[h3][color=a187be][b]Yonaka Aimi[/b][/color][/h3]

	'They think I'm a kid', she says. Yonaka smirked ruefully under her mask. Aren't you? Aren't we all? But she didn't say that part out loud. Yonaka knew what Mai meant. Even though it wasn't an issue Yonaka herself ever had to deal with. People took one look at Yonaka and, well, 'kawaii' wasn't exactly what came to mind. 

	[color=a187be]"Guess you'll just have to prove yourself, then. Don't worry, I know you got the stuff." [/color] Yonaka reassured her young...friend? Protege? Student? Understudy? Just who the hell put this lost child in her care, anyway?

	Oh, right, she did. Mai had a lot to prove, just like Yonaka did. And underneath all the bluster, if Yonaka was a good judge character, (and she believed she was), was a good, brave heart. The makings of a strong woman who looked out for others. But if she was left to drown in the dust of stupid-ass racists and social isolation, she'd never have a chance. 

	But Yonaka would never say something like that out loud. No way. She had a reputation to uphold! 


	[color=a187be]"Lookin' forward to crackin' some skulls tomorrow..."[/color]

	[hr]


	Yonaka actually had a couple of targets in mind of her own, but she wouldn't be surprised of little Li could scrounge up some leads of her own. Some...Li-eads? 

	First of all, Denki. Or, "Snot-Rag", as he is known. He was one of the kids that got assaulted. Denki was a popular subject for bullying. But physical assaults? Not so much. It came up on her radar as it were when he didn't show up for his part time job at the video store.

	Next was Mitsu. Art student, member of the track team. Real model kid. Unpopular dweebs getting bullied was nothing new. Poor children like Denki being on the bottom totem pole was just the nature of things, unfortunately. But middle of the road, contented, reasonable achievers like Mitsu? That went beyond enforcing a bad hierarchy. Now it was just senseless violence. The distinction probably didn't mean much to adults, but it meant something to Yonaka. 

	But she had time. She was going to talk to Denki at his work, and then catch Mitsu on the field during gym class.

	Yonaka walked into the school courtyard, missing her kendo stick but still wearing her signature mask. She spotted Mai Li and noticed it looked like the shorter girl wanted to talk to her.

	Yonaka made eye contact and nodded. Smoothing out her long skirt she sat on a stone bench under a tree and crossed one leg over the other.

	[color=a187be]"So, you got any leads? Think of this as high stakes initiation!"[/color] Yonaka said brightly. [color=a187be]"Now, despite my reputation..."[/color] Yonaka lowered her voice, leaning in towards Mai.[color=a187be] "I'm not sure it's the best move to threaten kids into telling who beat them up by threatening to beat them up. Seems kind of pointless to me. Today is the day of a soft touch Yonaka. Of course I'm not going to go around flirting with a bunch of first years, but who doesn't want the approval of a pretty girl like me, right?" [/color] Yonaka chuckled. 

	[color=a187be]"In any case. They might be able to relate to you, more. After all, you're in danger, too, right? Maybe they don't want to be treated like helpless little kids either." [/color] Yonaka said, observing her fingernails and checking for dirt. Internally, she realised she might be letting the tiniest glimpse of empathy show. Oops. Quickly, she concocted a scheme to correct this. Blinking, Yonaka looked up and squinted at Mai Li.

	[color=a187be]"...You [i]are[/i] a first year, right?" [/color] She asked, looking the tomboy up and down like she was just seing her for the first time.