How Harao Masaki Came to Acquire His Profound Cultivation
～ Part 1 ～
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Sleep brings up a child well. Setting aside its veracity, it is something people often say.
The son of city council member Harao — Masaki was a premature baby. The cause was his mother’s premature delivery. His weight at birth was only about 2300g. He was the eldest son of Harao family whose relatives were all celebrities of town. Many related people were thrown into a crucible of anxiety due to his birth, but after that, Masaki rapidly grew without his health getting poor, or leaving any handicap in particular.
The facility of the city general hospital that he entered with his family’s connections was good, the doctor in charged of him was skilled, well, there were various factors. But in the end, if asked why Masaki had grown healthily, the reason would be summed up in this next point:
Harao Masaki slept well.
“Ehh, then, next question … Harao.”
Jindai high-school mathematics teacher, Tokiwa Renjurou could be said to be the archetype of teachers that were hated by students like the plague. He was a bespectacled gloomy middle aged man that was always high strung. To make it worse, his lessons were strict, and one could hardly expect any kindness during tests either.
Because it was the lesson of that kind of teacher, even in 2nd year class 4 that was a full house of unique individuals, their studying attitude was seriousness itself. The girls that usually looked down on teachers like Harui and Hebitsuka, only at this time that they squared off against their notebooks with serious expression.
The liveliness of the class, Himemizu Rin also seemed to be poor at dealing with Tokiwa. Never was she a stupid girl, but in 1st year, she got awful marks in one of his mini test and was made to cry in the subsequent supplementary lessons. Now, Rin acted as if it was nothing, but actually, her shoulders shivered every time Tokiwa passed by her.
But, during the lesson of that Tokiwa, there was only one student who grandly took a nap.
“Harao…. Oi, Harao, is he absent?”
Tokiwa raised his face from the textbook on the desk, he turned his gaze around the classroom.
Thereupon, Tokiwa discovered something unbelievable, ∗twitch∗, his brows furrowed.
There in the furthest seat in the back, on the window-side of the class room, the student he nominated just now, Harao Masaki crossed his arms on top of his belly, reclined his body to the back rest and was pleasantly snoring to the calm spring weather streaming in from the window. His face was covered by the mathematics textbook that was left open.
Washio Kouta who sat next to Masaki quietly poke his arms with a pencil, but he showed no sign of waking up.
Blue veins popped on Tokiwa Renjurou’s forehead. Tension ran in the class.
“Hou, Harao…. You have some nerve to sleep during my lesson…”
“Oh crap…”
∗Twitching∗, the corner of Tokiwa’s mouth lifted up, the voice his mouth put out was dark. Washio, in a slightly impatient appearance, strongly poke Masaki’s arm.
“Mu…”
Finally, the textbook slipped off from Masaki’s face.
Healthily tanned skin one couldn’t imagine he was a premature baby at birth, a finely chiseled and somewhat ethnic beautiful boy. Then, Masaki snapped his eyes open, without yawning, without stretching, he rose his body.
Harao Masaki looked around his surroundings, in a deep and calm voice, he questioned Washio who sat next to him.
“Ahh…. Washio, t’s thee who disturbed mine slumber?”
“Baa(ka)…. That’s wrong, Harao. Read the atmosphere. We’re in class!”
Washio shouted in a small voice, then he glanced at the teacher platform, and further concealed his voice.
“Moreover, it’s Tokiwa’s class!”
“Fumu. Washio, addressing without honorifics is not praiseworthy. It’s Tokiwa-sensei. You should pay respect properly.”
Masaki’s words were so admirable one couldn’t think he had been magnificently sleeping in class.
“Harao…. Did you sleep well?”
While his temple was twitching, Tokiwa asked.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t sleep enough.”
Masaki clearly declared so.
“Tokiwa-sensei, if there’s no business, I’ll be sleeping again.”
“Stop fooling around! What do you think school is!?”
“Of course, school is an educational institute.”
Masaki’s face was deadly serious. Laughter came up in the classroom.
For your information, Harao Masaki is seriously serious. He didn’t have any fragment of intention to mock teacher Tokiwa Renjurou or joking around. Whatever the attitude, for Masaki, all teacher were people he should show a certain amount of respect, and school was an educational institute in order to acquire new knowledge.
But for him, sleeping was an important act existing in the same dimension as those things. Speaking further, precisely because he recognized this situation as ‘there’s no problem whatsoever to sleep now’, that he was grandly sleeping. If it was a lesson that he should be awake and listen carefully, he would do so.
However, even if that was said here and now, it would just be adding fuel to the fire. Therefore, Washio who probably understood Masaki quite well, thought so in his heart but didn’t say anything.
“Tokiwa-sensei, what business doth thee has’t with me?”
“If, if it’s business … of course there is!”
“Fumu.”
Tokiwa corrected the glasses that had slipped off, he knocked the blackboard with chalk.
“This problem! Try solving this problem! In case you can’t…”
“Very well.”
Without letting Tokiwa finished his words, Masaki stood up. Chest puffed up, hands put behind his back, he grandly walked. All the classmates who saw him off, were either worrying about him or sending an expectant look. That was the difference of whether or not they heard the rumors about Harao when he was a 1st year.
On the blackboard was a problem about proving inequality. When it comes to high-school mathematics, if you can’t understand even a little, you’ll be left in the dust in an instant. In fact, even in this class, there were already some people who couldn’t catch up.
Wherein, Masaki climbed up the platform without being timid, he took up the chalk and started writing numerical formula and proving texts with click clack sounds.
Until then, Tokiwa was gazing at that while shaking in anger, but soon, his mouth was wide opened with momentum to dislocate his jaws.
“That’s all, Q.E.D.”
The correct answer without a single word differed as if it was the result of peeking inside Tokiwa head.
Without even asking whether the answer was correct or not, Masaki briskly walked back to his seat. He pulled back his chair, sat down, then again crossed his hands and placed the textbook on his face.
“No one, must not disturb the sleep of Harao…”
3 seconds later, regular breathing could be heard from his seat.
While Tokiwa couldn’t say anything, an awkward silence descended in the class.
Should it be said as lucky? It was not too long before the chime informing the end of the lesson reverberated in the school building.
“Seriously, what kind of education are you doing!? Katsubushi-sensei–!”
“Na?”
In the staff room, Tokiwa shouted at the homeroom teacher of 2nd year class 4, Katsubushi Dashihiko.
Katsubushi who was grading a mini test, made an idiotic voice in response to Tokiwa’s barrage and raised his face. While frothing at his mouth, Tokiwa pressed straight to him.
“It’s Harao. Harao Masaki! That looking down on teachers attitude, I can only think it as rotten! What’s up with that guy!”
“Your face is too close. Tokiwa-sensei.”
Katsubushi took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his face.
“So it’s Harao. Did he doze off during class again?”
“That’s not something like dozing off! That is truly sleeping, true sleep I say! Of all things! It was during my lesson!”
“Well, it’s because Harao’s way of thinking is a little different from ordinary students. I still don’t know well if I should respect it…”
The lanky teacher, Katsubushi said so while scratching his forehead.
“Irresponsible! Are still his homeroom teacher!?”
“It’s only been a little more than a month since I became his homeroom teacher. Anyway, I will apologize for how Harao has caused you troubles. I’m sorry.”
If he was politely apologized to, Tokiwa was also an adult. He couldn’t afford to flare up any further.
“Excuse me–! Is Katsubushi-sensei here–!”
At such a time, the door of the staff room opened. When the two people glanced over, a high schoolgirl with slender healthy legs stretched out from her skirt, was standing there holding some kind of package.
“Ahh, Sugiura, over here, over here.”
“Ah, sensei–. Thank you for waiting. This is today’s lunchbox.”
Saying so, the schoolgirl — Sugiura Aya put the package on the table with a pon.
Of course, the person who couldn’t silently watch this was Tokiwa Renjurou.
“Katsubushi-sensei, what does this mean!?”
“What you say?”
“You, are you making your student preparing your lunchbox!?”
“There’s no way that’s the case, Tokiwa-sensei.”
In a half-amazed voice, Katsubushi opened the package.
“Sugiura’s family opens a restaurant. Well, this is a lunchbox I bought by properly paying money. The ones who make it are Sugiura’s parents. My family is a grocery store, we often deliver there, so I can get it much more cheaper with that friendship though.”
Sugiura who appeared to be reflexively frightened by Tokiwa’s threatening attitude, was also nodding to Katsubushi’s words.
Tokiwa’s mouth was flapping, but he was unlikely to be capable of logically pointing out anything. Eventually, he dejectedly dropped his shoulders. Like student, like teacher, although he swallowed those words, the feelings that lost its place to go continued to simmer in the bottom of his heart.
“Harao is a special student. I’ll also try asking about it later. Asking his homeroom teacher last year.”
Whether or not he knew the Tokiwa’s heart, Katsubushi said so.
“Harao’s homeroom teacher last year…. Who was it?”
“It’s Kusunoki-sensei. Kusunoki Sufi-sensei.”
Right, Tokiwa nodded. Certainly, if speaking of a teacher that can carrying that eccentric Harao Masaki without any problem occurring, then there would be only her.
But then, she….
“Well, Kusunoki-sensei retired due to marriage, it’ll be difficult to contact her.”
The voice Katsubushi muttered as he opened his lunchbox was very carefree.
To be continued…
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