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𝔇𝔦𝔞𝔩𝔬𝔤𝔲𝔢 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#FF741D]#FF741D[/color] ||| 𝔗𝔥𝔬𝔲𝔤𝔥𝔱 𝓒𝔬𝔩𝔬𝔯 || [color=#DFD989]#DFD989[/color]
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[color=#FF741D]"Harukaze-san? Why did you stop?"[/color] Asuka froze mid-step as the answer to her question quite literally appeared before her eyes a few yards ahead in a puff of black smoke. She hadn't been paying too much attention while crossing the school grounds towards the dorms - it was early evening and plenty of students were out and about enjoying themselves on the green. She'd nearly been hit in the head by the same Frisbee twice just in passing the large green by the cafeteria, and it had been all she could do to keep her significantly more short-tempered friend - she supposed it was right to call her a friend now, anyway - from severely chastising the responsible parties for their lack of awareness. But, as she didn't know anyone here at this school, it wasn't like it was terribly important for her to pay much attention to them. After all, she knew her sister wouldn't be roaming around aimlessly on her own this late. If she was going to be anywhere, it would be shut up in her dorm, probably either napping or doing something stupid like building a pillowfort. Or napping inside of a pillowfort. Truly unpredictable.

As a result however, she hadn't really noticed that she did, in fact, recognize a few members of a small group conversing under a tree to her left. At least, that is, until one of them literally teleported in front of her, and, although he didn't seem to notice her immediately, Asuka immediately cursed her bad luck under her breath and turned to face her traveling companion. Harukaze's amber eyes alternated between staring at the bricks of the pavement as though they were the most interesting things she'd ever seen in her life, and taking sheepish glances at the back of the tall, blonde boy who was just obliviously running his mouth a few yards away. Her face quickly shifted from a shocked white to a significantly more vibrant hue of red, and she breathed a quiet sigh. Asuka couldn't help but sympathize. If she'd gotten in such a humiliating fight with someone she'd once been close to, she wouldn't have wanted to see them either.

Asuka cocked her head slightly, motioning to a small path between two of the science buildings separated from the courtyard by a retaining wall and a very tall hedge. Creeping away as quietly as possible, with Harukaze doing her best to avoid scraping her crutch as she walked, Asuka guided her friend to a bench and motioned for her to sit down.

[color=#FF741D]"Well? What do you want to do?"[/color] She asked after a moment of silence. [color=#FF741D]"He's kind of right in the way of getting to the dorms. Should we just ignore him and go on our way?"[/color]

Harukaze shook her head.

[color=#FF741D]"Then do you want to sneak past, or try talking to him, or-"[/color] She got no further, for the dark-haired girl, having regained her composure, raised a hand and motioned her to stop.

[color=#c9c916]"I'm sorry. Could you... please... go apologize to him for me? I caused him a great deal of trouble the other day, and... it's only right that I should be sorry. And... if you would... tell me what he says?"[/color]

Asuka breathed a quiet sigh, but didn't object, giving a quiet nod. Normally, she made a policy of not interfering in people's personal affairs, but this was something of a matter of honor for her. After all, she was staying at Harukaze's apartment, and she had taken good care of her older sister. Besides, she had to admit that she was curious to see just what the hell had happened between them to cause the outburst she had seen a few days ago. Maybe from that, she could figure more out about her sister and why she'd said the things she did. It wasn't exactly a becoming trait to be nosy, but, well, at least she'd know, right?

At least, that was what she told herself, but even she, confident and thoroughly disaffected though she might have been, couldn't help but feel slightly uneasy at approaching someone she barely knew about a matter she had no part in. How had she let herself get roped into this? Well, at least the girl from the other day was also there. She'd seemed like a sensible sort, and seemed to have a good head on her shoulders. That might make entering their conversation a little bit easier.

[color=#FF741D]"Excuse me,"[/color] She piped up quietly from behind the boy who was the root cause of all this. She had only a moment to contemplate the best way of bringing this to their attention. As matters stood, she felt that she only had two options. She could rush directly to the point and address the boy directly and just get this over with. It'd probably be something like one of those old American detective shows she loved watching, like "Excuse me, but are you Mr. Haven? I have a message for you from a client." Pfft! As if. No, she had a much better plan. Although, that wasn't exactly a high bar. Acting like this always tired her out, but nevertheless, she'd already dug herself in this deep... Might as well keep it up and see what she might unearth, right? Thankfully, she and Haruka had approached at a rather odd angle, not managing to come anywhere near the tree the group were standing under before turning off, meaning they probably hadn't been noticed. And, if they had, it probably - she hoped - wouldn't look weird for her to come back to converse with someone she'd met before.

So, she embraced her role with gusto, and entered... [i]Gal-mode.[/i] [color=#DFD989][i]My ultimate forbidden technique, sure to land me any hot guy I desire. This state burdens my mind immensely, similar to trying to discover who the killer is by the second episode. It shortens my lifespan every time I use it, so I sealed it away. it's only supposed to be a trump card used to- ...And what the hell am I even thinking right now?[/i][/color]

[color=#FF741D]"Ah, that is you, Kasuke-san! I knew it!~"[/color] She declared with an [i]obviously[/i] unaffected relief and a slight hint of girlish cheerfulness that was so painstakingly crafted as to be almost unquestionably genuine. [color=#FF741D]"It's me, Motome, from the other day."[/color] She gave a bashful giggle with perfect timing, scratching her head with supremely innocent nervousness. [color=#FF741D]"Oh, but my sister's also Motome, so you can call me Asuka if that's too much of a hassle. Anyway, I'm really sorry to bother you when you're in the middle of something, but could you help me out? I don't really know anybody around here except my sister, and I can't find her anywhere. I think she might be at the dorms, but I don't really know where that is, and- Oh!"[/color] She stopped herself, only just seeming to notice Jett. She let her smile slip a bit, giving a deliberately forced expression as if unsure of how to proceed. After a moment of awkwardness, she lowered her head slightly and proceeded in a quieter, more sheepish tone of voice.

[color=#FF741D]"Umm, Jett-san, wasn't it? S-sorry, I'm not too good with names sometimes. Umm, I really should apologize, though. My friend kind of made a huge scene yesterday. She's really beating herself up over it, and, uh, that's actually part of why I came here."[/color] She wasn't technically lying - that WAS why she'd accosted them, but she made sure to make it sound like their meeting was a total coincidence, not wanting to imply that Haruka was around in case he demanded to see her. [color=#FF741D]"Harukaze-san wanted me to tell you she's very sorry for causing you so much trouble."[/color] She took a very deep bow, and hesitated bashfully to raise her head. [color=#FF741D]"If you don't want to talk about it anymore, I totally understand, but... umm... if there's anything you have to say to her, I could tell her for you next time I see her?"[/color]

There it was! Her master play. After all, Harukaze [i]had[/i] asked her to relate anything Jett said on the subject back to her, so asking for exactly that was totally within her jurisdiction, right? This way, she could hopefully figure out just what Jett had to do with Harukaze and her sister, and maybe, just maybe, help settle her friend's dispute for her.

...Still, this really wasn't worth it. Acting so earnest and cutesy all the time was [i]exhausting,[/i] especially when the only attractive guy around was surrounded by other girls and already had some kind of history with one of her friends. She had no idea how so many airheads managed to live this way. IF nothing else, though, if these people had already had the misfortune of dealing with her older sister... Their reactions to seeing someone who looked so much like her, but actually behaved normally would probably be interesting. They'd definitely be relieved, right? Somebody had to be the competent one in the family, after all, and it sure as hell wasn't her big sis.

[@Silver Carrot][@Aerandir][@Norschtalen]