The shrill tones of the ringing bell resounded across the school, signalling the conclusion of a day spent gloriously absorbing knowledge that would likely be forgotten upon graduation. It was likely a welcome intrusion into the lives of Uchima Senior High's many students, a symbol of their regained freedom from the constant drudgery that was listening to their teachers prattle on. Usually of course, they might have been a bit more heedful, but such assiduity was hard to find at the end of the (formal) school week. It was a glorious Friday afternoon, and the teenagers were either chilling in their respective clubs or heading home to bask in the glow that was not being at school (or both, if said teenager was a member of the aptly-named "Going Home Club").

Shrouded in the shadow cast by the setting sun, the headmaster watched as students scattered across the school courtyard from his office at the top of the spire. They were like ants, busy little workers that, despite their seeming insignificance, were responsible for keeping the nest, this school, peaceful and alive. It was truly a shame then, that the order brought about by their actions was slowly being eroded away at by malevolent forces.

From the gakuran-donning delinquents squatting at the back of the school, combing their strange, regent hairstyles and engaging in macho rituals, to the barbecue club and their attempts to teach newcomers how to properly sizzle a sausage, to the student council hard at work trying to make up for the disappearance of their leader, his students continued to dart to and fro, hard at work.

Such a shame.

He turned away from the window, eyes shrouded by his glinting glasses. Those students of his were free to enjoy their youth for as long they could. It would likely be their last chance to do so in any optimal manner. The world of humans was a harsh one, after all.

The time is soon ...

"Is it true the council president went missing?"

"Buncha nonsense, sis. Guy doesn't ever take a break. He's probably home sick, and no one remembered to tell his buddies. Not the end of the world."

"But bro-"

"Relax. 'Sides," He grinned. "What kinda boogeyman could take me?"

Besides math, that is. God. PE was no problem. He could get through history and science by brute force, memorizing the notes if he had to. But math. There was no brute force method for math. Memorizing the shit was no good if you couldn't use it. And it was so boring. It made Daisuke want to get up and physically run around in a circle, ride his bike, work, read a book. Something to break the tedium. And of course he had to have it for the last class of the day. The one class period that always stretched into fucking eternity anyway. Even when you loved the class.

And Daisuke Miyamoto did not love math.

His mind wandering in the last few minutes of class, that's what made him think about what his sis said last night. He didn't buy that some spooky shit has taken the class prez. Wasn't a fucking anime or something. Didn't mean that maybe something hadn't happened. There were some creepy fucking rumors, lately. When you got so many flying, chances are there's a little truth in there somewhere. Something was spooking people, and the prez was definitely missing. Meant that something was going on. But men, not monsters. And men? Men he could handle, no problem. ... Still, the rumors were getting to him a little.

Must have been, with the weird dreams.

BRIIIIIIIIIIIIING

F r e e d o m .

True freedom, for once. No after school shift for him to work. Manager wouldn't let him have the hours. Irritating, but it meant he had a whole afternoon for once. Time to enjoy it, and not worry about the creeps everyone seemed to have.

Anything tried to come after him, he'd punch it. And again. And again. Until it was no longer an immediate threat.

Simple.

He slid his chair out and stood, swinging his bag over one shoulder and tossing the uniform's jacket over the others. No need to wear it, school day was over anyway. Places to be, people to see, fights to win, all that jazz. So he started wading through the sea of desks and students towards the exit.

"Hello, Miyamoto-kun."

Saitou had been sitting diligently in the third row of desks, working away on a few math problems at a time before allowing herself a minute to stare at the backs of her eyelids. This subtle recharging effort proved beneficial in order to stave off a longer nap - and, with it, potential drool stains on a piece of classwork.

She had just put the last such debacle behind her.

As the bell rang, she had bitten back a lazy yawn; the suppressed, weary bellow instead caused her large amber eyes to tear up. The student blinked them out of the way and collected her books under her left arm, bumping into her "plug," as Tomoda referred to him, on her way out. She turned inquisitively to face him. When her still-teary eyes had passed confirmation to her brain that the pugilistic youth was indeed who they thought she was, she nodded in greeting.

"I look forward to you selling me fries this evening."

OOC: SO I told a minute to brush up on the rules of kendo

During after classes over, the students who stood near or around the kendo club could hear the sounds of intense kendo stick clashing as Rena take on another student in a practice match.

*Clank *Clank *Clank Clank* Higari-men(right- head)! A male student yelled

*Clank* His attempt to score a point failed seemed to have failed.

*Woosh* the sound of cloth could be heard moving backwards.

TSUKI(throat)! She yelled *Tump* the sound of the kendo stick connecting with he protection piece under the head.

"First point goes to Tatsuya-dono." a voice, most likely one of the referees announced.

The rest of the club then clapped for the two participates out of politeness before the two participates got ready for their next match. the two participates then sat on their knee for a few second before standing up, bowing to each other, and getting into combat stances.

"Begin!" one of the three referees shouted before the two started clashing their bokkens together in an attempt keep each other guessing while calling out their attacks before trying to strike the designated area in an effort to score a point.

*Clank Clank* Clank*

The two continue this process for about 20 seconds before the two students stood back from each other to wait for the other next move while they took a short brake. The other then made the next move before Rena, holding his sword with two hands the male student moving his bokken to his right as he tries to close the gap before him and Rena, making it look he was trying to score a point but strike her the right side of her torso.

Rena then moved her weapon to the right as she prepared to block the other student attack, however just when the student gotten close the then he declared Migi-men(left-head) before moving his bokken above his left shoulder and trying to swing it down on left side of Rena's head. he thought he could psych in an effort to score a point.

However, Rena the moment heard Migi-men, Rena instantly abandon the guard of her right side and made the quick decision to use the counter-attack technique known as Nuki-waza. The moment the other student tried to score a point on her by striking the left side of her head, Rena then dodge to the right before taking her bokken with both hands and declaring "Hidari-do(right body)!" before striking the student's right side with her stick.

All three of the Referees then raised their referees red flag declaring Rena the winner. After which Rena then cleck on he student to make sure she didn't hit him too hard before shaking his hand. "Good Game" she told him with a friendly smile "Thanks Tatsuya-san" He told her. "Actually, in this club we put -Dono at the end of the current champion name(Note: Dono means lord or master)" She told him arrogantly but at the same time politely. "Right, Sorry Tetsuya-dono"

"Wish you'd stop saying that 'round here." The Miyamoto's eldest son muttered, almost visibly deflating for a second or two before he returned to his usual, at least approaching friendly expression and the associated swagger. Still, he couldn't look too irritated; Saitou Kimiko was more of a regular than an addict was. Without fail, every day, she would arrive at the McDonalds to order fries. And then she would wander back in hours later (usually near ten to midnight) and ask if they still sold soda.

Which, obviously, they did. Didn't stop their primary beverage in the six hours it took for her to wander back.

She was an odd one, but not in a bad way. Good sort. Nice person. All that good shit. So he favored his (friend?) acquaintance with a rare, almost apologetic grin while he turned to face her. "Sorry, Kimiko, not gonna be me tonight. Boss couldn't give me the hours. Ain't working today."

Twang!

Thunk

The steady rhythm of bow and arrow eased Sakura's nerves as she fell into the familiar trance. All that mattered to her was her and the target, and not these unsettling rumors about people disappearing, or her weird dreams, or her grades. She sighed as she fired her last shot, setting down her bow and patiently waiting for the others to finish shooting. As her focus wore off, she caught bits of a conversation from two girls in the back of the club.

"Did you hear about the student council president?"

"No, what happened?"

Sakura stopped paying attention after that. She had no interest in school gossip. Instead, she tuned everyone around her out and went to collect her arrows with the others.

Senhime walked class was over and she had no club activities not that she ever really did. Nervous due to the sheer amount of people walking back and forth she carefully moved forward she heard rumors as she shuffled by people about how the student council president vanished. This worried her somewhat as she was unsure on why or how but she would not let that get to her. Despite how ominous it was she refused to allow it affect her. With that bit of self motivation she walked forward apologizing profusely each time she ran into someone by accident. The talks and rumors that had been going around was really starting to get to her as the more tried to go forward the more she overhead. That and the odd dreams that she has been having didn't help either.

Akihito didn’t notice that class had ended until Miyamoto-kun hurriedly strode past him like he always did after a maths period.

Hmm, the siscon is probably going to his Mcdonald’s job again, he observed, though he’d never dare say it out loud. He had visited that particular joint once during the summer break. As Aki had waited for his order, he had the misfortune of locking eyes with the notorious brawler behind the assembly line. With a single look, they had both silently agreed to not talk about it in future.
The Irimi family wasn’t poor by any standards; in fact, their financial situation wasn’t even something he should have been ashamed of. If anyone at school found out, he could easily turn it into a source of sympathy rather than reason to be mocked. Even so, he chose to wear the oversized green cardigan over his school shirt rather than the tattered third hand Uchima gakuran he had acquired for half price. Poverty was the only aspect of himself he couldn’t manipulate.

He looked down at what had diverted his attention from the school bell before: a detailed drawing of a single butterfly. His dreams had been unnerving lately, consisting of many strange things; weird masks, weird creatures, and butterflies, always butterflies. They haunted him even outside his dreams now, in the form of his art. Usually Aki could rarely recall his dreams, but now it was different. He’d wake up with … impressions, and the lingering sense of dread. The best way to figure it all out was to make it tangible, something he could deal with. Putting it on all paper was a start, though his colleagues in Art Club would often comment on the switch from his usual landscape paintings.

“Just trying something different,” he’d smile sweetly. Of course they’d notice the switch. His recent works looked like things out of that Kaiki Zone cartoon they played on Saturday mornings. He continued to sketch in the Art Room as the occasional thunks and chatter from the Archery Club provided some ambience. After a half hour, he wiped his brow, accidentally getting some charcoal on his face while observing his latest product; a picture of a wide, elegant but poorly lit room with a singled clothed table. The illustration was monochrome due to the charcoal, but Akihito knew it was meant to be deep blue. The other denizens of the Art Club were discussing the Student Council President’s disappearance. Feh, he’d had enough of that news after the first day. The culprit was probably a scorned lover or something, after all Mr President did have quite a few admirers with that handsome mug of his. Aki ignored them as he considered what to do next.

More butterflies I guess, he thought as he readjusted his easel.

Jin had to admit, having math at the end of the day helped things end on a positive note. By the time the bell rang signaling the day's end, Jin's homework sheet was done. They leaned back with a stretch and a rare cheery grin. Numbers made everything better. They didn't need interpretation, explanation, or creative thought. Math was math, predictable and safe. Maybe next semester the school would let them enroll in advanced Calculus. Jin already had the highest grade in the class.

Watching all the other students get up and start milling about, Jin took their time packing up. All around they could hear snatches of conversation; most of it was about the council president. In Jin's mind, their president probably realized how useless high school was, and decided to break out. This was no tragedy. The poor guy probably wanted some freedom.

"Miyamoto-kun." Jin rose with their bag packed, and regarded their classmate, having to crane their neck to look the boy in the eye. "...Do you think you could get me a job? I need work." Even though Jin could probably fix every machine in the McDonalds, because they didn't have an actual resume, most of the places around town had rejected them.

At least, that's what Jin told themself, after 20 rejections. It wasn't the binder, it wasn't their skin tone or obviously foreign features. It was just the resume. As long as Jin took that as fact, they would keep trying.

"I'm trying to... do something different with my life, y'know?" Jin figured that he might actually understand this. There were quite a few rumors about him too, and they recognized the scars on his knuckles. Jin had plenty that matched.

You're often catching yourself thinking you see things differently from most other people.

"Takauji needs to come over and study with me, if he wants to actually learn something!"

That you perceive the world around you in a way unique to you yourself, that nobody could quite match, at least around here.

"Preposterous. He needs to work with someone who really knows how he is to study effectively, a childhood friend, like me."

That it's hard to find people looking through the type of lens that you do, thanks to your unique personality and upbringing.

"K-Kanami, Kaede... let's just calm down, okay?"

And not just because of the vibrant orange shades you love to wear.

Your name is Tomoda Nakamichi, or sometimes "Aloha-kun", and as of right now, you're witnessing a squabble straight out of your favorite generic anime. Before you stands a trio of people you know pretty well at this point— leftmost is Kanami Ippotsuko, the slim, waifish childhood friend of Takauji's, but never so much yours, with a head of short white hair, piercing red eyes, and a doll-like face that altogether made you wonder sometimes if she was entirely Japanese. She's currently hugging herself close to he prize's arm, and trying to guide him home to something more akin to a dote-upon session than actual study.

Well, no, not true. There would probably be plenty of studying involved, given that she was near the top of the class in grades and genuinely did worry about his performance in turn. She'd let no future husband of hers flunk out.

To the right— Kaede Inoue, last year's class rep and the only girl you knew to be all at once cute, hot, and finally absolutely terrifying. She, on the other hand, had brown hair of middling length, hard set brown eyes to match, and again, a not-unattractive face, that just so happened to almost always be hard and humourless whenever you looked at it. Enough to make you forget how sexy she could be if she lightened up. Although, the moments of tsun were many from her, whenever your buddy Takauji unearthed her inner dere, it was a moment to treasure for everyone present. Like witnessing an eclipse. She was doing much the same to his other arm, pulling it into her sizeable bosom as she tried to forcefully yank Takauji away to a study session 3 parts strict coursework, and the fourth devolving into a high pressure stuttermachine as an innocent query was asked, her charge none the wiser.

Finally in the middle, the source of it all. Takauji Aragaki, the man who you in middle school deemed the town's very own LN protagonist and at three years old your brother from another mother. You were surprised you'd gotten this far into high school without him being some sort of chosen one about to save the world. You mean, he was p e r f e c t f or the role, too! Good looking in an average way, black hair all gelled up into impossible spikes because he thought it looked cool (yours were better though), a kind, helpful disposition, even few friends growing up aside from you and Kanami! He could even fight well too, being the rising star of your martial arts club, so he really had it all! He, much to his chagrin, was stuck in the middle of the two girls, and you weren't sure how much longer he could stretch between them.

Well, hey, he had you, too. You, the Hawaiian shirt-wearing, shades-equipping, snaggley-teethed grinning, absolute madman-being best buddy. And you know what?

It was time to live up to your name in the only way you knew how.

>Vouch for Kanami [ ]
>Vouch for Kaede [ ]
>Try to compromise [ ]
>Just stand there and let it play out [ ]
>Vouch for yourself [X]

"Sorry, Ladies!" you call jovially, grin cheshire as ever. "Buuuut Takauji an' I have some club planning business to attend to, so..."

They turned about face, ready to tell you to buzz off—

And in that moment, that mere fraction of a second where their attention wasn't upon the object of their affections, you strike.

"Yyyyyyoink!"

You grab your best friend by his collar and book it with the speed of an Olympian, laughing merrily down the halls as he slips free of their inattentive grasps and finds himself more than content to just be dragged by you. As you round a corner, you glance back to see the girls finally squawking in surprise as they process the sheer chutzpah of this action.

It probably also was around when they remembered that Martial Arts Club was cancelled for today, as you'd both stated previously.

Well, whatever, he was now free of their grasp, and that's all that you cared about. You wouldn't be a proper bro to your Bro if you let him get ripped in half before the bad guys even showed up.

But unfortunately, it'd be so much easier if the four of you were in the same class again...

Well, you'd do as you always did. The very best you could, and damn anyone who thinks that you wouldn't be able to make sure it's enough.

"You're a lifesaver, man..." the spiky-haired fistfighter breathes from behind you as he slides across the hall's floor.

Chuckling again, grin still on your face dutifully, you pump a little more power into your stride as you make distance.

"Different class or not, I've always got your back, brother."

Hopefully you'd get to the roof unmolested today.

Senhime walked slowly forward going against a crowd seeking to escape school premise as soon as possible. This was sadly her daily routine she had a hard time approaching crowds as a whole and this made leaving school all the more difficult for her. Though sadly fate or life decreed that her life despite her shy and overly stuttering personality be filled with the things she rather avoid loud and boisterous people, and crowds. Senhime sighed she heard what others called her a "yamato nadeshiko" and the like in which she never really bothered to try and change rather by design or purpose you fit the role rather well and as such was happy to just be recognized at least somewhat. Those thoughts in mind she quietly and inattentively tried climbing the stairs to the roof to wait out the day. Sadly due to how she wasn't paying attention she bumped into Tomoda-San a rather boisterous and loud person often seen with orange shades and garish and loud shirts. Falling down on her bottom she scrambled up as quickly as possible. "Ah I-I-I am sorry T-t-t-tomoda-San p-p-p-please f-f-f-forgive me!" She screamed bowing profusely multiple times in quick motion.

"Wha? Who's that?" Bro asks, craning his neck to look past both his shoulder and your arm to locate the source of the very distressed voice hew'd felt you run into.

You smirk, hoisting him up to his feet and unhanding him with a sly "Easy, Casanova."

He glares at you, still sore about the girl problems he has already. You can't blame him, but he'd handle your banter just fine in the end. Instead of concerning yourself with that, you raise a hand in greeting as the shrinkingest of your class's violets apologizes about a million times more than necessary.

"Yo, Senhime-chan! I was just rescuing my buddy Takauji here from getting caught between a rock and a soft place, what's up?"

Do you talk to her often?

No

Do you talk to her like you talk to her often?

A little bit

"Er, hi, I'm Takauji Aragaki. Sorry for any trouble he's caused you and the rest of your class." your buddy says, introducing himself with a polite bow.

You affect an air of betrayal, gasping for dramatic effect and holding a hand to your razor-sharp mouth.

To his credit, he ignores your fooling around politely.

With a sluggish yet purposeful air, Hitoshi strode out from the school - the bag slung over his shoulder jolting up and down as he descended the stone steps with a qudden burst of energy and returned to his usual gait. Despite his care and attention, his uniform had - as usual - managed to fell into a dishevelled state, but that was all insignificant now. School was over once again and he would need to find a new outlet to dedicate his time towards.

He had meant to join a club - there were a handful that appealed to him and the thought of learning a new skill was alluring... but he had simply never gotten around to it.

"Heh, stupid idea anyway." He muttered to himself. Sure it would have been fun, but he had plenty to keep himself occupied already. As it had turned out, trying to make up for several years of slacking off at school hadn't been easy. Not to mention his training at home: sure he didn't fight anymore, but there were some things that you didn't just give up on after they had been such an important part of your life.

He glanced up at the sky - taking a deep breath of the warm, mostly fresh air and grinned to himself. The breeze caught his hair and clothes as it brushed by gently, whipping them around him in a way that might have been irritating had he not been in such a good mood. Even though he took school seriously, it was great to have a little freedom for once. Hell, he might even skip training and just loiter around town for a while - maybe go for a bite to eat? It would be a nice change of pace to be sure.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a pack of gum and flicked a piece into his mouth. It was a shame really: so many students and yet he didn't really connect with many at all. It wasn't that he was on bad terms with anyone (as far as he knew anyway) but rather, he was always just there in the background. Most folks could probably have pointed himnout in a crowd, but only a dozen or so could tell you anything about his actual life. Especially since Yuroko had left for the big city.

Ah well, it was a nice day.

Reaching out, he grasped the post of a street lamp on the corner of the street - leaning lazily as he allowed his momentum to swing him around the corner with another small burst of speed. Small scars and a few more recent cuts and bruises were clearly visible adorning the knucked of his hand as he released to post, but he paid them no regard. They had long since stopped concerning him. Right now the only thing on his mind was what to do to waste the next couple of hours.

Yeah, this might just be the best time to get out and just chill for a while.

Minori leapt to her feet the moment the bell signaled the end of class, her lips curling into a smile at the realization that she no commitments to attend to. With club activities and her mother's shop taking up most of her free time, the girl absolutely relished the rare periods of relief that sprung up every so often; it wasn’t like she had anything she actually wanted to do, but lazing around and surfing the net seemed like a fun way to spend an evening to her.

Unproductive, but fun.

Clumsily grasping at the pens and pencils scattered across her desk, she haphazardly tossed them into the depths of her bag with little regard to the fact that the Minori of the future would be cursing her when she wouldn’t be able to find any of her things during class tomorrow. She stuck around long enough to bid her classmates goodbye but bolted as soon as she had completed that bare minimum.

Hands clasped behind her back, she took long, exaggerated strides down the street, kicking her leg up high with each step. Gods, it was so nice out! Eyes fluttering shut, Minori inhaled deeply and took a moment to just enjoy this leisurely walk home. There was no sprinting—no “oh god, mom is going to kill me if I’m not there in fifteen minutes—“ and weaving around other students who were in a rush to get places. No, today it was just Minori, her thoughts, peace and quiet, and—

--annnnnd that one guy up ahead who was wearing her school’s uniform.

She spotted him as soon as she turned the corner, faint recognition flickering in her eyes. Although they weren’t acquainted, she could easily recall having seen him multiple times in the halls, absently noting each time that the boy cut a rather intimidating figure. Under normal circumstances, Minori probably would have just left things as they were and continued on her way home, but her good mood prompted her to do something she otherwise wouldn’t have considered: she approached him.

She picked up speed to close the distance between them, pink side-tail bouncing with each step. As soon as she was close enough, she cleared her throat and moved to fall into step beside him. ”Hey!” Minori chirped, lifting a hand and fluttering her fingers in greeting, ”I’ve seen you around school a lot but I never really got the chance to say hello!” Rather, she never had any reason to say hello. Technically speaking, she still didn’t; she was apparently just feeling extra adventurous today.

The footsteps were the first thing he had noticed - approaching from behind. Of course not knowing that anyone would have any reason to be following him, Hitoshi made to step aside and allow the stranger to pass as they drew closer. When a feminine voice spoke up it didn't quite register at first that she might be speaking to him.

"Hey!"

He glanced aside: catching sight of the girl, waving cheerfully to him.

" ”I’ve seen you around school a lot but I never really got the chance to say hello!”

Huh. Well this was certainly unexpected. Not unpleasant mind, but unexpected. He blinked, then smiled and nodded in greeting. No harm in meeting new people.

Not that she was all that new of an acquaintance - he tended to not pay too much attention to anything other than his lessons at school these days but she did have quite a distinctive appearance. Certainly she had stood out from the crowd on the odd occasion.

"Oh, hey there." He answered - briefly considering slowing his pace before realising that walking any slower would just make things awkward. "Yeah I've seen you around. I'm Hitoshi Katsu - pleased to meet you."

Well he was already planning on slacking off for the evening anyway - it wasn't as if he was in a hurry to get anywhere in particular. And what with most of his friends being out of town... maybe someone to talk to was just what he needed. Not that he would really know what to talk about - saying that he barely knew this girl would be an understate to say the least - but she had been kind enough to introduce herself so that was a good start.

"So, uh... " He didn't want to sound rude, but didn't want to come off as too forward. Just... sort of welcoming.
"... I was just heading into town, got a couple of things I need to pick up. If you're heading that way your welcome to walk with me. Y'know, might get a few less funny looks than if we're walking around like loners or something?"

He laughed a little at his own joke - bad form, but who was going to judge him for it?

The final bell rang.

Just like it always did.

Days like these, you just wanted to sleep in. Make it your day, not someone else's. Do the stuff you wanted to do. Not homework.

But I was getting carried away.

I grabbed my coat off the back of my chair and rose. Lit club was today, and I definitely couldn't be late. It was activities like these that made student life at least somewhat bearable. Today we were gonna take a look at Tolstoy. War and Peace. I hadn't even finished the damn thing, book was like a tank.

I draped my coat over my shoulders. Made no sense to wear it; too hot in the hallways anyway. Outside, now that was another story.

The conversations around me flowed like a river. Friends meeting friends, classmates making new friends, same ol' same ol'. Life in high school was like that.

Lit club was held in the library down the hall. Always there, same time every week. Soccer club immediately the next day, at the field outside. Stuff to keep a man's life regular. Scheduled. I think I'd go mad without it.

With a toothpick in my teeth, I strolled out the classroom. Club wasn't due to start for another few minutes. I could take my time. Stroll my way there, take in the atmosphere.

Just another day at school.

Jin had to admit, having math at the end of the day helped things end on a positive note. By the time the bell rang signaling the day's end, Jin's homework sheet was done. They leaned back with a stretch and a rare cheery grin. Numbers made everything better. They didn't need interpretation, explanation, or creative thought. Math was math, predictable and safe. Maybe next semester the school would let them enroll in advanced Calculus. Jin already had the highest grade in the class.

Watching all the other students get up and start milling about, Jin took their time packing up. All around they could hear snatches of conversation; most of it was about the council president. In Jin's mind, their president probably realized how useless high school was, and decided to break out. This was no tragedy. The poor guy probably wanted some freedom.

"Miyamoto-kun." Jin rose with their bag packed, and regarded their classmate, having to crane their neck to look the boy in the eye. "...Do you think you could get me a job? I need work." Even though Jin could probably fix every machine in the McDonalds, because they didn't have an actual resume, most of the places around town had rejected them.

At least, that's what Jin told themself, after 20 rejections. It wasn't the binder, it wasn't their skin tone or obviously foreign features. It was just the resume. As long as Jin took that as fact, they would keep trying.

"I'm trying to... do something different with my life, y'know?" Jin figured that he might actually understand this. There were quite a few rumors about him too, and they recognized the scars on his knuckles. Jin had plenty that matched.

"Huh?" Was the Miyamoto family's eldest son's initial, eloquent reply to hearing someone say his name. It took Daisuke a moment to locate whomever wanted to talk to him, and he couldn't help but cock his head slightly when he recognized the speaker. Jin, another student; not one he could say he knew very well, but he'd at least met them earlier in his education. They had something of a reputation. Not exceptionally unlike Daisuke's own, if he was honest. Still, the question was a bit of a surprise. And one it took him a second to decide how to answer. Still, he settled on an answer pretty quickly, all things considered.

"If you pick up an application, there's a box to list who referred you. Y'can get can application at the counter if you ask for one. Boss always needs another pair of hands. She'll probably ask me about you, and I can try and put in a good word. No guarantees she'll listen, but she's a good person. She'll probably give you a job."

The faintest widening of her eyes was the only outward indication that Minori was surprised by the friendly response; truthfully, she had half-expected him to rebuff her greeting. Tsk tsk, she scolded herself, the corner of her mouth pulling upwards in a wry, lop-sided smile, Just goes to show that I shouldn't judge someone by their initial appearance. She would have thought that she of all people should have known that.

"I'm Minori Koizumi! It's nice to meet you too, Katsu...san?" She faltered as she tried to figure out the appropriate suffix to use, her brows creasing in thought. She knew that "-san" was always the most standard and polite way to go, particularly with people who she had just met, but damn if it didn't sound at least a little weird to her when she used it to refer to someone who was practically the same age. Then again, she wasn't one to disregard what made someone comfortable or uncomfortable, so she supposed that it was always best to play things safe.

Laughing at the offer, Minori adjusted her bag on her shoulder before tilting her head at him, one brow arched high. "Now why would either of us ever get funny looks?" she asked in an exaggerated tone that clearly betrayed her amusement, "We're just two normal looking high school students minding our own business, no? Nothing particularly remarkable or attention-catching about either of us."

"Buuuuut," she continued, "If you really don't mind the company, then I think I'll take your offer. I live in this direction anyways!"

"Ah! It is a pleasure to meet you." Senhime said with a bow towards Takauji as always her first response was to bow towards the person that was introduced. "B-but to you a-a-nswer y-y-your question T-T-T-tomoda-s-s-san I-I was heading towards the roof." She answered stuttering a little bit towards the loud individual. She was getting used to him sure but as always she was uncomfortable around him. It both frustrated her and exhausted her that she was unable to speak normally to people like Tomoda-San. "W-w-where are y-y-you h-h-h-heading i-if I may ask?" She asked towards the odd duo one seemed like those people were constantly between two girls vying for his attention like in those comedic dramas form overseas or the light novels she secretly read. While with Tomoda he seemed the loud type one that was sort of odd to be found hanging around someone like Takauji-san if you kept up with the stereotypes.

"What a ~coincidence~!" you trill in a delighted half-singsong tone, clapping your best buddy on the back even as he rises from a polite bow of his own. "We were headed that way too!"

This prompts a blink from Takauji, who turns his head to look at you funny. "Were we? I thought you were just bolting wherever..."

"Where's a dude to take a brother in need if not a safe location, my man?" you counter, folding your arms and adjusting your shades the infinitesimal amount to make them gleam in the overhead lights all cool-like. "Either of our houses'd be too obvious a hidey-hole, anyway."

The lone heir to the Aragaki name (one cousin aside) frowns. "And the roof isn't? Either way, I think we've more than evaded anyone who'd be 'chasing after me' if we can stop and talk like this."

His fingerquotes serve to belittle your concerns somewhat, but it's no skin off your back. Takauji Aragaki was living proof that a black hole could be placed upon the earth's surface without anything bad happening, and you weren't talking about his ability to pack away food or his attraction field for what you guessed would soon be a stupid number of girls in his class.

Nah, your Bro, whatever gods above may there be bless him, was the densest son-of-a-bitch you knew by a country mile. It was part of why he hated your Casanova jokes so much— they made no sense to the poor bastard.

In summation, he was living proof that the Large Hadron Collider would not, in fact, destroy the world any time soon.

"Nah, dude! Nobody ever thinks to look up, right? Same principle, man! It's like most of the girlies in the school, present company excluded of course, don't even know the roof exists! It's a perfect chill-out spot!"

Your reassurance is met with mixed emotions culminating in a shrug.

"If you say so, I guess. But hey, isn't Senhime-san going up there too? We shouldn't bother her, man."

That was a fair point your hedgehog-headed pugilist friend made, but...

"We can chill quietly. That'd work, right, Senhime-chan?"

You meet her with your winningest smile, despite it reminding most people of Bruce from Finding Nemo.