fit for education? I mean you know me, I'm not a bad person, I'm a great person actually..so why is it that I decide this whole thing isn't for me, that I'm somehow not doing the right thing?"
"Serena, you're just suffering from a lack of confidence," Amy said.
"No she's just lazy," the other three said.
"Laziness it not the issue here," Serena said. "It's a matter of philosophy."
"Philosophy?" the four asked.
"Yes."
"Let's hear it then?" Raye asked becoming slightly amused.
"All right...I'll explain it," Serena said.
"Come on Seiya help me out here," Rick said.
"Help you out? Why would I ever want to do that?" Seiya asked.
"Well then don't consider it helping me, consider it as helping you," Rick said. "Sort of."
"What are you talking about?"
"Look..you've been whining about not being an idol star ever since you got back. We all know it, so by working with us now, you get a piece of that back, at least for a day."
"Hmm..I guess you have a point," Seiya said.
"And look, Chad is getting out of hand, there's no reason anyone should like his stuff this much," Rick said.
"On that we agree," Seiya said. "I can help you, but Yaten and Taiki, I don't think they're interested."
"Oh Taiki will be.." Rick said.
Elsewhere.
"Hey..Taiki.." Mike said.
"What will it take for me to get you to go away?" Taiki asked.
"Help us out when we battle Chad's band," Mike said.
"Fine."
"Done then," Mike said and walked off.
"Ah..I see..that is an excellent plan," Seiya said. "But Yaten will be a much harder nut to crack."
"Not when Mina gets her hands on him," Rick said.
"She's agreed to help?"
"Sure, Lita, and Raye too..."
"So you're just going to ambush Chad then?"
"Oh..yeah, look....Chad is an excellent guitarist, but he can't sing and his song writing is below contempt. We just need him to realize that and come back from the dark side."
"So you're opposed to music for mere profit too then?" Seiya asked.
"Too? Seiya, was there anytime you didn't take money to do something?" Rick asked.
"Yes, but we were doing that to enhance our image as idols and get the message out to our princess."
"Right..and where is that money all now?"
"Uh..well..we need to live you know," Seiya said.
Rick grinned.
"To answer your question..yes I don't believe in making music for the purpose of profiting. Making music so that others can enjoy it, is as far as it goes. Chad has lost his way, or else his last album 'Chad does Jazz', would have never been released, it's our job to knock him back into reality," Rick said.
"A cause I cannot find a problem with," Seiya said.
"All right then it's on."
"How depressing," Haruka said.
"What's getting to you?" Michiru asked.
"We've got a giant bear or something out in the middle of the harbor asleep, and we can't do a thing about it either way."
"You feel powerless?"
"Yes, and for the stupidest of reasons too."
"Yes, I know," Michiru said. "It's not really what we signed up for."
"We were drafted," Haruka muttered.
Setsuna walked in.
"And how is it with you two?" she asked.
"Could be better," Haruka said.
"You getting any sleep Setsuna?" Michiru asked.
"Me, not a wink, and that's the strangest thing too, I can usually sleep when we've got evil forces hanging over us, but that...thing out there.." Setsuna said.
"I have the same problem," Haruka said.
"You two just need to relax," Michiru said. "There's really nothing else we can do."
"But if that thing is dangerous and we just let it lie there building strength or something.." Haruka said. "Then it moves to act..I'll have trouble living with myself."
"That's what I fear as well," Setsuna said. "Like everyone else, I can't even sense anything about this creature. It's as if it has carved itself into it's own dimension."
"Doesn't mean it's dangerous," Michiru said.
"Anything is dangerous," Hotaru said.
"Yes Hotaru, you can argue anything with that logic of yours," Haruka said.
"And I would be right," Hotaru said. "However, what I am saying is that when faced with such challenges, one must understand just what the scenario is surrounding the challenge and use that information as a basis for further action. Right now we know little about what is occurring so we can find few conclusions."
"That just makes it worse," Haruka said.
"Perhaps,"Hotaru said. "But it does not seem to me that worrying is helping."
"Easy for you to say," Haruka said.
"I hear that a lot, " Hotaru said.
"Well you should," Haruka said. "We've got real problems here. We have to find out what that thing wants before we all go crazy."
"It's strange that you would be paranoid while our resident paranoids are not giving it a worry."
The four glanced over at Patterson and Ayeka who were talking about some sort of fighting stances.
"Well that's great," Haruka muttered.
"They must be medicated," Setsuna said. "Oh..guess what?"
"What, do you have more wonderful news?" Haruka asked.
"Well..those people from the National Board are coming today."
"Oh wonderful," Haruka said. "They picked a glorious time to show up."
"Oh calm down Haruka, this is mild compared to some of the things we've faced," Michiru said.
"Mild compared to the monsters or the administrators?" Setsuna asked.
The group of National Board of Education evaluators walked into the front of the school.
"Ah welcome," Principal Oksua said. "I'm sure you'll find this school up to your expectations."
"We hope to," the leader of the group said.
"Good," Oksua said. "I guess we take a tour then."
"That is the way we start these trips."
"Good then," Oksua said. "Let's go."
"We would like to see every classroom."
"What?" Oksua asked.
"Yes, we would like to see just how each class is reacting."
"Oh..well..that's fine," Oksua said. I wonder if I can convince them that there's no classes above the second floor. No I shouldn't try it.
"I can't help noticing the walls here, they look a bit strange."
"Well the high school has suffered many attacks we uh have needed to make repairs sturdily but quickly,"Oksua said.
"Yes so we've heard about those, how have the students handled these things?" an evaluator asked.
"Oh fine, they're tough you might say."
"Didn't this school disappear at one point too?"
"Yes..messy matter I guess," Oksua said.
"You weren't there?"
"I was..uh..at a conference."
"Oh..I see."
One of them wrote something down. Oksua started getting nervous. And this is
just the beginning. He thought.
Setsuna yawned.
"Sorry...didn't sleep much," She said and wrote something on the board.
"Miss Meio, don't delude yourself, it's definitely the material," Mike said.
"Yeah, we understand," Akiro said.
"Oh..does this mean we're going to have to competition between you two to see who can be more of an annoyance?" Setsuna said.
"You're wasting your time Akiro, I'm the king," Mike said.
"We'll see," Akiro said.
"It's going to be a long year," Setsuna said.
"Will you two just behave?" Mina said. "I can't date Mike if he's always in detention, and I won't have you encouraging him Akiro."
"That's right Akiro, you keep this up and I'll dump you," Ai said.
"But Ai.." Akiro said.
"No buts," Ai said.
"Well I'm so glad everyone's airing their laundry out in public today,"
Setsuna said. "Now let's get to work."
I just have to keep this going a little longer and then class 3-1 will break up to go to other classes. That's all.
"Oksua, have you slowed down?" the leader of the evaluators asked.
"What?"
"We'd like to see every home room, and it looks like we won't if we keep up this pace."
"Ah.I see," Oksua said. "Yes, well then let's keep at it then."
They're onto me. He thought.
"Where are the third year classrooms?"
"Third year?"
"Yes..of course, we are quite interested in the students there."
"Ah..well that's upstairs."
"I think we should definitely try and get up there."
"Ah yes..let's," Oksua said. "We have some excellent students in the third year."
"We've heard."
"Ah..good.."
"So who can tell us what they think of this poem?" Setsuna asked.
"It is derived from a deep desire for spiritual success," Michiru said.
"I'm not sure of that," Taiki said. "It seems to be more in favor of preventing spiritual failure."
"Is there a difference?" Lita asked.
"It represents two completely different mind sets," Taiki said.
"He's right, though I disagree,"Michiru said. "It's all about the pursuit of a goal, that goal drives one to do things, the prevention of other results can be a goal too, but it differs in spirit."
"Not necessarily," Greg said. "For one thing, there's explicit and implicit ideas. Even if you think you're going after one thing, you might be going after another. This poem says this, that in fact he is pursuing both things with great vigor, but not realizing it."
"No, he realizes everything, what he doesn't understand is the underlying principles behind those pursuits he is making," Yaten said.
"Ah..Yaten..we don't hear from you often," Setsuna said.
"Normally because I have nothing to say, but here it is obviously the course the author is taking is going in a contrary direction to what everyone else is saying."
"I don't think so," Mina said. "At least not that you can say obviously about. When has poetry been that simple? There are so many poets who do not put that meaning into it."
"Like me for instance," Mike said.
"You have to learn to understand the foundation this poem is based on," Yaten said. "The author wrote this at a time when he was indeed questioning everything in his life. To say that this merely a matter of him pursuing spiritual success..is wrong, if you don't understand the real impulses."
"So you've become an expert on this then?" Taiki asked.
"It's what I do," Yaten said. "You can't just read a poem and understand it. You need to understand the author."
"Not true," Mina said. "If all poetry required you to read the author's biography as well as the history of the time, poetry would cease to be the art form that it is today."
"Perhaps, but in this case it's true," Yaten said.
"I don't believe that we necessarily need to care what the poem was meant by the author to convey," Greg said.
"You don't?" Yaten asked.
"No, poetry is so simple, that it should be left to interpretation by everyone," Greg said. "Interpretation is the driving force in most things in life, this should be no different."
"A neo-interpretationalist view is the last thing we need here," Yaten said.
"Guys take it outside," Mike said.
"Look, understand that poetry must be understood on a case by case basis," Yaten said. "At least when studying the works that have come before."
"I think that you can choose to do it that way, but that isn't the only option," Greg said.
"It is here."
"Well.this is certainly getting heated," Setsuna said. "Maybe we should move onto a poem that won't get us so riled up."
"And leave this unresolved?" Yaten and Greg said.
"We are reaching a synthesis of thought," Yaten said.
"Yaten, that's the most emotion I've seen out of you ever," Setsuna said.
"Yes, well I've got my reasons," Yaten said. "But to leave this unsettled would go against the concept of trying to understand this type of poetry. Are we here to learn, or merely dabble with forays into interpretational fallacies!"
"All right..all right.." Akiro said. "Heads we learn, tails we merely dabble with forays into interpretational fallacies."
"Ah..well met," Mike said.
"Do not ruin the moment," Yaten snapped.
"Well perhaps Yaten we should consider this, but I think it's moving away from most of the students expertise," Setsuna said.
"It was never anywhere near my expertise, in fact I don't have any expertise," Serena said.
"Ah..but school is about building expertise," Yaten said.
"Yes..uh..well so it is," Setsuna said.
"Let him have his fun," Michiru said.
"I admit I would prefer to have a better exploration of this," Greg said.
"Yeah why not, it takes the pressure of the kids who have no clue what's going on," Serena said.
"Oh fine," Setsuna said. "Debate all you like."
"Ah..good.." Yaten said.
"Now..uh..up ahead is class Three-One," Oksua said nervously.
"What's wrong?" an evaluator asked.
"Uh nothing, I'm just overcome by excitement, here you will find some of our best students."
"We have heard of their achievements."
"Oh..well word travels fast."
Oksua wandered up to the door with trepidation. He didn't like what he heard.
"How can you understand the beauty of the poem if you do not understand what the beauty comes from, the first stanza is merely a setup to prepare the mind for the middle of the poem, the first stanza is not the message!" Yaten said.
"How do you know that for sure?" Greg said. "If the poet is trying to set up the middle, he might try to slip the message in to make one better prepared to accept it later when it is justified!"
"Not here!" Yaten said.
"Actually there have many different interpretations, with no definitive answers," Amy said.
"That's not true if you really understand," Yaten said.
"I think you're mistaken Yaten, the truth of the matter is that even with the massive amounts of knowledge about the poet, there reaches a point where you do have to resort to interpretation," Michiru said.
"Yeah, considering the guy was a recluse and no one really knew what he was thinking," Mina said.
"But that is just what you need to use to generate opinions!" Yaten said.
"What?" everyone said.
"You have to use that as a foundation from which to build your ideas!"
What is going on? Oksua thought. "We should move on."
"No, is this class normally like this?" an evaluator asked.
"Well.uh sort...of.." Oksua said.
"How magnificent," the group of evaluators said.
"Magnificent?"
"You disagree?"
"No, we just don't like to put such grand terms on our education system, we're humbled."
"I see."
"By the way, just what lead you to say magnificent."
"Well, listen to the vigor with which these students argue."
They've never done that before, I wonder what's up. Oksua thought.
"Look, I don't see why no one else can believe that interpretation has it's uses, and it's place where it should not be utilized," Yaten said.
"No I believe that, but you seem to be operating out of an extremist camp," Taiki said.
"So I am," Yaten said. "Look believe what you want, but there is something you should all understand, this poem is not the standard, it represents a complexity in emotion that is rarely seen."
"I'll say, nothing's gotten us to talk this much in years," Lita said.
"I think we should go," Oksua said.
"Ah..what?" the evaluation leader.
"Well...classes are about to end, we might as well."
"Hmm..I guess."
"Now remember there was that time we talked a lot, when was it?" Steve said.
"Hmm..was it the food riots?" Mike said.
"No," the rest of the class snapped.
"The war.." Akiro said.
"Which one?" everyone replied.
"Guess not," Akiro said.
"Look we should get back to the issue," Yaten said.
"But class is over."
"I think we've done enough," Setsuna said. "You can continue this on your own
time."
At lunch.
"I was surprised Yaten, I hadn't seen that kind of spirit from you since you sang," Mina said.
"Well.I believe what I said, everyone believes emotions are free-wheeling, but actually you see there are rules."
"Rules huh?"
"Yes. You have to understand them if you can understand emotions."
"Really."
"Of course."
"You are so full of it."
"I..am..not.." Yaten said. "I wouldn't lie to you would I? I mean what I say."
"But you're so out there...wait a minute..."
She stopped and stared at him.
"You're so out there! It's you!"
"What?"
"You..the real you..you've actually talked about something and seemed to care!"
"Well.."
"Yes..it's true isn't it?"
"Uh..I guess."
"I knew it!"
"Well here I am.."
"Say..on another subject entirely, Yaten we need a favor from you."
"What?"
"So what would you like to see next?" Oksua asked nervously.
"The cafeteria, we're interested in how the students interact with each other," the lead evaluator said.
"Uh..well.it's nothing special..they just talk."
"This is an inspection you know, we would hate to see that there is something you'd hide from us," another of the evaluators said.
"No..I just don't want to waste your time."
"Leave that to us to decide," the lead evaluator said.
"Uh..all right, you got it, the cafeteria," Oksua said.
Please, please..behave everyone. No fights. He thought.
"I must say I'm quite impressed by this school. The students seem to be very interested in engaged."
Get another pair of eyes. Oksua thought.
"And class 3-1, I can understand why it is praised."
By who? Oksua thought.
"Though I guess this school is quite proud of it's students."
"Oh yes, we're honored to have such good quality here."
"Yes, I suppose so."
"Well here we are."
They opened the doors and completely predictably the cafeteria was a complete mess of food, filled with the students all fighting with each other.. Oksua sighed as all eyes turned onto him.
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