Arthur was thinking about memories from his past life. The best way to earn money is through entertainment, but first, he needed an idea. While looking at his notebook, he remembered a friend who was a big fan of video games. He only remembered a very old game about a little character who, by eating mushrooms, became big, but he couldn't recall the name. Still, in the notebook, he had written the words: "jumps," "princess," and "a turtle as an enemy."
Leaving the notebook with its scribbles aside, he looked out the window—it was already night. He left the room to find the bathroom but couldn't locate it. Passing through rooms, he saw a television broadcasting Doraemon, which reminded him of the animes from his past life. But no matter how hard he tried, Arthur couldn't remember anything. He could be reborn, but he didn't have what could make his life more peaceful.
Exiting the room, Arthur stopped because he hadn't turned on the television. Returning to the room, the TV was still playing Doraemon. This left Arthur stunned for a moment until his mother saw him staring at the screen. With a worried voice, she asked her son, "What's wrong?" Arthur just looked at his mother and asked, "Did you turn on the TV, or was it already on in this room?" She just looked at him, "Yes, I was watching Doraemon."
This reassured Arthur, as he had thought someone might have turned on the TV or even broken in. "Well, son, I just went to get a plate of fruit. Do you want some? I remember you loved strawberries."
Arthur couldn't refuse his mother's kindness. He grabbed a strawberry, savored it, and watched TV with her. While Arthur was watching the news, his mother got up and told him not to stay up too late. Arthur just stared at the news thoughtfully until he got bored and walked back to his room. Reaching his desk, he looked at the scribbles but couldn't remember the protagonist's name. He only knew the character jumps and eats mushrooms to grow bigger. Thinking about it, Arthur laughed: "Eating mushrooms and growing big reminds me of someone." Lying on his bed, he closed his eyes.
Saturday, April 5, 1980
Arthur looked at the calendar and realized that on Monday, high school at Azabu University High School would start. The good thing was he lived nearby, so he could walk there. Looking at the clock, he realized his uncle would take him to visit the school to get familiar with the place. While lying on his bed thinking about this, someone knocked on the door. It was his mother: "Son, your uncle is outside. He'll help you remember the way so you don't get lost. Hurry up." She said only that and left the room. Arthur stared at the closed door and jumped up, making the wooden floor creak. This startled him: "I haven't gained weight, right?"
While thinking that, he got dressed in casual clothes from his luggage, went to the bathroom, and looked at himself in the mirror for a moment. "Now that I think about it, it's not unusual to see someone blonde in Japan, right?" Observing carefully, he realized he looked very much like his father, a blond with light-colored eyes. Arthur looked at himself a little longer until his mother called him to hurry.
This startled Arthur. Washing his face and drying quickly, he left the house, not before saying goodbye to his mother. She just nodded at him. Arthur remembered that in his previous life, he had dark hair and wheat-colored skin, but in this life, seeing himself in the mirror was like seeing someone else. It scared him a bit.
His uncle, in the car, looked at him and whistled: "Well, at least you're presentable. I want to introduce you to some friends. The high school you're going to is prestigious, but you know how some young people are. That's why I'll help you by introducing you to certain people, so you don't get into trouble."
While Arthur listened, he sat down and put on his seatbelt. Seeing this, his uncle laughed: "Arthur, why are you putting that on?" Arthur looked confused, "Shouldn't we use it if it's there, uncle?" This made Masato think. "Well, Arthur, seeing it that way, you're right. I'll use it too; after all, it comes with the car."
While Masato spoke, they arrived at the school. As Masato parked, a man with a large belly greeted him: "My old friend Masato-kun, what brings you to Azabu High?" Masato just smiled at his old friend and spoke to him in Japanese. This left Arthur stunned because the man had spoken English at first, and now they were speaking Japanese. While having a heated conversation, Masato pointed to Arthur, signaling him to come.
"Arthur, let me introduce a good friend, Ryo Minobe. He's the principal of Azabu High." Ryo looked at the boy and said something in Japanese to Masato. Masato then said something to Ryo, leaving Arthur even more confused because he didn't understand anything. Ryo smiled and laughed, looking at Arthur: "Well, I'm your principal. I see you don't know Japanese." Arthur just nodded.
"Arthur, we have some problems. If that's the case, I need you to at least know the basics to take your exams." Masato nodded: "I'll teach him myself, don't worry, Ryo." Arthur looked confused at his uncle. Ryo said something in Japanese and then said goodbye to Masato: "Well, Arthur, now I know who you are. I just wanted to help you if necessary, so don't worry about anything, but don't get into too much trouble." Arthur nodded: "I'll do my best." Ryo laughed: "Relax, Arthur, I'm not a policeman," and walked away.
Masato looked at his friend's back and then at Arthur: "You know, he was part of, well… you know." This left Arthur stunned. "I guess he left all that behind." Masato said nothing. "Well, Arthur, I'll show you around Azabu High. Follow me." While saying this, his uncle guided him through the school, leaving Arthur feeling strange and confused: "Uncle, why—?"
Students arrived with black leather backpacks or sports bags, many still half asleep. There wasn't a strict uniform like at Kaisei; some wore open shirts, light jackets, even fashionable sweaters. At the entrance, a discipline teacher observed them, but without much pressure: Azabu was famous for trusting its students' autonomy.
His uncle looked at Arthur: "Didn't I tell you? You have classes." Arthur, astonished, said: "But my classes start Monday." His uncle patted his shoulder: "Arthur, the best thing in life is to experience as much as you can, especially when you're young." After finishing, he ran down the hallway, leaving Arthur stunned at how fast he escaped.
A teacher looked at Arthur with curiosity and asked something in Japanese. Seeing that the student didn't respond, he looked for a moment and asked in English: "Are you the new foreign student?" Arthur nodded and asked about his classroom. The teacher just pointed to the classroom across: First Year, Class A. With that, he left.
As Arthur entered, he noticed many students were changing their shoes to enter the classroom. He didn't know what to do. A girl looked at him and said something in Japanese. Seeing that he didn't respond, she asked in broken English: "You new?" Arthur nodded. The girl said, "Change shoes, enter class," showing him how to change. Arthur quickly imitated her and entered the classroom. He saw everyone speaking Japanese and didn't know what to say. He sat in a spot, waiting for the teacher.
When a man in a suit entered, everyone became quiet and sat down. The man said something in Japanese and then pointed at Arthur. Not understanding, Arthur was told in English: "Come here, boy. Introduce yourself." Embarrassed, Arthur said he didn't know much Japanese. The teacher laughed and asked him to present himself.
"My name is Arthur Tanaka Ford. I'm from Texas. I have an American father and a Japanese mother. I hope we get along well, and I can learn Japanese to communicate better."
After the introduction, Arthur bowed and sat down. The teacher said something in Japanese, and everyone laughed. Arthur was confused but continued observing. As class was about to end, the teacher called Arthur: "Look, boy, it will be very difficult if you don't know Japanese. I advise you to learn it quickly." Arthur nodded: "Don't worry. I'll do my best." The teacher nodded and left the classroom.
The girl who helped him asked in broken English: "I help you with Japan, you help me with English." Arthur nodded. Meanwhile, a guy pointed at Arthur and yelled in Japanese. The girl yelled at the guy in Japanese, confusing Arthur even more. The guy approached the girl, continuing to shout, then looked at Arthur:
"Stupid foreigner, we don't want you here." This startled Arthur. Before he could react, the guy tried to hit him, but the girl pushed him, causing Arthur to also be pushed and hit his head on the blackboard.
Everyone, scared to see the foreigner not responding, called a teacher. Seeing the new boy unconscious, the teacher asked two students to take him to the infirmary.
The girl followed the guys who carried him, first insulting the boy who had pushed Arthur, not realizing that she had pushed him so that he could push Arthur. They left Arthur on a stretcher, and the nurse asked the girl, astonished: "Is it his first class, and something already happened to the foreigner?" The girl just looked worried at Arthur. The nurse did a quick check to see if he needed to go to the hospital, but seeing it was just a fainting spell, she told the girl to take care of him.
While in Arthur's head, all kinds of things passed—remembering the best movies, the best video games, the best mangas, comics, the best songs. Finally, his "golden finger" appeared, which stunned Arthur even more. He remembered his past life as an unemployed man trying to survive. Thanks to a friend's invitation, he had gone to Oktoberfest and enjoyed with friends, but because he drank too much, he had passed out and now appeared in Arthur's body.
While the girl watched him, Arthur suddenly opened his eyes, startling her. She only asked, "Are you okay?"
"Yes, what happened?" The girl said she was Emiko Saito, and that the guy who yelled hated foreigners because his father ran away with a foreigner, leaving his mother and two siblings alone.
Emiko looked at Arthur warily. "Well, if you're okay, I'm leaving." Emiko got up, but Arthur grabbed her hand, startling her: "Don't leave. I need you to teach me Japanese."
Emiko looked at her hand held by Arthur, which startled him. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." Emiko said in English: "Okay, you help me, and I help you." Arthur just nodded. After more than three hours, Emiko said goodbye to Arthur and left the infirmary. Arthur stared at the ceiling for a few minutes, confused. He could remember every word Emiko said, which scared him. He felt very weak; it was like the price of knowledge. Closing his eyes, he slept for half an hour until the nurse told him he could leave—she said all of this in Japanese. Arthur got up from the stretcher and left, looking at the hallways and the sunset. He realized that he now had a chance to make a name for himself in the industry but must not become well-known. He remembered a novel in which the protagonist used different pseudonyms so no one would know who he really was. How about Aoi?