Date: Fri, 20 Aug 1999 08:06:57 +0900
From: Andrej Koymasky <andrejkoymasky@geocities.com>
Subject: Destiny 09

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IF SOMETHING CALLED DESTINY EXISTS...

Andrej Koymasky Copyright 1998
Written on June 5 th 1994
Translated by the Author
English text kindly revised
by Nick

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USUAL DISCLAIMER

"IF SOMETHING CALLED DESTINY EXISTS..." is a gay story, with some parts
containing graphic scenes of sex between males. So, if in your land,
religion, family, opinion and so on this is not good for you, it will be
better not to read this story. But if you really want, or because YOU
don't care, or because you think you really want to read it, please be
my welcomed guest.

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RI - Tachikawa High School

I raise my head
and light the old oil lamp:
cold is the night.

The Korean War started but luckily neither Yukichi nor I were sent to
fight in it. In fact the Korean war involved also the China Empire, as
they didn't accept our control on the Korean peninsula. Our Army, modern
and efficient, soon overcame the Chinese interference and this victory
was celebrated in Japan with utmost pride. But Russia, France and
Germany seemed worried at our evident power and put pressure on our
Prime Minister Ito for Japan to give back the Liaotung peninsula that we
conquered to the Chinese. The Triple Intervention was felt by many
Japanese as un unfair interference and an humiliation, like an attempt
to keep Japan at a lower level than the Great Powers, and this gave
strength and vigour to the nationalists.

Just during the war, Tachikawa fell ill of some disease of his liver.
Notwithstanding Aritada summoned the best doctors in the capital, there
was nothing to do. We went often to visit him during his illness -- he
was really prostrate and yet he maintained his serene and slightly
ironic attitude towards life and its vicissitudes.

"Do you see, the gods and the buddhas are merciful -- before I became a
wreck, they decided that my life has to end. At least, Aritada will
remember me as a still strong man. I still have all my teeth and also
all my hair, and, at least to a few weeks ago, I could still make love
like a young man." he told me a few days before his death, with ironical
pride.

In a few months my colleague died. He was a little more than sixty years
old. For Aritada it was a really deep sorrow. He wanted only Yukichi and
me to escort him to the banks of the Sumida River where he spread
Tachikawa's ashes, near the Senso Temple, following his lover's last
will.

While spreading the ashes on the river's waters, he improvised this
haiku, playing with the meaning of Tachikawa's name, "the outstanding
river":

Swift flow the waters,
while standing by the river,
ah! The longest night!

Then, he added with a great nostalgia: "I loved him, my great old man,
with all my heart."

"He too loved you deeply." Yukichi said to him trying to console him in
some way.

"Yes, I know. For me he renounced his everlasting search for kids. Even
when I became an adult, he remained faithful to me. And I was faithful
to him. And now I feel so lonely..."

"But you, at least, have a family." I said.

"My wife is interested only not to lack money. About my children, they
are growing, they will leave me. He was so important for me. At times my
friends asked me what could I find, young and rich as I am, in a simple
teacher as he was. But he was a person of an incredible inner richness.
Yes, I admired and esteemed him very much. I felt safe, with him. I
prayed the gods and the buddhas to take twenty years of my life and to
give them to him, but they didn't listen to me. I do not want him to be
forgotten. He loved kids, not just in a physical meaning. He really
loved them, them all, not only those who shared his bed. So, I decided I
want to found a school in his name, for the high school kids, between
the fourteen and the eighteen years. And, as he dreamed, there will be
scholarships to allow the poorest but more skilled boys to study. He
will be happy for that, don't you think?"

"Certainly. It is a splendid idea." Yukichi said him warmly.

"You, Fujita-sensei, would accept to became the director of this
school?" Aritada asked me.

I was not at all expecting such a request, therefore I did not answer at
once -- it seemed to me a too serious task, and I was not sure to be
equal to this task, to be able to carry it out in the best of ways. But
Yukichi persuaded me to accept, and told me that he discussed with
Aritada some points about how to organize the school and that he thought
very beautiful I give my contribution for its birth.

So, the High School Tachikawa was founded and was built on a free land
in Yotsuya, and I was appointed its director. With Aritada, we wrote
down its rules.The school accepted only boarding students (this
facilitated particularly the boys of poor families) and was hence
provided with a modern dormitory. There was a gym, and playing fields,
the refectory, the common baths, a surgery, all in low buildings
immersed in the greenery. The first year we toured all the primary
schools of the poorest neighbors of Tokyo to recruit our first students.
We gave them the program for the admission test, then on the following
March we held the first examination round. It was not an easy test, as
we wanted only the most willing and able students. But if they passed
the text, the school was then practically within everybody's reach as
its cost was inversely proportional to the boys' results -- the higher
were their marks, the lowest the school fees.

The first year started with three first classes and seventy two
students. They had thirty six hours of classes each week form Monday to
Saturday, plus six hours per week of athletic and sport activities, both
traditional and modern, and four more hours per week for manual free
activities.

We favoured the formation of spontaneous groups to cultivate the extra
curricular interests. The structure had been planned to host twelve
classes, that is about two hundred and fifty students, more around
twenty adults who would have lived in the school to follow the boys.
There were twelve dormitories, each in a small two floors buildings,
with fourteen rooms, thirteen with twin beds for the boys, and one with
a single bed for the adult responsible of that dormitory. But the
dormitories, differently from other schools, were not divided for year
or for classes. Instead in each room, besides the first year, of course,
had to sleep two boys of two different years, that is a boy of the first
year with one of the third, and one of the second year with one of the
fourth. In this way, in the same dormitory, there could be only two boys
of the same class. This facilitated the socialization amongst boys of
different classes. The elder was responsible for the younger and the
adult of all the six or seven elders. Each year the boys of the third
year chose amongst the newcomers their room mate, with which, if
particular problems did not arise, they would share their room for two
years. In four years our school was turning at full rhythm, and all was
proceeding in the best of ways.

This system, even if at first had not been thought for this purpose,
inevitably led to the fact that many couples of boys, sooner or later,
started to share not only their room, but also their beds. This was the
right age for the awakening of the first sexual desires, and it was just
natural that they were led to experiment between them.

One of the responsible of a dormitory, once came to talk with me about
this "problem". He had had the "strong impression" that not a few of the
boys had sex between themselves, at night, in their rooms. I answered
him that the boys had to learn to manage their private lives in their
ways and that, from our part, we were not concerned with their choices.
We had only to be sure that there was no bullying from a boy on another,
that nobody was forced to do or to undergo to things he didn't want. For
the rest, we had only to care that the boys studied. Of course, we did
not encourage this kind of personal relationship, but we did not
interfere with it.

"At that age, almost all the boys pass through such experiences. I did.
Did not you?" I asked him.

"Well... of course..." he said somewhat shyly.

"And did it harm you in some ways?"

"I can not say so." the man said and told me that he understood. He
never went back on this subject.

A couple of times it happened that a boy complained he was forced by his
roommate to have sex. We called in the "culprit" and simply explained to
him that nobody has the right to impose on another his choices, and that
his fault was not having had sex, but having forced a fellow student to
do it against his will. After that we simply moved him to another
dormitory, warning him that if the problem rose again, we would be
forced to expel him from our school. It never happened. At times couples
formed also between boys not sharing the same room -- it was then enough
they both asked to share a room (of course without telling us the real
reason) that, as soon as possible, we moved them in the same room. At
times, some of the couples lasted also after they left the school.
Anyway, even if there was not a physical relationship, or if this ended
naturally when separated, many afterwards remained close friends. Each
year we held a meeting of all the alumni, and the greatest majority came
with pleasure and remained affectionate to our school that had been able
to harmonize a very strict discipline with a high degree of freedom. The
preparation we gave them was such that who amongst them wanted to try
the incredibly difficult entrance test for the prestigious Imperial
University, had very high chances to be admitted.

We were proud of our school.

Yukichi continued to teach at the Imperial University but we did so that
our schedules didn't hinder us from spending a part of our day together.
I often discussed with him the problems of the Tachikawa High School,
and I often followed his advise.

The most serious problem we met in our school, was when we discovered
that an ex student was sneaking at night time in the school enclosure,
to continue having rapport with his former roommate. One night they were
caught by a night guard in the wardrobe room, united in a full
intercourse. They were ordered to dress and shut in two different rooms
for the rest of the night. On the following morning they were brought in
my office and reported to me.

They were Sasaki Ryuta, nineteen year old, ex student, and Abe Koji,
seventeen year old, of the third year. Both were standing in front of my
desk, their chins on their chests.

"So, then, Sasaki-kun, would you please explain me what were you doing
in our school at night time?" I asked, severe but not harsh.

"You know it, head professor Fujita, They certainly told you."

"I would like you to tell me."

"I wanted to see again Koji... I mean, Abe-kun."

"See again? Just to see him again?"

"Well, really..." he started but then blushed and became silent.

So Abe, with a low but determined voice, said: "May I speak, sir?"

"Yes, of course."

"Sasaki and I are in love and last night we were concretely
demonstrating it."

"You means? Be explicit. Were you having sex together?"

"Yes, sir, I mean, no sir."

"Yes or no?"

"We were not having sex, sir, I mean, we were doing much more -- we love
each other, sir, as I told you."

"So much to be ready to infringe the school rules?"

"We could not do differently, head professor." Sasaki then said.

"Who made you enter, Ryuta-kun? The gates were closed, weren't they?"

"I jumped the enclosure, sir." Sasaki murmured, then added: "Punish me,
sir, not him."

"You are no more a student of this school. How can I punish you? I would
have to report you to the police."

"If you want to lash me, sir, I deserve it."

"And then? Will you jump again here inside at the first occasion,
possibly just being a little more careful?" I asked him.

"I am afraid I would." Sasaki said blushing.

"Head professor, we... we have to meet! We love each other, sir, we
really do. Right or wrong it could be." Abe said sorrowful then,
daringly, he seized his friend's hand and squeezed it. This gesture
moved me. Even before I did nothing but thinking how to come out of this
situation. I wanted to help the two boys, but I could surely not change
the rules only for their sake.

"Sit down, boys, and listen carefully what I'm going to tell you. I
respect your sentiment. But I have also to make the rules respected. Do
you love each other? Good. But a stranger, and now you are a stranger,
Ryuta-kun, can not enter in the school enclosure. Neither a student go
out. On Sundays the boys can receive visits from their families, but
unhappily you, Sasaki-kun, are not his relative. And anyway, you could
certainly not withdraw how I presume you would like to do. If your love
is really so strong, you will be able to endure less than two more
years, wouldn't you? I understand you are young, impatient, but also
strong, I think. For this time, I will punish Abe-kun only pro-forma,
and I will not report Sasaki-kun to the police for trespassing. But you
have to promise me you will never again do such foolishness."

"But, head professor..." Abe said.

I interrupted him: "Let me end what I am saying. Sasaki-kun, what are
you doing, now? You are attending the University, if I am not wrong.
What university is it?"

"Yes, sir, it is the Waseda university, sir."

"What are you studying?"

"Literature, sir."

"Do you have some free time, let's say a couple of hours per week?"

"Yes, sir, even more." he answered hesitantly, evidently without
understanding the meaning of my questions.

"What do you think about coming here at this school to give private
lessons to Abe-kun? Gratuitous lessons, of course."

"Me... coming here, once a week?"

"You will meet in the school library. You will never be alone, of
course, but you can at least exchange some words, some writings, see
each other anyway, to made the waiting less hard. What do you think of
that? I can not offer much more than this. Do you accept?"

"Head professor, sir, really? Certainly we accept, right Koji? We are
grateful to you, head professor, really grateful."

"But there is a condition -- you have not to try to see each other in
another way, to withdraw, to cheat on me. Would you accept? Can you give
me your honor word?"

They accepted and for what I know, they were faithful to their promise.
When at last also Abe Koji got his diploma, they came to talk me, to
thank me again.

"You have been kind with us, head professor. We will never forget it,
and we will be grateful forever. You can rely on us for anything we will
be able to do for you, really. For everything."

"What will you do, now, boys?"

"Koji also will enter the Waseda. And he will come to live with me in
the small apartment I rented."

"Do you have money problems?"

"A little, but I am doing some part-time jobs, and anyway we are used to
sacrifices."

"You said you do some part-time? What is it, Sasaki-kun?"

"I am a dish washer in a restaurant, sir."

"They pay you very little, I guess."

"It is enough to survive, sir."

"What do you think about coming here to give private lessons? This time
paid, of course. I could give you... let's see... this monthly wage, for
six hours each week." I said handing him a sheet of paper where I had
calculated what I could pay him.

Sasaki checked it and brightened: "When can I start, sir?"

"From next week. And when Abe-kun will be in his second year, I will
offer him the same treatment."

Sasaki revealed himself to be a skilled and diligent teacher, so that
after his graduations, I offered him to become a full time teacher in
our school. We gradually became friends, so one day I revealed him about
Yukichi and me, and made them meet.

Meanwhile Yukichi obtained the full professorship for comparative
literature (the first in Japan) at the Tokyo University. We both earned
a good wage, so we bought the house bordering ours, pulled it down so we
could enlarge both our house and the garden. In the garden I dug a well,
old style in wood, and near it I made grow a wisteria... This was my
surprise and present for my beloved.

Nobuo, who having resumed his studies was now able to fluently read and
write, started to act also as our secretary and kept in perfect order
all our papers and books. That boy had been really a wonderful
acquisition for our household.

Aritada met a young American man who came to Tokyo to study Japanese and
they became friends. His name was Bradford Wilson, but he was called
Biway. He was a very good amateur baseball player, he had a slender but
muscled body, clear brown hair, green eyes, a broad and open smile. And,
as Yukichi noted, he had "or too tight trousers, or a too good
endowment" that agreeably showed off between his legs. When Aritada, an
evening they got half drunk together, tried to open his trousers, not
only Biway let him do but as, for Aritada's luck, he too liked
exclusively men, participated with enthusiasm. They made love all the
night, it seems, in all the possible ways.

On the following morning they woke up, naked and intertwined, Aritada
who did not suspect the taste of the handsome American young man and who
imputed his participation only to the drunkenness, was really
embarrassed so he started to apologise. But Biway made him shut up,
French kissing him and starting again to make love with him. So their
relationship started.

After some months , the young American said to Aritada: "We now know
each other rather well. I like you very much, also the way you make love
with me. Would you like to become my steady boyfriend?"

Aritada was not asking for better. But, at his usual, he put a condition
-- he would accept to become his lover, but only if Biway remained in
Japan with him.

Biway accepted immediately. "But then," the young man said, "I have to
look for a job. My family will not send me not even a cent, when they
will hear I don't want to go back home!"

Aritada told me these facts, and he was really excited. He told me that
they were looking around to find a good job for Biway, so that he could
remain in Japan, as the young man wanted, proudly and rightly, to be
able to maintain himself. So, I said him that we could start a baseball
team in our school, it was starting to have some popularity in Japan,
and therefore hired Biway as its coach. Aritada brightened up and
thanked me. He told me that he really thought of this possibility, but
it did not seem fair to him, just because he was the school owner, to
take advantage of that for his private interests. But as it was me to
have had the idea and to have offered that possibility, he of course did
not oppose.

In a short while the American coach became the idol of our students. So
much that more than a boy started to do his hair in the "Biway" fashion
or to imitate his gait. And the young coach had also to gently decline
more than one proposal of his players. It is not that the handsome
American was a model of faithfulness, he liked at times to concede
himself some small adventure, but he wisely never did it with our school
boys.

Once Biway also tried with Yukichi, but my Yukichi and I have always
been absolutely faithful to each other. Aritada knew about his new
lover's little adventures, but he always turned a blind eye to his man's
casual affairs. "What do you want, my dear Fujita-sensei, I perhaps am
matured, but I understood that the true faithfulness is not a physical
thing. And I know that my Biway, in his way, is really faithful to me.
So, I let him do. He is so young, he will calm down." he told me a day,
with his usual smile, self-assuredly.

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CONTINUES IN CHAPTER 10

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In my home page I've put some of my stories. If someone wants to read
them, the URL is

http://www.geocities.com/~andrejkoymasky/

If you want to send me feed-back, please e-mail at

andrejkoymasky@geocities.com

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