Kyle

Kyle was, at this point, really getting sick of this shit and would have lashed out at the student were it not for 3 things. First, the student continued to speak without skipping a beat, second, the sorry state he was currently in cleaning up some sort of...rice meat grub, it gave him somewhat of a pause. The third though and most importantly, this dude just spoke in fluent English. This definitive thing made Kyle stop completely in his tracks, blink a couple of times and any form of ill omen and anger suddenly vanished in the strange state of confusion to realization. Looking upon this student...he really was in a sad sort of situation, not even able to properly grip with his.... make that 4 things. Something else did click though, he 'spooked' a student, didn't that sound fucking familiar, "maybe he's in a similar boat as me? Then again I haven't heard anything about a vengeful lobster in school...god I'm a horrible person..." All in all though, he should probably help the guy out.

Sighing Kyle made his way over and squatted down next to the student "look... you have more limbs to work with than I do, I'll grip the pan, you sweep the mess, deal?" It was a weird feeling, using English again to actually have a conversation and not just as a way to vent a little. While the words themselves could have formed something akin to a joke, the tone used was too serious for it; Kyle figured he still wasn't in the best of moods yet.

The long walk back up the hill was dreadfully quiet. Neither of them spoke a word until they reached Yamaku where Kyle apologized for the last time before handing her all the food and heading to the boys' dorm. Kaori wanted to say something nice but nothing came to mind. She just watched him walk off until he was out of sight and headed into her own dorm to put up the food. As she entered the dorm kitchen and started putting away packages of meat and tofu, she couldn't help but think about what had happened. Why was he so angry at me? Is he always like that? It would be a shame for all this food to go to waste. Maybe I'll surprise him with something simple later to make amends. That should be okay right? "Hey there Kairu Senpai! I just happened to be in the neighborhood-" No, that's stupid. "Just thought I would pop in and give you this." That doesn't work either... I'll think of something... probably.

While debating with herself she had finished putting up her groceries. She had missed the opportunity to take the photos she wanted today so she decided to go in and paint instead. Maybe she would better understand Kyle's upset if she explored it a bit. Kaori made her way over to her room and locked the door behind her. She closed the curtains to make sure no one could see inside and got completely undressed. Being alone like this felt liberating, she didn't have to 'tuck it away' and have that constant fear in the back of her mind that someone might notice. She took her legs off and set them next to the bed as she lay down with her tablet and started to recreate Kyle at the moment he blew up at her.

Watching the other student, whom he realized only had one arm, Isamu noticed what he assumed to be anger and frustration disappear from his face. He could only see tension being relieved, but given the circumstances, the anger monkeys seemed to have a pretty good hold on him. Anything to be of assistance, Isamu reassured himself as he looked at his new cleaning companion. He was glad the guy had decided to help. He could do it, it just might take a bit longer. Besides, two heads were better than one, right?

"True enough. Alright, sounds like a deal to me." Handing the one-armed student the dustpan and taking the small brush, Isamu moved some of the mess into the dustpan. "I feel bad, though. Guy was cutting onions, cried a bit, I told him he could chew gum to stop it from happening. Normal stuff, right? Would have been, if his tears hadn't wiped the make-up off his freaking face. Guy had a prosthesis. I felt like an ass. I just hope he's doing alright. He messed his hands up a bit grabbing the pot." He offered a screwed-up frown before shaking his head and replacing it with a look that said 'well, what can you do?' "Not the end of the world though, guy'll be alright. Seen it plenty. Folks feel embarrassed or resentful of their conditions, but I haven't met somebody who didn't come around and at least learn to live with it in time. The most messed up part? The ones who have those diseases that kill you are the best about accepting it. They usually knew since they were kids, so they just have as much of a life as they can. One chick I knew had this catch-phrase: 'Every day is a gift. Every hour is golden. Every minute is a diamond.'"

He laughed for a second before gathering more mess and sweeping it into the dustpan. "I like to consider myself an optimist, but...eh, even that's a bit much for me. Everybody has dark times. Those hours are hardly golden. I've been around for a few of those. Honestly..." He looked down at his hands for a moment. "I consider myself lucky. I never had what people would call a normal life. I was home-schooled, I always had only two fingers, but it usually doesn't have any effect on my life. I do origami in my spare time. Origami! Think about that: the lobster kid making cranes out of paper." Another laugh as Isamu collected more trash. "I don't believe in that thousand cranes myth, but...who knows, maybe I'll do it just to give the world the...finger." It was all Isamu could do to contain his laughter, and he closed his eyes as he held it in.

Kyle

"God why the hell is this guy talking to me..."

After having agreed to Kyle's proposal the other student had started talking nonstop, a bunch of random stuff, strange enough, completely relevant. Everything that this guy was talking about sounded exactly like Kyle's current issues. Spooking other students, aka blowing up at students, check. Time to heal and accept condition, hasn't happened, Kyle wasn't sure if it ever would, but this guy seemed optimistic enough about it; something about that was lightening. Kyle had to wonder though, why say anything to him at all, while he could specify every student, he knew most of the body had heard about his outburst on monday, in other words this kid had to have known who Kyle was. If so though, why say anything to him at all? Maybe it was to lighten the mood? Maybe it was a nervous tick? Maybe this was the way this student was dealing with his spooking, by talking about it... Kyle's grip tightened on the dust pan... "Maybe...if I talk about it...maybe that will help me figure things out? It couldn't hurt right...just don't lose it..."

"If it helps...you're not the only one who has a knack for spooking students, I'm sure you've heard about that angry foreign kid smashing about, well you're looking at him," he shook his head, "It's not like I meant to get a reputation like that, but I might as damn well deserve it, losing my damn temper, yelling at people who I don't want to yell at..."

The dust pan at this point was starting to get full so Kyle did the only sensible thing, got up and threw it in the trash. Turning back around he got back down in a squatting position and lowered the pan.

"You're right about one thing though, some people have had time to adjust and not every day is golden, this...all of this, the school, the disability... its all new, I have no idea what the hell I'm doing and I feel like every time I turn around I'm fucking something up."

Damn, he was really letting all of this out, he could feel his cheeks flushed, his sense of pride stricken, he could tell he was getting angrier too, he breathed in deeply closing his eyes. He didn't want to 'spook' this new kid by accidentally popping the cork.

"Yeah..."

The words coming out mumbled between the cigarette he had placed into his mouth as he once again fished around in his jacket for his lighter. A hand finally coming into contact with cold metal laced it's fingers around the small cylindrical object bringing it up to his mouth and in one swift motion brought a flame into existence. Unlike his compatriot who claimed to smoke his fancy electrical device out of habit more than anything else Ueda would be lying if he said if he did it for fun or to look cool anymore he just needed the Nicotine. He needed a quick and easy way to induce the Dopamine into his system so that he could relax for more than a minute. He saw a man die from throat cancer once and it was not a pretty sight but when you are going out before the cancer can catch up to you well you might as well take what you can get. He let out a long sigh expelling a puff of smoke into the air as the birds around them sang their seemingly idyllic songs and nobody seemed to notice the two of them even though they were both breaking several laws smoking on school grounds, under age possession of tobacco, intention to sell, intention to buy, etc. It was almost as if they were ghosts that faded into the background unseen and forgotten.

As they sat in silence Ueda watched the students walking up and down the path out of a sort of morbid curiosity. Toke wanted to understand people so that he could break them, Ueda wanted to understand people because he had seemingly forgotten how it felt to be one. For example there was a pair that came marching up the hill from town a few moment prior one of them a girl maybe a freshman though something seemed odd about her and a boy maybe a little bit older with one arm walking in complete silence. Ueda knew the boys description from somewhere, someone, a voice in class talking about gossip. A second year by the name of Kyle Parker, a foreigner who had apparently made a bad first impression by yelling at a girl that just wanted to be nice to him. Ueda eyes flicked over the pair as they walked past seemingly unknowing of their silent observers judging from his slouched figure, clenched fist and descriptively heavy and forceful footsteps it would seem that some kind of argument or something else unsettling had occurred. And the girl following him strangely not next to him but trailing, lagging behind? No, giving him space maybe. Something had happened and it was most likely between the two of them. They disappeared from sight and walk along the path back towards the dorms and than it was empty again. And then something marvelous happened, somehow just watching those people triggered Ueda and set his brain off on a tangent. Not many people had seen the inner workings the dark and cynical man that lies beneath the kind words of wisdom, Toke was one of those people and he knew that deep down the seemingly out of place outburst that was to take place was less of an outburst and more just beeing able to peer behind the man with the cane's barriers to get maybe a glimpse at how the complex machine works. If only to witness one cog of a grander machine at work.

"You see it is people like those two that make me question this whole damn thing. I just don't get it at all. They know how the story is going to end for them in a place such as this people don't come here for happy endings. And yet they still try and make it better by making friends and falling in love and all that other insignificant crap. And it ends the same for them broken hearts and broken dreams as everyone else. This place, This place is fucking hell coated in a nice coat of paint. And yet I don't leave. And yet I stay and watch them all fall apart." Ueda began to explain taking a long drag before continuing. "This IS everything the human existence has come to despise and hate the utter feeling of a destiny you cannot change, a fate already written for you. They go about and the doctors tell them that they will have normal lives, and yet they know that will never be the case. They will always be different, they will always be under the category of disabled. Especially here of all places in this country where the stigma of being different will bite with the sharpness of cold steel, where it has been drilled into us that the self is here to serve the greater goal. And when you can't serve that greater goal? Well you become useless, you become a burden upon anyone and everyone you know. Because we don't believe in saving those at the bottom, it is just a race to the fucking top. So realistically most of these people will not get there happily ever afters and yet they keep on trying. Why do they keep on smiling?" Ueda explained in a tone of anger that was displayed rarely as he looked up at the sky and at that moment a memory of words flashed across his mind Sometimes I wonder if I reached out... if you'd really be there at all. "And I wonder if it is not because they are wrong..... or it is just because I've given up. That I've wasted any chance I'd ever have on going back to that place where you are allowed to see the light at the end of the tunnel and not just think that a fucking train is coming to kill you."

With that he dropped his words and looked down at the ground and watched as the small ants were crawling about from a ant hill by the edge of the bench. He let out a sigh and once again the switch was turned and he blew out a long puff of smoke before letting out a laugh, a laugh that was not happy in the slightest but maybe just a little bit mad and sounded more defeated than anything else. "I suppose that is why I'm here sitting next to an asshole like you. Because burning the candle at both ends is easier than waiting around to die. And so before anything else is said and done. Riddle me this Toke. Why do they keep on trying?" He asked with a cold emptiness to his voice that was oddly monotone and very un-Ueda in many ways.

"Oh, I knew who you were the second I saw you. Heard, really. It's rough man, but hey: I'm sure most people won't care in another week or two. Shit like that happens all the time. It's still a high school here, after all." He could only offer a shrug as he saw the other guy getting really worked up. "That's one thing I don't have much experience in. Everything being new, that is. As for feeling like you're fucking it all up...eh, I got a bit of experience there. I don't have much of a temper, but I've screwed things up enough. Sometimes I just don't realize when I'm supposed to shut up."

Nodding as he gathered some more of the waste, Isamu smiled. "It's alright, though, man. I don't know exactly what that chick said, but you don't look like a terrible guy. You lost your temper, and frankly...it doesn't seem like it's been that long. I dunno about everybody else here, but I try to make friends before I make enemies. As long as you're okay with these freaky-ass hands." Letting out another laugh as he flourished his 'claws', Isamu gave the other boy a small nod. "I was watching Die Hard 2 before. Original English, too. If you've got some free time, I can hook it up to the TV in my room and we can just chill. It's a good freakin' movie, and I haven't even gotten up to the scene with the sign!" Referencing a notorious offensive moment in the movie, Isamu hoped his cleaning partner would take him up on his offer.

Kyle

"Christ you're not kidding..."

This guy really didn't know when to stop talking, then again Kyle had a penchant for not having a swear filter so he could somewhat relate. While hearing someone flap their gums would normally be annoying, for some reason in this instance it wasn't. Maybe it was the familiar language in a foreign land that made it more tolerable. Maybe it was for that same reason Kyle was able to speak his problems. Whatever the case Kyle didn't tell the whole story, and this guy want pressing questions, just voicing mild opinions, reassuring ones at that. In the back of his mind Kyle imagined his similar instance with Ami and feared this thing would go south like last time. The exact opposite happened, Kyle felt as he kept listening to this guy, his anger subsiding, to the point when the guy offered for them to watch a movie...

As they finished cleaning up the last bits of food, the broom and dust pan put away, Kyle turned to his new companion and said "you know what man, that sounds pretty fucking cool, " he gave a bit of a smile, extended his left hand, "name's Kyle Parker."

---

"Trader Toke"

Toke could count on one hand how many times Ueda had gone off on rants like this. The first time it happened Toke was taken aback, not because it happened, but because up to that point he thought he had Ueda figured out.

Toke always had a knack for hiding his true intentions from others, some were smart enough to figure it out, Ueda was one such person. Ueda also has that same skill but applied to different uses, Toke could respect him for that, but he never really considered Ueda to be his equal until that first incident. It was because of that, Toke realized Ueda had beaten him at his own game. Toke would even go far enough to call Ueda his friend, though he wouldn't let the bastard know that.

This incident Toke could surmise was caused by the couple of students walking into their respective dorms. For all his intelligence, his class, his sarcasm, Ueda was still just a struggling little boy playing his terrible lot in life. A creature of the light, succumbed to the dark, for whatever reason, even Toke knew not to press that subject. And then the question was asked. Toke could write a novel, wreath a soliloquy, use every fancy damn word he knew, but he knew Ueda wanted the truth, a simple answer. He knew it too, it was the same reason why Toke had long term goals, why he used an electronic cigarette instead of a real one, why he only drank to get buzzed and not black out drunk, why he only sold the hard drugs and never used them. Ueda was just as smart if not smarter than Toke himself, but he was also his complete opposite.

Toke sighed, taking a small drag from his cigarette, he pocketed it and said, "because not everyone is as nihilistic as you are Ueda."

Paper being creased makes a sound. Not many people realise this, because the sound is made by microscopic fibres bending and breaking and slapping against each other at a level where even ants need reading glasses. Mariko heard it. There was so precious little else to hear, since she'd shut the windows and drawn the blinds so that creepster wouldn't find her without opening the door. And she'd positioned herself right in front of the door just to stop the guy if he tried to come in again. She grinned, and turned back to her paper sheet. She'd been practising a small design she'd seen in a book, a sort of brick wall thing. You made it by folding the paper like the world's thinnest fan, twice, so that you'd get a sort of checkerboard for dwarves. It wasn't hard, but it was incredibly fiddly. The paper warped under so many creases in it, and Mariko kept having to wipe her palms on her skirt to get rid of the sweat.. The thought that she could've wiped with a piece of paper was unthinkable at that point. She made a small yet significant fold and opened her hand. It looked okay. Not as good as a real brick wall, but close. She set it on the table, and pulled out her phone. Time had still made no concession towards moving faster, and still kept plodding along at 0.9 Seconds per second. (Error bar of 11%)

Kyle

Another week of school passed and another friday evening arrived and yet despite what Isamu said about things getting easier, it didn't exactly feel that way to Kyle. That being said, it wasn't like things were getting harder either, so that was a positive, maybe he just needed some more time to adjust to all of this. After their initial encounter in the common room, Kyle had been spending a majority of his time with his new friend, most of it was just walking, talking or hanging out doing whatever they felt like. While being able to use English a majority of the time with Isamu was a huge plus, Kyle was just thankful that there was at least one person on campus who wasn't either pissed at or afraid of him. Though...Kyle did figure that it might have been too much of a plus when...

"How in the hell did you convince me to do this again?" Kyle asked, standing outside of Isamu's doorway in his school uniform, though the tie had been replaced with a set of suspenders for their 'act'.

Isamu had brought up the talent show earlier in the week, and while Kyle originally refused to do it, Isamu somehow managed to drag him into it. Their act was supposed to be based off of a youtube group called ERB (Epic Rap Battles) where Isamu would be portraying the Mario Brothers and Kyle would be portraying the Wright Brothers, something about East vs. West? He couldn't remember. Either way, they had decided to not lip sync it and only use the music from the video itself, along with the introduction from the host, which meant Kyle had to remember a LOT of lines.

"We're goin' to be late you know?"

---

(Tonight is the night of the talent show, players can either participate or sit in the crowd and watch the act be performed, the time is 7 pm, the show starts at 8 pm, performers are to arrive back stage at 7:30 pm, the auditorium will also open during this time.)

Isamu just laughed at Kyle's question, his own appearance far more absurd. A painfully clashing combo of a red t-shirt, the standard green Yamaku pants, and a denim vest left open adorned his own body, topped of with a nice Mario hat. He and Kyle had really hit it off, and he'd somehow managed to convince the American transfer student to go along with his insane talent show idea. Whatever, it would be awesome, especially to the people in the school who weren't fluent in English. So, basically, everyone. "Probably because I'm awesome." He couldn't wait to get on stage and perform, but there were some others up before they were. Still, he was ready.

"As for being late, we'll be fine if we leave now. Which was my plan." Stepping out of his room and locking the door behind him, Isamu jerked his head in the direction of the stairs, leading the oddly-dressed party of two onto greatness. "Truly, they shall sing of this day for years. Hopefully with a lute."

Anyone watching Amity Cole's backstage warmups without knowing what she was doing would probably ask, What the hell is she doing? Well, the answer was simple. In Ami's right hand was a large puppet; large enough to reach from her elbow to a short way over the tip of her fingers. The inside had a pull string to move the guy's (tree's?) lower jaw, and was supported by a wireframe. So why was she stretching a seemingly random selection of words, with such a deep, gruff voice? Well, the voice she gave this particular puppet was perhaps the deepest and gruffest one. For somebody who normally has a higher-toned, girlier voice, it takes some warming up to get it done.

That, and it'd been a while since she'd done ventriloquism. Hand puppets and marionettes had been the big thing for her the last few years, so it was also an exercise to get herself back to where she could fluently speak without moving her lips. Not the easiest of tasks, even with her poker-faced expressions. She was already planning out the routine in her head, but even the best-planned ventriloquism loses its meaning if your lips keep moving when they shouldn't. The moment she caught wind of a talent show, Ami had to sign up. Performing in front of others was loads more fun than performing alone.

Any other day in the week would have been another relaxing moment of Hiroshi's life of almost complete solitude. But at his older sister, Katsumi's insistance, he needed to participate in the talent show. This equated to attempting to fly before someone learned how to stand up, at least in a social manner.

"I should have never listened to her..."

The panic Hiroshi is steadily being filled with centers around the fact that he misplaced his music sheets, which isn't something he can easily get another copy of, espcially since he created the performance himself.

"Why did this have to happen today...?!" speaking to himself out loud seemed to be a more recent practice, when he thought about it.

With a short amount of time left before he had to arrive backstage to prepare for his performance, Hiroshi gives up on any hope of finding the sheets and starts to write up what he could remember and would wing the missing spots.
While this is normally never good practice, Hiroshi is actually quite familiar with note transition, and would have little probably making the attempt, though there is no guarantee it'll be flawless.

Now with a quick-fix in place, Hiroshi grabs his Violin case and places it on the bed. He has a pretty good idea of what he should wear, which isn't anything special, considering the event. He pulled out a pair of black slacks and shoes first, before grabbing his violet colored button up shirt. He felt that this would look best and quickly changed.

Just a few minutes that have gone by, and he is ready to head over. He makes sure that the collar of his shirt is in proper position, as he then reaches for his case and walks out his door, almost bumping into two other students on his way out.

Mariko, meanwhile, was frantically pacing her room, trying fruitlessly to memorize her lines. It was hopeless. Insane. Impossible. Couldn't be done. She held a water bottle as some sort of hokey fake practice microphone and mouthed bad joke after bad joke into it, to no avail. It wasn't going to work. It just wasn't good enough. She kept trying to practice that walk every professional comedian under the sun had mastered, that swaggered, measured, "I'm just like you guys, except i'm funny" walk, but she kept tripping over her own feet and slamming into the walls. She wasn't even wearing shoes, just socks. Somehow that made it worse. The bruising was mucking up her makeup, leaving these awful skin coloured blemishes on the walls. and making her complexion look uneven. Why was this getting through to her so badly? She turned again and looked at the clock, jumped, and hurried out. On top of everything else, she was going to be late, too?

---

Dressed in her best sundress, clutching at a sweatstained piece of paper with a few unfunny jokes, feet aching from the cross-campus running she'd just had to do, Mariko knocked on the entrance, and shuffled in. She passed by that one puppet girl (Seemed like she went on before her, wierdly enough.) and walked into a small toilet, found an empty stall with a lock on the door and sat down. Finally, there, she breathed in properly. The room tasted like bleach, but it'd do. For now, this was her hidey-hole, her sanctuary, her Fortress of Solitude. She read the list through one more time, and this time, something stuck. She reread the thing again and again.

Ah the Yamaku Talent Show twas a time honored tradition exhibited by all be they student or faculty. Everyone would be in attendance with the Talent Show being more or less the real mark of the start of the school year with the previous weeks of introduction for first years and resettling in for the older years now come to terms and everyone seemed to find the rut and gutter they belong inside of. The students appreciated it because even if they did not have a special talent to perform the teachers would always slack off on the work just a little bit on the days leading up to the show and the faculty well they acknowledge it served as a great outlet for the expulsion of excess energy and doubts that had been accumulated so far.

This climate of social happiness and excitement and the general forgettting of reality was the main reason that Ueda hated the whole event with every fiber of his being. It encapsulated the talk of everyone and all their activities so he did not even have an escape from it. Hell even Toke was going to perform one his “legendary routines” and spent most of his time hidden away wherever demons go to sulk to practice. They even made him commit his own time to it working with the art club to make the flyers and such. No matter where he looked reminders of it seemed to follow him everywhere he went stalking him with the ferocity of a passive-aggressive serial killer. He debated whether or not it would just be easier to kill himself but decided against it because than his death would always be associated with the damn talent show.

Mr. Nobuyuki did know one thing though. He would not be going to that talent show, hell would have to freeze over and pigs would have to fly. He was just going to stay in his dorm room and wait for the whole thing to blow over and nobody could stop him.

---

As the succubus were making snowmen in the second ring and a mad man had successfully attached a jetpack to a pig and watched it soar through the air Nobuyuki Ueda was currently getting ready to go out. Now Ueda was well aware of the concept of irony and yet he still felt like he was getting screwed over in one way or another. As the faint sound of music coming from a speaker set to low droned out through the room quietly Ueda looked himself over face freshly shaven and his hair actually looking like he took the time and effort to use that new invention he had soo much trouble adopting called the brush. Beside that he looked relatively normal though he had switched out his standard thick grey and beaten coat for a slimmer black jacket that hugged his frame. He looked like a proper monkey all dressed and civil and ready to go out and fraternize with the other monkeys.

Tap, Tap, Tap. Three taps in quick succession came against his door, that must of been Hideo. Hideo was one of the reasons that Ueda was being dragged to the talent show today when he could easily be sleeping. Ever since that day Hideo and Maaya that deaf girl in their class had been paired together they had become two little inseparable love birds if he remembered correctly that was the same time when he and that girl O’Bryan...no...O'Flannigan...O'Connor Yes that was the name had went on a magical journey through the land of advance calculus together.

Well turns out her and Hideo had the brilliant idea to try and hook up one of Maaya’s friends with Ueda. Ueda wanted to strangle the boy when he told him. strangle him and shove his face into his wood desk until he stopped struggling. But he somehow found the gentlemanly composer to refrain from killing him just yet. And soon afterwards he was informed of another more important reason he had to attend the talent show anyway so it was almost serendipitous in a way. Tap, Tap, Tap. Calling out a response to the figure standing outside of his door he shook his head and let out a sigh turning off the speaker and letting silence drift into his room. He looked at his desk and at the bottle of pills resting on top of it opening it he carefully rolled two out of the white capsule and into his hand and then raised it in one quick motion popping them into his mouth as he swallowed them down. Feeling as they traveled down his neck. After one last check he looked around and nodded grabbing his cane that was resting by the door and open the door and set forth into the world.

They were walking down to the path from the dorms towards the main building where the auditorium would be and in extension the talent show. Many others milled around them in the quickly darkening night everyone excited and talking to one another. The occasional performer running late could be seen sprinting past or sometimes through the crowd mumbling apologies as they tried to make it in time. Hideo and Maaya were to the right of him, Hideo’s hands moving about as communicating with somebody that could not hear you required another set of skills. Hideo looked them over and they seemed happy at least... maybe Toke was right maybe that was enough for some people

His so called “date” was another girl in their year, Ueda had seen her around the school and had actually talked to her maybe three times in total before the meeting. They had to amputate her left leg because of a tumor that could not be removed otherwise. She took up running because of that she explained to him at first because told her to get back into using her new leg and later because she fell in love with it. She was a member of Yamaku’s track team and she seemed nice enough. She was pretty by the standard definition of the term and a think tank composed of mostly teenage boys would agree that she was what considered attractive. Though that didn't do much for Ueda wasn't really her fault either Ueda’s little Grinch sized heart just did not seem to have the capacity for love and affection inside of it despite the numerous times he had awaken from a drug induced haze to find himself with a member of the fairer sex. So as she talked to him he respond following the standard social procedures once again he used for mostly everyone seemingly had her fooled like everyone else, he even found the capacity to hold her hand as they walked.

But his mind was somewhere else entirely as the rest of his body worked on the self-programmed parameters. He was thinking about the other reason he was asked to come. As a favour called in by his friendly neighborhood drug pusher. He was to have a small chat with a first year that was performing during the second act. He had gain some popularity due to his ability to play the guitar and by being reasonably attractive, and so was beginning to think himself to be some sort of big shot. A big enough deal to have “forgot” to pay Toke the fee for some product of his that he was indulging himself in.

Toke just couldn't let that slide for he was trying to run a business and thieves and cheats were bad for business. So Ueda had to go in to sort out any misunderstandings the first year seemed to have in the agreement. Ueda being the figure of questionable morals that he was had little problem doing this and on the plus side it allowed him to not have to pay for his own dark desires that Toke provided for him and that was good enough for him.

They soon found their way to the auditorium entrance where everyone was waiting outside talking to one another or beginning to enter and find good seats. He saw a kid with juggling bats run by at top speed in panic yelling something about a missing club or something. It was at this odd sight that Ueda excused himself to go to the bathroom and slip through the crowd. He would not be going towards the lavatories but instead made way towards the hallway that lead down towards the backstage area where most of the performers would be gathering. He passed through this area despite being a performer rather easy having been with the Art Club it was assumed he was helping backstage with something. He entered the backstage area which consisted of the hallway that had the doors that lead onto the right and left wings of the stage. Performers sat about in bunches or isolated a sense of nervousness was present in the air. He saw some girl standing about with puppets one of which seemed to be some sort of tree like abomination it was intriguing and if he had the time he would of liked to just find a spot to watch the tree “talk” but this was not a time for fun it was business.

He did not see Toke anywhere so he assumed he had not left as of yet or was hiding out somewhere waiting for his act. But he did see the first year he needed to have a talk to. Sitting in a corner and tuning his guitar. He needed somewhere a little more private for such a sensitive conversation but he at least had an idea. Shambling up to him with an urgent expression on his face Ueda looked down with pleading eyes.

“Hey Kid... I need to bring in some musical equipment from the back entrance to the stage. But as you can see I’m pretty useless in the whole lifting things department and they are using the cart for something else. So can you help me?”

“Oh! Uhhh Sure!!” The kid got up leaving his guitar on the ground he began to follow him down the hallway and towards one of the many exits of the building. Ueda thanked him and the two of them headed to go “pick up the equipment”.....

Sometimes it was too easy.

Talent show. She had signed up for it soon after she had told the upperclassman she had met in the pool. Was she ready for this? She could preform in front of gaggles of powerful old geezers with fancy aftershave and even fancier cars. Could preforming in front of her peers be so different? Yes, of course it was. Traditional music was 'boring' and the traditional arts even more so. She couldn't just preform her normal act. Having asked for a special guest to help her with her act, she had even sent invitations out to her father and mother to attend. But would they show up? She had no idea. But she knew the one person who would. The only reliable person in the dark swirling orb of her world.

"You look so pretty, Miss," the soft worn voice of her old caretaker, Kitome, behind her. Old gentle hands fixing her hair and adjusting the necklace around her neck. Gentle and warm. But even that didn't quiet the storm inside her mind, tossing her about like a piece of drift wood in the ocean.

"Do I?" there was a nervous tilt to her smiling voice, "Nothing is out of place? Will you stay with me till I have to go on? I don't want to go out looking silly." Such frivolous thoughts. But for some reason it felt like it really mattered. Most of those people out in the uncomfortable chairs of the audience... They were her judges. They'd all be judging her tonight. Just like everyone had always done. From old corporate CEOs to disabled teenagers and preteens. Judges... Watching her, knowing she couldn't watch back. Swirling, swirling black water...

"Slow down, slow down," the old woman chuckled softly, the warmth and worry in her voice pulling her momentarily to the surface, "You may be last but you always do well under pressure. No need to be nervous, Miss. Just take deep breaths."

"You're right, as always," she sighed leaning back in her chair and closing her useless eyes. She could feel Kitome adjusting her hair and the adornments heavy in its dark locks. The fake lashes felt so alien on her eyes and even the long dress around her felt a bit too tight. She wouldn't be playing piano, or any other instrument she was skilled in. However this was like letting shadows and burning eyes take just a brief peek at her soul. Even her own steady confidence was shaken at this. She wasn't used to this sort of audience, so unpredictable and fickle. It was singing though. She liked singing the most. There was that nervousness in her, though, that whispered everyone would tire of her, being last and all. But the other side of her made her smirk just a bit.

A dark and ice cold side of her, laughing in the back of her mind. Tomohina rubbed her forehead. Now it was just all about the wait. Wait, and wait, and wait some more. Don't try to peek out the door. Nothing to see. Nothing at all. Just vast darkness, feeding her secret anxiety like a parasite on a host body.

"Kitome," she said softly, "Tell me a story while we wait... I always feel better listening to your stories..."

She dabbed at her eyes with a hopefully clean piece of toilet paper, careful not the stain the makeup. The shivers and the gloopy tears had all but stopped, now. She could remember a few of the jokes without even looking at the piece of paper anymore. That was a good thing. A great thing, actually. Not the best. The best would be getting on that stage without curling up into a tightly packed ball of nerves and tears again.

Mariko got up, unlatched the door, and walked out. She washed her hands, carefully, with the slightly off soap, and checked herself in the mirror. Not as good as when she'd been applying it, and maybe if you looked close you could see the puffy cheeks of her recent tearful moment, but apart from that, nothing. Not a blemish. A good thing. She shook her hands dry, and walked back out.

It looked like they were still setting up backstage. A few teachers were wheeling tables and chairs around, and most of the students seemed to be wrapped up in their own little world, practising their juggling or speaking to thin air. One group of girls were tuning up guitars, and one face she vaguely recognised was holding onto a puppet tree. That was possibly the weirdest one here. Would it be worth it to strike up conversation? Mariko wasn't exactly sure how? Would it come out natural if she just walked over and asked her what her act was? Would it come out as weird? But weren't comediennes like her meant to have a good rapport with people? She had to do it. Take the risk. Fight the power.

She walked over to the marionetteer, fists balled. The height disparity was somewhat of a problem she hadn't really expected, but she stuck through it, broke out a smile that looked more nervous then reassuring, and asked Amity;

"Hey there. What's your act tonight?"

Kyle

Kyle just rolled his eyes at Isamu's bravado as they began walking.

"Yea, yea, and Rudolph will sing Jingle Bells while the Easter Bunny craps an egg out of his ass," Kyle shook his head, "Well, at the very least, we’ll be providing some form of cheap entertain-"

Suddenly a student in a violet shirt rushed past the two of them, nearly smashing into them in the process, Kyle, more than a little offended shouted after him, "Hey! Watch where the hell you're-". he clenched his jaw shut, metaphorically biting his own tongue, he couldn’t always let his anger take control like that. He sighed, thinking, "Make friends before enemies, right Isamu?" Breathing in deeply then exhaling, he turned to face his friend, ”Sorry about that, lost my temper for a sec,” he nodded this in affirmation, “Right then, ready to go blow some minds, or” Kyle grinned, “do you need your Jester hat first?”

Minutes later they had arrived at the auditorium and were permitted backstage. Groups of students were gathered around each other, practicing parts or were sitting alone basking in their ‘fear of people’ anxiety. It was strange for Kyle though, despite having performed in front of people before during his matches, going up stage in front of his peers was making his heart rate increase. A lone drop of sweat slowly makes its way down his forehead, his heart quickened and he saw the last person he was expecting to see; Ami.

”Aw shit…”

---

"Trader Toke"

For most students at Yamaku, the talent show was a time of fun and a cool way to show off some skills, to the few people like Ueda, it was a nuisance, but for the very select people like Toke himself, it was just another business venture. For Toke the talent show was a great way to advertise himself and to Toke there was nothing better in advertisement than just a little mystery. The best way to pull out the mystery was through magic, a little hobby he had picked up that combined his two most efficient skills, illusion and showmanship. He dressed himself up in a black, tight-fitting, dress suit that accentuated his sharp features, a pair of black formal gloves, a black cane with a silver ball, and to complete it, a set of silver spectacles with orange lenses that completely covered his eyes. Placing a deck of cards in his suit pocket he was ready to go, but before he could perform, he had…business to take care of.

He had requested Ueda to help him in a matter of thievery. Some scrub of a freshman thought that just cause he could play a few riffs, he was too good to pay for his fix. Ueda had been witness to similar incidents, had been requested to help for similar incidents in the past, all of them effectively successful, said individuals never crossed Toke again; tonight would be no different. Though he hadn’t instructed Ueda as to where to go, they had done this enough times that which exit would be picked was predictable. Toke having left earlier to wait for his friend, took the time to prepare what sort of punishment would be devised and ensured his safety in this matter, no one would come around.
At this point and time in the day the sun was still setting, but it was still dark enough that visibility would be low and this punishment would go off without a hitch. He was leaning against the wall a few feet away from the door, waiting patiently, his cane twirling on its axis beneath his palm, waiting for its victim. His ear perked up as the back door opened and both the thief and Ueda walked out, he looked to Toke, Toke nodded back, smiling. The kid spoke out, wondering aloud about something with sound equipment? Probably a ruse to lure him out here, smart thinking Ueda. As soon as the door closed, Toke rushed forward, swung his cane low and smacked the kid behind the knees. The sudden pain caused him to fall to his knees, crying out. Toke rushed around, smacked his palm onto the freshman’s mouth and started pushing forward and down. The sudden force brought the kid down onto his back, effectively pinning his legs underneath himself and Toke slammed himself down onto the kid, the cane pressing into his throat.

“Remember me fucker?! Where’s my goddamn money?!” The kid’s eyes shot wide open in terror, this caused Toke to smile, this was probably his favorite part of being a dealer, dealing with scrubs like this one. Ueda had done well.

The vocal training Ami was putting herself through wasn't necessarily kind to a small throat like hers. Which was why, before too too long, she had to take a short breather. Otherwise she could have very easily have given herself a sore throat. But she was hearing definite progress.

"Hey there. What's your act tonight?"

And she was hearing somebody else talk to her. Shifting her gaze upwards to look her new company in the face, Ami held up the puppet on her arm a little and monotoned "I'm going to do some ventriloquism. I could probably have done hand puppets, but I can do a short thing if I do ventriloquism." To emphasize her point, she swing the mouth of her puppet open and shut a few times. Ami was about to introduce herself. About to hold out her hand and say "My name's Amity Cole." Then she saw it. Or, more accurately, saw him. Kyle, who yelled at her at lunch a while back, and who she'd been trying to track down since to no avail. "Hold that thought; I'll be right back," Ami said, setting course for the one-armed boy in her sights.

She finally had him now. There was no way to get away without looking like he was blatantly trying to avoid her, and it seemed he had company with him too. At last having the chance to speak to Kyle face-to-face again, when Ami had herself face-to-face with the ex-fighter, Ami gathered whatever nerve she hadn't already, and spoke up very to-the-point. "I've been looking for you. Are you hiding from me or something?"

Rolling his eyes at Kyle's comments, Isamu continued on with his new-found friend to the talent show, ready to blow some minds. When they were interrupted, the Yamaku Lobster got to enjoy his lessons already going to work when Kyle quickly reigned in his temper, apologizing to him for yelling at the boy who blew past them like a whirlwind. "Good boy Kyle, don't let the anger monkeys win." Chuckling derisively at his friend, Isamu lightly jabbed Kyle's side before they made their way to the auditorium and then backstage.

From the look on Kyle's face, the American was nervous. Hah. Hopefully he'd get used to it soon, because eventually he'd be in the spotlight 24-7. Everything at Yamaku had a meaning. Most of those meanings were part of a grand plan to better prepare the students for the outside world. And what better way to prepare the kids for a life of being stared at than to put them on stage to be stared at and judged based on their abilities?

However, when Kyle uttered a curse at seeing a specific girl, Isamu chuckled, and even more so when she came over and confronted him. "What, you get her pregnant or something?" He couldn't help but be an ass to Kyle here. But he knew the boundaries, so he kept it in English. Quickly thinking, Isamu put one hand one Isamu's shoulder and one on the girl's. "My friend here has just been undergoing...behavior reassessment with everybody's favorite lobster as a response to the incident about two weeks ago. I'm sorry if I kept him away from you, truly I am." Walking away with a smirk on his face, he called back to his partner in crime: "You're on your own from here, buddy! Don't screw this one up!"

Tomohina's former caretaker was guiding her backstage by the hand and the young lady looked every once the picture of serenity. She was wearing a dark robe, but just beneath it there seemed to be a sort of hint of something that gleamed, ever so softly. Her long dark hair was styled to one side, swept over her shoulder in generous perfect waves of soft velvet black. A barrette pinned to the other side of her head, it was designed delicately like the branches of a weeping willow dipped in diamonds. And many who saw it would probably bet their entire savings on the fact that it was probably real diamonds. They certainly wouldn't put it past the daughter of a bigtime CEO rumored to be a majored crime boss with his hands in every single pocket of the government.

Yet how could such media rumors be true, when his daughter looked more pure than snow? 'Princess Tomo' and her odd way of piercing people with a gaze, that although unseeing, was filled with confidence and intelligence. Mature, well bred, elegant, gracious... Practically perfect. But she had no close friends. What did people actually know of her? The passing conversation hardly let others see very deeply. Conversations that always seemed to end quiet quickly, with her subtle pulling strings. She knew about her peers in an almost intimate way. Even though she was blind, she knew their aliments and handicaps almost with in the brief conversation of meeting them. But did they know why she was blind? What made her happy? What made her angry? What she loved most in the world and what she hated? No. She was just the tranquil doll that passed through their lives without ever stay to see the products of her passive meddling.

She smiled to herself as she closed her eyes, those heavy and thick false lashed making her look more unreal than ever before. Even they were adorned with flakes of something that reflected the muted light. The old woman led her over to a chair and patted her shoulder, bending down to speak quietly before leaving. Hands folded in her lap, the delicate curves of her nails match the seeming theme of shimmer, though the rest was a white pearl color. Her red lipstick was like a blushing rose in the midst of a ice storm, her hair like wounds of darkness to the paleness of the rest of her form. Never had she looked more like a doll, than sitting, hidden in that dark robe with her eyes close and mouth upturned in that knowing smile. When the old woman returned, she was whispering to the girl who sat as still as a beautiful mechanical doll. Only every now and then would the smile on her face widen or soft just a bit. But the old woman spoke so quietly, only the girl could hear.