"I was on my way to the library, we could head over there?"

"Yes, lets and go!"

That was easy. Junko had no idea she would just help her without persuasion. Here she was thinking Sakura may need to be bribed with some juice or perhaps those cake from those shop. By now she had completely forgotten about what she had heard earlier, as she walked beside Warrior Man munching on her Pocky sticks. Her steps faltered for a moment as she realized what Sakura said.

The library.

That stifling atmosphere, the musty smell of old books, and those looks people sneaked at her from behind their books. Damnit, she can relax in a library if she wanted to! No need to give that oh-wow-did-not-expect-that-person-to-be-here look. Sakura... Sakura was going to make her earn her help was it?

But she wasn't going to lose to any stupid library. She was going to sit her ass in there, freaking relax and flip the bird to anyone who DARES give her that look. And get some help with the exercises.

When they arrived at the library, Sakura chose a desk, secluded and large. Junko sat opposite of Sakura, and pulled out another box of Pocky. Sakura had great judgement when she picked out this particular desk. No one would stare at her, and while it still smelled rather musty, the atmosphere here was relaxing somewhat. She should come here more often. Kisaragi wouldn't think of searching in here. Playing on people expectations to hide, this was something she should have thought of earlier.

"Uhm-... "

Sakura was staring at her questioningly. Oh right, with all her thinking she had quite forgotten.

"Ah, sorry. Did you want some?"

Junko held up the opened box of Pocky.

"Some rules before you go. First, be respectful to your teachers." Makishimu's father, sitting in the driver's seat of the car spoke up after a long silence during the trip.

"Yes, Dad." Considering the tone of his father, Makishimu responded politely and earnestly.

"Second, keep the hell away off of busy roads. I'm not paying for the hospital bill if you get hit by a car because of your depth perception problem."

"How assuring." Makishimu joked, but obviously it was lost on his father who remained stalwart in his cold look.

"Sorry?" His father asked with a tone of scorn.

"Yes, Dad." The teen sighed and responded in the same way he had earlier.

"Third and final, don't you dare take that eyepatch off when people are around. If I hear any problems about kids getting scared from the hole in your face, I will personally come over there and beat you shitless."

"Yes, Dad." A short period of silence followed this. Makishimu began to pick up his schoolbag and was about to leave when his father spoke up.

"You're a good kid. Don't get into trouble, alright?" His tone was much more friendly and affectionate than before.

"Alright." He smiled as he responded. "Love you, Dad." He opened up the door and left the car. He saw his father nod and he began to drive away. "Well, that's that..." He muttered as he took in the scenery. Since he had an hour before he would be expected at the school, his father had decided to leave him in the nearby town, so he could stretch his legs and become familiar with the area. The town was a typical rural town, with not much of note. Japanese countryside towns are so... uniform. he remarked. There's always a few traditional houses, then a few traditional-slash-westernized ones and then the modern-ish places like convenience stores. Really, the only thing that differs between them is the arrangement. He thought as he looked over the area from the sidewalk in front of a peculiar looking building, that, based on the sign, seemed to be a "teahouse". For the moment, however, he wasn't hungry and he wouldn't be for awhile as his mother had made a bag of various pastries which would probably hold him off for two days if he ate them sparingly.

Looking down at his watch, he muttered to himself. "'Need to be there in about an hour... That gives me two hours to wander around." He smirked at his reasoning. Hearing his voice, he now realized that he was still wearing his headphones and he took his phone out of his pocket to stop the music. 'Savior of Song' was the title of the song. One of his favorites at the moment, masterfully blending more electric parts into a characteristically rock track, reminiscent of western punk rock and other genres. It was also the opening theme to one an anime series he had reasonably enjoyed, Arpeggio of Blue Steel. He had spent a lot of time watching anime when he had been in the hospital, due to a year-long subscription to a HD streaming service his mother had bought for him upon his entry into the hospital. It kept him from getting bored and he had picked up something of an affinity for it; evidenced by the number of series he had watched while bedridden which almost reached the triple-digits.

With slight reluctance, he tapped the pause button and the headphones fell silent. Makishimu slid the headphones down onto his neck and began looking around, deciding where to go. To his left, a road led to the local LAWSON and to his right, a sign indicated the directions towards the school. On the sign, Makishimu could make out braille, a definite giveaway of the school's nature. The boy had mixed feelings about this. Out of the two directions, he decided to go right. All things considered, he had no business in the town and it would be best if he got to the school with some time to spare, so he would have time to waste if he got lost. Turning the corner, he cringed when he saw the semi-metaphorical mountain leading up the school. "You're kidding me..." he muttered as he stared the hill down. With a click of his tongue and a sigh he began to trudge up the hill.

---

It took him a good moment for him to reach to the top of the hill and when he was winded when he did, being slightly out of shape after his hospital stay, but Makishimu could at least admit that the view was impressive. Iwaku, more so. With western style that contrasted deeply with the architecture of the town, it reminded Makishimu of the house of the rich tsundere character in that one anime he couldn't recall the name of. With his bag slung over his shoulder, he quietly entered through the gate, in awe at the architecture and grounds of the academy. "Damn, Dad must've paid a fortune just to have me here..." He murmured as he looked around. Due to his depth perception problems, it all seemed much larger and further away than it really was. As classes were just finishing, many other students of varying disabilities gathered in the courtyard. He felt somewhat alienated all of the sudden when he considered that he still had all of his limbs and digits. When he thought about it, his "disability" was minor compared to losing an arm or a leg. For a moment, he wondered why he had been sent here when he could have easily continued school in the city with no problems.

However, Makishimu realized that these sorts of thoughts weren't the kind of thing that he should be thinking about in this situation and shook them off for the moment. Checking his watch, he figured he should head directly to where he would meet his homeroom teacher. Putting significantly more stride into his step, he headed to the building that seemed to be where the entry-slash-lobby was. Passing by the students, he noticed a few stare, one point and a girl make a comment. Well, I guess it's inevitable. He made a mental shrug as he moved into the lobby, where he noticed a middle-aged man with somewhat messy hair and wearing a brown coat seemingly waiting. When he noticed the youth, he made a face of recognition and came over to greet him. "Good evening. You're... Maki...?" He stumbled a bit at his name and Makishimu sighed. It was a usual occurrence for him.

"Arakawa Makishimu. It's French. Nice to meet you." He shook the man's hand and he corrected himself.

"That's right. Sorry about that. I'm Mutou and I'll be your homeroom teacher, since you're in class 3-3." Makishimu jumped slightly at the mention of class 3-3.

"Sorry? Class 3-3?" A slight feeling of terror came over him.

"Yes, that's right. Is there something wrong?" Makishimu's good eye widened. No... not the cursed class... he thought to himself. Quickly, however, he realized he was confusing a certain horror anime that he had watched with reality and his features returned to normal.

"...eh... yeah, don't worry about it. It's nothing." He uneasily glanced at a plant. Mutou raised an eyebrow before continuing what he was saying before.

"I'm also the science teacher of 3-3."He said matter-of-factly and Makishimu muttered.

"Great to know." Mutou gave a somewhat bothered look before continuing once more.

"Classes are over for the day, so you'll be introduced to the class tomorrow. For now, here's your dorm room key. I'll let you wander around for a bit, but get some sleep. You look tired." He sounded a bit more direct this time, most likely in response to Makishimu's attitude. Makishimu nodded this time, not wanting to make the situation any worse than it already was and took the key from the teacher's hand.

"Thanks. I'll try to get to class early tomorrow. Good first impressions, right?" He smiled to give off a friendly look, but Mutou shook his head.

"I'd prefer you meet me here in the same place tomorrow, so I can introduce you better. Makes my job easier."

"Alright. Whatever floats your boat. Good bye, then." Makishimu turned around to head to the dorm after the teacher responded to his good-bye. It took him a good moment, but he eventually found the male-dorms. He entered through the door and tiredly walked up the stairs to his room, on the second floor and closest to the stairway. He didn't notice many other students on his way up, but it was probably just due to classes only just finishing. Sticking the key in the hole and turning, he was given a good sounding click as the lock opened and he went in. The room, as expected, had no decoration, with only a plain looking bed, a plain looking desk and a plain looking dresser adorning the plain looking room. His bags were sitting next to the dresser and after taking off his shoes, he grabbed the rectangular one which contained a netbook with 4G capabilities that he had been given before he left. With it in hand, he set off for a place where he could sit down.

Once again, it took a good while for him to find his way around, but he eventually found the library. Not wanting to attract too much attention, he quietly entered the room and headed for an area that was metaphorically off the beaten path. However, most of the good places were taken and he was forced to sit down at a table already occupied by a tall looking girl and another who, like him, also lacked an eye (among other things). "Hope you don't mind me sitting down here..." He said, somewhat intimidated by the look of the shorter girl, who smelled of smoke. Uneasily glancing around him, wondering if he was even allowed to use his computer there, he took out his netbook and opened it up on the table. Surprisingly enough, the 4G coverage wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and he was easily able to connect to the internet. Clicking on one of the few bookmarks he had saved, he opened up Kantai Collection, a game he had grown fond of during his time in the hospital. He muted the computer and once he was logged in, he proceeded to begin preparing for a mission. He tried to remain somewhat discreet as he did so, though, not wanting to bother the other two.

Wait.
Suddenly, he realized something.
Why didn't I just do this in my room...?

Oh, it seems that the promise of have the Sunfire Valkyrie aid him in understanding the latest scientific studies available to the school has drawn forth another individual as well, the Scarred Falcon, Junko. It would appear that Yamaku's resident delinquent had also missed out on one of Mutou's more important classes, most likely because she was preparing for a war of her own. No doubt, the Yamaku Crips were going to have a turf war soon with another gang, most likely commandeered by some massive, tattooed, future yakuza with an acid-scarred face. She must have been asking for help on molecular sciences in order to sharpen her Mach Lightning Blaze Knuckles, upgrading them into Phantom Mach Lightning Blaze Knuckles capable of doing supersonic precision strikes at the accuracy of singular molecules. If it wasn't for the fact that he had to master the Seventh Secret Art of the Thousand Stars, he would have gladly offered to join her crusade, if only to see a new legendary banchou be born in Yamaku High.

But he brought himself out of his fiction once more, just to nod and smile at her response. And going to the library as well! What an excellent idea! It had been some time since he finished his last stack of light novels, and he could do some multitasking, getting a new stack today. That series about the Empty Box and the Zeroth Maria seemed especially appealing, but from what he had read, it appeared that the author was a lazy bum who took forever to write anything. For a moment, Jay had almost forgotten that there were notes to be read, but he slapped his cheeks and focused once more, his red eyes flashing with unbreakable concentration.

He will read the notes...and learn it!

Some time later, the trio that easily attracted the most attention in Yamaku arrived at the library, right as the librarian herself shrunk in their presence, no doubt awed by their presence. The Sage of Aegis, though new to her honorable position, was still an admirable person, and Jay looked at her straight in the eyes and smiled.

She shrunk away further. His demonblood still inspired fear, didn't it?

Sitting down on one of the oval-shaped wooden tables, complete with similarly rustic wooden chairs, Jay leaned his bookbag beside his feet, took out his pencil case and notebook, both items that were crafted with much difficulty after slaying the 500 year old proto-dragon, Igna-Tariz. Flicking open Sakura's own notebook, Jay spent two minutes reading her neat, if not terse, notes, before promptly being distracted by her doodling.

Ah, that was a nice addition. The imposing Sunfire Valkyrie was also a patron of the arts, a warrior maiden who indulged in the highly-contrasting hobby of drawing in order to relax after surviving another bloody battle with the demonic hordes. That sounded quite good, actually. He'd have to remember that. And her drawings seemed to be of another world as well, or perhaps...of multiple worlds? Impressive. To think that Sakura was a being capable of comprehending and creating multiple planes of existence, without having to use the concept of 'sleeping' as a gateway to them! Drumming his pencil energetically on the wooden table as he entertained that idea, Jay only realized that he had gotten off track after he had already scribbled down two pages describing the artistic skill of the Sunfire Valkyrie, as well as the deep, psychological and magical reason behind why she did so.

Then, just as he forced himself back to work, Junko offered Pocky. Sure, it might not have been for him, but he was Japanese, and Pocky was a god.

“Thank you very much,” he said, snatching one of those chocolate-covered biscuit sticks before the Scarred Falcon could do anything, “and hey, Kushuda-san, I never thought that you were a patron of the pencilled arts. Is this something you picked up recently?”

And with that, he turned the notebook over to show Junko as well, pointing out a rather...questionable doodle featuring two male classmates.

She chose to forget the complicated, scientific name of his...rather peculiar condition. A "Lobster Claw Syndrome" sounds better anyway. Not that she actually cared about his "sufferings", but for now, she decided to put up with his self pity or whatever her conversation parent would unleash upon her after coming out with his disorder. During her first days at Yamaku she met many students who loved talking about their situations as if they were discussing the news, the weather, or some other exciting topic of the sort, and that has never failed to put Mizuki in a distasteful mood. "Oh, I'm sooo unfortunate, I have a-arrythmia", "oh, my eye-sight is so bad I'm almost blind! I'll have to wear thick glasses forever!", etc. etc. Bunch of whining weaklings. Of course, not all cripples did this. In fact, most had this "don't ask don't tell" policy, but there always were some that felt the utter need to bring out the topic of their misfortune all of a sudden and go on and on about it regardless of anyone's interest. And this Tanaka Isamu-person seemed to be, she was afraid, exactly the same sort. Did she even asked him about his lobster claws?

Fortunately, he didn't talk further about his plight, seemingly stratified with a brief introduction, and instead proceeded to bore her with science. Mizuki was taken aback at how he kept assaulting her with words and sentences not bothering even to wait for her reply, but happy that her previous concerns about his character were baseless, decided to listen in to his technobabble in hope that it will take her mind away from the unpleasant incident that happened a moment ago. No-it wasn't that her judgment about him was wrong. Like these students who enjoyed pushing their misery(or not-so-misery) onto the others, he kept pushing ions and electrons and equitations onto her. Does he really know that much or is he making this stuff up? She kept nodding and "ah"-ing every now and again, pretending to pay attention, while skillfully guiding both of them in the general direction of the library, hoping to get his generally understood "help" with her science exercises. Aizawa Mizuki, on personal level, didn't have much passion for any of the school's subjects, and, having no reason to keep a certain reputation at Yamaku, quickly descended into mediocrity and below. However, this nerd here might just be her way out of this pinch.

Of course, getting to library took forever. Not only did they go the longer route, but also, her own condition was, to her frustration, slowing them down-as she didn't yet master the sophisticated art of walking with the crutch. Nonetheless, they made it, the spacious insides of library open before them. It was like a forest of books, bookshelves, and crippled people lurking between them. A good hunting area back in her bully days, alas, she was a cripple too and such pleasures were no longer in her reach. Guiding him to an unoccupied table, she noticed a certain red hair sitting with the long haired guy and Junko not far away. Junko, she knew well, as that person stood out-not only in visage, but mainly, in her delinquent behavior that Mizuki was, actually, quite fond of. She too had something wrong with her leg-but Nakurumi-san's case was, by comparison, much lighter of the two.

Turning her attention back to Tanaka-kun-chan-san, who was sitting in front of her, she flashed him a friendly smile and decided that being cordial is the best way to get what she wanted(much to her dislike-back in the good old times before the accident she'd just force the nerd to give her what she wanted).
"Isamu-kun..?" a pause, politely so, as she was not certain whether he's comfortable with begin called by first name(you never know, nerds and their sense of manners).
"Could you help me with my science assignment? I find exercises a bit tough, and you have quite a formidable knowledge of these subjects"...no lies yet. He really did have a knack for this stuff, and saying this came easy to her. Now, flattering some cripple just to get her assignment off her back might have been too much for Mizuki Aizawa's pride to bear, but a little compliment based on her actual observations of reality is fine and good, every once in a while.

Isamu followed alongside Mizuki to the library, noticing that she didn't yet seem accustomed to walking with her crutch. This was the longest interaction the two had had as of yet, but he elected to take no note of it. Trying to distract himself, he found himself rubbing the tips of his fingers together as they walked. He couldn't blame the girl, of course, but the slow pace of their movement was starting to irritate him. He was generally a fast person. Think quick, work quick, do things quickly. Time was, to him, one of the most valuable resources, and he hated wasting it by walking around slowly. Still, he was the one who approached Mizuki. It'd just be plain rude to walk off, or to go ahead of her to the library and leave her to catch up.

When they got to the library, he also noticed the other party of the collision, and almost groaned. What an awful coincidence. Ignoring her for now, Isamu turned his attention to his companion, sitting opposite her, and started getting out his science notebook. Chemistry. UGH. 90% of the work in this book made Isamu want to curl up in a ball and never go back to class. He really didn't like Chemistry, but that was likely because they were, for the most part, only doing rather basic work. Normally, he tried to avoid being condescending, but...really? This work was ridiculous. Charges on atoms? Electron configurations?! It felt like an insult that this work was considered worth their time. Still, he did most of it in class, No point in wasting time he could use playing video games (shhh!) or doing his personal brand of independent study. Which typically resulted in an hour-long wikipedia or youtube search. He was able to study English and Physics at the same time that way.

Returning his focus to the exercises, of which only three were left, he looked between Mizuki and his work, barely registering what she was saying. "...-elp me with my....exercises a bit tough, and.....knowledge of this subjects." Yeah, made sense. They had just had class, and some people did have trouble with electron configurations and...basic arithmetic. Wait...really? She needed help with this? Well, he wasn't going to argue. Besides, she had mentioned she was in the hospital. Who knows how long she was there, and how well she'd been kept up to speed with her studies. Of anybody, she probably had the best excuse to be asking for help. As for the narcoleptic delusion-ridden boy of the same name....well, his condition gave him a free pass half the time. Falling asleep at random times was not very helpful for a student with daily classes. "Sure, Mizuki-san. What parts did you need help with? I've already got most of this done. Did it while Mutou was still talking. I...may or may not have already taught myself the basics of atoms and subatomic particles, along with all the...relevant information." And there was yet another digression. This wasn't helping.

Shaking his head, he waved away the invisible thoughts distracting him. "Exercises. Right. So, which did you want help with again...sorry about that."