GEORGE ELLINGTON

“Bro, I think you lost this.”

George cocked his head at the voice, his pompadour swishing wildly with the motion. The source of the remark was pink-haired teen who seemed to be holding…

“Gah, my pants!” George exclaimed hysterically as he shot his gaze downwards. Sure enough, his lanky legs and underwear were bared for the school to see. When did that even happen? Argh, there was no time to think about it now. Quickly, he made a feeble effort to hide his lower body with his schoolbag while also raising an angry fist at the pink-haired guy.

“Think you’re a real kick, huh, ya punk?!” George roared, “You’re really cruisin’ for a bruisin’ now, buster!”

The trickster seemed preoccupied with riling up some other students, vanishing away their garments too. George needed those pants! He kept too many of his belongings to let some kook run off with them, like his house keys, the keys to his Hot Box, his 10 o’clock snack, his mini-comb, his metro card, his… Wait.

George rubbed his legs together, feeling something peculiar, something that wasn’t supposed to be there. He tapped the side of his leg just to make sure. Yep, strangely enough, he could still feel the fabric of his trousers, along with the clunky selection of items that bulged from his pockets. It was some sort of optical illusion! Thoughts sped through George’s cluttered mind but one thing was absolutely clear. He needed to know how this guy did his tricks! George would be able to rake in so much more cash if he had something like that up his sleeve. Magical illusions and acrobatics? He could already imagine their success.

Too excited at the prospect of a new act to show any sort of modesty, the foreign-looking boy bounded to the prankster.

“Hey Oddball! Ya gotta show me how you do that!” he beamed, getting right up into the other’s face.

There was no way George was letting this one get away easily.

@Masaki Haruna

A soft springboard like noise echoed over the track field of the school as a faint figure of a girl could be seen running at the back of the field. The sun was just rising over the buildings in the back indicating it was still early in the morning. The school fields and courtyards were still mostly empty. The soft panting in the distance grew louder as the girl entered the circle of the lap. Sweat dripping down from her drenched body as the hair on the side of her head swished behind her. Short naked legs hurriedly moving to keep her body moving forward one of them not being like the others but made of materials you could find in nature instead. Her leg had been amputated just below her knee but due to amount of time it had happened and now she had already grown used to it after using it every day.

Rikka, the name of the high eccentric athletic high school girl had been running over the track since 6 am. This was part of a daily routine to keep your body fit and healthy. Doing sports required you to have at least some sort of stamina and this was a great way to train it. Not only that it made her a quicker at running although that didn't really help at the sports she was doing but, it was still a good thing to have.

Slowly Rikka came to a stop at the middle of the straight part of the track. She bend over and leaned on her legs a little to catch her breath. She moved her hand over her forehead to swipe the sweat away moving her bangs to the side by accident. She stood there motionless with only her chest moving up and down to catch her breath.

She subtly straightened her body again moving towards the school showers at a brisk pace. She dropped her clothes almost immediately knowing that no one else would really be here this early. She dropped them near the locker she was using and removed her prosthetic carefully.

Hopping on one leg she went into the shower, no one would look weird at her during such times since there was no one. Perhaps this was only during these times that she didn't feel weird or stand out that she was in the public shower. Steam engulfed the shower area filling the ceiling with hot steam from the shower. Rikka closed her eyes for a moment as she felt her hair slowly clinging to her body more and more. Her hands moved through her hairs making sure that there were no tangles. Slowly her hands moved lower sliding over her body. She took a moment to take the pressure from her leg for a moment and continued. She applied shampoo over her body and rinsed it off again.

A short while later after having relaxed in the shower quite a bit she hopped out and dried herself on one the benches. She dressed herself once more but this time in her normal school clothes. For this special occasion of the opening ceremony she had taken her normal prosthetic with her. It looked just like any normal leg and with some long knee socks over it there was nothing to be seen. Further she was wearing sport shorts under a skirt, purple with white striped knee socks and a white shirt with some flowers on it and the same decoration in her hair she always had.

The first thing that came to mind when walking again was how wooden this leg always walked. Compared to her running leg this was way too stiff but she had to hold it out for the upcoming time. She packed her sports bag and got out of the building to go to the opening ceremony.

The entrance of the school began to fill up with students walking through all towards the school. It all looked quite peaceful and such except for a girl that didn't really seem to have had her day. The girl had lost a paper that was given out to everyone regarding the ceremony. Rikka furrowed her brow looking quite weirded out by the girl. She got over towards the half defeated girl and looked up at her.



Now being somewhat closer to the girl she noticed on how the piece of paper had become a swan and was floating around in the palm of the girl with a sinister look on the girl her face. A thought came to mind as she gazed at what was happening. She was screaming internally.

Aizen

Not angry? "You have my attention foreigner. Come follow me if you must. If you can even keep up with the speed of light!" For a second, he made it look like that he is speeding himself out but it's just another optical illusion. He laughed, and said out loud, he's just kidding. For sure, he wants to test how the foreigner's mind can go; this is the first time he encountered someone who is amazed and not angry of his magic tricks.

All of a sudden, he started rapping and beat-boxing and it's real not fake. It is real and it's not fake. It is real and not fake. It is real and not fake. Why? Because it is real and not fake; the light shines to show the truth yet it shows deception of ones desires when in state of desperate measure.

"Oddball? I am a Hawk that takes flight and shred snakes in the sky, the name is Taka not Baka as in idiot, Taka Tachibana shines the light. Hawk in English bro but in here it's Taka. A true magician never reveals his tricks, I might not even be a Magician at all bro. Since you're asking me to reveal my tricks, it's like asking to make a deal with the devil. You are like a farmer who is asking the God of Harvest to bear crops. What is your name? I guess I already figured it out based on your physique, nationality and context." Afterwards he stopped rapping with medley tunes synch with his phone and dancers that are optical illusions backing him up to make his performance great.

He laughed so hard. "You struggled from the dragon flames of humiliation and ascended as a Saint, Jorge?" Lucky guess, is it his real name? Just a guess, Taka reads emotions in order to perform his tricks, he loves to study first before he initiates mischief.

Even though he delivered a good introduction, it made him epic fail at the end. "No. Wait bro. You look like some weird actor I know from a TV Show... hmmm I think your name is Russel Bean? Heck, you look like Russel Bean. Do you know who is Russel Bean? The guy is the best comedian in the world and he is half American and Indian!"Swinging his arms with weird gestures. Blew it. It's not like Taka is good at guessing people's names in the bat, he is a Photokinetic not a Telepath.

@banjoanjo

GM Post: Morning Assembly

Time went on. More and more students entered Kichijoji's campus, spreading out across the school as the clock ticked closer towards the start of the school day. Soon, as the trickle of students died down, the bell rang, signalling the need for all to move to the assembly hall, where, as they had been notified upon their arrival earlier, there would be a meeting and announcement that the staff wished to make. Indeed, upon their entry into the hall, they would immediately catch sight of their headmaster standing upon the stage, clearly ready to give his address to his students.

Said headmaster appeared to be of European descent, and was garbed in a pristine white suit, a choice of outfit, that, when combined with his well-groomed goatee and moustache, gave him the aura of a sophisticated, aristocratic gentleman. Indeed, he cut a powerful figure, and although the greying of his blonde hair spoke volumes about his aging nature, he was still a picture of perfect health, and none of his presence had been diminished.



"Students, it is a pleasure to see you all in fine spirits this morning," began the man named Adam Graham, fingers tapping once against the wooden lectern to grab everybody’s attention. "Apologies for the abruptness of this assembly, but I, unfortunately, have a dire announcement to make."

He paused for a second to make sure that all eyes were focused upon him. His face was set in a grim expression. Whatever the announcement that he was about to make, it was quite obvious that it was on a particularly serious matter.

"Last night," he began, baritone voice booming across the assembly hall, "an intruder broke onto the campus and launched an attack on our facilities."

Murmurs immediately arose from the gathered students. What happened? Why did someone attack? Was this a joke? Who was responsible?

The headmaster tapped his fingers once more.

"We do not have all the details," he continued as the noise of the crowd subsided, "but we have learnt that it may have been the work of a single Esper. Thus, we shall be cooperating closely with Judgement and Anti-Skill in order to discover and apprehend this suspect as quickly as possible."

"I wish to warn all of you to keep an eye out when arriving and leaving school in the event. Please do your best to remain safe."

He paused, allowing the information he had given to sink into the students' minds. There was a sense of finality to the issuing of the warning, but it was also clear that there was more that he needed to say. Except, on another subject.

"While I believe many of you may be disheartened by the warning," said Adam Graham, "I would also like to enlighten you all on the reward system we are instituting this year. As you may all know, Kichijoji always seeks to foster an environment for hard working students, and their efforts shall not go unmerited. The specifics shall be given to you by your homeroom teachers, but suffice to say, we hope all of you will do your best in your studies this year if you seek to obtain these awards."

He smiled at the students in an almost paternal manner.

"That, I believe, is all that I have to say this morning. I shall endeavour to no longer take up your time. Please remember to stay safe, and have a good day."

@liferusher

“Hey you can just get a new paper from the teacher if you are so desperate to catch it. I doubt there is anything interesting on it anyway."

Bell was too focus on her newest creation to catch what the girl had said. She’d made the paper bird’s wings flap as it danced around in her palm for a bit longer then she should have. She had a bad habit of using her esper ability to do mundane things, however, her peers never seemed to notice or at the very least never said anything about it. Telekinesis was a pretty common ability after all and levitating a piece of paper wasn’t that difficult, however, it was a bit of a task to hover the paper about like she was and not rip it a part and scramble your brain at the same time.

"A-are you alright? I didn't know you disliked the paper that much..."

Bell’s eyes snapped to Rikka, she was a bit taller than the girl that was suddenly next to her so Rikka wouldn’t have to look up by much. The origami bird fell to her hand as Bell’s cheeks began to turn rosy.

“I-I don’t d-dislike paper at all. I just folded it…” Bell said meekly.

Sweat began to form on Bell’s brow, her mind screaming. DON’T BE WEIRD JUST ACT COOL!1!!1!!!!!1
(she imagined the 1’s mixed in with the exclamation points as well.)

The school bell rang which made Bell jump just a smidge, the teen clinched the paper bird in her fist and shoved it deep in her bag’s side pocket.

“Well, time for the assembly, nice chatting with you… better get a seat before all of them are gone.” Bell spoke nervously. The encounter had been draining on her and adding to her fatigue from a bad night’s sleep.

Bell scurried away from the girl and was lost in the crowd of teens that were shuffling into the hall. She screamed at herself for being so weird, ‘that was the perfect time to make a new friend you idiot!’

Bell tried to remain focus on the speaker as well as she could but she caught herself dozing off a couple of times before she gave herself a silent slap on the cheek. She straightened herself and focused on the Headmasters warning.

‘Why would someone break into a school just before classes were coming back into session, surely everything worth stealing would be under lock and key while not being used… Well I guess I could easily enough break a lock but a student using an esper ability to break into a locked door would possible give their identity up.’ She pondered on this a bit longer then she should have.

Ryu Wakamatsu

As Ryu was awaiting a response, the bell rang which signalled for them to move. He looked at Mi and then nodded, gesturing for her to get a move on as well. He then went on ahead, following the stream of students that headed to the assembly hall. It was a fairly big hall, enough to accommodate everyone that is needed. He sat down on a chair and looked up to the headmaster.

The headmaster was a guy of foreign descent - nothing too weird there as Academy City is full of them. He looked and acted as if he was an aristocrat but Ryu did not mind that. He actually saw the headmaster as some sort of 'lord' as they would put it in the olden times. The guy had a presence to back up his appearance so there wasn't anyone who would make fun of how he dressed. And he was the most respected figure in the school, seeing as he is the headmaster.

His hands clenched as he heard that the school was attacked. Why had he not known? Was it because of the dispatch earlier this morning? Did they think that he would panic and put him under a lot of stress because he would be worrying about two things at the same time? It was a good move, Ryu honestly thought, because he wouldn't be able to concentrate on the rescue mission should he have gotten the news earlier this morning. Though he still felt a little frustrated as he did not get any information regarding this. The headmaster noted that they would work closely with Judgement and Anti-Skill to find out who this Esper was. Okay, seems he would be working overtime in a lot more days. It was fine though since it would be for the protection of everyone.

He would certainly ask more about it at the Judgement HQ later on, but for now, he was a student.

The headmaster changed the subject to the prize of being the most hardworking student. Ah, the wonders of Kichijoji. They want everyone to strive to become more powerful and more in control of their powers. Ryu had never gotten a top since there were far more people that are hardworking than him, but Ryu never minded. At least he was able to learn something.

Once they were dismissed, he bowed his head (though he knew the headmaster wouldn't notice) and then followed the students outside and towards their respective rooms.

@HereComesTheSnow

ハットちゃん "Hat-chan"

"Do you have any idea why they would've done such a thing, Kara-han?" asked the teenaged girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of 'Hat-chan', walking next to her aforementioned classmate as the students were dismissed from the assembly hall. "Didn't seem as if much got damaged."

She had certainly not noticed anything upon entering the school in the morning. If the headmaster had not given his speech, the thought that somebody had chosen to attack their school would never have possibly occurred to her. It was actually quite strange how low-key it was; an attack on an institution like a school seemed like something that was more dramatic, or at least that was what television told her.

@Crimmy
Shinjiro Karasawa

"I'unno." came Karasawa's characteristic drawl, punctuated by a lazy shrug. "Maybe they have a grudge against someone from here?"

It really was a strange occurrence for vandalism against school grounds to both A) be bad enough to be notable by the staff and yet simultaneously B) not be enough to be immediately, or even at all noticeable by the students.

Hell, he hadn't actually seen anything wrong.

Cities were rowdy places, and despite its cleaning robots and academic reputation, Academy City wasn't any different there. Vandalism was to be expected, and when it was it was also gonna, typically, be readily apparent.

Like that time Frank put the underwear on the flagpole. Classics like that were what you came to expect.

For them to them to call it an attack was also weird.

As if it was more sinister than petty crimes like defacing school property.

"...Hey, Hat-chan? You think the reward system includes catchin' whoever did it?"

@HereComesTheSnow

ハットちゃん "Hat-chan"

"It might show some initiative," she mused, her mind processing the words of her classmate. The thought hadn't occurred to her initially either, but given the hyperfocus of Kichijoji on personal development, it wouldn't be too far-fetched if sniffing out the criminal could contribute to grabbing a reward. Espers also seemed to fight a lot.

She was not particularly sure if that was a thing the schools sought to promote. The teenaged girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of 'Hat-chan' wasn't really planning on getting involved in any fights, not when it could get in the way of her work. Although there were quite a number of barfights, usually culminating in an orgy of violence that would not seem out of place in an action film.

Yet if it was a correct assumption that pursuing the source of the crime would provide accolades, it would be far easier to successfully graduate and earn herself more stable, well-paying forms of employment. Thus, her life would be provided with greater comfort and ease.

"You thinkin' of catching him?" asked the hat-garbed girl with a hint of excitement, her voice dipping further into the accent for the briefest of moments.

GEORGE ELLINGTON

George beamed at the strange boy as he created a light show for his impromptu concert. Finally, a busking partner who knew how to rock a crowd as well as George did! He could scarcely think through his excitement. Dozens of potential acts and tricks streamed through his headspace. They were going to be awesome together. As long as the guy abstained from rapping cos holy smokes, that could have gone better. George Ellington was a performance artist, not some crooner square.

“That’s, uh, real swish, buddy!” George forced a grin and tried to go along with it. He had no idea what this guy was talking about. “How ’bout we hold off on the rapping for now, eh?”

Thankfully, the bell cut their conversation short before George could say anything he’d regret.

The assembly was straightforward enough for even George to understand. Adam was one of the coolest cats George knew so he could always count on him to get things done. The news of the ‘attack’ was fascinating enough. Strange things happened all the time in Academy City, right? It was only a matter of time before some strange happenings hit Kichijoji.

What really rattled George was the principal’s announcement of the new reward system. Namely the part about their studies. George groaned audibly and dropped his head into his hands, garnering a few weirded out looks from neighbouring seats. He wasn’t going to concentrate on his studies now of all times! He’d scoped out a new performance spot only a week before and he couldn’t leave it so frequently unattended for school of all things. This was important stuff! George could already see Jouji’s stupid mug as he sniped George’s new location.

Argh, but the reward would bring him so much glory. So much… fame. At least in the Kichijoji circles. Hell, maybe even outside those too.

George heard the chatter of some students behind him, discussing the merits of investigating the attack as an opportunity to earn that reward Adam spoke of. Yes, yes this would be perfect! An amazing claim to fame with absolutely zero studying involved? George grinned in his seat. He’d be paying that crime scene a visit later.

@Crimmy
Shinjiro Karasawa

"I mean," he began to reply, with a grin that would have looked only slightly less at home on a shark. "I don't see a problem with tryin' it. Call it community service, yeah?"

He rolled his class-stiffened neck, loosing small cricks in it that had bothered him ever since English class. To tell the whole truth, honest truth, and nothing but the truth, the reward was a secondary concern to our literally hotblooded hero. He was more than happy to give it the old college try even if the incentives they'd spoken of were for solely academic achievements. There was a certain thrill to hunting down bad dudes and giving them the business that he'd learned to thrive off of.

The amount of run-ins he'd actually had with Judgement after shaking down a purse snatcher spoke to that.

And that time he had to catch a man who had tried to foolishly hide in Tokiwadai, and make then his own subsequent escape from the gaggle pissed off rich snobs that lived there after he'd refused to let them bust his "common ruffian" balls.

And all those times back in Tokyo or New York where he'd gotten into detention or some such for picking fights.

Zero-tolerance, my ass. I ain't standing for shitheads acting like they're above reproach.

"Say Hat-chan, how much are you scheduled for tonight?" he asked, by now very aware of the myriad part-time jobs the girl held. "I'm thinkin' of doing a little 'investigative work'."

By which the notoriously rowdy grape-haired esper could only mean "snoop around after hours and see if we can't find the guy trying it again".

But that could be left up to interpretation when within the earshot of the faculty.

"You want in?"

@HereComesTheSnow

ハットちゃん "Hat-chan"

The teenaged girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of 'Hat-chan' blinked, slowly processing the words of the young man that sought her companionship through her mind. A pensive expression had manifested upon the youthful girl's face, as if the metaphorical hamster in her brain, fuelled by promises of sustenance, had chosen to begin running and thus induce motion in the clockwork that were her neurons. It was true that she lacked the psychic powers possessed by the Espers that attended the educational institutions of Academy City, but that was no biggie to her ability to render assistance in the case. After all, had it not been the message of the last episode of the annual sentai she'd watched that one's heart was of greater importance for the would-be hero?

She could almost find it mildly romantic, being able to track down such a vandal. Acting the teenage investigator was as if she had truly entered a world where one could bear witness to honorable duels, telenovelaesque drama and extrasensory arm-wrestling contests could occur! The hat-wearing girl just needed to make sure to slot some time between the Vietnamese burger bar and the stint at the radiologist without overlapping with the meeting with the fashion designers.

"I'm all in, Kara-han," she answered with a smile, her accent manifesting fully.

'Hanging out' was one way to make friends.

@Crimmy

Shinjiro Karasawa

"Nice." he growled, knuckles crashing firmly into palm as he gave the world his best impression of something feral. He could use an extra pair of eyes and ears whilst snooping around and keeping watch, plus Hat-chan was someone he could very easily bounce ideas and strategy off of. The pair had discovered a strange, quirky chemistry that often lead to some of the more enlightening discussions of Karasawa's time as a highschooler.

Her relative inoffensiveness and patient demeanor, admittedly, also smoothed things out. Some of the other people he knew he'd have been butting heads with instantly, but Hat-chan was a natural-born collaborator who didn't need to screw with him.

Too much, at any rate. Her's was a tolerable breed of banter.

"Lemme know when you're off work, then. I'm gonna scope out potential stakeout spots after class, maybe even during lunch if I can manage it quick enough."

While he wasn't about to make a huge fuss about it or announce it to the whole damn world, he was also going through a few other names in class that might make for good co-conspirators.

And, y'know, anyone that became interested by happening to ask him what he'd be doing after class that day, so maybe one or two random dudes. It'd have been more, but most of the class seemed to still be getting used to him and his demeanor.

So uptight.

Kaguya Kasugano

With a smirk on her face Kaguya decided to pay her two favorite or the two who put up with her the most people a little trick. Forming her "phantom" or the scientific term the many scientists wanted to place upon it "Faraday double" named after the famous physicist who looked into if all talks of ghosts and apparitions was the work of con mans or actual supernatural activity. With the body double floating slightly behind Hat-chan and Kawa chan she made it gently poke their shoulders before whispering "boo" into their ears.
@HereComesTheSnow@Crimmy

GM POST
Tch a person muttered as he was made aware of Judgement looking more into the act he committed. "It looks like this game is about to enter a climax soon." He muttered to himself as he grabbed his piece of gum and slid down the wall he walked by it was sooner than he wanted but it was time to enter the next phase. As he walked up to look at Kichijoji academy from his new viewpoint "Lets leave these fools a message they wont forget anytime soon shall we?" He said aloud to no one in particular.

Ryu Wakamatsu

In between classes, Ryu contacted some members of the Judgement he had close relations to as well as his father who worked for Anti-Skill to find out whatever they had in the bombing of the school case. They didn't give him much information regarding it as it was still under investigation nor did they have any suspects as of present. Dead end. But he was adamant to find out who exactly did this to the school. He heard some conversation about going here to school at night to investigate.

Not such a bad idea. But he felt too awkward to suddenly chime in that he'll join them on it nor did he feel any reason to actually stop them from investigating. It plays well to his advantage too, since he'll have someone else to exchange notes with when he comes for the investigation. And they're not bound by any rules, he'll just learn to turn a blind eye for this one because it would help advance investigations.

He then saw the familiar face of the tall girl he had talked to earlier. He quickly made his way to her, "Hey Mi." He greeted, offering her a smile and fell into step with her. "How'd you find class this time around?" Considering that he was just desperately trying to strike up a conversation, he hoped that she would just continue the conversation.

@The ghost in black

@HereComesTheSnow@Suku

ハットちゃん "Hat-chan"

"Can I have your number then?" she asked casually. She still wasn't in possession of her classmate's contact details, which was a rather huge obstacle in properly coordinating meetings. It would be so much easier alerting him to things if she did have his number, like what specials the café were running in the morning or other little things like asking him for homework help (that was what high schoolers did, according to television).

Her beloved smartphone was a super useful tool, and its ability to connect the world would help her improve her relationships by providing her a way to keep in touch with everyone she met. It was how she talked to Youko a lot these days, too. Maybe she would talk to her friend later today, see what she thought of that episode-

>Boo

"Hwa-oh, hi again Kasugano Kaguya."

If the teenaged girl known only to her compatriots by the moniker of 'Hat-chan' was in any way flustered, it wasn't particularly evident on her face. Her calm and carefree demeanour was pretty much unchanged, a testament to how used she had gotten to the strange and fantastical weirdness of the city she now lived in, but closer inspection, much like how a scientist would increase the zoom on their microscope or whatever, would reveal that there was definitely a slight amount of surprise, if the strange vocalisation she made was any indication.

"What brings you here?"

@Polaris North
Mi Alcanti

Mi was about to start making her way to the next class on her apparent schedule which for some reason was a strange, altered version of math. From her view of things she didn't need this at all but she knew there would some kind of reprimandation if she just chose to skip those classes which she herself deemed unimportant. She was deep in thought about was to do about her seemingly meaningless conundrum when she heard a familiar voice beside her and she swiveled her head just enough to spot Ryu fall into step right next to her.

"O-oh greetings Ryu" she responded as she took slightly shorter strides to make it easier to have a casual conversation. Although it was unexpected Mi did enjoy the distraction from her thoughts, "Class was just fine though i seem to be behind in my studies by a fair bit after I had taken my week long leave for dis collar". And it was true, it seemed that classes here moved faster than those in america so thanks to her little absence she was behind in over half her studies.

@Crimmy

Shinjiro Karasawa

He blinked.

"I didn't give it to you already? Coulda sworn I did, one se--"

>Boo

Reflexively, Karasawa straightened and whirled, one hand halfway inside the pocket of his pants as the sudden whisper in his ear snapped him straight out of his line of thought. The other, more out of habit than reflex, had closed into a tight fist—

And released once more, along with the alertness of his expression, as soon as they saw the culprit. Now wearing what could be described as a "half-assed surly frown", he followed up Hat-chan's greeting with his own. It being a greeting from Shinjiro Karasawa, it was of course decidedly less cordial and more annoyed, and not to mention upfront about it.

"Kasugano, I swear you're gonna get slugged one day if you keep pulling that."

An empty threat, yes, but not a warning he felt wrong giving. If he was having a shitty day or was jumpy, you never knew what sort of trouble it'd bring to try and surprise him.

"And yeah, what she said." He continued, now back in his usually gruff, but non-malicious manner of speaking. His previously occupied hand returned to its previous course of action, fishing his phone out and pulling up his contact information for Hat-chan's benefit on what was essentially automatic.

Part of being a twenty-first century teenager meant mastering the subconscious-phone-number-sharing technique.

And if you think it's a stretch from me, check out what the girls can pull on a phone some time.

"What're you doing?"

Ryu Wakamatsu

"Oh yeah, you skipped classes before. Give it a few more days, you'll get used to it." Unlike her, Ryu never had any trouble keeping up since he grew up in this country and thus experienced everything he could in education. It always interested him anyway, what current science and research can provide today. And besides, learning doesn't always mean interaction and no interaction means no chances of being awkward and that was mighty fine to him. "If you want, I can recommend some books for you to read any time so you can keep up to date with what's happening." The textbook provided in school is fine and all but there were other books out there that makes life much more easier or more complicated depending on which one you pick. And Ryu knew all about it.

He then raised his scarf up to his nose and then put his hands inside his pockets, feeling the unnatural chill he felt every now and then. It is the main reason why he wears a scarf most of the time. "Hey, are you curious about what happened to the school in the attack?" He asked. Okay, he is planning to rope her in to investigating with him. He knew that there were other people but at least he'd like to start off with a buddy, just in case. After all, he isn't officially working with Judgement on this. He could make it as an excuse but it can only work for so long.

@The ghost in black