[h3][center]A [color=8dc73f]plant[/color], [color=9e0b0f]Toothless[/color], [color=pink]Pinky[/color] and the [color=FEFB47]Blond[/color] enter a field[/center][/h3] Their ever-smiling professor guided them towards a lush clearing with trees, trees, and more trees as far as the eye could see. It was a bit tiring for Hiroaki, but he took the chance to look around. Even if all he could see were trees, he felt so at peace with himself, like all those troubles he felt earlier that day were vanished. It was just so calming, being surrounded by nature, feeling the cool breeze and hearing the soft chirps and branches full of leaves swaying in the air. Someone who didn't seem to be quite as calm was Haruka Fujimori, a sight that wouldn't seem to mesh well for a plant girl walking through a forest. One of the demostrations had struck a nerve on her and resulted on her casting several glances towards one of her future classmates: Elina. Haruka could deal with someone as Akeno, as it was merely that she herself was hot and to that she could take measures. But... As the rate of growth of Elina's fire had increased, so did Haruka's fears. It took her all of her determination and willpower to stay put on her seat the moment the heat began to graze her skin and visibly paled at the display. She thanked the heavens that Azukina and Soga were busy speaking about books at the time so that they wouldn't cast a gaze in her direction. That... that would've been disastrous for the image she was trying to build. And here she was now, being shepherd to a new ground by Guodo-sensei through the path of the forests. Instead of looking to be at the middle of the group to bask in the attention of her fellow classmates, she opted to have as many persons as she could between herself and the torch-head. The words of their teacher barely registered in her mind as her gaze was kept on the nape of that one girl. However, as she absent-mindedly walked and stared at Elina, she could feel a hand on her shoulder. Soga, after his discussion with Azukina, knew that he and her needed a bit of time to have things settled after the question he had asked. However, he did not wish to seem a loner now of all times by wandering by himself deep in thought. He thought that it was best if people saw him talk to someone, and if it was one as attractive as Haruka, then all the better. [color=9e0b0f]"Hey there, Haruka-san, how are you?"[/color] He asked her, once more doing his best to smile as politely as possible. [color=9e0b0f]"You seem a bit shaken, is something wrong?"[/color] His vision moved in the direction of where Haruka was looking and saw Elina, the girl with hair of fire, the one who had turned one of the dummies to ash with her fire. She was afraid of Elina. Well, it made perfect sense, of course the plant person was afraid of the person who could turn her to ash in mere moments if she tried. He hoped that she did not assume that he was able to breathe flames just because he shared the visage of a dragon, it would certainly not help with his attempts at befriending her. Still trailing behind the rest of the group, hands dug into his pockets, a slow-moving Seijin was trying to spot out that pinkette from before amongst the crowd of unnamed strangers he hadn't had the chance to get to know and hopefully it stays like that, today already was a troublesome first day. Hiroaki's hair sticks out of a crowd, even a crowd as [i]mixed[/i] as theirs, he trots out of the treeline into the clearing behind the other teen, [color=FEFB47]Oi Pinkie. How about yah stick with me? Your healing quirk could definitely make life around here a lot less troublesome for me.[/color] Hiroaki turned around and was surprised to see Seijin, the blonde boy from earlier. He's the guy who almost forgot about saving Hiroaki from the Quirk demonstration. Good thing the pink boy activated his Quirk so Seijin no longer had any reason to forget about him. Walking through nature has helped in clearing his mind, but seeing and hearing the blonde boy made him a bit irritated again, just like how he felt when the two boys were enjoying their fight so much that they forgot about him. [color=pink]"Oh sure, Seijin. Just call me whenever you want me to heal you then I'll go out of your way after you're done with me"[/color] Hiroaki sarcastically said to Seijin before continuing to walk a couple of inches away in front of the blonde. It's wrong for Hiroaki to judge someone he just met that day, but he was irritated that the only reason Seijin wanted Hiroaki to be near the blonde was because of the benefits of his healing Quirk. Hiroaki was more than just his Quirk, and he was also saddened that Seijin failed to realize that. He quirks his eyebrow at Hiroaki's form walking away from him after giving the affirmative and being so agreeable, Seijin shrugs before shuffling over to catch up with the pink-haired teen, "[color=FEFB47]Thanks for seeing stuff my way, you're already making things less troublesome. I might just have to place yah under my wing."[/color] Oblivious of the other teen's tone or mood, he puts his arm around the shorter Hiroaki's shoulder and walks side by side with him. Seijin isn't all for sharing pleasantries with everyone he meets, let alone knowing what that word means as a matter of fact... but he recognizes opportunity to not put in work when he sees one. And also, Pinkie gives off good vibes for him. Can't hurt, right? Hiroaki felt his face slightly blush. It's been a long time since someone put their arm around him, then there's also that thing earlier where Seijin carried him over his shoulder like Aki weighed nothing. Hiroaki doesn't know why, but all that physical contact made him feel awkward, nervous, and happy all at once. Well on the bright side, it looked like he made a new friend and he's at least greatful for that. Hiroaki looked up at Seijin. "[color=pink]'Under your wing'? Are you supposed to be my protector or something?[/color]". Haruka flinched, Soga taking her off guard as her mind kept going over the display of the wildfire. However, upon recognizing the voice as the person she had performed her quirk demonstration with. [color=8dc73f]"Ah, Soga-kun"[/color] spoke the plantwoman with a smile, a hand idly tucking some of her hair behind an ear only for most of the strands of leaves refusing this change and taking the position they had before. [color=8dc73f]"It is nothing, do not worry. But thanks for checking in. And thanks for doing that demonstration with me. If it wasn't because of you, I'm afraid my show would've been much more lackluster"[/color]. A bit of a white lie; Haruka was confident that she could've pulled something off if she was to perform a demonstration by herself. However, it was true that, if it wasn't for the draconic student, then the demonstration would've been definitely drabber. [color=9e0b0f]"I highly doubt that."[/color] he said with same smile on his face. [color=9e0b0f]"I am positive you would have been able to something as amazing if not even more than what we have done even by yourself."[/color] He said, though he himself struggled to actually imagine how the plant girl herself would have been able to make the demonstration very interesting at all. [color=9e0b0f]"After all, your quirk actually helps you do something when mine, other than the wings, simply makes me look like a beast of myth."[/color] He said, deciding that there was enough small talk for now as his eyes turned toward Elina herself. [color=9e0b0f]"I see that you've watched Elina-san's demonstration as well, it was something to behold, though it made me feel a bit envious, reminding me that I am unable to breathe fire."[/color] He said, looking actually a bit wistful before turning to Haruka. [color=9e0b0f]"But something tells me that you are of a differing opinion than me, considering how you were looking at her for a moment there... are you afraid of her?"[/color] He asked, his smile diminishing for a moment. Once the subject of her worries was mentioned, she casted a gaze back at her as her smile vanished. Whilst it was a relief knowing that a case of the sneezes wouldn't result in Haruka ending in the hospital with several third-degree burns, she wasn't going to delve further into her deeply rooted fears. [color=8dc73f]"She needs to learn to control her capabilities better, else she'll cause much more harm than good. I believe our future Symbol of Peace would be familiar with this kind of ordeal"[/color] was her reply, instead. [color=8dc73f]"I'm wary of her, naturally, as should anyone that isn't fireproof. Which I assume you are, to some degree."[/color] [color=9e0b0f]"Yes I am, I am resistant to fire to a degree and I agree with your that she needs to control her powers, but that is why we are here in the first place, are we not?"[/color] He asked as the two slowly walked through the forests. [color=9e0b0f]"But, instead of focusing on these things, why don't we focus on the more relaxing things, such as the nature that surrounds us!"[/color] He said, pointing at the trees around them and hoping that at least to a degree, the girl was interested in nature, if not, then at least it should take her mind off of the fire-haired girl and who knows maybe even help her relax a bit. He waited for a few moments as the two walked side by side once more, however, though he had never been a conversationalist in the first place, even he hated the silence that followed as he looked around the forest itself. [color=9e0b0f]"Say, Haruka-san, I am aware it may be a slightly touchy subject, but why did you decide to join Jigokuraku in the first place?"[/color] He asked, but, knowing that the topic itself may be a bit touchy, as he just had said, he continued. [color=9e0b0f]"If you wish, maybe I could start with the reason why I joined to make things a little easier?"[/color] Soga would be excused to think that the closest sentient relative to grandma's potted plant was attuned to nature, and Haruka was quite used to this line of thought, whether it was something intended as a lighthearted joke, a bad pick-up line or simple innocence. True, she [b]was[/b] interested in nature, albeit not for the reasons one'd think. She tended to read about plants every now and then to see what she could do with her own quirk. Most of her knowledge about flowers came from this casual research, and she put it to use on a daily basis to pick what she would "wear". Instead, she glanced to the side and spotted a couple of students happily chatting with each other, one of them a bit more bashful at this overtly friendly approach the other was taking. She raised her voice just a bit so that they'd hear her whilst addressing Soga. [color=8dc73f]"I believe I'm more interested in the story these two have. They seem to be good friends, perhaps they know each other from before? Maybe two childhood friends developing an amicable rivalry with each other? I cannot see a reason why they'd be this trusting of each other."[/color] A bit of a non-sequitur, perhaps, but she'd rather hear others first before speaking about her own goals. [color=FEFB47]“Eh? Your protector? ..Sure, why not. If that keeps yah around, I’m down.”[/color] He admits out loudly, ruffling Hiroaki’s pink hair, the thought of taking on that role was something new for him but how troublesome could looking after someone like Pinke get? Seijin cocks his head back at an unfamiliar someone addressing the two of them, [color=FEFB47]“Actually we’d just met each other for the first time today,”[/color] he shrugs at the rather attractive-looking plant girl, [color=FEFB47]“Aki here like seems pretty trustable... Wait. Who’re you again?”[/color] [color=8dc73f]"Fujimori, Haruka. A pleasure to meet you..."[/color] An empty blank space, signified with a minimal gesture of her hands, was provided for the other teen to fill in with his name. Hiroaki closed his eyes as Seijin ruffled his hair, and he felt himself blush more. This level of physical contact was very new to the pink-haired teen, probably because his family was treating him less than an ordinary human and more of a fragile object. [color=pink]”But I don’t need someone to protect me...”[/color], he shyly mumbled. Then Hiroaki was surprised when someone approached and talked to them. He admitted he did a bit of a double-take just in case his eyes did a trick on him but no, the one before the pair was an honest to goodness plant girl. Hiroaki gave her a serene smile. [color=pink]“Hello there! I’m Akiyama, Hiroaki. You can call me Aki for short if you wanna”[/color]. [color=FEFB47]"Name's Seijin, Takahashi and the feeling's mutual, I guess. Ha. Ru. Ka."[/color] Shooting a casual two-finger salute at the newly introduced girl as he slowly drawls off each syllable in her name. The large dragon teen loomed over the plant girl, studying the two students that Haruka had engaged in conversation. For some reason, he did not like the blonde one overly much, he seemed too confident for his own liking. Soga faked a cough to attract the attention of the other two to him. The moment they looked his way, he would smile and talk. [color=9e0b0f]"Ah, sorry for the interruption."[/color] He said, once more faking an apologetic look. [color=9e0b0f]"My name is Yutsuko Soga."[/color] The draconic teen nods his head as he introduced himself. His gaze drifts over to the taller, scaled teen who had been introduced just now, Seijin's lazy, half-lidded eyes meeting the black dragon's. [color=FEFB47]"Hm. Soga, Soga, Soga... nope. Doesn't work,"[/color] he tests out the new name before shaking his head, [color=FEFB47]"How about then... Scales? Mhm~ Yeah nah, I'm calling yah Scales from now on."[/color] Then the next person who talked to them was a dragon boy. Hiroaki has spent most of this time in his house for therapy that he didn’t have the time to talk and even look at other people. For him, this day has been getting more and more awesome. [color=pink]”It’s very awesome to meet the both of you! I hope our other schoolmates and classmates are as nice as you two”[/color]. Hiroaki beamed at the both of them, then giggled and gently nudged Seijin’s side. [color=pink]”Come on, Seijin. Soga’s definitely better than ‘Scales’.[/color] The enthusiasm from Hiroaki and the attempted nickname for Soga from Seiin's part brought a light giggle from Haruka. [color=8dc73f]"It is definitely a pleasure to meet you two. For how close you were I thought that you were previous acquaintances, but it is nice, in a sense, to know we are all amidst strangers of our own little town. After all, what a better way to make new friends than the academy?"[/color] Slowly, the young girl's nerves began to ease down, and she had stopped shooting glances towards the Olympic Torch relayer. [color=8dc73f]"Although I do agree that Soga-kun here is rather polite. Letting me hike a ride on his demonstration was awfully nice of him to do"[/color] [color=FEFB47]"So. Ga. Is two syllables, 'Scales' is one, I'm just being efficient 'n stuff."[/color] Reaching for Hiroaki's pink to ruffle his hair again, it was quite soft and did feel nice to mess someone else's hair up like that. He's definitely going to have the pinkette stick close with him, [color=FEFB47][i]'Good vibes, I can feel it'[/i][/color]. Seijin turns back to the duo, his lazed expression still unchanged betraying just how relaxed he feels amongst all these strangers, [color=FEFB47]"Eh. This guy was picked up when that Ashtray-breath tried to start something with me, it was like reaaaal troublesome. Aki made it less so."[/color] This jolly group of teenagers continued to engage in pleasant small talk as they went down the path of nature. A draconic teen, a plant-like girl, a pink-haired boy and a tall blonde, perhaps set to be a small gang in the future of Jigokuraku's 1-A. Fire-forged bonds, or perhaps a betrayal on the horizon. However, that wasn't for them to know, and instead the four of them would arrive to the field. Or, as Goudo-sensei had put it, [b]The Field™[/b]. A large, open field where things were set to happen sooner rather than later. [hr] [hider=TL;DR]Hiroaki gets approached by Seijin and he feels bromance for the first time. Haruka ponders how much she'll last until she becomes the next forest fire next to Elina when Soga approaches her. The two groups collide. The future quakes.[/hider] Mentions: [@Metastability] [@baraquiel] [@claw2k11]