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Strange World

[In the Case of Kazuo Hirasaka]

Jack Russo

Part I: School

My ears pick up the chorus of conversations as I make my way out of class behind one of the fattest students in the school. I frown when I finally can veer around him and into the chaos that is the hallways between classes. All around me, students are talking about this or that. Pointless conversations on how much they hate their teachers, or how much alcohol they intend to consume at Kate's party (she the senior lead of the varsity cheerleading squad).

It takes me longer than I like, but I know how to weave my way between the throng of students and to my locker; my feet twisting and readjusting as necessary with silent steps. My paws fidget a bit with the combination lock before I open it and sling my pack around so that I can unload my books and replace them with my world history ones. My nose twitches at the familiar smells of the confined space; of old books, gum, and some other lingering cologne that has plagued it all year. Before I close it, my paw pulls out my ninjutsu mask and I find myself staring at the black fabric a moment before my ears pick up the sounds of heels clicking toward me.

I roll my eyes before turning and saying, "Hello, Kate."

"Why hello, tiger," she smiles her poodle grin so sweetly I can almost feel cavities forming. "I just wanted to say you better show up for my party this weekend. We can't have our schools top track and field athlete not show up on us."

My eyes squint before I give her a half-smile. "Call me Kaz. I can't stand tiger. And I'm not sure about the party." I glance back at the mask in my paws. "Might have some work to do for my parent's dojo."

She rolls her eyes. "You take that ninja thing way too seriously. Ninja's aren't real!"

"And you take throwing pom-pom's in all directions so seriously," I shoot back.

I see her frown, but she holds her tongue and spends a moment to consider her next words.

"You're lucky you're hot," she decides on.

"Oh, I know it," I grin.

"What a cocky bastard. Ask me out already!"

My eyes bug out and I give her an incredulous look. "What was that?"

She jumps before stuttering out, "What? I didn't say anything."

"Sure," I mutter out, still giving her a sideways look. I stuff the mask into my locker before blurting out, "Hey, sorry, but I gotta jet. Don't want to be late or Mr. Wolfwood will certainly give me detention. Then no party!"

"Whatever, tiger. Just be at the party. The other girls will love to see you."

"I'm sure they would," I wave and walk away.

I really can't stand that bitch. Since I had joined track and field I never had anyone other than my team pay attention to me, nor any cheerleaders. I'm not saying that they're all bad, the cheerleaders. But for them to be ruled by some classless poodle with popularity on her mind sort of ruins the whole troop for me. The other girls have, on occasion, come up to me to try and make awkward conversation, but Kate would somehow slither in and use that sharp tongue of hers and claim me as her own. Somehow, I had become her prize. I can't blame her, I do consider myself a stud - all that running out in the field mixed in with my ninjutsu training has certainly chiseled me out well. I smirk, just thinking how she's so clearly barking up the wrong tree.

The classroom has only half of its usual occupants when I enter. Mr Wolfwood is at his desk, the old lupine reading up on something on his computer while sipping what I can only assume is coffee or tea in his mug. My seat is next to the window and I can already see my friend waiting by the desk in front of it.

"Kon-itchy-wa!" he smirks, his German Shepherd teeth flashing. I take quick stock of how his chest seems to pop from his muscle-shirt.

"Jeez, Andy. You know your shitty Japanese kills me," I say, giving his shoulder a light punch.

"Oh, I know, and I just love seeing how it makes you squirm!" He takes a seat but turns around enough to speak comfortably. "You excited for the party?"

"Very excited," I roll my eyes. "Kate met me at my locker again. Told me I just had to go."

"Think about the girls," he says with air quotes before laughing before hunching in close to whisper, "she has no idea you're gay, does she."

"Nope," I sit and lean back on my chair. "And it's best it stays that way."

He shrugs. "If you tell her she may lay off ya?"

"I enjoy the attention."

"You mean punishment? She's not the best girl to be around."

I should clarify here, that Andy and I have been best friends since we were in diapers. He's also probably the next best ninja at our dojo and has been a lifelong sparring partner with me. Despite our rivalry, we've been very close. No, he's not gay, though sometimes I wish he was. It'd make some sort of sappy story of childhood rivals finding romance in the dojo... and out of it.

But he and Kate have some history. Late into middle school they had dated, or what we could only consider dating since we had no idea what was what then. I wasn't too interested, and never will be interested in girls, but if I needed to know anything, Andy was the best resource. He had been Kate's first and I only know this because of how vividly he complained she bled over his new white sheets. She was just as insufferable then as she is now, but after a few weeks of them playing in the sack she tossed him aside for a new toy. It hurt Andy. A lot.

"I'm sure I can deal with her," I assure him. "The jokes on her in the end."

"It sure as hell is. Bitch will get what she deserves."

I frown again, certain I didn't see Andy's jaw move but heard his voice as plain as day.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I can tell he's not convinced, he's giving me a queer look. "I'm fine. Just got a lot on my mind."

"About the party?"

"No, actually. Chichi-ue has some guest over this weekend." I call my dad Chichi-ue as a formality.

"Oh, dojo shit?"

"Yes. Something about the house's all meeting up to discuss politics."

He chuckles. "Man, you guys take this ninja shit so seriously. It's almost as if ninja clans still existed or something, yeah?"

I roll my eyes upon hearing the same line from Kate. "Ninja's are serious business."

"Sure," he smiles. "But it's a great workout, all that martial arts stuff. I wish we could take it to competition. We'd certainly whoop a ton of ass together."

"Well," I start, "there are the regional conferences coming up."

"I know," his tail wags. "All the martial artists within the southeastern U.S. will be there to compete for the gold! I've been reading up on it."

"You're such a nerd."

"Aw, you know you love me," he bats his eyes in a way I have to shove him aside. "But it would be nice. To give competition a try."

"It would," I mutter.

"Too bad your dad is so against it."

"Ninja politics," I shrug. "Supposedly we're staying 'secret'."

"It's no secret we're in martial arts," he says. "I just want some recognition, you know? Grab a few gold medals and trophies. And impress the babes so much with my hot body and skills that I get laid all the time!"

I roll my eyes as he guffaws. The class has nearly filled up now and the bell rings momentarily, our teacher standing up from his seat to take roll in his monotonous drone.

Class goes on as expected. Nothing too out of the ordinary happens in school. I mean, the worst that has ever happened had been the time five fights broke up at the same time. That had sent the entire faculty and students into an utter chaos, with people running from fight to fight and shouts ringing out all over the place for certain guys to win, punch someone's face in, or to kick someone's ass.

That was nearly two years ago, but everyone still talks about it as if it were yesterday. Even the faculty has acted on edge and has been quick to discipline for even the smallest of infractions. But what does that have to do with me? Almost nothing. Except for the fact that I did instigate one of the fights.

I don't like to seem petty, but during my sophomore year a new student had come from some school in California. He was a hot shot track and field guy and, being a cheetah, genetics were on his side. Now, I don't mind a little bit of competition, but when that competition is brought through some spoiled rich brat, then I have issues. And it's alright that I recall this now - teacher is going on about some shit that happened in India, so I take advantage of staring at Andy's back while zoning out.

But I digress. Let's get back to cheetah. His name was Ralph Wittingham and he was the star athlete at his school. Why would someone like him move to rural North Florida? Hell if I knew. Yet here he was, attitude and everything.

It was late summer when he and I first met. A couple of the other team members had gathered around me to chat about what they had done during our short break. Most of them spent their time in the beaches around Pensacola like myself, but another dude had managed to go to Hawaii with his family and kept jabbing us about how the beaches were much better over there.

We were about to complete our stretches when Ralph butted in like an uninvited guest. The other guys shared surprised glances, but we did our best to make him feel welcome. He opened up about how Hawaii's beaches were great, but there was nothing like the ones you find in San Diego. None of us had ever been, so we had to take his word for it at the time and just smiled and nodded. Yet, that didn't stop him. He kept going on at how he couldn't believe his family had moved to some dipshit town in the bible belt of Florida, nor how everything he had been told just couldn't compare to his life in San Diego. From his other comments I inferred he had come from a military family and his father transferred to the base nearby.

"So, who's the hotshot on the team?" he had asked, eyeing my friend Tim, who was of the hare species.

"Ah, it's gotta be Kaz, now," he answered. "Since John graduated last year, he's our best runner."

I remember his eyes examining me, full of unrelenting judgement. For a tiger, I am rather imposing - I'm built a lot more heavily than you'd expect but that's what you get for constantly sprinting and mixing in martial arts.

"No way you're the best. You must be pulling my leg," he scoffed, but didn't take his eyes off me.

"If you want to see for yourself, then race me during practice," I challenged.

"You're on, tiger."

You may have noticed earlier, but I dislike the nickname tiger. Sure, I am one, but for fucks sake, call me by my name. It was then I was quite sure I didn't like this guy.

Now, I'd like to say how I utterly crushed this bastard's soul out there on the field, but it wasn't the case. We had taken our positions and Nick, another of our teammates, counted us down before we both shot out from our starting points and toward the finish line 400 meters away. There was me, full of power and energy bolting ahead like lightning. And to my side, was Ralph. I should've expected it, but the fucker was able to keep up with me. We both finished in a tie, both of us on the floor panting and trying to catch our breaths.

"Damn," he gasped out while we were out of hearing range of the others. "Not only are you hot, you run amazing."

I remember us both staring into each other's eyes for what seemed like hours. In that moment, I understood what he wanted from me and, I suppose it's true, he knew what I suddenly wanted.

And so, once we hit the showers, he and I lingered longer than usual, waited for everyone to finish up and leave so that when it was just us to ourselves, I rushed at him, shoved him into the wall and made sure my tongue claimed every inch of his mouth. Oh, he was a willing partner. A fun one, too. He quickly turned over, ass grinding up against my groin while the hot shower water ran through our fur and masked our grunts from nosey listeners.

I may have you confused now, but I did say that I hated this guy. It's true. I did. And it made the rough sex much better the many times we had done it. But he was more than just cocky attitude and confidence. He was clingy. While all I wanted was an easy and discreet endeavor, he had begun to want more from me. Much more than I was willing to give him, mostly because if my family had found out I was gay, it would cause a ton of issues regarding succession. Ninja politics...

Oh, you know that Andy knows I'm gay, right? Andy is an exception. He's someone I know I can trust and, should he happen to let it slip that I'm gay, someone I can deal with. But Ralph was different. He became quite adamant about outing me in some shape or form. So, what was I to do to rid myself of this fucker, whom I hated but so enjoyed pounding on the weekends?

Simple.

While I tend to be calm, collected, and mischievous, Ralph was very easy to predict. He had a very quick temper and if anything was going to set him on edge, it was to spread a rumor that he had fucked the football captain and was telling everyone about how much he had enjoyed it. As soon as the other guy found out, he rushed up to Ralph, fists ready for a fight. His girlfriend had joined him too and they were both yelling obscenities back and forth. Football dude threw the first punch, and sent Ralph sprawling onto the floor.

And as I had hoped he would, Ralph lunged up at his opponent and bit down, snarling. Biting another person is considered one of the biggest offenses you could do during a fight. It was primitive, uncouth and regarded as an anathema. To make it even better, football dude was of the deer species. It led to a very quick expulsion from the school.

As for the other fights that happened? I wasn't aware said buck got around, and when his girlfriend confronted Ralph, the other girls were there too and they all ended up fighting. It would be a straight man's dream come true, seeing most of the cheerleading squad clawing at each other, pulling hair.

It makes me wish that Kate had been there also, so she wouldn't bother me anymore either.

"Looks like Hira...Hiro... I can't say this brats name. He's not paying attention again."

I don't know where I hear this from, but I stare directly at the teacher, now noticing he's been watching me.

"Ah, now he's paying attention. If that's the case..."

"Hirasaka," he manages to say with a bit of an accent, "Do you know when exactly Britain established their East Indian Tea Company?"

I don't... but somehow, I look straight into my teacher's eyes and hear the date...

"December 31, 1600." Most of the class looks at me as if I said something odd. Even Mr. Wolfwood is taken aback.

"That's right," he stutters. "Thank you for paying attention, then."

Andy turns to me when the teacher looks away and whispers, "dude, did you read that or something?"

"Lucky guess," I say, but I stare longer at the old lupine, unsure of what is happening to me.

Perhaps I'm getting lucky and can read people better than I know. It's something my father says makes for a great ninja. Being able to read your opponent's moves and use it to your advantage is basically the way our clan works. Like aikido, use your enemy's force against them. But in this sense, I feel that I'm doing more than just reading people's actions. It was almost as if I was beginning to read their minds...

I quickly put that thought away; it was ridiculous. But for some reason, it kept lingering in head. While the lesson continued I eventually found myself looking around at my peers, squinting my eyes in an effort to try and read their minds. My vision would shift around upon each failure. What am I doing?, I ask myself.

I don't get much chance to ponder how much time I've wasted on reading minds, but the final bell rings and everyone around me makes haste out the doors. Mr. Wolfwood is shouting out something about homework, but I'm still a bit dazed and sluggishly make my way out.

Andy is waiting for me in the hallway, giving me a confused look. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," I shake my head. "Sort of just dozed off in there I guess."

"No kidding. His class is dull."

We make our way past the busy halls and toward the campus gates. Andy brings up Kate's party again but I'm half interested at this point. For some reason, my ears are buzzing.

Wait. No. It's not my ears. It's my head? As if many tiny whispers are surrounding me and despite glancing to and fro I don't see anyone's mouths matching what I hear. I spin around, not realizing my mouth is agape as my eyes continue to dart from person to person.

"KAZ!"

Andy has his hands on my shoulders and is giving me a gentle, yet firm shake. "What," I manage to stutter.

"Dude, are you ok? What was that just there?"

I blink at him. "I..." I notice that the whispers seem to be gone now. "I don't know," I admit.

"You've been acting pretty strange today..."

"I'm fine," I reassure him. "Let's just get out of here. I'm exhausted."

He hesitates but shrugs and gives me a pat on the back. "Alright, man. You gotta be all relaxed and energized for the party!"

I roll my eyes and follow behind him and toward the student parking lot. Before entering his car I look back at the school. My eyes linger there a bit before I realize that staring at the shit hole won't answer what the hell was happening to me. I shrug it off and get into the passenger seat, quite aware that there would be more to worry about once I get home.