[IC] I am Thou, Thou art I | Persona

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS: N/A

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:15 pm}

It was only a week into the semester and Mr. Kinoshiwa's history class was already stressing her out.

Seiya wasn't the type of person to gaze out of the window during class, though today wasn't really her day. For some reason she had almost overslept, almost making her late to her first class. Thankfully she arrived with five minutes to spare, albeit with an empty stomach and slightly frizzled hair. Not to mention that Nashiro had been overcome with dark gray clouds and a misty rain that made the buildings glisten in the half-light. It was a pretty sight, though a view that only piled onto her strange aura. Luckily for her, her teacher (a rather round man whose scalp had begun to gray and bald at the same time) hadn't noticed her absentmindedness and instead ended the class with a few brief words: "I'll see you tomorrow. Make sure to do your homework."

With a soft sigh, Seiya picked up the books at her desk and slipped it into her book-bag. Everything she did was careful and detail-oriented; it would bother her if she accidentally dented a folder or wrinkled a piece of paper. The sound of other students rising from their seats and talking among themselves reached her ears.

"What are you going to do after school?" a boy asked a girl.

"I don't know-- I'll probably get something to eat and then head home to study for next week's test..."

The conversation faded away as the students left the classroom. Other conversations flitted about her, but she didn't pay attention to them. No one usually approached her unless they had something to ask her, anyway. Seiya was always too quiet, too shy-- a pushover. At least people actually sometimes talked to her as she helped them out with homework or a specific topic they were stuck on, though it wasn't often. She had to find the silver lining somewhere, right? It wasn't like she wasn't used to it. It wasn't like she was bothered by it, either. It started to happen so long ago and so often that she had become used to it; it was a simple extension of her life. In fact, she liked helping others, especially when they approached her and thanked her for her help in passing a test or class.

Their names and faces all blended together at some point. While they never became her friend, Seiya was glad they never became her enemies, either. That was reserved for her past in elementary school... at least, that was how it was so far. The beginning of her school year was peaceful as of now. She shook her head as she expelled the thoughts from her mind. Now that she thought of it, she was pretty hungry.

I could always head to a cafe and just study a bit there. Maybe a good cup of coffee will do me some good, Seiya thought to herself as she glanced out the window. The downpour was falling even harder now; the fresh spring mist had become thick globs of rain. I need an umbrella, though. Hopefully I don't get too wet! she quickly added as she slung her book-bag over her shoulder and began to make her way out of the classroom.

[Potemking]

April 19th | Hyakusawa Academy | 2019
Mentions: @Ambra

No matter how many times Kenichi stepped into a classroom, he never felt more confident. Maybe it was the expected glare from another student always keeping his confidence down, or maybe that was just an excuse for incompetence on his part. Regardless, school was hard. Harder than it had to be sometimes, too. With drama stacked on top of just typical schoolwork and such.

Rising from his desk, it was still crazy to him that he took a pretty solid lead in size over most of the students he was around. Made it easier to keep them from bothering him too much; Though it was used against him sometimes, too. People trying to pick at it like it would be some kind of insecurity wasn't going to work however: At least it was better than the usual spiteful insults.

Turning his head to look out, he noted the rain coming down. 'It's a good thing I brought my jacket.' It wouldn't entirely keep him dry, but it was definitely better than nothing. He liked the rain, honestly: Made the air smell nice, and when it wasn't freezing outside it wasn't that terrible to be in. He just had to hope he wouldn't end up too soaked before his day was over. Maybe he'd go to the arcade for a bit, see if the rain passed. Though by the look of things outside, he had no real idea of how long it'd last. He assumed most of the day would be like this, at best.

He grabbed his back and began to take his leave. He noted a specific glare from a desk that had a few boys grouped up in a conversation: Not a guy he knew well, or... Wanted to know well, at least. Sugei Lao... They'd shared classes for years on end at this point, but the relationship was always the same. Sugei insults Kenichi, Kenichi would either ignore it and leave or a fight would start if Sugei pressed too hard. Regardless, having them near each-other with no supervision was usually bad. Thankfully for Kenichi, class had just ended. So all he got was a large, toothy grin from the smug bully as his small group looked over as well, seeming more annoyed than amused like Sugei himself.

Kenichi kept his head down, simply intending to get out and not deal with anything potentially happening. He stepped faster; His increased pace almost causing him to bump into a female student; One he sort of recognized, but not really? She had others occasionally asking her for help with their work. Having some help sure sounded nice, but Kenichi always had a bit of an uncertainty when approaching people unless it was for something in-the-moment: He wasn't very good at asking for things.

"S-Sorry, excuse me." He muttered quickly, stepping ahead and exiting the classroom. He just wanted to go grab his coat and get out of here. Nothing beneficial here; If he stayed around too long Sugei would show up for sure, and Kenichi didn't need trouble today. The semester was just getting started, if he started getting in trouble things would turn out bad for him. So avoidance outside of class was the best solution at the moment, and so far it had been working. Kenichi just hoped his 'luck' didn't run out terribly soon.

[Darcs]

MENTIONS: @NeoAJ

_{A Shady convenience store
April 19th, 2019
5:59 AM}

Two men stood, one, a portly fellow at a dingy cash register, lazily turning through the pages of a magazine the contents of which this narrator would rather not describe in polite company. He would be handsome, were it not for his overly chubby cheeks and his perpetually greasy face. He wore a beanie with a bear on it and T-shirt advertising some Swedish death metal band, the rest of him was hidden behind a counter of nudie mags, jimmy hats, and cigarettes. Occasionally he looked up at a figure across the store from him. His companion, on the other hand, a much skinnier fellow, with beautiful long flowing black hair and an acne ridden face, his almond eyes could almost be mistaken for closed if you didn't know him-- leaned against a broom (clearly shirking his duties), he also wore a band t-shirt, Japanese noise metal, and an oversized red flannel over that, blue jeans and mismatched converse. His companion, was staring-- basically slack jawed.

But at what.

The convenience store was a dingy little place located in the armpit of Nashiro. 24/7, sure-- though what convenience it offered was up to debate. It had basic necessities crammed into a corner. Some travel supplies here and there. Plenty of soda and sake for those out late who wanted to keep the party going just a little bit longer, and three pachinko machines lines up neatly right in front of the door. This, is what Jazzy 'Belle' Cyra had come for. She had been too busy with her studies to get any real money making in last weekend, so she made sure to wake up early so she could scratch the itch. Pachinko was newer to Jazz-- she was still on the fence on whether or not she was a fan, but she could say one thing for sure *the machine let out a pleasing ding ding ding* she enjoyed how easy it was to win.

The man with the long hair shook his head, "Dude! She's still here! She's been here two hours!"

The man in the beanie continued to look at his girls, "You know how serious pachinko players are, dude, shit's a test of endurance."

The long haired man let the broom drop as he laughed, "That's some fuckin' stamina...She don't even look Japanese..." His laughter died down as he picked up the broom, "Think she'd let me fuck? Could use a girl that could go at it for a while..."

The man in the beanie looked up slowly with a smirk, then frowned, "Nah, dude, see that uniform-- Hyakusawa-- them's a different breed. A simp like you don't stand a chance, and that's assuming she's legal."

The long haired man gave the man in the beanie a scoff and flung his arm in his direction, as if to say 'watch me,' he leaned the broom against the counter and made his way over to Jazz with a swagger in his step just as the pachinko machine was making another sound of victory. He couldn't get a word out before Jazz handed him a rather long receipt from the machine with a sweet smile, "Oh wonderful, you came to me! I'd like to cash out for my cards, please." That threw the long haired man for a loop, for sure-- but he could recover. So he played along, it was all fun and games until he realized she had won 200,000 yen. The man looked down in disbelief and all she had to say, as if she was bored, while examining her nails was "I wanted to make about 10 times that, but I only had so much time before classes begin. Pachinko is such a slow game."

The long haired man was silent for a long time, gulping for air like a fish gasping for water on land. What was this girl? A cheater? By the length of the receipt she couldn't be-- unless she somehow faked all her losses. A pro, then? She certainly had the stamina of one-- but she wasn't even Japanese! He couldn't tell if she was African or Arab or what. As the long haired man pondered this, Jazz stood, wiping the filth of the unwashed leather stool from her uniform skirt. The politeness was quickly leaving her face. "My cards?" She held a hand out.

The long haired man stuttered, "W-well you see the thing about that is" He wasn't sure! Of course they were used to minors coming in here and winning a few dollars every now and then, but that much? If someone had a problem with it, it'd be his ass on the line for sure... He needed to think... think... think... *snap* That was it! He'd ask her out! If she said yes, she'd get her money. If not, no dice. He shook his head and his mane of hair followed, causing him to squint his eyes even further to maintain focus on the brown beauty before him. "So I uhh, noticed your uniform..." He began, "And you know, it's not typical company policy for us to give payouts to minors," He lied, poorly, the man in the beanie rolled his eyes, "So, how about this-- I'll cut you a deal, you go out with me, and I'll get you your cards so you can get your payout next door... just keep everything on the hush-hush, you know?"

I could pop your head like a grape with my thighs you pathetic, little man.

The polite smile was back, and an expression crossed her face as if she was speaking to a horribly confused child, she tilted her head to the side, and despite his being taller than her, she somehow loomed over him. "Oh dear, it seems I've been misled. I could have sworn this establishment was one of repute for allowing those of any age to partake in these arcade games. If only I'd been informed before I'd spent so much yen here..."

"W-well you only spent 5000..."

She continued, uninterrupted, "Perhaps I should inform the city board such an establishment is running-- basically profiteering off of juvenile hopes, not to mention money... or perhaps I could mention to your boss that you tried blackmailing a teenager into going out with you, to fuck you, no doubt, I'm sure he'd love that one... there are so many options..." She tapped the man on the nose, "Do you know my favorite?"

He was making his best attempt at being stone faced, "No, what?"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho!" She giggled, as she paced before, "So you don't know who I am?"

The two men exchanged confused looks.

"Perfect-- well, allow me to inform you" She assumed a parade rest as her back was turned to the two, "My father is... well, you might know him him as a Sheikh," She lied, "And, well, you might not know my mother, but I'm sure you know her father-- boss of the Kameya-ikka VI? Of the Saitama region?" The men's eyes, even the long haired man's, eyes were as large as plates at this point, Jazz gave an exaggerated shrug, "I guess some years ago someone thought it'd be a good idea for there to be an alliance between the Yakuza and the royals of the Middle East-- and here I am!" At this point both men were sweating bullets, Jazz turned around and gave the long haired man a hearty slap on the back "'ant ghabiun!!!" He nearly fell on the floor as he stumbled forward.

The foreign sounding tongue scared the long haired man even more-- "So like, what do you want, man!"

Jazz blinked a couple of times, dumbfounded, "Isn't it obvious? I want my fucking money!"

The man in the beanie had already begun preparing her cards for payout after witnessing the exchange, as Jazz made her way over to him, the long haired man followed at a distance, looking a bit smaller by the second. "But you already have so much money, why do you need this?"

"I don't need this" Technically, that was the truth, despite her playing this character of the heiress, "I want it, huge different," Also technically true, but for different reasons than the character, "And If I don't get what I want, I'll call daddy or gran-daddy, and burn this whole city to the ground if I have to to get it." He backed off after that.

As Jazz headed to the door, cards in tow, she struck a pose and addressed the two, still slightly cowering in fear, "The best parts of you both dried up on your mother's inner thigh, you'll never see me again after this, so If either of you sons of bitches, got anything else to say to me, now's the fucking time..." ... "Didn't think so." She let the door swing closed behind her as she went next door for her payout.

---

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:15 PM}

Jazz woke with an unfeminine snort. The annoying, electronic bell chimed away signaling the end of classes for the day. She'll be the first to admit, waking up at 3 so she could gamble? Not her best idea. Coffee before school was actually enough to put a pep in her step, though. It was just that she was an active student, aside from Algebra II and Calculus the sciences and athletics, she would mostly been pulled through the day and Literature at the end of the day put her straight to sleep.

Like an unwilling child dragged to the dentist by an overbearing mother. That was the nature of school sometimes, like a microcosm of life, you didn't really want to be there, but you had to be anyway. It made her pine for home, despite the occupation they somehow hadn't brought over the ability to choose your own classes. Students around her began to get ready to head home. She rested her head on her hand and scanned the board for any hints of what lessons might've been missed. And homework to be done.

"The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do."

Good to know that's a global constant, she thought. Groans and mumbles from students came from all around, as the teacher, a tall grey haired woman already began to erase what little Jazz could gleam was taught in class. She sucked in air through her teeth. That didn't leave her many options especially if--

"Your essays and power points on The Tale of Genji are due in one week, and expect pop quizzes. You may leave." the shrew cawed.

F U C K

Spoken Japanese came easy to Jazz, but she still had difficulties with the kanji. That was how she picked up so many languages so quickly-- conversationally. It wasn't ideal for getting school work done, but for the subjects she excelled in, like math and science, the language was universal. MAYBE the Inihara bookstore place had an English translation? But could she really read it in a week? She wasn't exactly a speed reader. And if not she was doubly fucked anyway. This, yet again, made her pine for home-- back there she guys for this kind of thing, a support system of nerds she could reliably pay for results when the going got tough. Here? Her family had been here maybe two months? She was the new girl. No one knew if she was American or some other flavor of scary foreigner, but she certainly didn't have a support system-- she didn't have a friend.

Sighing heavily, she let her head fall hard on her desk. Only for a few seconds, but by the time she lifted her head again, the class was mostly deserted, save for a few stragglers. That was going to make this next part so much harder-- she was going to have to find someone to study with, translate-- at least summarize the book for her. She couldn't afford to let her grades slip, this school actually had decent athletic scholarship potential. She gave an energized nod and stood quickly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She confidently marched over to the nerdiest kid she could find when suddenly--

Jazz saw a girl-- no, despite the uniform, this was most definitely a woman exiting the room. She looked to be about six feet tall, with skin as fair as the moon, and onyx hair down to her ass with a strut in her step like she knew how to flaunt it. Jazz bit her lip. She didn't catch her face, which was a crime. The nerdy boy looked up at Jazz, and Jazz down at him. Clasping her hands together, she made a decision right there to follow the mystery classmate out of the door then and there.

Picking her out in the hallway was easy enough, not even taking into account her height, most of her schoolmates were 5-7's and this girl was a 9 from behind. However taking into account her height came some logistical issues. Jazz was pretty short-- 5 feet flat last she measured. That put a solid foot of leg between her and her pursuant. And there was the issue of what to say--
Oh, hey, have you noticed we're in the same class together? I know this might seem weird but would you maybe want to get some coffee with me and help me study? I'm actually having trouble with this book report and could really use some help and you seem like you know what you're doing.

That... actually wouldn't be too bad of an opener... Now just come up with a reason why you're practically stalking her.

Be honest and tell her you think she's cute?

Lie? Let's be real, Imma probably do this.

Jazz, with all her grace and luck, bumped into the mystery classmate as she came to a standstill. As the woman turned around, looking down at Jazz's attempt at giving a polite and apologetic smile. Her skin had suddenly turned clammy and her heart felt like it was beating out of her chest-- You don't even need to do the line you practiced! Just apologize! She couldn't breath, she tried to speak to the woman but all she could stutter out were lines about coffee or cuteness. Was this what sleep deprivation did to you? She woke up early today... and she basically hadn't gotten and sleep all weekend studying since the kanji was so hard to decipher. She took one look at the mystery classmate's face and the unfairness of life came crashing down around her like a wave. Her eyes were blue. So blue. She didn't even know Japanese people's eyes could be blue... is that racist of her...?

That was her last thought as the world started to go dark.

Jazz fainted.

[EnterTheHero]

---

Nashiro Arcade!// April 18th, 2019 //10:05 pm
Mentions: @Ambra

---

Haruki tapped his foot, leaning up against the alley wall next to the arcade. His client should have been here almost an hour ago. He glanced down by his ankle, where a neatly-wrapped stack of books sat. He sighed, looking around and jamming his hands into the voluminous pockets of his jacket. He hated waiting. Especially when he didn't have to. He grit his teeth, checking his beat-up flip phone again and scowling at the time displayed. He better be here soon, or else--

"Yo, kid."

Haruki turned toward the mouth of the alleyway, where a stout, balding salaryman stood, looking around nervously. Haruki glared as the man finally approached.

"You're late, Sojiro. Again."

"Had to make sure I wasn't being followed... you weren't followed, were you?"

"You know I wasn't. Would I be here if I was?" He picked up the package, shoving it- perhaps a little roughly- into Sojiro's flabby arms. "As important as these books are to you, you'd think you'd show up on time for once."

"Come on, I'm here, aren't I? What's a little waiting?" the man said, handing a wad of yen notes to Haruki.

"Time is money. Especially for me," he said, grabbing the bundle of notes and counting it. His frown deepened. "...You forgot my fee."

"I-it should be all there--"

"Late fee. You know the drill. I can't afford to wait on you like this every time, I have other deliveries I could be making."

"...I'm short this time. It's a rough month for everyone, kid."

Haruki snorted, making toward the street. "Then maybe you can find someone else to dangle like this, next time. Or you can do without your precious deliveries until things get better--"

"Nonono, wait!" The schlubby man cut Haruki off, almost panicked. "C'mon, kid, no one's better for deliveries like this than you, I can't wait that long!"

Haruki's glare was uncompromising. And distinctly unimpressed. "If you know I'm the best, then you know what I'm worth." He held up his phone. "Up to you."

Sojiro looked as though he wanted to argue. Until, with a defeated sigh, he fished out an extra couple of notes and pressed them into Haruki's hands.

"Crook."

"It's only thievery if you're not getting something out of it. You said it yourself, I'm the best." Haruki counted out the bills, neatly folding them into his wallet. "Can't say I know why these are that important to you."

"Ignorance is bliss, my friend. Shouldn't worry yourself over it."

The glare returned, and Sojiro even took a step back from the force of it. "I mean it. Next time you're late, you're off the list. I can't do this every time." Without waiting for a response, Haruki stomped off, mounting his bike in one smooth moment, and darting off at shocking speed. What a night. It was gonna be a hell of a day tomorrow at school.

This is why I need to stop doing these deliveries on school nights. He was interrupted by his stomach growling, as he bolted in the direction of his rail connection to the residential district. He laughed humorlessly.

...If only I had that option.

---

Hyakusawa Academy// April 19th, 2019 // 3:15 pm

---

Haruki jumped in his seat as everyone started to shift out of their seats, cursing himself for falling asleep in class. He should be able to do better than this. At least he had some grocery money now. Enough to last him and his mother for the week, at least. He started to stand up, withering slightly under the teacher's glare. Yeah, he'd noticed. He'd probably pay for dozing off later.

Nooot looking forward to that. Especially since he had to find out somehow what the homework was. And going to the teacher first was a last resort. He looked around for someone who might know better.

There. A girl headed toward the door, away from the teacher, conveniently enough. He darted through after her, speaking up.

”Hey, miss. Could you give me a hand? I didn’t catch what the assignment was for homework before we were dismissed.”

[ERode]

---

_{Nashiro City -- Hyakusawa Academy, First Floor
April 19th, 2019 | 3:15PM}

---

For all the fanfare that accompanied his shift from middle schooler to high schooler, Kazuki didn’t really feel as if anything had changed. Outside of the smarter kids from his graduating class, most people stuck with the elevator school option of heading from Fukuyu into Hyakusawa, and as a result, Kazuki more or less knew everyone in his class already. That was a good thing, really. Didn’t have to worry about any new troublemakers popping out of the woodwork, and so long as he stayed on the first floor of the building, there was basically a zero percent chance of him having a random encounter with those troublesome upperclassmen delinquents, the ones that were literally just a year above him. Rumors had a habit of trickling down, after all, and by Friday, Kazuki knew all about it. The American giant, the ‘delivery boy’, and the Warden of the council. All bad news of varying sorts, but at least they had obvious tells to their identity. Red hair tended to stand out, after all, and being a tree amongst saplings did too.

Looked like he’d be able to coast through school too, if the lesson pacing continued this way.

With the impeccable punctuality expected of a Tokyo U mathematics major, Mr. Seishiro finished the last of his notes for the day with a flourish of his chalk, before pushing up his glasses. “We’ll be advancing to the next chapter on Monday, class. Please read ahead and do the exercises to prepare yourselves. As always, if you have any questions about the content we’ve covered today, you can speak to me in the teachers’ room.” The young man paused, his thumb and middle finger pressed together in anticipation. “Class is adjourned. Have a productive weekend, everyone.” And with a snap of his fingers, the school bell rang, the silent classroom suddenly filled with the noise of chattering students.

It impressed Kazuki every time, how well Mr. Seishiro kept track of his time. The lessons were never rushed, he always had just the right amount of time to answer questions during class, and above all…

“Um, Mr. Seishiro, do you mind going over the material with me again?”

…the teacher was handsome.

Normally, Kazuki wouldn’t really mind watching his female classmates fawn over the most eligible bachelor in Hyakusawa Academy, but this time, he was on class duty with one of them. Which meant he would soon be on class duty alone. Which meant he’d be late to the Bodybuilder’s Club today. Which meant he’d start his workout late too. And that’d mean he’d have to bust his ass biking to Royo’s Necessities, if he wanted to have any chance at all of getting there before all the discounted groceries were sold out. Which would suck.

…

Not that he’d do anything about it though. Wasn’t a fight worth fighting.

Casting another glance at the Seishiro Fanclub, Kazuki shook his head and sighed deeply, sliding his textbooks and notebooks into the bag he had since the first year of middle school. Maybe there was a friend he could rope into helping him? Yuuki had already left for his part-time work, Banri had scampered off immediately to the Literature Club, Rin still had a broken arm from when he broke Hanami’s heart, and Fumio didn’t even show up to class today.

Which meant Kazuki would have to give him class handouts today too. Good, if he remembered this now, he wouldn’t forget this later.
Rising from his seat, the brown-haired boy strode towards the blackboard, ready to clean up the erasers first. Along the way, one of the classmates he didn’t recognize looked at him. He looked back. They both looked at each other, but neither of them said anything. He tilted his head awkwardly. “Uuh…”

The stranger stood up suddenly. “Oh, um, like, do you need help?”

Kazuki took a step back at this, bumping into the desk behind him. The response came automatically though, before he even thought about it. “No, I’m fine.”

“Oh…”

“Yeah…thanks though?”

Kazuki rubbed the back of his neck while his classmate sorta just deflated. Very awkward now. Maybe he should have accepted her goodwill after all? But now it’d be even more awkward to just go back on what he just said moments ago. So in lieu of further embarrassment, the boy made an awkward smile and shuffled sideways away.

Work. Right, he had work to do! Hell, he had twice the amount of work to do, so he definitely had to get his act together now!

Shaking off whatever the hell that was, Kazuki began again his duty as classroom cleaner-upper.

[NeoAJ]

Mentions: @Darcs

_{Hyakusawa Academy Gymnasium
April 19th, 2019
8:22 AM}

*SWISH*

It was all coming that easy this morning. Maybe it was the overcast skies blocking any pesky sunlight from messing up her shots. Maybe it was the fact that it's a lot easier to shoot when there isn't a hand in your face. Maybe it was that second glass of imported orange juice. You know, the fancy kind from Florida. Whatever it was, every shot that Shiori Hasegawa took this morning was finding the bottom of the net. It's a lot more fun rebounding the ball when its waiting near the bottom of the basket instead of bouncing every which way. Besides, it's not like crashing the boards was hard when there's a solid half-foot height advantage. That's not the part of her game Shiori needed to work on.

Coach Tabuse was clear that due to the changing nature of how basketball was played, Shiori was going to need a solid outside-the-arc game to compete with some of the other prized recruits. The June showcase was looming ever large, and if she was going to follow in her father's footsteps and make it big in America, the girl needed to put in a good showing. If today was any indication, the power forwards and centers were going to have a very tough time dealing with her at the top of the key. It felt good to be hitting on all cylinders like this.

As a phone started playing the classical strains of "Hey DJ!" by Heartsdales from depths of Shiori's backpack, filling the empty gym with upbeat hip-pop sounds, she halted her shot in mid-flow and held onto the ball. Wiping a few beads of sweat that escaped from under her headband, she walked over to her bag and saw her preset alarm reminding her that playtime was over and that class would be underway soon enough. There would be enough time to grab a quick shower and change into her uniform before homeroom.

"Sigh, maybe I can find someone else to crib notes off of so I can sleep," she bemoaned to no one in particular as she shut the alarm down and tossed the phone back in her bag. Shiori took one last look at the basket, now 25 feet away from the corner three area where she had set her gear down. Quickly bringing the ball up for one final shot, she yelled, "KOBE!" as she fired with the same reckless abandon the Lakers star once did. Unlike his later years though, Shiori's shot was again on the mark, this time with a friendly bounce off the rim before falling in. "Yeah, that's right," she affirmed as she released her hair from the scrunchie that was holding it back, the makeshift bun collapsing as her jet-black hair fell back towards the floor before stopping at the small of her back. With a heavy sigh, she headed over to retrieve the ball and begin the arduous process of getting ready for class.

---

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:14 PM}

Arduous was definitely a more appropriate word for the way class was going. Any adrenaline that was built up from such a dominant performance in the gym earlier was quickly evaporated as hazes of physics equations and algebra started to cloud Shiori's mind. It was enough to make a girl go cross-eyed with just how much stuff was being thrown at students this late in the semester. Ugh, why do I need any of this? Some random gonna come up to me and ask for my autograph in the form of solving for x? This is useless. By the time she reached her final class of the day, the basketball star was ready to stuff all her books into the nearest incinerator.

The sweet sounds of freedom couldn't come any sooner as the alarm bell alerted everyone to another school day being in the books. "Freaking finally! Had enough of this... Shiori was ready to bolt before Miss Sawa decided to be a total bitch about things.

"The bell doesn't dismiss you, I do."

Really? Freaking really? I know the principal gets off on your BDSM shit, but I don't need it from you, ya gray-haired old crone. Shiori momentarily paused her escape efforts as the old lady power-tripped. The Hasegawas may have been in Nashiro for less than a year, but it didn't take long for Miss Sawa to reach the top of Shiori's shitlist.

"Your essays and power points on The Tale of Genji are due in one week, and expect pop quizzes. You may leave."

About time! Shiori gave no regard to the required power points and essays. There were enough Cliff Notes versions of the Tale of Genji floating around that a C-level report could be patched together at some point. The quizzes would be terrible, but whatever. As stated, no regard for them! It was time to leave, and Shiori made sure to let everyone know that fact. As she gathered up her stuff, she gave her hair the slightest bit of flick, as if to let Miss Sawa know just how done she was with everything she had to say. She strutted out of the classroom ready to head onto other, more stimulating projects.

As the athlete headed out into the hallway, she tried to puzzle out just what those projects were. I did put in a good shootaround today, but it would be nice to at least have a little competition. I wonder if Sugiyama's free for some one on one? ...Nah, I'd kick her ass way too easy. Kuriyama, maybe? The tall woman came to a stop as she tried to think of who she could hit up for a solid practice.

Coming to a stop was a mistake though. At least for the person behind Shiori, who felt a bump hit her from behind. She looked around... and then down, and saw the culprit. A very cute culprit, but a culprit. It was someone Shiori recognized from class. The new girl who came in a couple months ago. The one a lot of people thought was an American plant meant to spy on the students. Shiori never believed that. If anyone was the plant, it was Miss Sawa. Probably heading to the army base now to try and get some action. Add traitor to the list of her offenses.

Either way, as Shiori glanced at the girl, she finally got a good look at her. It was strange that she never noticed the way her eyes played off that light-brown skin of hers. Like they held a thousand secrets, but the glint told you how to unlock them. It definitely added to mysterious visage she created for herself. Again, it was still cute. Shiori wasn't the type to pay a lot of people in her class any mind. A lot of her friends were still back in Sapporo. She was essentially a mercenary in Nashiro. But her, she had her curiosity.

All that being said, she did bump into her backside.

Shiori was going to ask if she needed glasses, but that was before the girl's piercing eyes rolled up and she started to fall backwards. Years on the court had honed Shiori's reflexes to the point where she was able to swoop down and catch the girl before she received a concussion from the floor. "Hey!" she exclaimed as the girl appeared to be somewhat limp in her arms. "Hey, you all right? I know my butt isn't strong enough to knock people out! Can you hear me? Do you need some sugar or something? I have a power bar. Talk to me, girl!"

[Darcs]

MENTIONS: @NeoAJ

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:25 PM}

Okay. Okay, okay, okay. So... Jazzy can fully admit, to herself at least-- that she was definitely probably mostly faking it by this point. But, look, okay-- before you go throwing your glass shards haplessly at the walls of your wolf-proofed stone houses, you riotous pigs. Riddle me this; Would you not do the same were YOU in her Balenciaga slip-ons? I bet you wouldn't, would you? That's right! Because you're too poor to afford her shoes, you couldn't Yurchenko a mile in her Balenciaga slip-ons. You know, so before you judge her for this, how about you look at your own life decisions, pal? Pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and then toss away those garish Timberlands-- ugh. You know who wears Timberlands? Construction workers and New Yorkers. Do YOU want to be mistaken for a New Yorker? I didn't think so. Get better shoes, and then fucking swoon in the strong arms of a gorgeous Amazon and stay there for as long as possible.

So, Jazz was still extremely delirious.

Not delirious enough that she couldn't see an upside to being delirious, mind you, Jazz is still, at her core, Jazz, after all. Oh? She thought, An upside? Well, yeah, think about it logically dude-- you've basically got a free pass here. You can do whatever you want! Play up this 'delirious' character a bit. Exactly! Like, you've been admiring her grip on you ever since you first awoke, wondering all kinds of things about her finger strength and length, all kinds of things she could do with them that aren't basketballs... weird shit, really. You've got a bit of a perverted mind, dude! Sh-shut up! I am literally your mind. Not only am I not wrong about this, I won't shut up until you die.

Alright, your point being. Well, if you're so curious about how strong she is, why don't you reach out and grab her arm? You know? Get a feel for yourself? Th- What? What? Look I know I'm a little woozy in the head right know but that would be non-consensual touch! That's a form of sexual assault! I shouldn't have to explain this to you. Oh it's not that bad. Oh my god, I am not being gaslit about sexual misconduct by my own mind right now! Oh come on! She's touching you all over and you're in no state to give consent! That's different! She wasn't hunting me down just to catch me when I happened to faint because she has a thing for short fit brown girls! And even if she did... I like being held by her. I can't know if she'd like me to touch her unless I get clear body language or I ASK. Asking permission Jazzy? You've changed... You can't be my mind... I must be hallucinating this whole thing as a way to avoid talking to her!

And with that, a snap, and suddenly everything went silent for a moment. There was only the blackness of Jazz's eyes, still pinched closed. Then sound returned, Jazz's racing heart beat, the hurried steps of a few students hurrying about, and her savior's, the mystery student, still holding her. This both pleased and confused her-- she supposed the nurses office must be closed after hours-- but that wouldn't make any sense, what about club members and the athletics departments? A mystery for another time, she supposed, she was just still glad to be held. Now came the real trouble... once she opened her eyes, what would she say?

Slowly, Jazz opened her doe-like eyes and let them set on the mystery student's, as blue as the Mediterranean. It took the woman a moment to notice Jazz's stare, but when she did, Jazz didn't miss a beat. She put on her best 'winner's smile' a tactic she had seen her father pull on many a client when she was still young and he would occasionally bring her into work with him. Confidence is key, kids.

"So hey, before that whole "fainting spell" business, She gave an embarrassed sidelong glance, she put fainting spell in air quotes for some reason, despite clearly having just woken up from having fainted from overexertion, sleep deprivation, school stress, and dat ass, "I was actually going to ask you out for coffee! Would you want to get coffee sometime? _{if you want, you don't have to though.}" She heaved a heavy sigh of relief, as if a huge burden had been lifted off of her shoulders, the 'winner's' smile' faded into a friendlier, more natural one. "I can't tell you why, but it was important for me to say all that before I properly thanked you. So thank you! I don't feel any pain so I'm pretty sure that means no concussion! That would have really been a bummer... but now I get to thank you extra hard... maybe with coffee sometime! Or, if your tastes are more expensive we can go somewhere else? I kind of have a bare bones understanding of most of this town outside of like..." She stopped herself, Um. I feel like I'm saying a lot, am I saying a lot?"

[Solace]

Mentions: N/A

_{Thursday - April 18th, 2019
Hallways of Hyakusawa Academy}

"Kohaku-senpai, am I in trouble? Please don't tell me-"

"Stop being a pain in the ass."

Minase Kohaku hated the difficult ones. They would never immediately listen to his direction, which wasted more of his time; he had better places to be than the school, after all, and the faster that the boy could see his quarry to the student council room, the sooner he could leave. Even if it was Gamma who always issued the requests, there were obviously plenty of reasons why the student council president would want to meet an individual student besides being in trouble. Over the years, he'd noticed how much Gamma truly cared about the school and its population that frankly, he couldn't see how it was even possible. He always made a point to sit down with every single student at least twice each year, discussing subjects ranging from any personal troubles to academic futures; it was all for the sake of their own good, after all. It was something that Minase respected from his best friend; meeting all those people took a hell of a lot of time and energy, something that he would've found too exhausting. He heard enough whining at the arcade and his work, anyway.

Of course, this distinction was something that these first-years wouldn't know. The moment that they heard 'student council president' was when they began to write their own insecurities. Minase dropped his shoulders with an agitated sigh, digging into his pocket for a notepad that contained a list of names that were crossed out except for the last one. Class 1-D, first-year, Sasaki Tohru... short girl with black hair. His vision darted between the scribbled note and the student before turning away from her, motioning the girl to come along. "Just... follow me, Sasaki-chan."

As he looked through the corner of his eye, Minase was relieved to see that Tohru was finally cooperating, albeit still reluctantly from the way she quaked in her steps. 'Smooth,' he buried both hands and sarcasm into his pockets, keeping to himself as he could feel a dozen eyes watch them turn down the hallway.

"Kohaku Minase?"
"That's the Warden?"
"He's kinda scary looking..."
"I hear Nishimura-senpai makes him beat people up!"
"A delinquent in the student council?"
"Don't get in his way."
"Shh!! ..or you're next!"

He didn't give a shit about what small talk and rumors other people tried to spread. His student council duties were one of the few things that Minase enjoyed; it was only Gamma and the others who truly cared about him, who truly accepted him. People enforced his image as the Warden of Hyakusawa Academy like it was a bad thing, yet if it was to uphold his best friends' virtues, he would gladly embrace that title. Ensuring that Tohru was still following him, they were eventually met by the warm smile of the student council president.

"Ah, Haku. You've brought her."

Very eloquently dressed beyond ordinary student standards, Nishimura Gamma stood a few inches shorter than him, roughly average in height. His features were well-sculpted and handsome, his neatly-combed black hair just shy of falling over dark blue eyes. His complexion was naturally darker compared to most, nearly considered exotic in that regard. Every aspect of his best friend's appearance screamed student council president. "You've done such a good favor for me, Minase. As always, I apologize for putting this responsibility on you."

"For you, it's no problem," Minase stepped off to the side to allow Tohru to come forward, seeing Gamma study the girl intently before looking back up to him in the ensuing awkward silence. "Well, uh... I'll leave you to the meeting. Smell ya tomorrow, Gamma."

Just before the boy could start towards the stairway, Minase felt a surprisingly firm hand plant down onto his shoulder, stopping him in his tracks. "Before you leave," the hushed voice of the student council president lingered close to his ear in a whisper. "For tomorrow..."

---

Mentions: @AmpharosBoy @Ambra

_{Friday - April 19th, 2019
Hallways of Hyakusawa Academy}

Class was always a hit or miss for him. Depending on the content of the subject, Minase was only truly invested in their History teacher's lessons; on the flip side, he did not welcome the migraines that Mathematics wrought upon him. His grades weren't even too bad for someone who was as disinterested and allergic to studying as he was, and more often than not, he found himself being scolded by the faculty for not applying himself. The boy just didn't see a point to all of it if he was just going to end up competing with others for the chance of having a future, anyway.

When the time finally came for their dismissal, Minase was the first to gather his belongings and shuffle out of the classroom. Though, instead of throwing himself into the downpour, the boy perched his back against the wall parallel to the classroom's doorway, pulling out the notepad to see who he was looking for.

_{CLASS 2-D, SECOND-YEAR, CHIHARA SEIYA - BLACK HAIR WITH GRAY EYES}

Chihara Seiya was in the same class as he was, though the boy only knew her by name and the fact that she was a rather quiet girl that his classmates often sought assistance from with their schoolwork. To Gamma's surprise, Minase didn't even know what she looked like other than his fairly useless notes. Just about every other girl has black hair, you dumbass. A finger tapped against his temple as the boy carefully looked over each person who exited the classroom, drawing an exasperated sigh before opting to call off his search for the day. The notepad in his hand cycled with a cell phone, tossing a quick text message to Gamma about postponing the meeting for tomorrow before watching a certain someone bump into a girl at the doorway.

"Don't scare off another student, please. The student council already has enough problems to squash." Minase chided in the direction of the half-blooded offender, shaking his head with disgust towards Kenichi Richards before disappearing down the stairwell. He was not particularly fond of the other boy, in part of their heritage but mostly from their history of causing trouble. With the thought starting to get on his nerves, Minase plugged in his earphones, shifting his mind to ponder on which arcade he would go to for the afternoon.

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS: @AmpharosBoy @EnterTheHero

It wasn't like Seiya never paid attention to her surroundings, no matter how many times the upperclassmen might have called her an airhead in the past. Just as the tall boy slipped by her to leave the classroom, something slipped out of his bag and clattered to the floor. Her eyes followed the item-- a pen --as it rolled to the side. He didn't even seem to notice he had dropped the belonging, so she bent down and called out after him. "Oh, ah, e-excuse me! You dropped your pen!" Hopefully she was loud enough to notice, even though she didn't know the boy's name. It was far too early in the semester to know someone she didn't interact with on a daily basis. Maybe she should go on ahead and try to make an effort in getting to know everyone's name...

Someone else approached her before the pen could be retrieved by the tall stranger. Seiya blinked and turned to face the boy. He was shorter than she was, with bright red hair. What was his name, again? Christ, their teacher had made them introduce themselves in the beginning of the semester. Had she suddenly forgotten everyone's name? "W-we're supposed to read the next chapter, outline it, and define the terms on page 18. There's about ten of them I believe." Their class had only begun to learn about the first emperor of Japan, Emperor Jimmu, along with his dynasty and the ones that succeeded it. While not necessarily difficult to get a grasp of, even she got confused with some terms at times. History wasn't her best subject, though she was always willing to lend a hand to people who potentially needed it. "I was actually on my way to the cafe to work on the assignment a little. Want to join me?"

A voice rang out from outside. Seiya glanced away from the boy for a moment to catch sight of yet another red-haired boy, one that was calling out the tall one for cutting in front of her. She flinched a little; there was hostility in the boy's voice. She was aware of the brown-haired one's bloodline, yes, but he hadn't really done anything that shocking as of yet. He just seemed like he was in a hurry. Her gaze flicked back to the boy she was talking to, pretending to not have heard anything. She had seen the student council member around before-- he didn't seem like the friendly type. It was better not to get in his way.

[Potemking]

April 19th | Hyakusawa Academy | 2019

Mentions: @Ambra @Solace @EnterTheHero

He had just hoped to withdraw coolly; Not cause any issues among the class. But it seemed his apology, however scarce it might've been due to him hurrying, wasn't enough to save him from Minase Kohaku. His mere existence in the general area was enough to send shivers up spines; And Kenichi was weak willed enough at his words to find himself stiff and stopping in his tracks; A nervous expression taking over his features as his head turned, then followed Minase's movements for a moment: Kenichi couldn't manage a response to the individual labeled as the Warden. He tried to respect authority, but most of the problems he found himself with weren't things he started. Though finishing them made him a part of it, so it was fair enough to judge him on it.

Though this was just a slight mishap of not being fully aware of where he was walking; He hadn't even actually bumped anyone. He thought the words were unnecessary, and that lack of necessity for Minase's input melted whatever chill the he had and left a bit of annoyance in it's place. Though his annoyance with someone in Minase's position didn't mean much at all, giving that he was more so the prey rather than the hunter in these conflicts.

. . . Shaking his head, the tall lad had prepared to take his leave as a decision to ignore what had just happened to instead carry about his day to try and keep out of anymore trouble. At least, until a voice caught him as he tried to once again coolly withdraw from the classroom: Despite it being rather soft and kind, Kenichi's current annoyance and general defense mechanism with people he didn't know caused him to slowly turn, his eyes darkened with a stern glare straight at the person talking to him, and the short boy next to her.

This was very brief, however: Just getting an actual sight of who was talking to him was enough for his guard to lower. He had just stepped past her, yet she had picked up a pen he dropped on accident. Maybe it happened when he was bothered by the Warden... He scolded himself in his mind; Little too childish to be blaming a guy over a dropped pen, Ken... He accepted it back; Free hand scratching the back of his head as he felt like a bit of a goof for both dropping it and turning to assume everyone around was a threat. It certainly wasn't the case, but it was a habit he unfortunately had. He needed to break out of that.

"Oh, my bad!" He apologized, a grin on his face. Was he apologizing over the pen, or the glare? Nobody probably knew for sure, but the large young man wasn't currently passing off any aggressive or threatening aura aside from his sheer size compared to the two people in front of him. "I was kinda short while passing you; I'm sorry about that, I've, uh--" He held back the urge to look over at Lao, not wanting to instigate anything between anyone. "J-Just got a lot on my mind." Hand lowering from the back of his head, he might've offered to shake had it not been a weird thing to offer when there were two people in front of you. Despite him not holding a conversation with the short red-haired lad Kenichi had him included mentally for one reason or another.

"Thanks for telling me about my though! I appreciate you grabbing it for me."

[NeoAJ]

Mentions: @Darcs

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:28 PM}

It took a second for the weight of the entire situation to settle in for the tall woman standing in the hallway. Now that it was clear that this wasn't destined to be a tragic event, with nurses being called in and papers having to be filed and a bunch of other stuff that would have been a complete waste of time, Shiori could full appreciate the silliness of the situation she now found herself in. Holding onto another girl, Shiori's arms carefully keeping her suspended above the floor, the two looking at each other with a long lingering stare. If there wasn't some idiot writing yuri fanfic about this moment, it would be a monumental upset. Not that Shiori knew anything about yuri fanfics. Nope. Definitely not.

As the girl opened her eyes once more and stared back up at Shiori, it was easier to get a good look now that things weren't moving in a blur of annoyance and fear. Those brown eyes she saw a moment before were clearer, the secrets moved off to the side and now operating in more of a survival mode, considering the way they were readjusting to the light. But they were definitely big, and confirmed what Shiori thought on first glance. This girl was cute. Almost unbelievably so for the area. If she actually was an American spy, she definitely had some weapons had her disposal. Of course, what info was she gonna get out of someone like Shiori? Oh noes, all my knowledge of basketball players that are one-tenth as good as the players in America! Exposed to the enemy! Yeah, there wasn't much at risk here.

The girl below her was definitely trying to play the entire thing off. As if she meant to swoon like an American-built bridge and tumble almost to the floor before Shiori's save kept her from that fate. The smile on her face was one that hid embarrassment. "So hey, before that whole "fainting spell" business, I was actually going to ask you out for coffee! Would you want to get coffee sometime? _{if you want, you don't have to though.}"

Coffee? So this was a ploy after all? Was she really coming up to me just for that? I mean, none of the dudes have even tried to approach me for something like coffee, let alone another girl. I figured I just put everyone off by being a freaking giant. She's got guts, I will give her that. And she can take a hip check, even if it isn't a very solid one. Fuck, who do I even know here? Besides the other girls on the team? Hmmm... maybe I do need to start making some other friends. Can't be too late for that. It's only... well April, but still. That's time enough, right?

Um. I feel like I'm saying a lot, am I saying a lot?"

Shiori smiled. No but I was definitely thinking a lot. Kinda missed the rest of that... She shook her head. "I think you're all right," she confirmed as she pulled the nameless girl back up to a standing position. "I'd rather hear you talking a lot than not at all." Shiori brushed her arms clean, making sure her uniform was still presentable enough to get her out of the building without a stern look from one of the other teachers. "Coffee sounds like an acceptable reward since I saved you from picking up a concussion. If you want, I'm free now to grab a cup. I was going to head to the court to see if there were any fools I could dust, but I probably should do something a little more low-key after all that."

Did you really just agree to go out with someone you just met? Shut up, brain! I can do whatever I want! You don't even know her name! Well I... I should probably know her name... You should know a lot of things before doing stuff like this! I said shut up! This is a compromise, OK?

Shiori pointed those unnaturally blue orbs back at her no-longer distressed damsel. "I'm sorry, I don't know if I ever got your name..."

[Darcs]

MENTIONS: @NeoAJ

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:30 PM}

With an internal 'huff' Jazz's feet were reunited once more with the floor, as the much larger girl placed the much smaller girl gingerly on the school's linoleum. She wouldn't let the other girl know it, of course, but Jazz was a bit disappointed. If only she had asked 'Can you stand?' Jazz could have easily lied, 'Goodness, no! I'm afraid not.' and the fantasy could have continued, if even just a moment longer. It wouldn't have even been an entire lie either! As she stood now, closer to the woman than ever, her ex-gymnast's legs felt like jelly packed into sacks of useless flesh, she felt she was due another collapse any second. Much like the hysterical southern belle's and their fainting spells-- perhaps she had inherited the swooning trait from her name sake?

All this was to say, while a bit dissatisfied-- she certainly wouldn't let that notion cross her face. Her friendly smile remained so, her expression one of genuine affection and appreciation for being saved. This was the first time Jazz had gotten a good look at the girl that wasn't a quick (perhaps much, much longer than quick) glance from behind or a gaze within the throes of exhaustion that sent her right over the edge. This girl was pretty. Jazz had known that already, on the surface level at least, in her rush to speak to her from before-- but she hadn't been able to gather the extent to which that beauty seemed otherworldly.

Her hair wasn't just long-- it fell perfectly each strand of midnight lock knew it's place on the woman and created a seemingly effortless mane, Jazz knew girls back home that would kill for this kind of hair in weave. Hell, had Jazz not inherited some of her father's Iranian genes and gotten lucky with her 2B type hair, she might've considered killing her for it. Most girls here had black, straight hair, sure-- but none seemed so effortless. It almost made Jazz a bit jealous, and a feeling she seldom felt-- self-conscious. She had to spend a bit over an hour every morning straightening out her kinks and naps and conditioning out her frizz... she wondered what this girl's hair care routine's were...?

And then there was her skin... it was so... ugh! Jazz, still within the light grip of the girl setting her down, couldn't be convinced that she hadn't hopped out of the pages of some fantasy novel, or, what did they have over here in place of comics? Manga? She was completely unblemished, such pale, perfect skin no blemishes! The self-consciousness rose in her again, Jazz hoped her eyeliner had done it's job of hiding the bags under her eyes-- that her slight freckles weren't seen as unattractive to the girl. The pièce de résistance, were of course her gem-like eyes, shone like two hope diamonds, looming at least a foot above her. There was of course, more to observe... like her hands... dear sweet merciful lord her hands-- but Jazz's mind could only work so fast in the moments as she touched the ground. She called it a gambler's technique, a way to consider as many strategies as possible on the fly, especially in games like Poker and Mini Baccarat, where long pauses could be seen as weakness-- but really it was just severe anxiety. S-shut up! Still helpful in those games though!

The point was, this woman could easily be a model. Also she smelled amazing.

The moments of her being put on the floor felt like they lasted an eternity as Jazz's thoughts raced. But in reality, it was but a few seconds, and Jazz was back on her wobbly sea legs. The mystery classmate said something quite simple as she ensured Jazz was stable, that sent Jazz's already struggling heart completely aflutter. "I think you're all right," Much of the world went away, just the two women, facing each other-- they weren't alone, but to Jazz it felt like it. The slowly thinning hallways seemed a galaxy apart from the two. "I'd rather hear you talking a lot than not at all."

BA-BUMP

Jazz could hear her heart beat in her ears. The blood rushing throughout her like a waterfall threatening to gush out of her. It felt as if she had been hit directly in the chest with an arrow. It took all her strength not to grab her chest to make sure she wasn't bleeding after a flirt as blatant as that. Jazz wasn't completely new to this-- she'd been flirted with by women before, she'd even had a girlfriend before. She knew how crushes began, and how they felt like everything suddenly revolved around them, at least. But it had been some years since she'd been flirted with this frankly-- to say she was taken aback was a bit of an understatement. Still, she supposed it was to be expected, she had literally just asked this girl on a date after all. Had she used the word date? Fuck! This wouldn't be a proper date anyway-- just an after school outing between two classmates who wanted to get to know each other. Dates would come later. Hopefully.

BA-BUMP

And hey, if she was lucky-- maybe this girl could teach her a bit of Kanji-- maybe she had some tips on how to pass Miss Sawa the Shrews's upcoming gauntlet. And luck-- despite the recent spring of self-doubt coming from the girl's own beauty-- was something Jazz had in spades-- and clubs, diamonds-- every damn suit. Of course... the mystery classmate still had to say 'yes' to her proposal. After quick dusting of her uniform, she responded as such "Coffee sounds like an acceptable reward since I saved you from picking up a concussion. If you want, I'm free now to grab a cup."

BA-BUMP

Jazz's smile widened, to an almost cocky degree. Of course she'd say yes! You're freakin' adorable, dude! How could you doubt for a second that she wouldn't want to go out with you? It'd be like not doubling down with an 11 while the dealer's showing a 3! This isn't amateur hour. And since when has your gaydar ever been off? 'If you want' Yes, I want! Yes, yes, yes! The Mystery classmate finished speaking, "I was going to head to the court to see if there were any fools I could dust, but I probably should do something a little more low-key after all that."

Jazz's eyes narrowed momentarily at this. She played basketball, of course she did! She certainly had the build for it, the muscle, the h-height-- just from this brief encounter, Jazz could see in her deep eyes a determination to achieve victory. She was probably a beast on the court. Jazz had aspirations of being a professional gambler one day-- the casino's in America and pachinko parlors here were child's play compared to what the pros wagered, and some of the best money was in sports. Of course, no amount of fake ID's could get someone like her in on that industry, you needed an in. Making a substantial introductory bet on a team with someone like her? That was how you got in. But all of that aside-- Jazz was confused, she somehow knew this girl played basketball. Had she just guessed at it in her delirious state? Had she seen her face somewhere before...? Was she featured in an article she had read? Or rather, tried to read, knowing her history with the Japanese written language. A mystery for another time, perhaps.

"I'm sorry, I don't know if I ever got your name..."

She tilted her head with a smile, "Oh, you didn't. Remember, I passed out drowning in the endless pools that are your eyes? You had to save me like one of those sexy lifeguards? It was all very dramatic." Jazz. Yes? Jazz, you did not just say that. I did. Fight me. She's going to think you're crazy at this rate. Jazz ignored that train of thought, "I'd love to see you play sometime!" Jazz blurted out, "I'm a statistics nerd when it comes to games like basketball, and I might not look it, but I'm an athlete myself. Gymnastics. I was even considering joining this school's team when they opened up tryouts for new members." Jazz had let the point get away from her. Again. The girl had asked her name. "Anyway, my name! Jazzy Cyra, back home they call me Jazzy Belle for... 'reasons,' Jazz rolled her eyes just mentioning the nickname, "But for you? Jazz works just fine." She said this with a sly wink, "And what about you? In my head I've just been calling you 'Mystery Classmate.'" And cute.

[ERode]

---

_{Nashiro City -- Hyakusawa Academy, First Floor
April 19th, 2019 | 3:30PM}

---

The good thing about Mr. Seishiro, beyond his good looks, calming voice, and articulate speech, was that the teacher took exceptionally good notes. They were easy to read, easy to understand, and filled the entirety of the blackboard. Somehow, he always found a way to put an entire day’s worth of notes onto the blackboard without erasing a single thing, meaning that the less motivated students could simply take a picture of the board after class and not have to worry about missing anything at all, beyond the subtle disapproval of the fashionable educator.

That meant, though, that Kazuki had to erase everything, and by gods, there was a lot to erase. Pulling a stool underneath him to reach the very top of the board, the youth held cloth erasers in both hands and swept away calculations and notations with the full rotational range of his arms. Trails of blurry white followed the devastation of knowledge, and once the erasers had been so saturated by dust that they weren’t erasing anything at all, the brunette hopped off the stool and pushed open a window with his shoulder. The classroom was empty now, and he could probably slack off if he wanted to, but Kazuki knew that criminals and procrastinators were always caught when they least expected it. He allowed himself one breath of the fresh, spring wind, before clapping the erasers together. A cold, stony stench polluted the air, and he closed the window soon after, nose scrunched up.

A wet cloth worked to clean what residue remained on the chalkboard, and he soon shifted towards cleaning the desks. The surfaces were laminated, thankfully, and whatever scribbles found upon them were easily removed with the power of fabric and water once more. Predictably, someone had a crude penis drawn on it, not that Kazuki was going to report that. Someone else had scribbled down a couple notes on the surface, doubtlessly to aid them in the closed-book literature quiz the class had before lunch. The notes didn’t look all that useful though; someone hadn’t been paying attention to the quiz contents yesterday. He didn’t report that either, only dutifully scrubbed the evidence away. There were cute doodles too: a cat chewing on fish bones, an umbrella with two names under it, a repeated image of a flower that was missing another petal with each repetition. Real cute. Real nice. He erased them all anyways.

He also erased a death threat on the corner of a desk near the center of the room. Looked at that spot. Marked the location of the desk in his mind. Then kept his head down as he finished off the rest.

All that was left for the day was sweeping, and that…could have been half-assed, if people had actually used the goddamn cafeteria instead of their classroom. As it was, Kazuki hummed a quiet little tune as he used a straw broom to sweep all the trash into a great big disgusting lump of fried noodles, dried rice, tomato stems, apple seeds, infinite hair strands, and ew was that a booger? Yeah, he wasn’t going to scrape that off the floor. Some of the dust bunnies looked cute at least. Like the felt ornaments that Touko made before. He crouched down, reaching to his pockets for his smartphone. Then Kazuki stopped and felt very silly about wanting to take pictures of afterschool trash. What was he, an artist?

He stood up, gathered it all up into the dust pan, dumped it into the trash, put all the cleaning equipment back to where they belonged, groaned at the extra fifteen minutes it took to get everything done, and marched right out of the classroom towards the Gymnasium.

…

Five minutes later, Kazuki ran back into the classroom, snatched his bag off his desk, and ran out once more.

…

One minute after five minutes later, Kazuki, now definitely warmed up, ran back to close the classroom door properly.

[NeoAJ]

Mentions: @Darcs

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:31 PM}

It felt like a silly question the second it left Shiori's mouth. This girl had been her classmate for how long? The basketball starlet was never the most attentive person in class, but still, there had to have been a role call at some point to spare her the embarrassment of admitting to this... this beauty that she didn't even have a name to put to that face with the cute little freckles dotting it around her nose. Her face had so much personality, so much going for it to spark conversation. So much better than the pale skin that never seemed to show signs of tanning, just going from blank to scorched whenever she played basketball outside in the summer. It was inviting, down to those full lips that seemingly beckoned to...

...

...there were things happening that Shiori was not fully prepared for at this time, and she had to stop herself to at least get some presence of mind back so she could pay attention to what those lips were saying.

"Oh, you didn't. Remember, I passed out drowning in the endless pools that are your eyes? You had to save me like one of those sexy lifeguards? It was all very dramatic."

Holy shit, did she actually just say that? She just said that! She is seriously laying the flirt on! This is what it's like to be outright flirted with! And it's not some creepy business student doing it! I...do I flirt back? Did I flirt first? I... Shiori's mind was racing now.

"I'd love to see you play sometime! I'm a statistics nerd when it comes to games like basketball, and I might not look it, but I'm an athlete myself. Gymnastics. I was even considering joining this school's team when they opened up tryouts for new members."

Already wants to see you play! This girl is so into me! I... oh wow, how do I even do this? Like, do I just take this? Do I give her a clear path already? Get her the courtside seats? Does Hyakusawa even have courtside seats? Shiori took a second to take in the girl's body some more. I guess it makes she is an athlete. She definitely has a gymnast's body. At least from the size and the fitness...

"Anyway, my name! Jazzy Cyra, back home they call me Jazzy Belle for... 'reasons.' But for you? Jazz works just fine."

Jazzy...even that name sounds musical...so exotic...It suits her well.

"And what about you? In my head I've just been calling you 'Mystery Classmate.'"

Right. My name. Ugh, it's going to sound so much lamer by comparison! Thanks a lot, Dad. Couldn't name me something cooler like Namiko or Akari or something...

Shiori finally let out a sigh that she didn't know she had been holding in during that whole exchange. "Right, well, as much as I'm honored to be THE mystery classmate out of the entire grade, I suppose it makes sense to give a name to replace that. My name is Hasegawa Shiori, but I've never been a fan of honorifics, so you just call me Shiori. Makes things a lot easier." The girl was certain to make sure Jazzy didn't fall into the same trap that many of the other students here did, referring to her by her last name and thinking of her father so much they accidentally use his name when addressing her. It happened two too many times for her liking. "I knew you had to be some kind of athlete the way your arms felt."

Fuck's sake, Shiori. Just admit you were feeling her up. Good work.

"Anyway, I'm not too sure of my lifeguard skills, but hopefully you don't go falling into that cup of coffee or anything so I have to find out, huh?"

Shiori closed her eyes and smiled, as if to try and make sure that Jazz knew that her offers and flirts had found a home here. Given the lack of attention since she arrived in Nashiro, it was nice to have someone take such a relatively pure interest... and even nicer to have that person be cute as all get out as well.

[Darcs]

MENTIONS: @NeoAJ_{@ERode For like a sentence lmao}

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:32 - 3:35 PM}

Jazz noted the sigh. It didn't sound exasperated, so at least the woman wasn't annoyed with her, in fact-- judging by the way she was looking her face face over, the sigh seemed much like the opposite of exasperation. Jazz tried to keep her neutral polite expression as she noticed the girl checking her out, noting that with a flit of those deep blue eyes they lingered on her lips, for not even half a moment. But still- that and the way the taller girl observed her body once she noted her past as a gymnast made Jazz feel a bit giddy. Inside, at least-- you have to be chill about these things on the outside, maintain poker faces and such. But it was always nice to be looked at so, to feel seen by someone so...

Tall? Mysterious? Attractive? Potentially famous? A heartthrob who didn't seem to realize it?

Yes, all of those things, definitely. Had she felt this before with... Jazz shook away the thoughts internally. She didn't feel like thinking about her right now. That would only dampen the mood. Still, she was younger then-- she didn't recall it feeling this intense, the rush of just walking up to a person and saying, 'Hey, you're cute, want to get something to drink with me?' Ignoring the fainting spell, which definitely had more to with Jazz's lifestyle than this girl's knockout looks. Regardless, it definitely was a mood booster and the rush of knowing it was at least partially reciprocated was returning the feeling to her legs. Which was good! The coffee place was a bit of a walk from here if she recalled correctly. She probably didn't. Directions weren't a strong suit of hers. Hopefully this girl knew the way.

As she sighed, seeming to let off a similar amount of stress Jazz had pent up in just asking the girl for coffee. Jazz couldn't help but note a slight look of frustration cross her face... at having to give away her name, perhaps? Or maybe she wanted to keep the mystery going? Reading her was hard-- she didn't hold expressions that gave away much for too long, Jazz noted, she'd be a shark at the tables with some training. Or perhaps she was getting lost in her eyes... Maybe she needed another place to look as she gazed up at the woman? "Right, well, as much as I'm honored to be THE mystery classmate out of the entire grade, I suppose it makes sense to give a name to replace that." She definitely reveled in her air of mystery.

Jazz almost blurted out that she didn't need to tell her her name if she didn't want! She could keep being Mystery blue-eyed classmate woman. It'd be just like a movie where one of the main characters just didn't have a name, but just like... a thing you called them. There was a certain kind of romance to it. Like in Kill Bill. It occurred in that moment to Jazz that literally all of The Bride's problems would have been solved if she were a lesbian.

"My name is Hasegawa Shiori," A brief panic flashed over Jazz's eyes. She felt pretty confident in her spoken Japanese, but stuff like names were still a bit hard for her to grasp. Calling people by their last name didn't make much sense to her. And then there were the -sans, and -chans, and -sama's-- she hadn't really grasped those either. Perhaps that's one of the reasons she didn't have any friends here... or anyone who seemed to tolerate her, even. She continued, "But I've never been a fan of honorifics, so you just call me Shiori. Makes things a lot easier."

_{"Oh, thank God..."} She half muttered-half thought to herself... she hadn't planned on saying that out loud. She hoped Shiori didn't catch that.

But Shiori... Shiori, Shiori, Shiori Jazz thought, committing the name to memory. She almost immediately noted how pretty it was in her head. Like shore? It reminded her of the shore, anyway, and the beach and ocean, her time spent as a youth when she could spend time just enjoying the beauty of the Mediterranean coasts, or the shores of the Caribbean, or the beaches of Brazil, all after competitions. And then there was the fact that her eyes drew one in like riptides. Whatever it meant in Japanese slipped her mind, but to Jazz, it was very fitting. And then there was Hasegawa-- less pretty, but Jazz's mind searched for where she had heard that before... or rather, not heard. Read, or tried to. She couldn't be sure, but she was pretty sure she'd seen the name somewhere before. Maybe?

"I knew you had to be some kind of athlete the way your arms felt." Jazz blushed momentarily at that, quickly trying to force her body to stop the involuntary response. She was out of practice... but at least she still had it. Jazz hadn't taken the opportunity to feel Shiori's well toned arms... (or whatever else may be toned,) a decision a voice in the back of her head still slightly regretted. But her pride outweighed that voice-- and then as she looked at Shiori's body she could only think one thing, Later. Jazz snapped back to attention from her... thoughts as Shiori continued. "Anyway, I'm not too sure of my lifeguard skills, but hopefully you don't go falling into that cup of coffee or anything so I have to find out, huh?"

Oh, was that a jab at her size? Jazz's smile went a bit cocky, noting Shiori's cute expression as she finished speaking it, "Oh you don't have to worry about that, I'm half-mermaid on my mother's side, you know." She playfully jested, gazing upward at Shiori as the two began to walk toward the stairs, "I'm quite the expert in not having to come up for air." Jazzy Belle, you son of a bitch you can't just say things like that. Am I laying it on too thick? Literally yes, girl. That can be taken so wrong in so many ways... Jazz gave an internal shrug, I mean... No! Coffee with a classmate, maybe some study tips-- you need to at least befriend her first. Jesus Christ, bitch, you are too thirsty-- you have no friends here! You barely have friends back home. This is a step toward that. "Shiori is a really pretty name by the way." She said, pivoting the conversation topic.

Jazz kept close to Shiori as they rounded the corner of the third floor stair case, noting that she practically had to speed walk to keep up with the woman who was walking at a much more casual pace. Damn you short legs! Her eyes momentarily gazed toward the floor, the ugly lit, patterned but mostly white linoleum, trying to maintain the veneer of order institutions like this tended to enforce. She wasn't wrong though. She had no connections here besides her family and the few parlors she could fake ID her way into, but her situation back home wasn't much better. She'd spent much of her youth traveling with the Junior Olympians, when she graduated to Junior competing status, she was almost never part of a team. By the time she could compete with a Senior team, she'd felt burnt out... or maybe it was her. Either way, they all hated her now. She had some cousins on her mother's side. Were they really her friends though? It was hard to tell sometimes. She had one in mind above the others in their group chat, she was the closest thing to a friend she had, really, and now she was thousands of miles away. Even though it was probably like 2 AM in New Orleans, she'd be up by the time this... whatever this outing was, was over. Jazz would need to remember to text her.

Looking up again at Shiori's contented expression was a quick way to ease her mind of Jazz's current state of frustration over her friendlessness. It was something that assured her that this could be something nice. Jazz had plenty of nice things but... maybe something about that smile, that said to her she genuinely appreciated her, for just coming up and talking to her. Her heart had calmed down a little, but it felt warm at the thought. Maybe she needed something nice like this, with a person? As they rounded the corner to the first floor, Jazz's hand accidentally brushed against Shiori's hand-- and immediately she was blushing again. She hadn't realized how close she had been walking to the girl. She didn't directly apologize, but she did try to broaden the distance between the two, at least by a little bit.

As the two walked down the first floor hallway, Jazz's mind filled with potential topics for conversation-- but before she could say anything, a brown haired bolting boy slammed a classroom door and ran with the vigor of... well, her right before getting 86'd from a casino. "HELL YEAH, DUDE!! RUN IN THOSE HALLS, THEY CAN'T STOP YOU IF THEY CAN'T CATCH YOU!" She yelled at the mystery boy, cupping her hands around her mouth, "FUCK THE POLICE!!"

Jazz turned to her cute companion after her outburst, "So, uh... you know how to get to this coffee place right?" A small smile on her mouth as she said the phrase, "I know it's around here, somewhere but I'm actually not the best with direc---" The two were close to the exit now, only as they approached did Jazz hear the rain cutting her off mid sentence. "Wanna steal someone's umbrella?" Jazz said with an innocent smile, hoping her ploy to share a single umbrella wouldn't be discovered.

[EnterTheHero]

---

Hyasukawa Academy// April 18th, 2019
Mentions: @Ambra@AmpharosBoy

---

Haruki nodded gratefully as he caught up to the girl, and she started to fill him in on the assignment he needed. Awesome. No need for an awkward meeting with the teacher, he mused to himself, pulling out a notepad and writing it down. Then, to his surprise, she invited him to a cafe, to do the assignment with her. He paused. ...Does she not know me or something? That's... kinda refreshing. Not many people would be willing to do anything with the so-called "Red Dog" if they could help it.

Stupid nickname. But it's better than it could have been...

Still, before indulging, he should make sure he didn't have anything else that required looking at. Sojiro's late fee would keep him tidy for a few more days on its own, but it never hurt to check. He pulled out his flip phone, checking for any messages.

...Hm. No deliveries yet. I guess I do have time. He started to speak--

Until the gaijin showed up. Apparently he'd dropped his pen, and was now grabbing it back from his new compatriot. His eyes narrowed as he stared at him; not quite a glare, but certainly not friendly. He shook his head- he was being stupid. He had other things to do other than stare at the giant white boy. He turned toward the girl, ignoring the interloper entirely.

"A study session sounds awesome, thank you. I'm Akamine Haruki, by the way. Nice to meet you."

[NeoAJ]

Mentions: @Darcs

_{Hyakusawa Academy
April 19th, 2019
3:36 PM}

It was a bad joke. Such a bad joke. So bad Shiori's dad would have been proud of her for making such a joke. Why did I say that? I don't know how she is going to take something like that. She knows I'm talking about her being clumsy, right? Ugh, I'm stupid.

Luckily, Jazz was taking it well in stride. "Oh you don't have to worry about that, I'm half-mermaid on my mother's side, you know. I'm quite the expert in not having to come up for air." VERY well in stride. Shiori didn't catch the full intonations of Jazz boasting about her lung capacity. Well, I suppose mermaids don't surface too often. Ariel was the exception, not the rule, right? Always lounging around on that rock? Shoot, summer needs to get here soon. Maybe if I try really hard I can find that happy medium between ghost and lobster...

The tall girl was so caught up in her own thoughts, she almost missed the reassurance that her new friend had offered. "Shiori is a really pretty name by the way."

Shiori smiled at the unexpected compliment. "Awwww, you're sweet. Thank you," she said, blushing a little bit. Even the slightest tinge was noticeable on her skin. "My father was adamant that all his children have names that start with Shi. I'm thankful he didn't take that one step further. Shiori, I can handle. Shigeno, I don't think I could have pulled that off. I would have to come up with an alternate name or something."

Is that too much info off the bat? Fuck, I don't even know.

She did her best to keep at a pace that Jazz could keep up with, but it was hard to do. She wasn't used to going slow. On the court it was all breakneck speed, all the time. She had a full-court game. It's part of what made her such a valuable player. And she usually was traveling by herself afterwards. So walking with other people, especially ones that she had nearly a foot on, it was something she was a bit out of practice on.

But the fact that she had to practice this was a welcome change. It was hard to try and maintain the same level of social happiness with all her friends being back in Sapporo. It wasn't the same having to get the dirt from Chie, Setsuko and Kazumi over the limited amount of internet that the Americans had allowed. There wasn't the same camaraderie when the physical aspect was removed. Plus, most of the others, Takako, Mitsuko, the like, they already had well-established circles of friendship. There was no reason to have the mercenary brought in when Shiori was only going to be there for the year. So having Jazz take such an interest in her and be willing to try and keep up with Shiori, it gave her a sense of happiness she didn't have outside of basketball in a while.

That said, feeling Jazz's hand brush up against her own was a sensation Shiori definitely wasn't expecting as quickly. Wow. She really tried that? Did she mean to try that? She looked over at Jazz, who now opened up a little more distance between the two of them, the same red visible on her cheeks that she was sure she had on display not moments before. Awwwwww, she's shy! That is so cute! I mean, would I be holding hands with someone this quickly? How long was it before Chie and I first tried something? Probably a bit longer than 10 minutes... still. This is gonna be fun. I can feel it.

Shiori was thinking about closing the gap between the two of them, until some kid, a boy from the looks of it, went tearing down the halls. Jazz seemed to be fully supportive of the impromptu track meet, shouting encouragement as he tore through the halls like a kamikaze wind. Shiori just stood, watching him disappear. Damn. He should really try out for track...

As they reached the door though, it became clear that he brought the rain with him as well as the rain. The downpour didn't look particularly threatening, but it was sufficient enough to make people think twice about braving it without some form of protection. It was clear Jazz was one of those people.

"Wanna steal someone's umbrella?"

Shiori thought for a second, then a sly smile crossed her face. "I actually do know of a quaint little coffee place just a couple blocks from here. It's run by the sweetest old couple. I think we can make a break for it there." She turned and looked over at Jazz. "You know, if you're not afraid of getting a little wet." She winked as she said that last sentence. Just tell her you want to fuck already, jeez She turned her attention back to the situation outside. "C'mon. I'll race you!" With that, she took off, uniform be damned if it got soaked or not as she intended to lead Jazz to their desired destination. As she stepped out into the weather, the rain felt good. It felt cleansing. As if the introduction of this Jazz girl into her life was the start of a new chapter in Nashiro.

[ERode]

---

_{Nashiro City -- Hyakusawa Academy, First Floor
April 19th, 2019 | 3:35PM}

---

Kazuki jumped when someone suddenly began shouting in the hallways. Whipping around, he looked frantically for the source of the aural explosion, but all he saw around him were two older students chatting about older student things. The windows then? Or maybe from another classroom? It was all very perplexing, and after wasting a good thirty seconds wondering if he was going to get inducted into some delinquent gang, the brunette decided that he was safe, and bolted off once more. Warm up, work out, grab the handouts from the teachers’ office, get those discount groceries, and then off to Fumio’s.

Easy peasy.

…

In another five minutes, Kazuki was amongst his lift buddies, the second and third year students that had muscles akin to a half-giant. With the mechanical certainty of hydraulic presses, they pushed and pulled and flexed and groaned, taking shots of ginseng protein shakes as the clanging of weights rang clearly throughout. The Bodily Health Maintenance Club was as aggressively positive as always, and their president was flexing at the mirror once more, isometric exercises boosting his self-esteem greatly. Impressive as always, Kazuki always felt a little bit impotent around him. If the president went full mache chad mode and said something like “Yeah, I fucked your girl. Whatcha gonna do about it?” Kazuki would probably end up just doing nothing.

Not that Everyone’s Muscle Bro™ was actually that sort of person, and not that Kazuki was going to get a girlfriend before the president graduated, but still…

“C’MON ZUKI-NI, PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT!”

“WAIT, NO, DON’T DO THAT! ENGAGE YOUR QUADS AND GLUTES MORE INSTEAD!”

“YEAH, BACK INJURIES ARE NO JOKE. AND LET’S SEE THAT SMILE, BRUDDA!”

Kazuki sorta wanted to die, but it was also nice not to think about anything other than dying from muscle fatigue. As the only first year in the club, everyone was nice to him, so it was always pleasant. Lifting up twenty pounds of weight with one hand, he sucked in a deep breath, imagined all his power welling up, and LIFTED!

Or, well, he tried to.

The reality of it was that he stayed in place, shaking and concentrating and not actually being able to lift up that weight after all. Who knew one’s muscles could be so rebellious when in the face of strain and effort? Kazuki knew. He experienced it every day.

…

Skipping the shower meant that Kazuki was a smelly boy by the time the bell rang for the end of afterschool activities, and skipping the shower also meant that Ms. Yamaguchi gave him a weird look when she handed Fumio’s handouts over to him, but his body odours meant that all the housewives in the grocery store he frequented kept themselves at a respectable distance. Enoki mushrooms, get! Instant dashi, get! Assorted greens, get! Cheap beef? Hell yeah! And can’t forget tomorrow’s lunch of today’s dinner bentos, either! Yay! With the efficiency of someone who had shopped way too many times at the same place, buying the same things, Kazuki breezed through everything, got bottlenecked at the cash register, and burst free, ready to do his final chore for the day. His schedule was shot to pieces, of course; he was half an hour behind everything.

But Fumio lived close by, in a two story apartment, with a mom who worked night shifts downtown. Kazuki turned the corner, entered the gates, bowed at the chainsmoking landlord, ran up the steps, regretted running up because his sore calves doth protest at such abuse, an-

“Oh, hey, Fumio, heading out after all?”

A blond youth, his dark roots showing on the crown of his head, turned towards Kazuki. His eyes were bagged again, his gaze listless. Lips were cracked. Had he not been eating? Still in slacks too. “Mm,” was his response.

Kazuki grinned. “Glad you see you feeling better then.” Wanna come over for dinner? He wasn’t going to say that.

“Naw.” A slow shake. He smelled of something oily, sticky. “Still shit.”

“Hope you, uh, get better soon.”

A blank stare, then a nod.

“So, am I blocking you?”

“Not really.”

Kazuki raised a brow. “You’re heading out though?”

Fumio remained unaffected. “I’ve headed out.” The pajama-clad youth took in a deep breath, eyes reflecting a rosy, golden suburb. “And now I’m done.”

“Oh. Kay.” Kazuki blinked twice, before quickly rummaging through his pack. “Right, your handouts. There’s readings to do for next week, but it’s still fairly chill so far.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”

“I’ll go now.” Fumio stepped in and closed the door. A moment later, there was a click as the bolt locked in, and a moment later, the chain rattled as well, slid into its own slot.

Kazuki blinked a third time. He took in a deep breath as well, but only drew in the residual oiliness that tracked Fumio. That was gross. The boy shook his head, rubbed his nose, and headed back home.

He didn’t have time for this.

[Marlowe]

MENTIONS: N/A

"Nice to meet you, too," Seiya had replied to Haruki. She turned towards the larger boy and offered a smile at his thanks. He had been much sweeter than she thought he'd be; she expected him to ignore her or not even give her a thank you in reply. "Let's head to the cafe. I heard the coffee is pretty good there," she replied towards Haruki. She wasn't sure if she should have invited the tall boy-- maybe next time she would. For now, it was just her and Haruki.

Their studying session didn't last long. By the time that Seiya got home, it was roughly six o clock in the evening. Her parents still weren't home by the time she arrived, though that was normal. They'd get home in the next hour or so. She had remembered that they told her to order take out, which pleased her; she wasn't in the mood to cook. The school day had taxed her for some reason. Maybe it was just the crash from the coffee she drank with Haruki. Or maybe it was just because she helped him a bit too much. Then again, she was prone to doing that with just about anyone.

After having her share of dumplings, Seiya completed the last of her history homework and turned in for the night soon after. Rain still tapped against her window as she laid face up in her bed. She scrolled through a few more pictures of cats on her phone before she decided that she should probably get some sleep. Just as she tabbed out of the screen to roll over in bed, she noticed something... different. A strange red app without a name. Huh. When did she download that? Did she download it when she needed some study help? She didn't even remember. Well, she definitely didn't need it now. With a tired sigh, she held down the app and forced her phone to delete it before she went under the covers. It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

---

_{April 20th, 2019
8:15am}

It just wouldn't stop raining.

Seiya was glad for her umbrella. The heavy downpour soaked everything else around her-- the cars, the benches, the sidewalks... The storm didn't seem like it was going to stop any time soon, either. It felt just like winter again; she had to wear a thicker jacket than usual for the rainy breeze brought a chill to the air. At least she was close to school already. The only thing she wanted to do was get to school and keep dry in the meantime. It wasn't that far from where she was. All she had to do was walk two or three more blocks and she would be there. Just as she neared another corner, however, Seiya saw a small, huddled shape underneath an overhang. It was a creamy tan in color with perky ears and a curly tail. Was that a dog? It was drenched in water and looked miserable. Where was its owner?

When she reached the dog, she pulled off her schoolbag and unzipped it. Seiya always brought a snack to school, though the dog seemed to need it more at the moment than she did. She took out a bean bun, unwrapped it, and parted it in half, making sure to not make a mess of the filling inside. The dog hardly moved. It watched her with wide, curious brown eyes, tipping its head to the side when she held out the bean bun. Now that she was closer, she noticed that it had a studded black collar but no dog tag. What a shame; there was no way she could find a way to take it home, then. Nevertheless, the dog appeared friendly. It took a step forward, sniffing at the bun before it took it from her hand and devoured it within a few bites. "Stay safe, alright?" she told it. The dog blinked at her in response. Seiya felt bad for the poor thing. It was so cute; how could someone be so careless as to lose a dog? She smiled, softly patted it on the top of its head, and continued on her way to school.

[ERode]

---

_{Nashiro City -- Road to Hyakusawa Academy
April 20th, 2019 | 8:15AM}

---

It was on dreary, rainy days that Kazuki wanted nothing more than to sleep in, but he was old enough to know better. He had been up before his alarm rang for 6:15AM, flicking the digital clock off so that it didn’t ring and wake his father up. His mind was still fuzzy, and his muscles were sore from the hellzone that was doing drop sets, but that was nothing a glass of cold milk couldn’t fix. Shrugging on a jacket and slipping on his fuzzy slippers, the brunette began cooking. Rice, instant miso, fried eggs, microwaved mackerel, and salad greens. There wasn’t much variation when it came to breakfast with the Magases, but it looked nice at least.

Not Instagram-worthy, but fuel was fuel, and his mom ate fast enough that it didn’t matter anyways. For her eating habits, Kazuki made sure that the miso and mackerel were lukewarm, and she guzzled it down like it was a competition. Unlike Kazuki, Ayumu Magase did have a habit of sleeping as long as she could. It wasn’t a normal morning if she wasn’t rushing to get to work on time, after all. A quick word of thanks, a quick word of farewell, and she was off, still skipping on one foot as she tried jamming her shoe onto the other. Kazuki held onto her lunch and her purse patiently, and approximately seven seconds later, his mom burst back into the suite, an awkward grin on her face as she took what she forgot, pecked Kazuki on the cheek, and booked it the hell out again.

He washed his face later; her kiss smelled of miso and fish.

His father was still asleep by the time Kazuki had finished eating and was ready to go. No reason him to wake up this early, not when the drama he followed didn’t start till 11AM. Kazuki had poked his head in the bedroom a couple of times, just to see if the man had woken up or not, but without any indication of consciousness, the youth cooked some extra meat, put everything on the stovetop, and decided that his father would probably be eating brunch instead.

Rain still waterfalled from the rafters when Kazuki left for school, dressed in his middle school raincoat. Another morning, another day. He yawned, pulled his plastic hood lower over his face, and marched off towards school.

He had forgotten his rain boots, of course, but there was no helping that.