Okami: Hero's Shortcomings

Chapter 3: Hand of Retribution

Hell, Aug. 5th, 2012 @10:34 AM. Several years have passed since the incident at school, but it's been long forgotten by most. He knew he shouldn't hold on to the past, besides, the present was much more troubling.

Genji stared at his paper until his eyes dried out, and his brain ceased function due to burnout. Simple pre-algebra questions were leaving him stumped. 3x=24, 2x+5=17, even x+3=10 left his mind scurrying. No matter how many times he was tutored, he rarely understood.

Unfortunately, this was a quiz and time was up roughly a minute ago. He didn't know that of course since he was so tunnel-visioned on his paper.

"What a complete dope, just goes to show how dumb boys are." A girl whispered to another as the bell rang over the speaker.

Some snickers were heard as dozens of feet marched out of the room and into the crowded halls.

"Genji...Genji?...Genji!"

His self-induced trance ended when he heard his name.

"Wha? Oh jeez!"

He jumped from his seat and grabbed his paper, crinkling it up a bit from the force. He ran up to the front and turned it in.

"Sorry 'bout that, have a good weekend Mrs. Parker!"

She didn't even have to look at his paper to know he failed.

"Genji, please come back for a moment. We need to have a little chat."

He ran to try and escape those very words, but they yanked him right back to her desk.

"Genji, I'm worried about your grade. I've asked your other teachers and learned you're a brilliant student. Scoring high B's and A's. But you have a twenty-seven percent in my class. Is there anything I can do to help you succeed?"

"Wait, isn't that against some type of rule to know my grades in other classes?"

"Well, yes...but that's not the point! I know you have potential to succeed, so I want to know if there's anything I can do to help."

Genji thought about it for a brief moment, but ended up just shaking his head.

"Thanks, but I'll be fine. Besides, mom promised me she'd bake me a pie of cheesecake if I pass so there's not a chance I'm failing."

He gave a confident but cheerful smile, enough to persuade Mrs. Parker's thinking.

"Alright...if you say so. Still, don't hesitate to ask me for help."

"Got'cha, I'll keep that in mind. Have a good weekend!"

"You as well."

Genji had a bounce to his step to get him out of the classroom a bit quicker. Typically, he wouldn't care about being timely, but right outside of the classroom was someone waiting for him.

He looked slightly up to see her short snow-white hair and golden amber eyes reflecting his blue, seemingly always doing something to his hearts and breath, causing both to stop briefly. Zoey stood there, undergoing the same feeling.

"There you are, what took so long? It felt like ages."

"Relax, Miss Desperate, it's been like a minute. And you know, it was the usual after-class chat about my grade."

"Again? Maybe another study session is in order."

"It's Friday, the last thing I want to do is study."

"Most of your studying is with Katrina, when we try we just end up playing video games or watching movies."

"Yep, and I think it's perfect that way." He said as he started the walk to the exit. Zoey followed right beside him.