[h2]Olivier de Plancy[/h2]
[i]"Hi, how's it going? I'll be your partner for X years", "The name's Sora Jo, don't get in my way", "Yo wassup bitch I'm you're partner", "Something unintelligible in Japanese"[/i]... [i]any[/i] of those options were something that Olivier would be more inclined to accept than this... this... [i]unsolicited analysis[/i] of his cultural background based on the contents of his name. [i]'Whatever happened to 'My name is blank and my favorite animal is...'?'[/i] the young man thought, internally bemoaning the sophistication and level of intelligence displayed by his partner at the perceived cost of proper social graces. He managed to get over it rather shortly afterwards, however. Complaining about having a partner that was too smart was a foolish thing to do anyway. Unless you were undercover in the mafia or something. "Err... Yeah, both of those," he answered unsteadily, definitely still taken aback by the first exchange of words, "I'm French... From France."

[i]'Yes, how... eloquently put of me,'[/i] Olivier thought sardonically as they continued down the path towards the coed dormitories. That was a bit of a worrying prospect, but he was sure that the intelligent people who were running this program have anticipated and planned according for the dozens of pairs of hormonal teenagers with high compatibility - bowchikabowow etc etc - forced to live together. "How about yourself?" he asked, "Japanese national, Japanese descent, or both?"
[hr]
[h2]Akiya Nobuhiko[/h2]
Looking up at his partner perched on high, Nobuhiko began his assessment of his partner. Or at least his partner at that very moment; judging people by how they are at the start wasn't really a good habit to get into and all. He seemed rather awkward up there. A little bit embarrassed too, but that's probably because his efforts were rendered moot point. Anyway, he looked asian but didn't seem like he was from Asia. Or if he was, he didn't carry himself like one, speak the language (or maybe he did and just wasn't speaking it? Or maybe a different one from the one he knew?), and or have an eastern given name. His eyes followed the young Tuner as he quickly made his way down the stack of equipment with a deft leap.

"Whatever works for you is fine. I don't mind. We're gonna be partners forever or something, right? So you might as well use whatever suits you," Nobuhiko answered as he was suddenly dragged from the crowd and over to the closest exit. He could understand enough of the words in that sentence well enough, but he did feel bad for responding in Japanese. But... if he didn't know Japanese, what was he going to do about living in Japan? "I can say that name," he responded, in choppy English this time just to be a nice guy.

"Ah..."

Dorms. Clue. Long. Peculiar, confused look on his face... Probably asking about where the dorms were? Or maybe what dorm was supposed to be theirs? Fortunately for James, Nobuhiko knew his stuff. A grin perked up on his face. "Yes." This was what he was waiting for. It was time to do something useful. He would read signs. And read signs he did. Grabbing James by the wrist and guiding him along the relevant pathways, Nobuhiko quickly worked his way through the campus and over to the three large buildings that were to serve as their housing for the next few years.