The Twelve Kingdoms: Dreaming of Paradise

pile of worn books. Their rough appearance gave him the impression of a number of documents being compiled and amateurishly bound together. However, the handwriting was exquisite. The text was about diplomatic protocols. It seemed a random collection of thoughts. Still, not only the characters, but the sentences as well were expertly crafted.
    "I see. You've been using this as a model. That's why your writing is so good."
    "Not compared to my dad," Rakushun said with a smile. "This has been a real resource for me. My father's writings are the one thing I would never part with."
    There were five volumes on the bookshelf next to him with the same paper and cover as the one on his desk. Since each book was large enough to enclose seven or eight volumes, the books represented a library of forty or so volumes.
    Meiken quickly corrected himself. Together with the book on the desk, it was more like fifty. A quick perusal told him that the text was written at a fairly advanced level. "This is really something. Was your father a professor or something?"
    "No. Though apparently when he was young, he worked for the county government in one capacity or another."
    "Huh."
    "I had these, and some books, and nothing else to do except study. At best, I could work my allotment and grow rice. But there'd be no house or land in the offing. Anyway, my mom sold everything to pay for my education."
    "No kidding." Meiken said to the smiling, rather nonchalant rat, "Must be tough being a hanjuu."
    "It can be just as tough not being one," Rakushun answered lightly.
    "Yeah, I suppose," Meiken laughed as well, though his internal reaction was far more mixed. In private, the good humor in calling him "Captain" was often less than good. For a hanjuu— said the cold smiles accompanying it.
    The reason Rakushun had to borrow the book in the first place was because the library was loath to lend him the texts required for classes. He alone had to sign an affidavit to the effect that he would return book borrowed from the library on time and undamaged. Some students said it was because they were afraid he would nibble on them. Or that they were afraid he'd sell them.
    Meiken himself couldn't say. As for the former, it was stupid bigotry based on outward appearances. As for the latter, it was the kind of prejudice attached to anybody dumped in the same basket as refugees from other kingdoms.
    It was good of Pillow Spider to give Rakushun the book. At the same time, though, Meiken couldn't avoid noticing that the only people who ever seemed to hang around with Rakushun were dropouts like himself and Spidey. Those steadily filling their cards wouldn't invite Rakushun into their cliques. Professors weren't necessarily an exception either. One in particular had made it clear that Rakushun was welcome in his class only in human form.
    Except that this hanjuu student was a genius. Especially when it came to the law, the rumor around campus was that he amazed even his professors.
    But for Meiken, that was only additional cause for concern. The geniuses who burned the brightest at the start often burned out the quickest. Like himself. So focused on passing the entrance exams, their field of vision was similarly narrow. Even though they'd made it over that first big hurdle, the shallow reach of their knowledge became stumbling blocks. Deprived of the impetus that had kept them going for so long, they lost sight of their real goals. The naysayers kept all those precedents in mind and waited for Rakushun's fall.
    "I bet coming to En was a bit of a let-down," Meiken said.
    "A let-down?" Rakushun echoed, clearly taken aback.
    "I mean, things here being no so different than they are in Kou, and all."
    "Not so different? There was no way I could attend college in Kou."
    "Well, there is that."
    Rakushun smiled, his furry cheeks dimpling. "Kou and En are nothing alike. Night and day."
    "Really?"
    "Really."
    And he really meant it, Meiken surmised. Rakushun wasn't one to prevaricate. His tail and whiskers gave him away every time.
    "Graduating from a place like this in one piece takes a lot of work. You've got a rough road ahead"
    "Now you're being depressing."
    "Nobody's ever graduated who matriculated at the top of his class."
    "That's just an old myth. Professor Hou said so himself."
    I wish it was. Meiken let out a big sigh instead. He said, gesturing, "Hey, so this is all about you basking in your freedom since leaving Kou and coming to En?"
    "This