Amaya wasn't really sure how she felt about her homeroom teacher. Mr. Mokota was the complete opposite of her junior high teacher. Nishimura sensei was the nicest person ever. Whenever Amaya was feeling down or just panic stricken, the woman always knew what to say to calm her down. Mr. Mokota totally did not give off the same vibes. While she did think he was a stuck up prick, she thought she felt something else about him. There was something 'soft' underneath the abrasive exterior. It gnawed at her like a rash, but she dwelled on it no longer. She didn't need to up the crazy factor at the first day of class. Nor did she want the other students to know either. That would've been terrible.

She felt a light tap on shoulder as she turned around. The next teacher hadn't come yet, so a little bit of chit chat couldn't hurt. The tapper was Silus. She smiled when she heard his 'favor'. "You're doing just fine," she said. "But yeah. I'd be happy to point things out. If you don't mind? Um, not all teachers are like that. Mr. Mokota that is. He sounded so condescending."

She shrugged as she looked to survey the rest of the class. It seemed everyone was beginning to mix together except for a select few. Her eyes came to rest the girl who had kicked the blond kid earlier. She waved in her general direction. Even if she may be a delinquent, there was nothing wrong with acting friendly. Right?

Her violet eyes flickered back at Silus as she caught him appraising her. Her cheeks turned a subtle tinge of light red. "Um ... So Silus, is this your first time in Japan? What made you come here? Mr. Mokota said you were English, right?"

"Pleasure to meet you Kiiro-kun. Its a very ah...happy name. D..do you mind if I call you Kiiro?" Kimiko asked, then answered his question, "Um, well it is a hobby of mine. Its really useful to clear my head, just focusing on the arrow and its trajectory, making sure it hits just right where I want it to...Its just something I've always loved. Though, " She looked back to her doodles, "I really should look into the nurses office first..." She took a quick glance around the room, "We really do have a very diverse group of students here. I hope we can all get along throughout the year." She said more to herself than the boy behind her. "What about you? Are you going to join any clubs?" She asked looking him in the eye.

Silus smiled at Amaya and nodded a thank you “why would I mind if you help me understand the language of my new home?” he laughed a little and looked over to the girl she waved at. He wondered why so many people seemed to shrink away from that girl and yet Amaya was more than happy to simply wave. His eyes quickly analysed the girl, her manner seemed tom boyish despite her looks and with the almost fear of the surrounding students it was easy to surmise that this girl was one of those infamous ‘delinquents’ of Japan. He almost smirked. He knew that with such a traditional and strict nature, the rebel’s that popped up in Japanese society were particularly…unique. He almost admired that. His eyes flicked back to Amaya and he watched as her cheeks flushed slightly pink in colour. He assumed it was from his gaze previously and leant back, hoping he hadn't offended her. He listened to her questions and slowly translated them into English. His eyebrows furrowed gently, before he translated his answers “no, I've been here before…on business” he nodded a little “I've been living here two months though…I needed to leave England…” he said simply, his voice not changing as he avoided the true reason he was living in Japan.

"Pleasure to meet you Kiiro-kun. Its a very ah...happy name. D..do you mind if I call you Kiiro?"

"Don't mind it at all Kimiko." He replied with a grin-- it was amazing! An entire summer spent with either irate customers at the motel or sweet old dogs down at the shelter and he still knew how to talk to students his age! Either he hadn't been giving himself enough credit or those dogs were smarter than he had given them credit for.

He leaned more on the latter explanation, considering it hadn't even been an hour since he last thought of his dogs. Kimiko brought him back into the conversation by reminding him of the question he asked her, by answering it. "Um, well it is a hobby of mine. Its really useful to clear my head, just focusing on the arrow and its trajectory, making sure it hits just right where I want it to...Its just something I've always loved. Though... I really should look into the nurses office first..." He followed her gaze around the classroom, "We really do have a very diverse group of students here. I hope we can all get along throughout the year."

A foreigner, an all-girl yakuza leader, a cursed pre-teen, and a robotic dog. Add in a sex worker and you'd have a red district sideshow... his "diverse" classmates would keep things interesting though, and it wasn't like he was any less 'out there,' he was basically the male Cinderella! Any time that wasn't spent being forced to work was spent with animals waiting for some magic to improve things. "Diverse is certainly one description..." he made the statement halfheartedly, a thought that leaked out loud, Kimiko continued.

"What about you? Are you going to join any clubs?"

She waited for Kiiro's answer, he couldn't help but notice the blue hue of her eyes-- they didn't appear 'fake,' so contacts were out of the question. He had developed a surprisingly good eye for that kind of thing actually, one of the few perks of customer service you could call it, distinct and subtle differences in the eyes. No, those cerulean eyes were definitely natural- they matched her hair too. 'How peculiar...' His mother, in her hippie beliefs, would probably say she was overflowing with water--

'See, this is why people think you're aloof, man!'

Right, the matter at hand. "My Uncle would probably have my head if I didn't..." he said with a chuckle, catching her look of confusion, he continued, "You know, looking good on a University application? I might start a new on, or at least try to, but my thing is definitely photography club, I've been doing that and journalism for as long as I can remember-- it's something about getting an entire story in a single image, you know? Capturing everything, a tragedy or something happy, and making sure everyone knows it, that it's never forgotten. It's definitely something I've become passionate about." A passing thought crossed his mind, he was wearing tinted 'glasses,' he could see her eyes unobscured, but he hid his eyes-- their true color, from her, and the world.

Kiiro was no expert on Freudian psychology, but he couldn't help but think that might mean something? Something repressed? Probably not, that was fucking craaaaaaaazy!

"I can hold a camera, butI doubt I'm precise enough for archery, still, it certainly seems elegant." What would be appropriate to say next? Think! "You guys ever have tournaments? I might need to come and watch sometime."

>Your Courage has greatly increased!

"...It doesn't matter if you go out of your way to get me in trouble. There is no leverage you can put on me that will actually place me in a state of fearing a person such as those in this classroom."
Mechanical. She could handle threats well enough at this point, though she was still rather retracted by the reaction itself. She must have done it wrong once again, but it was what it was...Her gaze hit downwards as she sighed, pen dropping as her expression became distant -- just as it always was. Through her eyes, she was looking through a mirror that showed a whole other world. She'd never understand it, would she?...With that notion in mind, she sat back in her seat and placed her hands in her lap in an attempt to curl back up. First attempt to speak to another human being in months and it had ended up with her feeling confused, dejected, and all in all not wanting to speak anymore.

Unfortunately, she was polite.

"...I'm not aware of whatever title you have. The name is Eika Munashii. Keep the stupid dog if you want, I only make them in my free time."
And on that notion? She willingly handed it over, dropped it onto his shoulder, let it hop down onto his desk and become still in order to retain a quiet stance -- up until it curled up and began to fold in on itself in order to reform into what could very well be used as a pencil holder. Calling it stupid may have been unfair...But...She was already feeling stupid for even bringing it along to her today in school. She'd just wanted something familiar, and it too had failed to work. So now she withdrew and went back to square one. Maybe work out the kinks in the plan, try again, and maybe, just maybe, actually connect someone. The awkwardness had set in already, and she doubted the conversation'd last its pre-deigned lifespan now that she'd dropped a mechanical puppy that double-functioned as a case holder onto his desk. So now, it was time to simply drop her attention back to her books -

...Ah...Right, right. She just now realized she forgot to do something important in return for what he said.

"...It's...nice. To meet you."

...It felt so strange saying that...But it was the norms in courtesy, so it had to be done, lest she betray what little upbringing she'd had before...ahem. The smallest notion of white cloth -- bandages -- poked out from the right arm of her shirt, unnoticed, failing to be tugged in, and...in all honesty? Showing an unfortunate bit of red on them for the recent issue that'd come. All she could wonder on at the time was when their next teacher would come in, who it would be, and if they'd be half as rude as the last disturbing example of a human being that had taken his leave was.

Rin could tell that condoning one another's presence probably wasn't going to happen, he squeezed the bridge of his nose as it seemed his wording caused a misunderstanding. This was one of the reasons why he avoided 'friendly' banter it normally always ended like this. The other people seemed to be having riveting conversations, the ones that were speaking anyway, he didn't see that young boy talking to anyone, which in Rin's opinion made him lucky. The kicking girl wasn't talking either but it seemed some girl had addressed her, in the end Rin envied the boy's solitude at the moment and wish it for himself but he didn't need an enemy out of his neighbor he just needed to stay strangers, friendly strangers at least so he could borrow a pencil or eraser in the future should the time come, acquaintance was unnecessary.
He heard the girl's name Eika Munashii, he was sure he'd forget it soon enough but before he could respond to her the dog was dropped on his shoulder, his eyes immediately glared at the dog as it climbed down and turned into...a pencil holder?
This...Eika made this thing, now he really didn't want to get involved with this person, she wasn't a normal everyday student, regular students didn't make mechanical dogs that turn into pencil holders.
However he needed to clear up one thing at least, he had enough enemies he didn't need more that and he didn't want the dog.

Rin grabbed the...pencil holder and turning set it on Eika's desk, he stared at her for a moment and with a sigh spoke to her making sure to choose his words carefully.
"Don't want your dog....and I'm not threatening you, it was sarcasm... but it's good that fear in your voice was gone, it'll be hard to make 'friends' in this class like that." Rin said making quotation marks with his hands at friends. "My title is permanent stranger Munashii-san and with that in mind it's time I live up to that title."
With that said Rin turned around before grabbing his notebook hoping that resolved the misunderstandings and conversation, he grabbed his pencil and quickly wrote a sentence down before turning and placing the paper on Eika's desk, he then tapped it with his finger to draw her attention to it and turned back around as if the encounter never happened.
On the piece of paper was one simple sentence, written in bold and in surprisingly good handwriting considering the owner.
"Your bandages are showing."
Rin wasn't about to ask questions as Eika's life had nothing to do with him but if she was going to make 'friends' like everyone else in this class there were some doors that needed to remain closed and going off the red he saw it was probably one of those situation. Generally the affairs of his fellow students wasn't something worth pursuing but the sooner she made friends the sooner she would go sit with those friends, converse, bond, giggle and be generally annoying which would ensure him a bit of privacy in the foreseeable future. He felt a piece at the idea of everyone around his desk going off somewhere, the silence that would follow would be bliss in itself, that was a goal worth pursuing.

Not one member of her gang was in the room. Makoto supposed it was good that they didn't skip class to see her, but she couldn't keep an eye on them like this.

Maybe I should make sure they're not causing trou-

Just then, out of the corner of her eye, Makoto saw a girl waving at her. Waving at HER, when everyone in the room already knew about her reputation.

Is...Is she mocking me?!

Thoughts and assumptions about how that waving girl thought of her made their way into Makoto's head. What if that girl thought she was better than her? What if she thought making friends with a guy with an annoying accent made her superior? Did she think she was safe because the teachers were around?

Before she knew it, she found herself standing over the girl and her desk, fist and arm raised. It was at that moment, Makoto realized that she was about to do something she would regret. In response to this thought, Makoto forced palm open, slammed it onto the girl's desk, and asked the girl in a quiet, but clearly annoyed manner, "WHAT?"

Amaya listened and nodded. She could feel his hesitation to go into further detail. She wouldn't pry. Whatever he decided not to tell was his business alone. Though Amaya would've been lying if she denied her curiosity. "No wonder your Japanese isn't more ... westernized," she said. Her lips tugged up in a smile. "I've met some before, foreigners. Their accents are very obvious. Other than pausing here and there, you're doing just fine! If you need me to slow down - talking wise - just let me know. I'd be doing much worse if I were in your shoes. Speaking English that is."

She pursed her lips. "I ... learned a little," she said in English before looking down in embarrassment. She switched back to her native tongue. "Pretty bad, right?"

Before Amaya could say anymore, she heard footsteps approach her as she looked up. Her eyes widened as she saw the girl from earlier raise her fist. She steeled for a punch she wasn't sure why she deserved. All she tried to do was be nice. She flinched slightly when the fist turned into a palm and slammed into her desk.

"WHAT?"

Relieved that she wasn't hit, Amaya recomposed herself though her mind was alight with inner chatter. Oh how lost a normal person would've been. "You ... looked lonely with no one to talk to," she said. "I'm Hayashi Amaya. You can call me Amaya, if you'd like. It's ... nice to meet you."

-

Silus smiled at the small sentence of English, it felt like he was suddenly back home and had a sense of normalcy about the place. He shook his head at her previous response and smiled “No, you don’t need to slow down for me and it wasn't too terrible” He said with a sarcastic grin. He closed his eyes for a short second, unaware of the looming presence over Amaya desk till the hand slammed down suddenly. The class was silent after that noise and people had begun to stare.

“WHAT!”

The voice was more a command then question. He raised a slender eyebrow as Amaya took the obvious violence in the girl’s posture in her stride and simply responded as if they were friends. Silus knew that this wouldn't end well and stepped away from his chair, gently placing a hand on Amaya’s shoulder and shaking his head before staring at the girl. Gone was the happy smile that extended up too far on one side of his lips and the air of aloofness that he seemed to perpetuate. His grin instead was a grim gash that left his face looking more predatory than necessary.

“So, you think you’re tough with all that bluster and shouting?” His words came out quickly and without fault, as if his obvious disdain for the women in front of him had sharpened his already razor sharp mind “Let me see what I can tell about you hmm?” The grin widened and he pulled his glasses off, one the arms gently pressed against his bottom lip “I can tell from the fear of the people around you that you are a thug no?” the smile widened “oh…very scary…” He commented before continuing with his cold analysis “The way you hold yourself tells me you know how to fight, but are not trained…a thick headed brawler in other words” he slowly began to walk around her “I can see scratches and callouses on those fingers of yours…so you obviously enjoy a particular weapon made of wood…maybe…Tonfa seem adequately Japanese and for what you would do” He then slowly placed a hand on her shoulder and leant down to her ear “bullies don’t leave if you punch them…you may break their bones but more will come…just know that…Miss Gang Leader” He whispered so only she could hear before grinning and sitting back in his seat and fixing her with an all too steady gaze to see her reaction.

"I'm Hayashi Amaya. You can call me Amaya, if you'd like. It's...nice to meet you." Said Hayashi Amaya.

Makoto kept her glare, even after Amaya explained her reasons for waving. Earlier thoughts and assumptions still flew around in her head, annoying her. It didn't help that Amaya regained her composure in front of her, and spoke as if they were friends already, which was still annoying. Not to mention her words, although meant to be used in kindness, hurt. It was true that her actual friends weren't there, and most people avoided her because of her reputation. They all seemed to avoid her except Amaya.

Previous thoughts and assumptions began to dissipate, as Makoto realized that Kanaya really had been the first person, apart from her gang, to actually attempt to interact with her in a nice way. Could she have truly wanted to befriend her? If she did, then why? Does she even know who Makoto is? Does she care? Makoto felt like Amaya was mocking her before, but now she wasn't so sure.

Makoto could have just left, annoyed and confused, but then the foreigner started talking to her. He started spouting out his observations and deductions about her appearance. Makoto knows how to fight, but hasn't fully trained. Makoto wields Tonfa. He spoke of all sorts of information that he could have found out had he simply asked someone else in the room. But then he spoke of bullies, whispering in her ear that more will show up no matter how many she takes down.

Makoto's glare turned into a softer, more mature look as she gazed back into his eyes. She spoke in her quiet, annoyed tone again.

"I didn't yell at all, new kid. But yeah, I'm a thug, I get into fights, I use tonfa, and I kick the crap out of people. So what? As long as people don't mess with me or my gang, then I won't mess with them. But it's insulting that you think that I'm not prepared for something as obvious as that."

Makoto referred to the more and more bullies comment. She knew about since her first days as a delinquent.

This guy is annoying me in so many ways right now. And Amaya...She's annoying for different reasons! I need to calm down.

Makoto took her hand off Amaya's desk and sighed. She might as well introduce herself to the girl and her rude foreign friend before returning to her own desk. She looked at Amaya and said,

"You're name is Amaya, right? I am Ayanami Makoto, Leader of Johnon Academy's Oni Gang."

It sounded ridiculous when Makoto added in the school's name, but there's more than one Gang with "Oni" in their name, and she wanted to make sure her gang wasn't associated with weak, cowardly gangs. With nothing more to say, Makoto turns away, and returns to her desk.

Amaya was well aware that Silus's hand was resting on her shoulder. She was a tad uncomfortable, but didn't focus too much on it. Her attention was focused on what had started out as an innocent gesture turned confrontation. It didn't help when Silus started to hyper-analyze the girl. Sitting as still as a stone and as quiet as a barren wasteland, she listened until she heard her name again.

"You're name is Amaya, right? I am Ayanami Makoto, Leader of Johnon Academy's Oni Gang."

Before Amaya could respond, Makoto had already walked back towards her desk. Amaya sighed in relief. She had thought the head of the Oni gang would've done something about Silus standing up to her. She didn't particularly think either of the two were at fault. Makoto was acting like any other delinquent would and Silus in a more proper manner. Whatever the case, it was over. Even with the knowledge that Makoto was the leader of the school gang, she didn't feel the fear to flee. It made her smile. She was truly a nutcase if she wasn't scared. More so anxious.

"We didn't need to provoke her, Silus," she said as she readjusted her glasses. "But, thanks for stepping in."

"Yeah there are tournaments sometimes." She answered with a smile, but before she could say more the next teacher walked in. The rest of the teachers filed in one by one during their respective periods, introducing themselves and their subjects. And before long the day was over, the last bell having rang and the students let out to go to club meetings, hang out, or do homework. Kimiko made her way to the front doors to grab her shoes before walking out of the school. She didn't necessarily want to go home, but didn't really know what to do. The Shrine would be okay for a while, Archery Club didn't start until tomorrow, and the nurses office was closed. "What should I do..." she asked herself as she pulled her bag a bit up on her shoulder.

Silus raised an eyebrow at the gang leaders response. It was more eloquent and reserved than he had anticipated. He replaced his glasses, which he wore after discovering that with his eye problems he was one of the select few men that could make glasses intimidating, after the girl left and returned to his seat. He smiled at Amaya "sorry..." his words came out a little slower as he was thinking of the words he needed "do the Japanese understand the concept of chivalry?" He smiled as the teacher walked in and began his introductions. This seemed to end all communication in the class.

The day chugged on slowly until the final bell rang out. Silus sighed, a small sound of contentment as he looked down at his book. He had transcribed the notes in Japanese and would translate them to english at a later time. He then gave Amaya a small tap on the shoulder "want to try and teach me things about my new home?" He smiled and stood up, swinging his briefcase bookbag over his shoulder.

(Hey, this is Darcs' girlfriend! He's going to be out for an indeterminate amount of time- he's in the hospital. He wanted me to keep you guys informed. Thanks.)

Rin opened his phone seeing the mean teacher was gone and started messing with it as the other teachers came into the room, he put his book up to conceal it from the other teachers only engaging in any discussions in the rare case he was called upon. He still took notes with his other hand and made sure to get anything that was required but other than that he didn't pay that much attention to most of the classes, once the last teacher left a relieved sigh came from him and he started putting his things away.
"Finally it took long enough," Rin said standing up grabbing his bag. "Having to put up with months of this might actually kill me."
Rin glanced back at Eika for a moment, however his eye just narrowed and he turned back around before walking away, he still hadn't fully let go she got the back seat but for the time being making a fuss about it wasn't going to change anything and it still counted as interaction to him which wasn't permitted.
He made an extreme effort to avoid any eye contact or physical contact with anyone as he left the room, the moment he was out of it he opened his phone back up and walked down the hallway doing his best to tune out the voices around him.

Rin made his way up the stairs of the school and he pushed open the door to the roof glad that it was unlocked, he made sure the door shut behind him before he walked fully onto the desolate area and took in a long deep breath. He always felt at comfort in places like this, no people, no voices and a nice warm breeze passing by, he did prefer to be inside but didn't like the idea of becoming a hikikmori which he had gotten extremely close to being over summer, granted he didn't stay in his room for over six months but if he had been permitted to he would have done so without hesitation. In the end it didn't matter if he was resided in the company of others or were on his own, he still preferred solitude in both situations, just one actually brought him it.
Deciding to put his thoughts aside Rin dug in his bag and grabbed a book, walking over to the side of the roof he sat down before opening it and thumbing through the pages to where he left off, he wasn't about to go home yet he'd just say he had 'club' and come back later on in the day, for the time being it was a beautiful day and everyone was off 'enjoying' themselves, he was looking forward to the few hours of privacy he was going to have.

What a rude teacher thought Hazama. But at least he speaks his mind.

Just as Hazama expected. In between classes, everyone talked each other, but no one even tried to go up to him. Even the delinquent girl managed to receive a friendly wave of greeting from another classmate. Everyone was so lively around each other, but Hazama was alone. The whispers could be heard amongst some of the students. The gossip. The fear and hatred stemmed from a true rumor. Why does Hazama not react? Why does he not try to befriend anyone? He just let's it happen. He's alone, as always.

The day passes on. This year's teachers introduce themselves. Nothing new. The day seemed short. Nothing other than the teachers were introduced. As Hazama walked around, he saw that people avoided him still. They still talked, they still gossiped. He can hear them. Anyone could. He didn't care. It was just natural after all

Amaya tapped her fingers against her finger. Chivalry? She had remembered reading about it somewhere in a western literature work some time ago. Taking care on how to pick her words, she said, "I'm ... not too familiar with the term. But, I suppose we have something similar. But Japanese tend to favor indirectness. Senpai's and delinquents are the the exception."

About to say something else, Amaya heard the classroom door open as the class took their seats. The series of teachers came and went as she absorbed the information they taught. After the last one finished their spiel, Amaya sighed as the day came to an end. She felt a tap on her shoulder as she saw Silus. She smiled. "Why not? I wanted to go check out the dance club! Are you planning on joining one, Silus?" She quickly put her things away. Her gaze wandered over to Makoto. "Lets go see if she wants to tag along? It'd be terrible to let things end the way they did."

What are you afraid of? Do you truly wish to ease the other, or are you afraid of being alone?

Amaya blinked as she searched for the speaker. She could hear it as clear as day. As if the speaker were standing right next to her. However, she saw no one. Only Silus and the other students.

The shadows are coming. I await your reaction with great interest. Will you drown in weakness or stand before this terrible realization? I wonder.

Feeling a chill spread through her spine, Amaya demanded her mind to ignore it as she waited for Silus's response.

What is it with this class? thinks Shotaro.

His point is valid, there's an awful lot of reputable students, both good and bad. He shrugs to himself. He figures that as long as they don't acquaint themselves with him, he'll be fine. Still though, that kid in the class is pretty scary. Shotaro's heard the rumors about the kid's family, and a lot of people seem to believe that it's both real and liable to rub off onto anyone close to them. Shotaro would have to make a special point to stay away from that kid.

As school went on, Shotaro fell asleep parts of the way. He couldn't help it, it was just the introduction day! It probably would have been better if he stayed awake so he could learn his teachers names, but still, it was an introduction day. After school, Shotaro yawns a bit and surveys the distance for a place to be alone for a while. He finds an old, empty park, abandoned by children and its owners. He might as well take that place.

Shotaro takes a deep breath and smiles widely. He had to keep up an appearance. He takes the stance of a sprinter from track, attempts to make a dash, and trips, falling flat on his face.

I'm beginning to hate acting like an energetic idiot...I think I might be actually turning into one. Crap.