[b][i]Collaboration Post between Letter Bee and Haha[/i][/b]

[b][i]Masuda High School[/i][/b]

    Everyone was present in class— or rather, everyone that mattered was there. Of course, a few showed up right at the bell, or even a little after, but that didn’t surprise the history teacher. His expression remained indifferent, devoid of color, and he simply waited for the majority of focus within the classroom to be aimed upon him before speaking about the lesson again.

[b]”Now, our lesson about the Shimabara Rebellion, which also covered the Amakusa Islands, where our city stands today.”[/b] Mr Hagino would pace his way to the opposite side of the classroom, closest to Ariyoshi, where the light switch for the room was placed.

[b]”The Shimabara Peninsula to our east, as well as the Amakusa Islands, where we are today, were converted to Catholic Christianity by Portuguese and Spanish traders, along with much of Kyushu Island. When the Tokugawa Shogunate took power, they gave the Shimabara Peninsula and the Amakusa Islands to a corrupt Daimyo, [i]Matsukura Katsuiie, also known as Matsukura Shigeharu[/i], who hated Christians and persecuted them, including by boiling them alive in hot springs.

“Fortunately for us, although the Tokugawa were against Christianity as well, Matsukura also taxed his non-Christian subjects heavily, with those who could not pay his taxes being wrapped up in cloaks and burnt alive - Along with their children! - and word of it spread. Then came Shiro Masuda, or as we know him now, Shiro [i]Amakusa[/i], a wandering Ronin who at fourteen was already a talented swordsman and speaker who won not just his fellow Christians, but those of other faiths against the misrule of the Matsukura.

“Our ancestors rebelled and threw out the Matsukura, who fled to the Tokugawa Court’s seat at Edo, and the Tokugawa sent an army to restore them to their lands. We defeated them, but they sent another, larger army, which penned us up in Hara Castle in Shimabara, where our ancestors faced not only superior numbers but also the treachery of the Protestant Dutch, who hated Catholics to the point that they were willing to help the Tokugawa.

“But Shiro stood strong and taunted the Tokugawa with how they had to call on the Dutch and their artillery to help them. The Shogun then ordered the Dutch off. But what really, truly saved us was that Matsukura Shigeharu showed his true colors when a random peasant, one loyal to the Shogunate, was found dead in his tent - The scandal!

“So the Tokugawa Shogun at that time, Tokugawa Iemitsu, decided to negotiate with Shiro Amakusa instead; Shimabara and the Amakusa Islands will be a zone where Christians can practice their faith, and foreign traders will be allowed to, well, trade. If not for Shiro’s victory, Japan would have isolated itself from the Europeans, not keeping up with its technology - A great risk!

“But thanks to him… we are free.”[/b]

   [i]Click![/i]

     The lights go out as a projector glows alight and places the image of a mass of ragtag soldiers in Edo Period attire on the whiteboard. A laser pointer is pulled from a small set of keys hooked through a belt loop, pointing to the weapons on their personage and the lack thereof supplies they held.

[b]”The school would like essays based on who [you] think were the most critical figures in the Rebellion’s success by the end of the month. Yes, I’ll have a Quizlet up with prominent figures organized in flash card format.”[/b] The school board likely wouldn’t approve of the lax practices Mr Hagino carried, but so long as his students passed and learned something along the way?— he didn’t really care all that much.

[hr]

Shotaro Shirogane was listening to the lesson, or trying to; he was also looking at Hidekichi and hoping that his stares would not be taken as him being weird. He knew that New Amakusa City was Christian territory, but the older boy was so handsome that Shotaro could not help but want to speak to him, even if nothing more than that would be acceptable. So the young man made sure to listen closely to the teacher, write down notes, and, as the classes proceeded according to the Japanese School System (with some unspecified modifications!), slowly mark the time to lunch.

And when it was time for lunch, Shotaro would approach Hidekichi and ask, "[i]Hidekichi-san[/i], would it be okay if we.... umm... eat at the same table? Please?"

Shotaro knew well enough not to say anything that violated the informal rules of Japanese Society, even though those were relaxed in the Amakusa Islands and Shimabara. He had to be polite, courteous, and above all, not overly forceful or 'weird'. 

As for Hidekichi, he may know Shotaro as the rich boy who moved to New Amakusa City just a few years ago, one who lived with his uncle, who just moved there. Others may also know that same thing, especially the others with upper-class origins; [i]they[/i] would know Shotaro's uncle was a deadbeat who was consuming Shotaro's trust fund at an extreme rate, but it would be impolite to say it to Shotaro's face, right? Especially not without proof...

[@Redking0380][@Rune_Alchemist][@Haha][@Auragreedia][@TruthHurts][@SilverPaw]