Katsumi Kurosawa's Story

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Katsumi Kurosawa

Location || Outside?
Dialogue || #6B3E53
Thoughts || #804080
▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬▬"So where did your senior go Kurosawa-san?" A teacher asked with his arms crossed and foot tapping away. "She requested a change this time." He obviously appeared irk and she didn't blame him... This wasn't the first time she was left unsupervised by her senior, she sighed remembering what happened.

Flash Back

"Katsumi you could do this..." She stared intensely at the bathroom mirror, "Smiles arent hard..just.. focus" She added, before taking a deep breath.. Slowly she began to smile, and while she did so, she nodded approvingly. What she put forward seemed natural enough, a kind of calm sort of grin really, 'Aye not bad.' Katsumi thought victoriously, 'Maybe this year wont be a total failure.' Feeling her sense of hope rise, she walked out of the bathroom with a slight hop in her steps, "Ne Senior-sa-" Suddenly she found her back being pressed against the wall, as if she was trying to hide.. "What...?"

"So I heard your Junior was Katsumi Kurosawa.." A girl said, as her name was taboo or something, "You must be pretty brave." Another girl began to nod, agreeing with the first girl's statement, "Yeah did you hear, not only was she seen soaked in blood (in actuality, just red paint) in the art room, but she also got kicked out of her past school due to gang activities.. geez scary.." Silence pursued, before the hateful question was asked, "What do you think of her Senpai? I mean, you've been around her for awhile right?"

Katsumi's fingers tightened to form a fist, she knew this was going to happen, 'Please senpai..' She thought desperately.. It was the last thing she wanted to hear, her own senior calling her out and agreeing with the notorious rumors. Katsumi thought she gave off a good impression, she practiced so hard with her brother, was it all for not?

"Yeah she's pretty scary, I swear every time my backs turned, I feel like shes about to pounce me." Her lips tightened. "It so scary to know she's always behind me, and shes trying to act all goody two shoes, but yknow she just wants to take advantage of you.." Her pulse increased. "God, why did I have to be paired wi-"

"Sorry."

Three sets of eyes met hers and if she wasn't so "pissed", she would have laughed, they looked like a bunch of deer caught in the headlights. "But what were you saying?" She smiled, however it was not like the one she practiced, instead it was- "GAH!" In seconds flat she was left alone in the hallway, her "smile" gone, and she merely stuff her hands into her pocket, slouching slightly. "Whatever." Her voice was flat, uncaring, while her face appeared stoic and nonchalant.

She was quite used to this.

End

"Sorry... my fault." She replied, not bothering to take time to explain what happened. She knew it was going to be in vain, for the rumors that went around not only went to the students but teachers as well, which was obvious when she saw the look the teacher was giving her. Sighing, he massaged his temples, "Kurosawa-San, I know you just moved but please dont make such trouble.." She nodded solemnly. "Well for now, go to the group of three over there, we'll arrange something for you later."

Without saying a word, she walked away towards her designated group for this.. "balloon pop"? She remembered the instructions, clearly understanding it, but even then, she never played the game before so she had her doubts. However that wasn't the problem she was worried about, 'Would they freak out too.' She studied the men from afar, 'They seem.. friendly enough.' If anything, her nerves relaxed since in her experience, most male students freaked out less- maybe they judged less or perhaps it was just a front to keep their masculinity in tact? She wouldn't know but at least one of them seemed tough.. (Ryou). The other two? Questionable.

"Hey." (She is currently speaking in Japanese) She lifted a hand up in a curt yet boyish form of greeting, "I was sent over by the teacher," She gestured a thumb towards said "sensei", "he said since this is a group of three I could make it even." Katsumi explained, hoping to disguise the fact that she had no senior to pair up with and that it was simply due to uneven groups.

Attempting a smile, despite her secretly bitter mood, she decided to introduce herself, "Im Katsumi Kurosawa, nice to meet cha three." She eyed them, curious if they would recognize her as a result of the rumors, it would be nice if they didnt, but she highly doubt it.
[OOC: Sorry if its rushed, but I wanted to jump in as soon as possible~]

The explanation was simple, yet exactly what Johnny needed. Though unsure about the usefulness of his learning the language, he did appreciate the option to communicate clearly. Regardless, he wanted to continue conversing in the language this country was known for. “No. Thank you very much, Ryou-senpai,” Johnny returned, also in Japanese. The simple phrases he used were among the first he learned. As a result, that particular response sounded very competent. Johnny continued to bop the balloon with the flexibility and skill that garnered him the sports-related prestige in his old schools.

Almost as if on-cue, the blonde teacher announced the start of the balloon bop. Johnny snatched his balloon out of the air. “Ok, let us begin,” was the general gist of his addition. This time, it was right back to amateur town.

Johnny formed up opposite the other two dudes. The stark contrast between the two fit giants and the skinny short-stuff would make the stuff of legends if anyone had been paying attention to this particular group. Chances are, everyone else was focused on their own brand of the same activity. With a single tap of his fist, Johnny launched his balloon up close to the ceiling. There would be plenty of time for him to call a name, a body part, and for the intended student to make due on the limitations.

For now, Johnny had no deeper concerns. There was only the present, and the balloons filling the air with the sounds of rubber drums, as students bopped at their own pace. The rhythm was haphazard, but Johnny could tell there was a groove to be made somewhere in the collection of sounds that flooded the large, echoing chamber of the gymnasium. Might as well start with his Senior. “Ryou-Senpai,” he called in Japanese. He then struggled for a split second. The only name for a body part he learned was “foot”, so he went with exactly that. “Foot.”

It was then that the new Junior arrived. She spoke in Japanese, only she sounded similarly as Johnny thought he sounded. It sounded like a more casual version of a greeting, followed by some kind of explanation involving one of the teach… Sensei’s? Sensei? Whatever… Still, another foreigner? Johnny wondered. She looked different from the Japanese folks he’d seen this past month. This girl looked more… Chinese…? It was hard for him to tell. He couldn’t be arsed to put those differences into words for his brain because she looked kinda cute. She had long, dark hair and perfect pearly-whites and-

… I don’t even know where to start with you, dude, Johnny thought to himself. Don’t you even see it?

Indeed, one look for Johnny’s trained eye, and the foreigner could see that the new girl’s eyes betrayed the smile she wore. There was definitely some kind of darkness within her, much like many students. Johnny recalled his father once say that “That darkness you see is a teenager coming to grips with their identity.” Seeing that look in his eyes in the mirror since last year, Johnny knew exactly what pops spoke of. “It’s a part of growing up.” Johnny got that from his dad, though he did not say that it was his own eyes that he noticed that occasional oddness to them.

Despite that read, Johnny knew nothing about any rumors, nor anything beyond "she's got her own deal, same as everyone else". He only waved back with that confident, yet not at all fake smile of his, and an equally decent word in greeting. The past is the past, and previous weak encounters would make way for better encounters. Time to pull the stops, he thought, this time the greet will go swimmingly. The foreigner, of course, knew jack squat about this girl, and he wouldn’t be sure what to think if he knew.

Frankly, all the foreigner cared to know about at this point was that she needs to get her wish and balloon set up so she can join the game proper.

---

Popularity +1 to Katsumi

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"I guess that this year
will be different from last one
I'm more talkative than I have to
but, i don't mind it
as much I had thought otherwise
I'll just see what happens."

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██His junior has no other questions for the mean time. That's good to know. He looked at the balloon in his hand which carried his wish inside. He knew deep inside that this activity was just for fun. It's impossible for a wish to be granted just like that with a balloon bop game, if it did, people would just be playing this game all of their lives. Ryou even with such stark thoughts actually, wanted to believe that this superstition would add a chance in her recovery, at the most.

He then heard the teacher saying that they were to start. Johnny was rearing to go on ahead which his junior did. He was bout to follow the trend especially when he called out his name, but there was another addition to their group. His eyes went to the newcomer, forgetting the activity around them. It was a girl with a rough demeanor around her. She wasn't like most of the girls he had seen around him. Most usually are very feminine as he recall his experiences with them. This was... refreshing. She began to explain about being sent here by the teacher to make the group even, but he doubted that. She was a face he doesn't recognize. It meant a freshman. She must also be in the same circumstances like Shintaro, but he didn't say anything about it.

"Giou, Ryou." He introduced himself simply, then looked at Johnny and Shintaro to do the same. "Here." He showed her balloons. "Pick one and then write on a piece of paper what you wish for. Put it inside the balloon after, then inflate it." He explained and somehow, he was opting to record his voice in a recorder, so he won't have to say the same things again. It was nothing against anyone, he just wasn't used talking a lot or even leading situations.

He also noted that smile of hers. "Kurosawa-san." He started and then did what he had always done for all the juniors for this school year. "Welcome to Airdalen." He wasn't being sarcastic or anything. He was just told that it would be appropriate to say that. It was then he heard some of the students that were looking at them whisper about a word, scary. He wasn't sure what that was about, but he ignored it. Just like his junior, he wasn't well-read with the rumors flying about. He wasn't the guy to let himself get lost in it or really cared for it. More importantly, he really doesn't care about a person's preference or anything beyond or behind them. It was okay as long as it wouldn't bother him.

It wasn't mandated to him to be a judge or whatever. "Just tell me, when you're ready. We'll continue the game." He waited for a while to give Katsumi time to prepare her balloon and wish. When the balloon and she had told him, she was done. He started the activity again by doing what Johnny called him out on earlier. "Let's go." He then kicked his balloon into the air with his right foot. The balloon was rather high in the air even if his kick appeared to have no strength. "Jay. chin." He continued on for the others. "Tanikaze-san, shoulder. Kurosawa-san, knee."

Just like that, their balloon bop activity had finally began, hopefully, everything else would proceed on smoothly.

---

“Jay,” Ryou called, “Chin.”

You got it, Johnny thought. He considered his options for accomplishing the challenge posed to him. He could jump up and bop the balloon at the right time, but even with a good jump, that would only send the balloon a certain length. The force behind the jump would be spent on pushing his body, and not transfer properly into the balloon to send it high enough for him to send a command, let alone let the next student react.

One other option: Johnny stepped swiftly to the estimated landing zone for the incoming balloon, and dropped onto his back. From there, he pulled both legs up with a slight bend. His flexibility allowed his legs to cross over his head. When the balloon was mere feet away, Johnny thrust his legs out and forward without grazing the balloon. Performing a well-practiced tip-up, Johnny tilted his head upwards to poke out his pointed chin. His core tensed up as the force applied to his legs transferred to his torso and neck like a bullet. With the sudden change in force, Johnny’s torso lifted off the ground. Though a tall, lean boy, Johnny performed the recovery surprisingly well. It seemed it wasn’t the first time he had to get off his muscular back. Indeed, in his old schools, Johnny was often targeted by the heavier athletes in games, since they knew just how much of a threat Johnny was on the field.

More importantly, however, the timing could not have been more nearly perfect. The swing of the foreigner’s back, neck, and head allowed the chin to whip the balloon with enough force to propel the balloon higher than his initial idea of a simple jump. The wish-container was once more in the air. Hell yeah! he thought as the feeling of the thin rubber membrane propelled away from him. His feet stamped lightly against the floor as he righted himself from the jump. He felt a sense of pride in his physical prowess for a good couple of seconds, only to realize that he hadn’t called out a name and body part yet.

Most importantly, the maneuver send the balloon slightly outside the perimeter of their circle.

Shit, he thought as his mind raced. Next up would have to be the girl, who had introduced herself as Katsumi Kurosawa. She appeared to speak with a similar accent to Johnny’s. Could she know English? It would make this game easier… But she still had to make her wish-balloon.

Best to keep it safe. He went with Ryou once more. “Ryou-senpai,” he called. In English, he added, “Inner elbow- like volleyball.” Of course, he did not know that particular combination of words in Japanese. Johnny knew little about Japanese, as if that ever needed to be stated. Quickly, while he was still clear of incoming balloons, he asked Katsumi, [b]“Hey, do you know English?”[b]

It was then that he realised that there was a light layer of dust that had settled on the waxed floor over the night after the waxing took place., and the backside of the black uniform held an imprint of dust where his muscles pressed down against the floor. Thankfully, the task did no damage to the buttons. If the foreigner's uniform had been any tighter a fit, that would have been a different story. His flexible arms managed to reach behind him and pat away some of the dust... only some, however.

Aw man, are there customs discouraging dusty uniforms? he wondered.

Katsumi tried to ignore it, but... 'Why is this guy staring..' She thought, feeling green (Johnny) eyes study her, and whether it was a conscious or unconscious examination of her person, she couldn't help but feel nervous, 'Is something on my face..?' As casually as she could, she brushed her cheeks, only to feel nothing out of the usual. 'huh...' She frowned, frustrated with herself, 'This is a waste of time'

Was she really worried about how these men saw her...? Katsumi would have normally scoffed at the thought, but it was true one way or another and who could blame her, she just didnt want the past to replay, especially with this chance God seemed have given her... They barely seemed to recognize her.. 'Thats good..' Her frown was replaced with an unusually soft smile, 'Perhaps-'

"Giou, Ryou." A deep voice introduced, causing her to snap out of her train of thought, and instead focus on the man named "Ryou". "Here." He showed her balloons. She blinked, listening in. "Pick one and then write on a piece of paper what you wish for. Put it inside the balloon after, then inflate it." Nodding between his words in understanding, she finally confirmed her new found knowledge of the game with a thumbs up- "Got it.. thanks.." She murmured, still uneasy around the new group, but the upperclassmen did something that caught her off guard. "Kurosawa-san." She looked at him in question, "hm?"

"Welcome to Airdalen." Her eyes widened a fraction, before a lopsided grin pulled at her lips, "Thanks!" Feeling a bit better, her feelings of the game went from "apathetic" to "eagered"- she was ready! Taking the balloon, and paper, she took a moment of thought before quickly jotting down her wish and blowing up the balloon, soon good to go.

"Kurosawa-san, knee."

"Easy!" She replied with her usual confidence but also with newfound hope, perhaps this really was a chance of redemption. 'And these men.. are my angels..' She paused, laughing at her own cliche thoughts before shaking her head, 'But really, karma is on my side today.'

Now hyped with good feeling, she tossed the balloon up and began to knee the balloon, casually showing off her skills in the athletic category. It was rather impressive, watching her spin and move before hitting the balloon with much precision. But it looks like she wasn't the only one with such skill, for her eyes found themselves on the tallest man (johnny) of the group who was moving in such rapid motions that it made her laugh, 'ha is he dancing or something?'

“Hey, do you know English?” She blinked, taking a moment, before tilting her head, (She will be speaking english from here) "e-english? Me no s-speak the a-american.." Her voice was broken, while her expression remained clueless, but it was only for a second before a chuckle escaped her, "Ah Im kidding, yes I speak English, its way easier then Japanese, thats for sure." She said, darkening at the mentioning of the damn language- it was so damn difficult for her to learn, and it caused her so many problems, but now that she found another that spoke english, perhaps it wouldnt be so frustrating? "We're on the same boat huh?" She laughed, noting his odd accent as well.

[note: A little rushed, but lets keep going! Ill be adding stat points soon]

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"I guess that this year
will be different from last one
I'm more talkative than I have to
but, I don't mind it
as much I had thought otherwise
I'll just see what happens."

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██Ryou duly noted that both of the juniors in the group have athletic prowess. That was a good thing to have. He understood others who lack in that department, but never cast a judgment on them. Everyone can't have all, so those who have should do their best with it and as far as he could see. These two were rather at ease with their physical abilities.

His eyes then drifted for a moment to Shintaro, seeing that his fellow senior was rather quiet throughout. He did have a thought that he would be the far more talkative between them, but it seemed that he had taken that responsibility. It wasn't something he would blame anyone for. He just didn't like any work left unfinished in a sense. His attention was taken when he heard Jay calling for his name.

It was his turn once more as Jay managed to rely the words of receiving the balloon with a gesture used in volleyball. That wasn't a problem as much he could provide. His silvery eyes like the moon looked for the balloon which was rather given quite the toss by his junior. The balloon itself was moving outside their perimeter, but that was part of the game. It wasn't something he would quarrel with anyone.

He took a step back as his eyes never left the balloon, but he also did mind his surroundings. He wouldn't want to bump into anyone so recklessly. Seeing that the balloon would be within his reach, he prepared himself to receive it with the body part asked of him, unlike the juniors who added theatrics in their movements,

Ryou didn't have those. He was simple and definite, but it was always enough to do the job. He then bumped the balloon with his inner elbow with a force enough to propel the balloon back into their inner circle and enough time for anyone to receive it.

"Kurosawa-san, forehead." He stated and then looked at Jay again. "Jay, back." He didn't call out to Shintaro because he wasn't sure if the other senior was already in the game or was having a hard time. He wouldn't want that and simply focused on the two who seemed pretty hyped with the activity. It was actually nice to see that they are enjoying themselves. If that was the case, he would not stop them. He also noticed that Jay started a conversation with Katsumi. That's good. Jay should build his social circle other than him. He had already remembered what happened with the other girls earlier. It seemed that there would be no repeat since Katsumi's answer seemed to be favorable.

He didn't interrupt or say anything. He just focused himself on the game while noting that the female was also a foreigner based on what she said. Well, it seemed that Airdalen was indeed a melting pot of many nationalities, isn't it? It's not bad, really.

---

Johnny did not quite catch the thing about dancing. Though he did know a few dances himself, the idea to perform some of them did not cross his mind. After all, he did miss Katsumi's quip about dancing. To the false stereotypical accent, however, Johnny did hear, and he responded in kind with a hearty chuckle. “Oh for sure! So many words to memorize, dude! and that’s not even counting the-“ He stopped when he noticed the balloon closing in on him.

“Jay, back,” was Ryou’s call. Johnny bent forward and propelled himself into the air. This stunt was a lot easier than the one with the chin, and the balloon bounced off his back with ease. He naturally arced forward from the jump, and risked landing on his face. His legs, however, bent quickly, and brought his feet directly beneath his body. He landed on his feet, and righted himself once more. The balloon was sent not nearly as high- pretty much the bare minimum of acceptable height to make a call. It went far from Ryou-senpai, towards the girl Katsumi.

“Kurosawa-san, other knee!” Johnny called to the girl in English. He deep-down wondered how ridiculous that mix of Japanese and English terms sounded.

It had to sound ridiculous, like one of those pretentious American kids who learn a fraction of the language to understand their cartoons. Those cartoons are weird, though. Johnny never watched any of them. He wondered if any of these students watched those things… Come to think of it, Johnny had yet to watch any TV throughout his first month of living in Japan. The tiny TV set in the kitchen was never on when he was home.

Not that he minded, though. He spent his first month learning the layout of the land, the location of stores, shopping for supplies for school, reading the dictionary, his daily routine for maintaining his perfect bod, and his personal hobby especially. He never had time for TV, and many conversations his father had with the local store clerks seemed to involve TV shows.

Wait, what was he saying earlier…? “Oh yeah, that’s not even counting proper grammar and stuff,” he continued as he continued trying to dust his back. He couldn’t tell that he finished wiping everything off several swipes ago. He could reach every nook and cranny with his flexible shoulders, after all.

“I’m Johnny, but you can call me Jay.” Johnny said, “How long have you been in Japan?” Though one could have a different take on his demeanour, Johnny was simply trying to strike a conversation after that embarrassing failure with those two girls earlier. Despite initial thoughts, he didn’t have anything untoward in mind at the moment.

Good on him, his parents would think if Johnny was aware he wasn’t thinking about such things. He was only focused on something normal. A conversation that would land him in a decent, not at all strange standing in school. As he currently was, no one even wanted to speak to him unless it was mandatory. Indeed, it was very much the opposite of his old school. Of course, he didn’t know the details on the darkness in the girl’s eyes. He honestly didn’t much care about that. All that mattered now were the flying balloons.

The foreigner was distracted for a good portion of time when the teacher announced something regarding a “neighbour school” and “students dismissed”. When he remembered that his own balloon was coming right back at him, he reacted as quickly as his reflexes could possibly allow. He did not use the intended body part; there was no time. He instead used his fist. The clenched fist connected at a speed only his fitness and lightness could help him accomplish. The amount of force applied through the point of his knuckle was barely enough to make the flexible balloon finally give. The proximity of the clap caused Johnny’s ears to ring for a couple seconds.

The folded slip of paper drifted to the floor. It spun haphazardly, like a damaged maple tree seed, as it approached the waxed wooden floor. Johnny’s expression was perfectly neutral, betrayed only by a disappointed sigh. “Guess I ain’t getting my wish then,” he finally laughed as he snatched up the paper and the rubber remains.

At that point, a pair of posh-looking men in suits appeared and began talking to that one dude with the long hair. That Belrose-san person with the slick hair. Caretakers? Man, I really dig that dude’s hair, Johnny caught himself thinking. He did not reprimand himself, however; was really nice hair. Johnny already planned to grow his own hair out once he’s out of high school. Seeing a preview beforehand made Johnny feel pretty good about the future.

“Anyway, I guess I’ll be-” Johnny paused for a second. He did, in fact, recall how to say the following in Japanese: “See you later, Ryou-senpai,” Johnny raised a clenched hand for a fist-bump, only to realise part-way through that the more obscure gesture might be lost on his senior. The foreigner quickly switched to a thumbs-up… which was hopefully universal? Hopefully it wasn’t something obscene in Japan. Again in Japanese, Johnny also added to Kurosawa, “See you later, Kurosawa-san,”

He had to keep practicing his language, or he’ll fall behind in his studies very quickly. Only now did he begin to consider what kind of clubs he would wish to join. Obviously I pick a sport, Johnny thought, that would satisfy my parents. But then I’ve got my hobby, and then I need to get my grades up. Question is… which sports…? Swimming? B-Ball? What other ones did this school offer? Is there even a limit?

Johnny had many questions, and they made his head hurt. This was a very fast, yet emotionally exhausting first day, Johnny thought as he considered what to do for the rest of the day. He decided to wait until he got to see some of the club booths before coming to a decision. Until then, the foreigner had the rest of the day left to his own devices. After Ryou's translation of what exactly was happening, Johnny’s music was once more playing in his ears. The Blues drowned out all other sounds as he strolled out of the gymnasium, right behind a kid wearing a toque and a headset around his neck. (Saburo)

“Hey dude,” Johnny greeted rather excitedly. His eyes had a glitter to them that only seemed to show whenever he had the art of sound on his mind, “Sick headset there, man! Where’d you get it?” Silly foreigner, Johnny forgot to try to ask that in Japanese. He had yet to realise he had even made the mistake.

+1 Popularity to Aeon
+1 Popularity to Saburo

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================================

"I guess that this year
will be different from last one
I'm more talkative than I have to
but, I don't mind it
as much I had thought otherwise
I'll just see what happens."

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██His attention shifted towards the front where Araya-sensei had announced that the activity was over. It seemed that a neighboring school would be using their facilities and Airdalen was known to allow such thing from time to time. It also meant that everyone is dismissed early. That was a good thing for him. He could use the time to visit the hospital before doing his shift at Paradiso. The only thing he was a bit uncertain about is tomorrow in which the clubs would be having a presentation and booths in order to have new members from the freshmen.

He was not really keen on that and in his opinion he did not even seek the position of being a captain. Ryou was not even aware that he was a candidate for leading the team. It was something thrown at him by the former captain and the strict suggestion of the coach. That's why in the end he really had no other choice but to take it. Now, the responsibility falls down to him in a sense that he would be required to perform some activity stunt tomorrow. He might split the team into two and have a practice game with each other. He has a feeling that the court would be filled with unnecessary noise on that day. It had always been since he had joined the basketball team.

He would just brief the team tomorrow about their presentation. His attention then was directed at Johnny who said about his wish not coming true. "You'll have to do that on your own." He noted as he caught his balloon with a hand to the side and glanced at it for a moment. It also carried his wish though his was not something that could be done with just physical effort. If it was, It would have been done a long time ago.

"Kurosawa-san." He looked at her. "It seemed that Tanikaze-san has been taken away for important matter." A teacher approached him while the two Juniors were busy with the activity. He was informed that Shintaro would be removed for the program due to personal matters. Kurosawa's senior would be replaced with someone by tomorrow, for now, she would be under his care till then.

"I'll assist you for today, if you have any questions. That also goes to you Jay." He directed his eyes on his junior and the decided to explain the details to them, since he might not have time for that tomorrow. due to his classes and of course, club responsibilities. "Tomorrow there would be classes, but later on there would be a time for club activities. There would be various of clubs that can be chosen by you, freshmen. There will be booths and even presentations, so that you can choose better. You can have three clubs at most if you like, just make sure you can handle it." He noted and then was silent for a moment. He was pondering whether to tell them where to find him, but that was already a given isn't it? "You can find me tomorrow at the Basketball Gym if you need something both of you." He looked at them. "Kurosawa-san, you can come to me if you also need help, but I've been told that another Senior would replace Tanikaze-san tomorrow. Still, I'll assist you if you want."

Ryou then believed that there was nothing left to be said. Johnny took that hint as he made his goodbyes. "Yeah, see you tomorrow, Jay." He then looked at Kurosawa. "See you tomorrow too, Kurosawa-san." He then walked away as he exited the hall. There were no other reasons for him to be there anymore. He stopped briefly by the gates and looked at the fluttering cherry blossoms as the wind blew. It was a sight that he wanted to see and reminded him of her, but that pause of his also allowed other students to look at him in a trance state. He did look quite handsome and appealing at the same time as his hair was played by the breeze and his black features contrasted with pink blossoms, making him pop up. Others wanted to approach him, but lucky for him, they seemed to notice the solemnity that shielded him, not to be approached.

He then moved again leaving the school grounds as he went to the hospital where she will be waiting for him, as always.

---

Katsumi yawned, stretching her surprisingly long limbs over her shoulder before looking around curiously. There were a few tables set up, and if she assumed correctly- it was club day. "How fun." she voiced musingly, but her eyes shined otherwise. These social activities always had their risk, especially for her, and its obviously due to her notorious nature. Yesterday, she was lucky for having such a.. chill group, and she only smiled even more thinking of them. 'Maybe ill see them again today.' She thought, hopeful, since yesterday she found herself in state of daze, leading to little conversation. There was a potential friendship, especially with the other foreigner- Johnny! Ryou was a nice man as well, since he seemed to know nothing of her rep, and even if he did, she imagined he wouldnt care too much.

So with good thoughts in mind, she began to walk around, eyeing each booth, which led to a few typical reactions. Club members would glance away, murmur a few words, or just try to push her out- "bad attention" or "people will be scared off.".. Katsumi would only shrug and walk away. They weren't interesting to her anyways.

But after a few more minutes of walking around, one booth- no two, caught her eye: Basketball and Swimming. Her eyes gleamed.
However, with a casual pose, she leaned in, taking a pamphlet, before skimming the details with little to no "care". She appeared antipathetic about the whole thing, as if it was a bore but her feelings were anything but that. She was actually quite excited. In the U.S, basketball was indeed a sport she took on while swimming has been her favorite everywhere. Katsumi excelled in these things, or well, she was above average, so perhaps she will gain some good rep. from this club. Looking up with a new found excitement, she blinked seeing the club members pressed against the wall- frightened. "Oh. uh." She looked around awkwardly, before taking the pen slowly, "Ill just be signing up.." Jotting down her name, she backed away with a tight smile, before hopping off.

She fisted the air happily, resulting in a few weird looks, but she didnt care. 'Wouldn't Gege (mother) be so proud.' She snickered, then looked around, "I still have one more to pick from.. so I guess Ill take my time..." Maybe she'll find a few people to talk too? so she stationed herself near the swimming and basketball club, wondering who else will take their interest in the two sports. Kicking back against the wall, she stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jersey, before keeping her eyes peeled.

Johnny "Jay" Farelli

Once more, Johnny got to his routine of clap push-ups before breakfast. He counted as quickly as he performed- which was also quickly. His lean muscles bulged as he pushed over and over again. Once he had finished, he headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

His mind wandered to how he would smuggle the ukulele out of the apartment without his parents suspecting a thing. The very idea of sneaking past a sort of guard struck Johnny as fun. He always pulled off something similar whenever he slipped past opponents to make easy breakaways and eventual goals. Like a jet, he would streak down the field. It was too easy to just up and score from there, so he usually passed back to another teammate so the rest could get in on the downfield action.

The case for the instrument was only slightly taller than his backpack. It would not fit properly, even if the one textbook needed for today, as well as his gym clothes, weren’t already inside. Fortunately, the two bags held the same colours of black and green; they would blend together nicely if Johnny kept them a good distance from view. Johnny opened the bedroom door and glanced out into the kitchen. Neither father nor mother were there. There was never going to be a better time than now. Keeping the two bags close together to blend at a distance, the foreigner quickly stepped to the apartment door and slipped outside. “I’m off! See ya!”

He only caught the returns of both his parents right before he heard the lock clamp back into place. Once more, Johnny jogged down the apartment stairs to the train station. His playlist was something different this time: Hip-hop. Music that stemmed from the Blues, much like many other genres popular in the United States. As was fitting his intense interest in music, Johnny also knew how to street dance. As he jogged, he threw in a little bit of Free Step. Obviously this made him look quite foolish, but he always wanted the practice. He didn’t much care what the regular people thought. Hell, if anything, it made their day more interesting. His cheery attitude seemed to be a welcoming service to an otherwise dreary day… Although it didn’t help any that he was basically doing these moves to music only he could hear. Maybe he should get himself a boombox.

Aboard the train, Johnny had no room to dance. Once more, he got to take a good look around the city he had been living in for only a month now. So much to do, so much to see. It was immensely different from the relatively smaller hometown back in the States. For one, there were far fewer heavily inclined roads. That was something Johnny really appreciated. It was also very tight-knit and very pedestrian-friendly. He imagined that it was not terribly nice to be a driver in such snug roads.

While leaving the platform outside the campus, Johnny once more slid down the hand railing. It was pretty clear that he was putting great confidence in the durability of his school uniform. Either that, or he never understood the significance of a uniform.

Right outside the campus entrance, Johnny’s music got to a really good part, and he started doing the Spongebob before finishing with a back-flip across the threshold. After pumping both fists into the air, Johnny quickly pocketed his music and rushed inside.

Today was Club day. Thankfully, he got word of it from an event announcement from his school’s page, so he was absolutely prepared to head to the gym once more. In the interior corridors of the school, however, Johnny did not run. He did, however, shuffle some steps. Maybe if he brought some flattened cardboard boxes, he could do some B-boying. It was a thought to consider in the future. For now, the foreigner found his assigned locker and stuffed his bag and case inside.

Johnny emerged at the far side of the gym, where many booths were still being set up. He figured he had arrived pretty early, because many of them were struggling to get the booths fixed up. The foreigner zipped over to a booth in time to catch a banner a shorter boy had accidentally dropped from atop a step ladder.

The (non-player) boy and his two (non-player) girl assistants elaborately thanked the tall foreigner, who only caught mentions of the word “Arigato”. With a smile, the foreigner got to helping out with the tall-person work. Namely using zip-ties to hook the banner up to the top of the booth poles. Once the tall-person stuff was done, the foreigner glanced around to spot more booths struggling to get set up. It wasn’t until he finished helping the fourth one that he remembered why he was even there in the first place. Also by then, the gym had filled up with hundreds of students.

“Oh boy,” he huffed in amusement. “Which one should I join…?”

There was one of the booths he had helped- Band- but it didn’t look like someplace that he could take centre stage for. Band also left little in the way for career opportunities compared to a very different club.

Johnny read the banner… and he didn’t understand a single goddamn symbol of it. However, judging by the costumes and masks, as well as the bombastic design of the banner itself, the booth appeared to be for some sort of drama club.

Drama club… that included musicals, and very often dancing. Johnny could dig it, and what better way to surprise his folks about his musical talent than a stage play? Johnny could already imagine that situation play out in his head. The best damn musical ever performed in a Japanese high school. Airdalen produces a fine young musical talent. Broadway would reach out and demand his prese-

… What the hell are you doing? he wondered, Right, shit. Drama club. Join.

The foreigner approached the drama club booth and silently signed up for that. He did wave to the blonde-haired girl who seemed to be running things, and he also waved to the other people present. He didn’t think it, but it did make it seem like he was just a friendly sort and not specifically interested in anyone. After all, it’s only the second day.

Two clubs to go, Johnny thought as he used some of his shuffle moves to maneuver through the still-growing crowds. He spotted the more sports-focused section of the area. Standing next to each other was Basketball and Swimming. Between those booths was that girl from yesterday, Katsumi.

Johnny waved to Kat, since the loud speech patterns of students made calling across nearly impossible. The foreigner then quickly signed up for swimming. As he crossed to do the same for basketball, Johnny got close enough to say “Hey what’s up? Join any clubs yet?” Though he wasn’t particularly loud, his smooth-jazz voice resonated quite clearly, not unlike the late Don LaFontaine’s voice cutting through the sounds of explosions and gunfire in trailers. Hopefully Katsumi would hear.

—

+1 Athleticism

Bishop got up bright and early today, it was club day!! He was the only freshmen so far on the team and being the scholarship athlete, there was a bit of pressure on him. The team had yet to meet him, but he heard lots of good things about the 5 other sophomores and juniors. Apparently the club had become somewhat hit-and-miss with participation every year or so. But this year was different because of him. He felt kind of bad for rejecting Arietta but he had to keep his obligations with the swim club, that meant showing up early for booth setup. As his mom pulled up to the school he hopped out with a huge grin on his face as he looked over the school. "Thanks mom, I'll see you after school. Also- please dont' forget toi mnail my letter! I gotta tell my penpal about this new school." He stepped off to school this time carrying two bags, his regular green backpack and his Speedo brand duffel bag. "Have a good day sweety! I won't forget." They waved goodbye to each other and parted ways leaving Bishop to head inside the school gym to see the booths being set up. His eyes sparked alive suddenly feeling more motivated than ever to be at this school and went to find his club's booth. While his mother placed the envelope he handed her into her purse to be sent off that very day.

It didn't take very long finding 3 boys and 2 girls assembling the supplies. He gulped getting a tad bit nervous and stepped forward to introduce himself. "O-Ohayo.." They turned and blinked at the foreigner wondering what business he had with them. "I'm the new scholarship student.... I came from Okinawa." "Oh hey, you're that American kid right? Mr. Kido told us about you!" Bishop perked up at the prospect of his new club mates waiting for him. Though there was an awkward silence after that moment. "Didn't Mr. Kido say that this kid was going to turn the whole team around? He doesn't look like much." One of the girls whispered, but Bishop unfortunately heard and nearly collapsed of embarrassment. To quickly recover he faked an awkward laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Well- uh. Seeing isn't always believing i guess, right? Hehehe~..." Another awkward silence came upon the group again with everyone trying to think of something to say. "Well... I guess I'll get changed then." The other club mates blinked a little confused at what he meant, but Bishop simply ran off to change in the locker room. He hurriedly threw off his uniform shirt and stuffed it into his bag, then put on his Airdalen Swim Club jacket, switching into his full swimsuit. Consisting of a pair of skin tight black and light red jammers, flip flops and his goggles hanging around his neck. He left the jacket zipper open exposing his fit figure and came running out from the locker room.

"Hey guys~!" He was met with shocked and red faces as he jogged happily towards his booth grabbing a good bit of attention. "You're wearing the club uniform? "Yeah! We gotta represent the team right!?" He pumped his fists confidently looking at everyone in the eyes. His smile was contagious in the group with everyone following suit, then it was settled. The entire club would be wearing their swimsuits for club day! Bishop was told to man the booth while everyone changed since they had finished setting everything up and had the pamphlets and fliers ready. "Maybe he will turn the club around." He heard one of the sophomores comment as they excitedly rushed to change in the locker room as well. So there he was, front and center to the swimming club booth. It was designed with moderate and tasteful decorations. The club banner was cut to represent a large splash of water, with a vinyl back drop of the school swimming pool and their logo put in front of that. They were one of the few clubs to actually have a logo since they competed in licensed sporting events.

So there he was manning the booth as the crowds of students began to swell in number around the gym. He got quite a few looks, not only for being a blonde kid in a Japanese high school. But also for being a little more than half naked. "Hey!! Come join the swim team! Lots of fun stuff to do! Come over here and I'll show you~!" He was putting his best pitch for his new club wanting to support his team holding up and waving pamphlets. He was making quite the spectical of himself, half dancing while energetically encouraging people to stop by his booth. It would cause a slight racket next to the basketball team booth and in the gym in general. Soon enough the others would arrive all clad in similar swim suits. The school was rich enough to afford everyone their own type of variation of outfit. Some boys wore whole leg coverings, while others had jammers like Bishop. The girls were both in one piece suits, obviously garnering some attention. The whole club began to pander for attention trying to attract possible members for their club. What was slightly odd however was thatof the sophomores and juniors all of them had scooted away from the basketball booth due to a dark haired girl (Katsumi) and a taller boy (Johnny) standing next to them. Bishop was so busy trying to talk to people he didn't even notice.

"Alrig'ht guys.. It's time to change strategies! Let's walk around and hand out pamphlets and fliers to people who might be interested. Bishop grabbed a handful of pamphlets while he paired off with a taller blue haired junior named Seto Muzaki. He seemed to have taken a liking to Bishop so they began to walk around the floor of the gym together to meet people and try to attract new members. Two fit high schoolers walking around in skin tight shorts was bound to get some sort of attention. <I wonder where Airetta-Senpai would be... She probably does something cool!> The two students were approached by a group whoe began to ask questions. "So uh... Who are you guys exactly?" Seto and Bishop grinned to each other and jumped together in a pose proudly introducing themselves in unison, while Bishop winked. "We're the swimming club!" Somewhere in the crowd a girl fainted.



"Oh no! I can't believe that I did that!" Shiemi; another member of the club blushed from embarrassment. "I thought that was the booth sign up, not the performance sheet!" The girl had mistakenly signed up the club to do a live performance in front of the school in the gym to promote the club. We have to tell Muzaki and Trander-san. Maybe they're know what to do." "How long till we have to perform" The other girl Nagisa asked with a sense of dread. "Thirty minutes!!" Shiemi cried out.
______________________________________________________________________________________________________
+1 Athleticism

"Well Mai darling~ It was a pleasure to meet you! Feel free to turn to me if you need any help. I feel I owe you for the lack of fun today.. if you stop by Inryoku sometime right by the cafetoria where I work? I'll be sure to treat you.”

The small junior looked up at Gen, tilting her head to the side a bit. She wasn’t entirely sure what she meant by Inryoku but it didn’t sound too bad. Her outlook on Gen changed ever so slightly since the Senior offered her help whenever she requested. The very mention of it was certainly more than what her own Senior offered to her. It seemed like Kazuki only saw her as a source of entertainment. Mai gave Gen a soft smile, “H-hai” as well as a bow of her head. She returned Gen’s wave of departure although it was a bit late as Gen had already faced forward when Mai did so. A bit hurt that she had missed her chance, Mai lowered her arm slowly.

"You resemble a doll." Those words reminded Mai that she was not alone, so bringing her eyes up to focus on Sora a warm and soft pressure began to caress her cheek. The very action made Mai jump , as she was not expecting to be touched in such a manner that was similar to Kazuki’s albeit nicer. In a matter of just a few seconds Mai’s doll like features reddened to that of tomato. Her blush spread across her body so even her hands turned a shade of red. The fact that she was rather pale compared to some made the blush that much more obvious. Suddenly he pushed a bento box into her hands and with a serious voice told her to eat it. While the inside of the bento was interesting, the very idea of being forced to eat food as if she was some kind of animal did not sit well with her. If anything her skin turned redder.

Not only that but tears began to well up in her eyes. It wasn’t just because Sora had touched her or that he had called her a doll, it was from all that had occurred today. From being protected by Akira when her Senior jumped over them to Kazuki doing all those embarrassing things to her, she just couldn’t hold back the tears any more. They began to flow down her cheeks slowly and she started to sniffle. Mai tried to hold them back but it was pretty hard to do. Shaking her head, Mai gave Sora back his food. She quickly apologized in her usual stuttering voice that was accompanied by a few hiccups. With a quick bow as she spluttered out apologies Mai dashed off to exit the building.

The small Junior kept her head down to avoid being seen but at this point it was pretty obvious the girl was upset. She managed to get rather far from the school grounds from running but in doing so had completely passed her meeting point with Ren. Now that she had slowed down Mai realized this. She thought of maybe going back but she didn't want to be seen looking like a crybaby any longer. Already her legs were sore but Mai didn't care. Picking up the pace again, Mai jogged the rest of the way home and barely made it up the stairs. It would seem that while today had its enjoyable moments, overall she had made a fool of herself.

Current Day

Mai made sure that she had everything with her when she left her home. This time Ren had to leave to the University early so he couldn't walk her to school like he did the other day. She was a bit hesitant about going to school today since she had cried in public the other day. Thankfully most of the students had left when she broke down but she was sure that some would undoubtedly talk about the small Junior who left crying.

With a heavy sigh Mai walked down the steep stairs slowly but quickened her pace when she reached the bottom. It didn't take too long to get to the school but she had been walking slower than yesterday. Just as she did before Mai peeked around the entrance of the gym. From the looks of it today was Club Day which meant members would be trying to recruit. The idea of being approached made her nervous. Biting her lip, Mai watched for a little while longer. No doubt looking like a bit of creeper in doing so. You must join at least one club. Just one club will be fine, right? A look of forced determination crossed her face as Mai stepped into the gym. She stood incredibly still expecting to be flocked by a variety of students but it seemed she was not noticed. She felt good about it but also a little sad. With a shake of her head Mai began to walk around.

She recognized a few people, such as that blonde Senior (Arrieta) she encountered the other day. The older girl looked beautiful in her costume, making Mai just a little envious. Mai gave her a weak smile but somewhat hoped she didn't notice. Just in case she tried to recruit her. Passing that booth, Mai took note of some of the students who were walking around half naked. Her cheeks flushed with a little bit of shame and she did all she could to avert her eyes from them. Clutching her bag close, Mai came upon a much simpler booth. Although it was simple looking, one was still drawn to it.

At once Mai knew what it was for. It was a study group of sorts but its title was much more extravagant than that. "Airdalen's Overachievers Committee." she mumbled to her herself. She approached the booth, noticing that there were only a few people manning it. Thankful that it wasn't too many Mai quickly placed her name on the sign-up sheet before stepping away for others to do the same. Now that she had signed up for her first club, Mai was feeling a bit excited and didn't pay much attention to where she was going. She looked up at the last minute to crash right into someones side. She let out a small oomph upon contact and rubbed her face as they turned red again. Looking up, Mai quickly bowed. "I-I'-I'm s-sorr-ry! I-I was-sn't lo-looking wh-where I-I w-was g-going!" She said as she bowed a second time.

---

Popularity +1 Arietta

Katsumi stiffled a yawn, finding herself quite bored. No one seemed to take interest in either clubs- at least no one approachable. Most of them ran off the moment they finished signing up, so to no prevail. 'Nothing new there.' She thought, with a scoff, 'I should just go.. I need one more club-' Hey what’s up? Join any clubs yet?” She blinked, first surprised to even hear a voice.. being directed towards her, and secondly, found the speaker to sound very familiar - it sounded quite nice.

Not like she'll admit it though.

Turning her head to the side, she found her eyes settle on someones chest so slowly looking up, she find green eyes connect with her own red ones. "Ah! Johnny?" she grinned boyishly, her Japanese swiftly transitioning to a more fluent language: English, "Nice to see ya again." A few students gave her a shocked glance, as her English was almost perfect that it was impressive, but of course, they quickly averted their gaze.

She boasted to herself quietly, her grin growing larger. "...And just signed up for swimming and basketball, two things that Im actually pretty good at." She let out a little chuckle, "Perhaps ill be better than you in the pool." Katsumi teased, finding her words doubtful due to his obvious build that the clothes was poorly hiding, which she found very impressive- and thats coming from the only female of a male house hold who fought for a living.

"Just kidding~... maybe." With a snicker, she then tilted her head curiously, her tone cool and calm, "anyways what about you? Got any other clubs in mind?"

While going off, she found herself totally consumed by this conversation, as her excitement got the best of her (not that it showed too much). But who is to blame her, this might have been the most successful interaction she has had and will hopefully continue to have.

And seeing how Johnny finished his sign up, she neared him so he could hear her better among the crowd, plus she was ready to move along if he was, perhaps to find other clubs?

Johnny’s interaction with a more notorious person in school was really out of dumb ignorance than anything. The foreigner saw no real reason to avoid Katsumi. Though he did find it unusual that despite the crowds getting thicker throughout the gymnasium, there was always an open space around them. It didn’t bother him any. If he had been wading through any longer, he’d probably have gotten short of breath. At-worst, maybe even a panic attack. That would've been insane.

Katsumi’s tease was unexpected, but not unwelcome. The foreigner knew how to roll with the punches, and unexpected things did take his mind off things. “Hah! Well, I think we’d have to find out when we attend Swim club,” Johnny replied to her tease in full. “Oh, gimmie a sec-“

The foreigner quickly stepped away to sign up for basketball. As he scrawled down his distinctly cursive Anglo-American-based signature, the foreigner looked up from the sign-up sheet and spotted his senior amongst the other booth-working students. Ryou was there, leading the “B-Ball Booth”, much to Johnny’s delight. Given his senior’s height advantage, it really didn’t come as a surprise that Ryou was big in basketball. Johnny enjoyed the game as well. He and his old buddies used to run the court back in his old schools.

It wasn’t until a good second that he realised that the Ryou he was looking at was not moving. He then spotted another instance of his senior… and another… and all of them seemed to be unmoving. Wait… these are all images? Johnny wondered as he glanced around him. Most of the prospective members appeared to be girls utterly entranced by the posters.

His senior- the real flesh and blood one- finally appeared and hissed like cracking ice. He said something along the lines of “Be serious or leave. I have no time for stupidity.” Granted, the exact wording was probably different, but Johnny did get the gist of it- especially the venom imbued into the words. His senior seemed to not approve of the paper clones. The girls surrounding the rest of the table, oddly enough, seemed to take that cold jab as encouragement… though probably for all the wrong reasons. Johnny really didn’t get it. He didn't get some of the subtle cultural differences here. He's a foreigner, obviously. The previous sentence didn't even need to exist- it's that obvious.

Johnny then backed off and returned to the area between booths with Katsumi to give everyone else a chance to sign up for whatever club they wanted. Thankfully, the area around them seemed to remain open, giving Johnny some real room to breathe. He couldn’t help that the most populated booths were Basketball itself, and in the distance appeared to be some sort of… archery club? Johnny could see what was happening in the Archery club booth due to his immense height. Archery seemed cool, but Johnny imagined it wasn’t that physically intensive. Though it would require precision, Johnny already was great at precision shots in B-Ball back home. He personally never lost a game of HORSE, though not to say he didn’t try. Hell, the most he ever became in one game was a HOR. (hue hue)

From his natural vantage point, Johnny saw that there was that one guy with the slick, long white hair at the archery club. What was his name… Belrose! Was that guy some sort of popular guy, kind of like Ryou? Johnny imagined that would explain the large number of girls flooding around both respective booths. All the rest seemed to be frolicking around the Swimming Club.

… There were quite a number of girls at this school, Johnny noticed, but maybe it just seemed that way. The typically longer hair of varying styles and colours did seem to stand out from the less flamboyant hairstyles most of the boys had.

“Anyway, I’m also taking up B-ball and swimming,” Johnny replied to Katsumi, “I also joined the drama clu-”

All of a sudden, he felt a very soft impact, like someone’s puppy performed a flying tackle right into his back. Johnny spun around, wondering if whatever hit him was alright, and saw that one really tiny girl he remembered from yesterday. Her stuttering made deciphering the entirety of her dialogue basically impossible. However, Johnny knew an apology when he saw one, even one with weird gestures like bowing repeatedly. “Hey no worries dude- wait, shit-” Johnny began with a casual wave before silently berating himself. In Japanese, he corrected, “It’s alright. No worries.” with as warm a smile as he could muster. If a girl about two heads shorter than him could possibly cause any harm, the foreigner imagined he’d never hear the end of it. To the short girl, but also to Katsumi, he asked in as clear Japanese as he could currently perform, “You look for clubs? Any clubs?”

He had a tendency to call anyone and everyone “dude”, even girls from old schools. No one really seemed to mind back in America, since it was a verbal tic, as some would say. They only really cared that Johnny was the best athlete at his old schools. Still, it was fortunate that he didn’t know the equivalent in Japanese.

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"Why can't they
just leave me alone, or
why don't they care about
themselves more than getting
involved with me who
don't care about them."

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██It's not like he wanted to limit the members wanting to join the Basketball. It was free for all, but he does not like those who do not take it seriously and wanted to enter just because they have a baseless admiration towards him. It was downright annoying. He would never understand people like them which was even more so when his words seemed to have an opposite reaction.

Japanese people... They are really weird, even if he was technically one as well. He wasn't raised here and for the better word, he and his little brother are still acclimating to the shift in the environment and, it was outright noticeable that the cultures they were used to are far different here. He didn't take a look back even when the other members called out to him. The only time he did was when he heard a familiar voice and a question that took his interest in a different level.

He looked over his shoulder and seeing that it was from a familiar face. It was the guy who sat beside him during the welcome ceremony yesterday. He turned around finally facing him, Akira Blake, that was his name. "Go ahead, as long as you're serious. Because, I won't go easy on anyone, Blake-san." His eyes then landed to the rest surrounding the basketball booth. There were a few faces familiar faces on the crowd near it. Johnny was easy to spot and was that Katsumi with him, even with the crowd... He could still see another familiar face. It was the girl, Mai Kon.

"In basketball, I respect skills and drive. Nothing else." His words were not only meant for Akira, but also to the rest interested in joining Basketball.

The other members cannot help but mutter that their captain was truly a cool dude. Ryou could not help but shook his head and turned his back at them. He had intended to go to the Basketball Gym to prepare, since he would participate in the presentation game, but before he fully disappeared from sight. He looked over his shoulder one final time. "I'll meet you all in the court." Then, he left without another word. He meant every word he said. He doesn't care about gender or anything else about that person, as long as they are able to play basketball with a serious drive and their hard-earned skills. He would respect them and would do everything within his responsibility to make sure they get the ultimate development they could at the basketball team.

Once inside the gym, he went towards the locker room and began to change into his gear. It had not been that long since he played ball. There had been a training camp over the summer. He wasn't against doing a demonstration game and all. It's just that he was just worried about the audience especially with those girls present. It was not like they can be prevented since, the clubs during this time are open for all. It is recruitment day, after all. He shook his head again with that thought before exiting the locker room now fully clad in his basketball gear with his jersey showing the number 10.

---

Her reply back was a bit surprising in that she hadn't expected to be called dude. Isn't that a term used for men? Oh no do I look like boy!? The worrisome thought flashed through her mind then again it was the only word she actually got out of what he said. The boy she had bumped into was quite tall, much like her Senior, however he seemed nicer. This was further justified by him repeating himself. Not having to worry about some punishment was a relief to the small girl. Now that she thought of it her relationship with Kazuki was something like s&m. A term one of her cousin's friends used when he came by one time.

Tilting her head slightly, Mai pondered what it meant but it wasn't of importance at the moment. Her thoughts were brought back when said boy (Johnny) asked if she had looked into other clubs. At first Mai wasn't sure who he was talking to but she then realized the question was meant for her and whoever (Katsumi) that was beside him. The ebony haired girl peered around him to see who it was. It was a rather pretty girl, in her opinion, but she also seemed kind of scary. Could she be a bad person? She noticed how others stared at the girl. Mai wondered if maybe she was new or had something on her shoulder. Then again the looks the other students gave her (Katsumi) were ones of disdain. Without even thinking Mai gave the other girl a small smile before looking back at Johnny to answer his question.

Fiddling with her hands, Mai took in a deep breathe as she prepared to speak. "I-i h-have j-join-ed a st-stu-dy gr-group b-but I w-would l-like to f-find t-the g-gard-dening c-club." Her stutter wasn't too bad as she answered him with a tight lipped smile. Mai looked around quickly to see if she could find the gardening club however due to her small height it wasn't very easy. "E-Excu-cuse m-me" she pardoned herself with a bow and went in search of the garden club. It was the one club she knew she'd be most comfortable with. It's generally a small group that partakes in it and that's just the way she likes it. Plus she absolutely loves gardening since it's an activity one can get away with doing on their own.

The Junior walked around a bit more and finally caught sight of a banner that looked like it could spell Gardening Club. With a newfound energy Mai hurried over to the small booth. Upon arriving she took note of the smallness of it compared to the other booths around it. The only thing that made it standout from the others was that they incorporated actual flora into the booth. A smile spread across her cheeks as she had hope for this club. There was a nice looking girl manning the booth along with two others, another girl and a boy. Going to the table, Mai signed her name onto the signup sheet without much hesitation. If she had she would have certainly noticed the name that was to be the source of her embarrassment, Kazuki. Mai looked up at the members and gave them a shy smile as she put everything back in place. Suddenly a commotion could be heard some distance away from them. Not one to get into those sort of situations when she could help it, Mai refrained from going towards it, even with the yelling. She was a bit curious but Mai knew she might get hurt if the commotion as a fight. I hope everything is okay over there. she thought with a look of concern.

Johnny barely caught “study”, and imagined the tiny girl was referring to a study group. He never learned the word for “gardening”, so that part went way over his head. He feigned his confidence though. Being so short, Johnny also imagined she would have a very difficult time finding clubs. He could lift up the small girl- it wouldn’t be difficult, and he’s done it plenty of times before with far heavier-looking people back home… but wait… Is that polite over here? Is it proper? Would it be considered an insult?

Before he could ponder further, the tiny girl appeared to excuse herself and left Johnny alone in the small clearing with Katsumi. He was reminded of the two girls who just up and left yesterday. “Ah well,” he said with a shrug. It was no skin off his nose.

There was suddenly much yelling. Johnny glanced up over the sea of student heads to spot a familiar head of hair bounding through the crowd to escape an older-looking man. The older man appeared incredibly pissed off, but Johnny did not recognize him. The one he did recognize was that one guy who was running amok yesterday, the… trouble-maker? Johnny wasn’t sure if the kid was actively causing trouble or trouble was happening to the kid. Johnny never knew the full context, so maybe that’s why he seemed pretty chill about it.

Johnny couldn’t help but laugh. The dude with the gold-streaked hair certainly made the days interesting at the very least. The laughter was short-lived when he suddenly realised that the reckless movement could’ve gotten someone hurt. The crowd, beyond the empty space with Katsumi, was pretty damn thick, though. He wouldn’t have made it in time to offer any useful help. Not like the packed-up crowds would do the foreigner himself any good anyway.

He had a sudden change of heart regarding whether he wanted to join band or the drama club. Ah jeez, he thought as he put a hand to his forehead. He was honestly considering the option of flaking out after having signed up for it. It just wasn’t his style to flake. There were so many interesting clubs, and the foreigner was informed that he could only pick a maximum of three. He had to follow his interests, but he had slightly more interests than time would allow.

Then again, the drama club was not a guaranteed thing. He could fail the audition, or the intended productions could not be musicals... But then again, the drama club could also offer tech and stage management skills he would need in his future career... but then again, band would offer the same thing... and guarantee music...

But flaking wasn't his style either way...

“Only one way to decide on this,” Johnny suddenly said as he produced an American quarter-dollar from his pocket. He glanced at the subtly scratched silvery profile of a man whose name the foreigner kept forgetting. On the side, in capital letters, “IN GOD WE TRUST.” Johnny blinked his eyes; he knew they would’ve faded slightly. The coin was an unpleasant memento, but one he carried all the same for the sake of it’s primary function.

More like in chance I trust, Johnny huffed in amusement before turning it around to view the more interesting side- the side with a bald eagle surrounded by the name of his homeland- the one he left behind. With a light ping, he sent it skyward. With the same hand, he caught the flipping coin in mid-air and slapped it onto the back of his other hand.

“Alright. New plan: Heads, I flake on Drama and join Band,” Johnny said sort of to Katsumi- mainly so he would have a witness to this immensely important choice of two paths. “Tails, I stick with Drama.” No regrets... He removed his upper hand. The man’s profile shone back with the reflection of the fluorescent lights high above. “Guess I’m flaking,” he laughed with a slight hint of nervousness.

The foreigner once more glanced around the gymnasium. Band was on the other side of the crowd. Johnny had a few choice words on his mind about that. None of which he ever voiced. He decided he would make his way there when the crowd would thi-

A large segment of the crowd erupted in applause and what Johnny had to assume was a cheer. The cheer was in a different language, so it sounded quite different from the cheers he heard back home. The segment of crowd were enamoured with a display going on at the archery club.

At that point, a number of students seemed to move towards the archery club to see what was going on. Johnny saw a clear, relatively spacious path opening up. “Yo Kat,” he turned to face the purple-haired girl as he began stepping towards the target booth, “I’m heading to Band. Wanna come with?”

Regardless of the answer, he'd weave through the crowd with relative ease. Though the claustrophobia was real, he kept himself focused by humming a tune and keeping an eye on the booth.

The crowds were deafening due to the size, and it resulted in a few confused looks from Katsumi. Johnny's words faded in and out, making it hard for her to understand, but it didn't seem to matter much. Besides, the two made it to a clearing that allowed some conversation or more specifically decision making. Stuffing her hands into her varsity style jacket, she tilted her head curiously, "hm?"

“Only one way to decide on this,” First puzzled, she immediately knew what he was going to do with the sight of that type of currency- it brought mixed memories, but she looked at the coin with nostalgia more or less. "How cliche." she joked, while the coin flipped into the air, determining Johnny's next cource of action.

“Guess I’m flaking,” She laughed along with him, giving him a reassuring pat on the back before slowly walking past, "Hey do what you got to do man." A grin pulled at her lips, but unlike previous ones, it was soft and light hearted. But it only lasted a rare moment before the crowd nearby picked up in volume, she peered over curiously. 'Archery..? maybe.' She couldn't imagine a mafia child like her take on the art of archery... But she wasn't one to give in to those kind of things. Keeping the club in mind, she slowly turned her attention back to Johnny who was shooting her a question.

“Yo Kat,” She hummed in curiosity, “I’m heading to Band. Wanna come with?”

"Sure." Katsumi answered smoothly, almost unaware of the new nickname she gained- it made her grin grow. 'Wouldn't the gang be proud.' she thought, thinking of the girls from her home town. Then she thought of her father- she inwardly cringed.. 'Guess I won't be bringing this up anytime soon.'

Stepping forward, she glanced back at the many people, only for her eyes to linger on a few individuals... Two people who she decided to keep her eyes on: the purple hair (Kazuki) male who ran furiously, and the red haired (Saburo) both looked and acted very similar.. to well... the people she usually sees on a daily basis. Now whether she sees them as potential friends or foes is undetermined, but she is definitely watching out- she didnt want to get even more infamous than she already was. At that very moment she felt the usual hesitant glances, but they seemed to increase due to their presence.

'We'll see.. shouldnt be a hypocrite about it'

Finally her eyes focused on the last one- long haired brunette...(Rhys) She blinked, he looked familiar..? 'From where though..' Squinting her eyes, she tried to find more distinguishable features, only to remember what she was previously going, "go se.. (shit)" Murmuring a certain curse word in her native tongue, a habit of hers, she easily ran and dodged the crowd, finding her way to Johnny who was way ahead of her. "Sorry, got distracted."

Looking up at him, she caught the audible hum, and saw the intent focus in his eyes which made her wonder if something was wrong... With less then a second thought, she laid her palms against his back, and began to run, pushing the huge lump of a man out of the crowd. It was pretty comical really, since Katsumi was significantly smaller, but seemed to easily guide and plow him through. It was totally unexpected too, that it caught most people off guard. She would have laughed.

Getting out of the crowd faster than they would have at their previous pace, she pulled away, before walking past him, saying in a casual tone.

"You went too slow."

Without turning back, she made her way to the booth, causing a few nervous glances, but she picked up one of the many pens, and waved it in the air. "Cmon Johnny, no flaking on this one." She teased.

---

Stats
- Popularity: +2 (for previous post as well- forgot to update for that one) Johnny
- Athleticism: +1

“Sorry, got distracted.”

Johnny did indeed pause for a moment while in the crowd. He was waiting for an opportunity to slip past some students in front of him.

“Whoa!” Johnny’s tall, muscular form bowled through the sea of students as Katsumi shoved him along. He apologized to as many people as he made impact with. His sloppy Japanese hopefully fell on understanding ears, but he doubted any of them could catch it on account of his laughing so hard. This reminded him of the one time his buddies wrapped him up in saran wrap and paraded him through the school after a major victory in sports. Specifically, when they won the regional championships for Jr. High schools. This was two years ago. It was a good day.

“You went too slow,” came Katsumi’s casual voice once the booth was directly in front of Johnny.

“Damn girl, you’re a lot stronger than you look!” He laughed as the pushing finally stopped. Either she was strong, or Johnny was just very light. Either way, with a quick breath, he turned to face the booth itself. Hopefully his vulnerability didn’t show itself. He had to be strong, always strong. Though this apparently humiliating event was really, really funny to the foreigner. It was… humbling… maybe even charming.

A number of students were getting themselves set up for a performance, not unlike the one done by the Swimming team earlier and what Johnny had to assume was why cheering occurred near the Archery booth. Hm… should I show off? He got a glimpse at an electric guitar sitting on stand-by. He could tell from a distance that it was a Fender Squire- probably made in Indonesia.

Back when he was in Jr. High, one of his buddies had a solid collection of instruments. Johnny learned to play at their place every time they didn’t have practice. As far as his parents knew, Johnny hanged at the friend’s place to play more sports and do homework. Though Johnny did do homework, he and his friend mainly jammed. Over the years, he learned to jam well, and especially sing well.

His eyes went from the unused Fender Squire to a pen being waved in the air. “Cmon Johnny, no flaking on this one.” Katsumi teased.

The foreigner once more laughed that nice deep chortle of his. He liked this girl already; she was very take-charge, like some of his homeland friends. “Yep,” he replied as his hand reached to grab the pen. At that point, he finally noticed the nervous glances by other people directed at Katsumi. This came across as confusing to the foreigner. Kat didn’t seem to show that she was bothered by these gazes, though. Johnny figured they were intimidated by her take-charge attitude. He understood the feeling. Many fellow students in the past were intimidated by Johnny’s speed and overly friendly, yet professional demeanour.

Johnny didn’t plan to ask further, however. However, the very slight hesitation to grab the pen allowed Kat to pull it away in time. At that moment, his reservations drained away, and he once more laughed. As soon as Katsumi held the pen out again, Johnny’s arm shot out again. This time, he used his full speed. This time, his fingers wrapped around the pen and slipped it out of the grasp of the fellow Junior.

“Abracadabra,” he quipped as he twirled the pen. After clicking the pen, Johnny scribbled his name down onto the sign-up sheet. At that point, he finally spotted the box of many other pens. “Oh wait, maybe I should’ve grabbed one of these.”

Regardless, he signed up, and he was itching for a jam for the first time in a couple of months. He voiced his desire to play the lonely Fender as best he could to one of the booth runners, who ran the idea with the rest of them, and returned that they saw nothing wrong with it. The guitar belonged to the school’s music club, not anyone specifically.

“Awesome!” Johnny exclaimed as he vaulted the table. Finally, he was out of the crowd. Johnny slipped the guitar strap over his shoulder. He spent the first couple of minutes bringing the bridge to his ear so he could hear the tune of the guitar. Just by-ear, he re-tuned the guitar. Johnny then plugged into the wah-wah pedal- which was in turn connected to the mixer. To test everything, he tapped a note. Thankfully, the guitar mixer was already set to exactly what he wanted. Though he fiddled with his friend’s mixer before, it was an ancient piece of hardware, compared to this newer-looking one with all the bells and whistles. Despite all that, the foreigner managed to make it look easy from a distance.

He used hand gestures to show the drummer the tempo Johnny wanted for the song he was planning to play. The drummer didn’t know English, and Johnny hadn’t yet learned the words required to describe music-related things. Still, the drummer watched Johnny’s swinging fingers and copied what Johnny was showing. Once the drummer had it down pat, Johnny gave the thumbs up, “You got it, dude!” The song in particular, he thought about when he watched Kazuki run through the crowd to the chagrin of the older man who had been giving chase.

So he played, and he sang. The lyrics, obviously, were in English. He wasn’t sure if everyone could understand, but he didn’t really care. He just wanted to jam. His uniform fluttered rather loosely as he bounced on the balls of his feet to the rhythm, which was maintained by the quite skilled drummer. Said drummer seemed to know the song already, either that or he was just lucky. The rest of the team running the booth seemed content enough to just listen. This girl with a large, thick-stringed bass seemed to recognize the song for certain. Needless to say, the bassist girl also joined in.

(Note: The bassist and drummer are a couple, for anyone who wants to reference them.)

Johnny sang his goddamn heart out for the first time in months. His deep, powerful voice still had it, thank goodness. It certainly helped that he kept his vocal organs in good condition through the more silent exercises back home. If he wasn’t focused entirely on his two instruments, he’d be wondering where this outburst of energy was coming from. He didn't even know how the crowd throughout the gymnasium was reacting.

Today is a pretty awesome day already. Good start for the year. he finally thought as he finished the main vocals and played the last sting.

---

Unless interrupted, Johnny would give a second set of similar instructions to the drummer. This time, he would ask for a slightly faster tempo. He planned to play Green-Eyed Lady. The bassist, thankfully, would also seem to know this song already once Johnny starts playing.

---

Charm +1 to Katsumi
Popularity +1 to Katsumi

Katsumi's was taken by surprise due to Johnny sudden speed, and found herself blinking in confusion. But it was immeditatly replaced by an impressed smile, 'Not only is he strong, but fast...' Her mind wandered onto the day of swim practice, and she couldn't wait to see a guy like him in the water. Perhaps he'll be good enough to where her brothers respected his skill, and that would be impressive, especially since a mafia family like hers were nothing but critical. But it didnt matter, shaking her head, she merely laughed when he finally noticed the plentiful amount of pens, as she found his "moments" quite hilarious. However with her laughter, it caused students nearby to tense and she could only imagine that she sounded like a witch cackling then a student simply laughing.

But having too much fun to care, she continued to keep her focus on her new found friend who decided to dash into the crowds once more. She could only tilt her head in curiosity, 'Where was he going now.'

Deciding to keep her distance, she leaned her body against a nearby wall comfortably, before looking up at the familiar sound of the guitar.

The sound induced memories of her travels, specifically those in America and Britain with their many concerts and musical events- what great times.. A soft smile pulling away at her lips, she closed her eyes to listen carefully at the stream of lyrics which were passionately sung. It was well done, but she would smile not only out of nostalgia but bemusement. How many students could actually understand the song being sung?

She had doubts, but from the slight shifting of feet to the claps, she saw that she was wrong as a good amount of students peeked or stayed with interest.

'Good for you, man.'

It was fortunate that the bell rang right after Smokin’ In the Boy’s Room was finished. Johnny returned the guitar with a thumbs-up. The other members seemed to enjoy the foreigner’s contribution, even if none of them knew just what the hell Johnny sang in the first place. As such, they returned the thumbs-up. The crowd seemed to like the music as well. Apparently American stuff was popular over here.

“Alright!” Johnny whooped as he vaulted over the table once more. From his uniform pants pocket, he produced an eight-and-a-half by eleven sheet of paper, which contained his class schedule. With a quick glance, he memorized where his first class was taking place. His height allowed him to find Katsumi’s half-cornrows pretty easily. Thankfully, the crowd began to thin as the announcement was acknowledged by more and more students. “Looks like I’m going to Gym Building E,” he said once he arrived before pocketing the paper once more. His voice sounded only slightly strained, as if he had just spent the past few minutes putting his all into something strenuous on his vocal chords. “I gotta hit up my locker. I’ll see you later, Kat!”

Johnny, being a bit of a well-meaning dumbass, did not realise that the class was being shared by seniors and juniors. He headed off on his own once more, now borderline desperate to get out of the sea of shorter people. Once he finally found himself away from the crowds, Johnny rushed to his locker and swiped his school bag. After emptying the books he wouldn’t need for Phys. Ed, he locked up and slung his single-strap backpack over his shoulder.

Currently, he was packing his work-out uniform: a white tank-top with baggy dark green pants. His salt and pepper cross-trainers were complemented only by a matching bandana- which Johnny used to keep his longer bangs out of his eyes. Along with the uniform, Johnny had a second lock, which he would only use whenever he’s using a locker at a gym.

He then walked down the hallway. From his other uniform’s pants pocket, he produced the campus map. He was on his way to Gym Building E. Finally, the education will commence. Finally he can get started on leaving ancient history behind.

Leave ancient history behind. No regrets.

Johnny pushed the men’s locker room door open with next to no effort. The locker room was clean, and retained a slight bleach smell from several days ago. It was a common scent for a locker room at this time of year. The lockers themselves almost glowed in the fluorescent lights that lined the ceiling.

Johnny stepped over to an unused locker and flung off his uniform shirt and jacket. It then took one side glance, where he spotted a shorter, yet older-looking boy, for the foreigner to realise he was not the only one there. The other boy was rather quiet. Johnny imagined it may have something to do with the unusually coloured eyes. With his face-reading talent, Johnny read something similar to Ryou’s own gaze. Some kind of darkness- possibly a regret of some kind. Johnny knew the look well- he saw it in his own face sometimes.

No regrets.

Regardless, this was the time to move forward and make friends at this new school. With a friendly, very calming smile, Johnny greeted, “Yo what’s up?” Immediately after he said that, he realised he said that in English. He quickly repeated a similar, if simple and unnecessarily polite greeting in Japanese. Hanging with Katsumi all morning made Johnny forget he was in a foreign country. As he corrected himself, he removed his uniform pants and similarly tossed them into the locker. Afterwards, he’d slip on his workout outfit, starting with pants, tank-top, shoes, and finally the black and white bandana. He would be doing all this during the conversation.

At least, he would, if he did not later realise that the boy had already left before Johnny could say anything. Dumbass. "Oh," he muttered as he continued to change in silence.

With the song coming to an end, Katsumi opened her eyes, before joining the crowd in their applaud.

She had to be frank, that was pretty good, and now she understood why an athletic looking guy like him decided to join drama club. He was talented. 'That bastard.' She grinned, slightly envious with his skill, but proud of him nevertheless.

So when he got close, she patted him on the back, giving her congratulation and praise, before noticing the crowd thinning out. "Ah. Crap." She tched, guess it was their time to split.

“I gotta hit up my locker. I’ll see you later, Kat!”

"Yeah, later."

Nodding, she watched him walk off, before taking her own way down the hall, out the door, towards the courtyard. Finding herself wanting some fresh air, to reevaluate how her day was going, or well, just to take a break.

Her hands now again stuffed in her jacket pockets, she peered up, bored. Again. As much as she loved having Johnny as a friend, she needed some more. 'But then again, I was damn lucky to get aquainted with him in the first place.' She tilted her neck and closed her eyes in frustration, before opening them to the sound of footsteps.

'What..?'

She blinked, before huffing in amusement. '..What is he doing?' Her eyes locked themselves on the male student (kazuki) she saw earlier, who was then running, and now hiding himself in the greenery of the school. 'Does he have money on his head or something.' She joked, finding him being quite ridiculous, that it got her to softly laugh. After a moment of laughter, she now found herself curious, so inching behind him with family trained stealth, she tilted her head, "You trying to skip or something?" She asked, looking casually at the gate, that he too was staring at.

Slowly, she turned her head to look at him, "Because hiding behind a tree sure wont get you there."

---

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╔╗

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A lopsided grin filled her face as she watched the student gave a fit, "Nah, just curious," Her grin grew, "For someone to get a heart attack from something like that... maybe shouldnt try to be a bad kid." However, what she said wasn't true, from his landing, she could tell he was pretty skilled.

"You better take responsibility for this. You just took my chance to get away from this boring place." She shrugged, not caring too much, before looking at him, expecting the next question. "Who the hell are you anyway?" She blinked, and began to rub the back at her neck in wonder, 'Guess my notorious rep. isnt as well known as I thought it was...' She then huffed, with an amused grin, 'Thats a good thing though.'

Now before she could answer, he had an excellent observation, "You're skipping out too, aren't you?" He said with the hint of mischief in his voice, but before he could continue on.

"Oi! Miyamoto! Is that you!?"

Her head snapped towards the unfamiliar voice which was a particular guarded instinct, and took a double take. 'diao...' She inwardly cursed in her native tongue, as Kazuki did the same. "Sh*t! We're leaving!" Finding her hand taken, she was about to pull away with her surprising strength, but they already took afoot. "diao!..." She cursed seriously, but as they took speed, her eyes shined, and her grin turned wicked, "diao!" She laughed loudly, and almost ran past him. This reminded her too much of her time in china, running with the girls, the "gang". But, she wasn't stupid, this wasn't them. 'Its just this guy.'

But with the sight of the birdie, she could only chuckle, 'He isn't too bad either..'

Now as they slowed, she didnt even break a sweat, so she only looked around for the coast was clear. "Tch... They were persistent. I'll give me them that."

She nodded, "Feel bad for ya."

Katsumi turned her focus on him, noticing his nature, she smirked smugly. He sure reminded her of one of her brothers... "That got me thirsty again." He straightened himself and then looked back at her, "You're not that bad, huh. You managed to keep up kid." Shrugging, shooting him an expecting look, "duh~" He had no idea who she was, and not only her school reputation, but whom she belonged too. 'However I could say the same for him... whats with those goons...'

Her family would perhaps do the same if they heard she was doing what he was doing.

"Well, I'll see you around or something." She gave him a look, "Have fun running in circles." She gave him a curt wave, before turning to head indoors before looking over her shoulder. Katsumi was like that, always skipping class, especially in America... For different reasons. But it was when her mother sent her own goons after her and when the chase never stopped, Katsumi eventually put a pause to it by going to school. 'But whats a guy like him to listen.'

Tucking her hands into her jacket pocket, she started to class.

[will add more later]