To Samurais: Bronies Rule

(I’m a brony (male fan of My Little Pony). I’m also interested in Japanese names and cultures. During Japanese class, our class was told to use some form of Japanese name for the rest of the year. I’m dressed in a white shirt.)

Student #1: “I’ll just call myself ‘Ching Chong’ or something.”

Student #2: “Aw, man! That’s what I was going to call myself!”

Me: “You do realize both those names don’t exist, right? There’s plenty of names to use.”

Student #1: “Shut up, nerd! You don’t know anything about Japanese!”

Me: *in Japanese* “You dare challenge me?”

Student #2: “What the f*** did you just say?”

Me: *in Swedish* “‘You dare challenge me’ in Japanese.”

Student #1: “No. You didn’t! You just made up some words!”

(At this point, the teacher enters the room.)

Teacher: “Alright. What are you guys gonna call yourself?”

(We get to choose our names according to our class list. I’m in the middle of the list. So far, most people don’t know what to call themselves and just make up names.)

Teacher: “Well then, [Name]. What are you going to be called for the rest of the year?”

Me: “Shiro Kishi.” *literally, ‘White Knight’*

Teacher: “Oh? That’s… an interesting name. Sounds a bit like someone from My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, does it not?”

Me: “That’s right.”

(The two people from earlier drops their jaws at this point as the teacher is known to be super strict. I look at a girl next to me who’s dressed completely in black and who has been looking at me during the entire conversation.)

Me: *in Japanese, to the girl* “I’m Shiro Kishi. Just call me Shiro.”

Girl: *in Japanese* “If you’re the White Knight, then I’ll call myself Kuro Kishi.” *literally, ‘Black Knight’* “Just call me Kuro!”

Teacher: “I need to take a note to give both of you an ‘A’ for the rest of the year, Kuro, Shiro.”

Me: “Arigato, sensei.”

(The girl and I started dating after that lesson. It turns out she was also a fan of ‘My Little Pony.’ The teacher, she, and I enjoyed discussing the latest episode in Japanese during class just to piss the bullies of the class off.)