The fact that his partner managed to find him first caught James a tad off-guard; maybe it was trying to get a better vantage point that made him stand out, but... Well, what was done was done. His partner didn't stand out that much, though; the blue tint of his hair, once he managed to see it up close, seemed to stand out from the regular black hair that most Asians had, but...
Eh, that was pretty minor, if anything. It'd take some time to come to recognize his name and face and associate it with his name, but... All in due time.

"Ah... Right. Well, that simplifies things considerably." he said, leaping down from atop the desk he had just moved up on top of and rubbing the back of his neck in nervous embarrassment. Right. he made himself stand out like an idiot in order to find a faster solution to the problem at hand. Well, it worked, at least...

"Heh... Shit. Well, it's a pleasure to meet you regardless. Apparently, standing up somewhere high makes it easier for others to see you just as it is for you to see them. Who'd've thought? Anyways... Akiya... Was it? Or would you prefer me to go by your last name?" he began as he began dragging his new partner through the crowd towards the nearest exit.

"Well, whatever. As for the answer to your question... Mind just calling me James? It feels really... Freakin' awkward to be called for my last name. Seriously can't get used to it."

...
Wait, did his partner have the capacity to understand him through all of his... Well, 'method' of speaking English? Like, it seemed he had some grasp of the language, but... Well, only time could tell.
Aaand he'd probably have to learn Japanese over the next few years, too, wouldn't he? God dammit, Mandarin was bad enough back in America...

Eh, whatever; life was life. Maybe... Icebreaker questions? But that would have to wait until he reached the exit...

Which, thankfully enough, didn't take much more than a minute or so to reach. The crowd thinning out as they walked over helped considerably, at least, for which James was quite grateful for; contests of strength had never been his forte, after all.

"Hell, it's about time. That took too long; where are the dorms, though?" he stated to nobody in particular as he exited the stuffy room, taking in a breath of the not-so-humid air in the hallway before turning back to his partner. "You got any clue?"

[hr]
Oh.
He was one of [i]those[/i] people, wasn't he? The blush on his face, that awkward manner of speech, even the stiffness of his body...
Well, she couldn't say she didn't see it coming. She wanted interesting, and boy, did she get it. Just... Not in the manner she expected, at least. Though... It was impressive that he managed to sniff her out so quickly, especially with the crowd still as thick as it was; she had deliberately chosen a location to slip away from the mess around her, but he managed to pick her out, with all these faces to fish through. Was it luck? Quite possibly. But maybe...
No, it couldn't be. It [i]had[/i] to be luck; there were too many other girls here with the same hair color, same hairstyle, same eye color... He took a shot in the dark, and hit the bullseye in one go. Impressive; she'd give him that much for now, but no more. First, she had to learn; to probe around, see if there was anything worth getting invested in. With a quick glance at the screen above (and with her face and that of the boy in front of her in mind), Mari silently confirmed the validity of his statement. Not just an odd duck; he was her partner.

"Hello, Keiichi-san. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance; I'm surprised you found me so quickly, what with all the people in here." she said, bowing her head in a polite show of acknowledgement. "Though... I must ask if we could refrain from moving through the crowd for the time being; I'd rather not be crushed by the stampede of newly-paired students rushing to their dorms as they are now."

Gesturing toward the somewhat-steady stream of students flowing out of the room, Mari smiled towards her new-found partner. It was a slight smile, and one she had faked often to slip away from annoying peers who wanted to drag her on some silly venture. It would do. For now.