Senbonzakura

Engrish

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April, 20 Years Ago
Mahoutokoro

It was already the start of the fall season, but Mahoutokoro felt unusually warm compared to where Kisuke had come from. Guessed the rumor about the school built on a volcanic island was true - here, they could study magic far away from the muggles on the mainland in secrecy. In Europe, Hogwarts was well-known for the four famed founders of the school, brilliant wizards and witches of their era, so much so that even the magical school in America had roots with the most notorious of the four - Salazar Slytherin. Here in the East, Mahoutokoro was one of the most prestigious magical institutions in Asia, going as far as equipping its students with the best of both worlds: the standard arts widely taught across most continents, and the Oriental techniques unique to East Asian culture.

However, in order for them to better understand the European magical arts, they would have to learn the fundamentals of English, and Latin since the spells were spoken in the dead tongue. For these native Japanese kids, it was a steep struggle for them to comprehend two more languages on top of their own, which was said to be one of the most difficult languages to grasp in the world (the other being Chinese, and some other obscure ones). Well, this certainly did explain why most seniors felt that the first year was the one of the most dreaded period in their school life in Mahoutokoro.

...Lo and behold, that his first class of the day was English. Folding the timetable neatly into a square before tucking it into his front of his pale-pink school robe, he followed behind his peers into the lecture hall, which was almost half-filled with the other first-years, some yawning as they waited restlessly for the class to begin. Kisuke still felt light-headed after woken up of bed with a rough start, and he allowed his feet to carry him to the nearest empty seat that was available.

He had barely settled down when he was greeted by a voice on his left. "Good morning." The voice clearly sounded feminine, but he couldn't help stiffening at the clipped tone. He turned his head around, and his sleepy eyes met a pair of icy-cold ones. That was enough to snap him out of his daze.

"...Morning."

She was a pretty girl - a natural beauty, with her long black locks kept behind her head in a simple ponytail, and unlike most of the other female students in the room, she had no need for makeups to enhance her slim face. The girl frowned a little at the informal return; before she could speak another word, the teacher brisk into the hall, and the chatter died down almost immediately. A middle-aged Caucasian in brown leather coat with checkered dress shirt collar poking out around the neck. The school sure spared no effort to get a native English wizard to teach them the language properly, huh? Quite a number of students were amazed at the teacher's rather fluent Japanese as he introduced himself to the class, but some weren't so impressed.

One of them was the girl next to him.

He raised an eyebrow when she threw a balled-up parchment to his table, which landed right before him. He flattened the crumpled sheet, even more amused at the words written on it, in calligraphic handwriting:

'Kisaragi Yuko.'

He scribbled his name below hers, and slipped the parchment back to her. A short moment later, he received her reply:

'Did I startle you?'

He glanced at her, and gave her a nod.

The steely look in her eyes softened, just a little. Her lips parted slightly, and then she mouthed the words, I am sorry.

Just when he was shaking his head in response to her apology, the teacher suddenly called out his name, "Amano-kun, if you're done flirting with girls, kindly read out the next sentence."

Even though he could felt his cheeks burning from the embarrassment, Kisuke was able to keep a straight face as he stood up, ignoring the suppressed snickering that rippled throughout the hall as hundred pairs of eyes were now directed at him. Right... so which one is the next sentence? Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Yuko had her hand on the table in a strange gesture... Why was she making a finger gun at him? Wait...

The seventh sentence.

... ...

When he was done reading and finally sat down, a new line was added on the parchment message:

'Now you owe me a favor.'

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Extra Notes:

• School term in Mahoutokoro follows the standard across most Japanese schools - term begins in April (which coincides with the cherry blossom season), then summer vacation from July to September. School resumes until Christmas/New Year holiday where they get a short winter break, and then back to school again, and term goes on until March.
• The design of the Mahoutokoro school robes I envisioned is similar to this kind of kimono (the technical term is dogi, martial arts uniform) worn in Kendo and Aikido, to retain the 'uniquely Japanese' feel without compromising mobility, especially for practical dueling and Quidditch. Of course, the color is as stated in the information provided by Rowling on Pottermore, which would change accordingly as the student climbs up the academic ladder.
• Yuko used keigo, or polite language according to the Japanese honorific system, when she greeted Kisuke ("Good morning" - "Ohayo gozaimasu"), but he replied with the more informal "Morning" - "Ohayo".
• For Japanese names (or East Asian names in general), the family name always comes before the given name, and no middle names.
• Dialogues in italics mean that they are spoken in Japanese.