My Not-so-Forged Wedding

Episode 6

A Married Couple’s Dispute

            Standing in front of Mashiro several feet apart—yards even—was a large building. It beheld the image of a prestigious academy, and it was indeed the very all-girls high school Yamato was currently teaching at. Yet, without any known directions, Mashiro had wandered aimlessly to where she was. A peculiar feeling had pulled her towards the school that was full of excellence—a feeling Mashiro was not certain of, despite being right there on the campus.

            That was when an unknown presence was behind Mashiro. The voice belonging to whoever was with the fawn-haired girl came shortly after.

            “Oh?” someone spoke. It seemed to be the voice of an older individual. “Young lady, what brings you here? Are you looking for someone?”

            Hearing the person’s voice behind her caused Mashiro to turn around. She blinked as she took a look at who was with her. “? Who are you?”

            A kind smile spread across an elder man’s face. He was wearing a brown suit, but nonetheless, had the appearance of a warm-hearted person. “Forgive me for the sudden surprise I may or may not have given you. I am the principal of the all-girls academy here. My name is Okishima. Unfortunately, I cannot give you my given name, but if I may ask, what is yours?”

            Mashiro’s eyes widened like that of an innocent child. “Um. Well… My name is Mashiro Kougami. I carried the surname name of the Tsuneha family before marrying my husband who works here as a physics teacher. I’m sure you know who he is, but I am Yamato’s wife.”

            “I see. So you are Mr. Kougami’s wife,” the man named Okishima noted. “Well, if you weren’t surprised by my presence, I must say, I myself was a bit taken back by what I had heard from you, Mrs. Kougami. I had not expected someone who looks so young and pretty to be married to a fine new teacher such as Mr. Kougami. Why don’t you and I sit down on the bench over there? Surely, you might not like to stand around like this. It becomes somewhat of a tiring pain after a while.”

            Mashiro continued to glance at the principal. “Oh. Yes. I understand. Please pardon my lack of consideration, Okishima-san. I don’t really know many people in this city since I arrived not too long ago from Shinjuku.”

            Another pleasant smile formed on the principal’s face as he closed his eyes delightfully. “Then, let us go and chat a bit more. If I had known Mr. Kougami was married to someone from outside the city, I would have been more welcoming to him at the celebration party for his arrival.” He walked towards the bench that was mentioned and sat down; Mashiro followed and sat on the seat next to him on his right. “On the contrary, I am glad he was hired to be one of our own here, along with the fact he married a kind young woman. I am positive that you are the one who has kept his spirits up, Mrs. Kougami. After all, the staff as well as the students, admire him very much. They respect his ideas and teaching methods as Mr. Kougami is a splendid instructor at the academy.”

            A smile appeared on Mashiro’s face. Then, she lowered her head a bit, looking down at her lap. “I don’t know if I’m truly the one who enables Yamato to do well at work, but I want to be support him as much as I can because we’re husband and wife. In fact, I…” Her eyes gave a faint descent, displaying a tiny bit of sadness or perhaps even a fraction of what appeared to be insecurity on her part. “…I wonder what Yamato himself considers me to be. We may be a married couple, but I truly feel as if I can’t get pass a wall that Yamato puts around to separate himself from me; but it isn’t only my entire being he distances himself from. I can tell he does this to everyone else as well. He has plenty of hidden facts not even I can reach. However, I still want to be there for him, despite the possibility of being rejected from my husband. I love Yamato with all my heart. It might be strange to you, Okishima-san, but I fell in love with Yamato without knowing very much about him before ever meeting him. I knew only his name along with small details about him and his situation, but I still harbored romantic emotions for him.”