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When lunch rolls around, Eikichi is doing a bad job of staying nonchalant. He can hardly sit still, fidgeting like a small boy in the doctor’s waiting room. Maybe now, him and Suzuka can say more than five words to each other. In fact, now seems like the right time to break up his groupie and rescue her from a sticky situation—

[b]“Ohohoho!”[/b]

—then again, maybe not. 

The sudden appearance of Arashiyama is enough to make the already busy classroom a pandemonium, and Eikichi watches in awe as his classmates all but salute the third year. With that speech, maybe he should too. Arashiyama has always been… intense. He’s not [i]scared [/i]of her, of course not — but he is wary. She commands attention in ways he’ll never be able to. And that makes her a threat, if she ever decided to turn her wrath upon him.

Glancing back at Suzuka, he sees that Mikako has gotten ahold of her first and seems to be spoiling her. Not surprising. Suzuka has always needed someone to take care of her, after all, and Mikako has always been motherly. It’s just… 

Well, it used to be him. 

And it’s not that he’s jealous! But there’s always been a shard of hope that Suzuka would return, just like there’s always been a tiny Suzu-shaped hole in his chest since she left. He imagined their reunion a little differently, though. Has he changed so much that she doesn’t want to be friends with him anymore? 

That thought is weird and hard and not fun, which is why he does what any 17 year old, when confronted with such confusing feelings, would consider the logical course of action: he goes outside to sulk. Eikichi grabs his lunch, sneaks out of the classroom (Easy, since Arashiyama-senpai is speaking in a voice loud enough for three of her), and stalks out into the hallway. He’s so busy feeling sour and bittersweet and lonely that he doesn’t notice the figure barreling toward him—

[i]Wham![/i]

—till it’s too late to stop. Knocked to his feet by an unknown assailant, and already in a not-so-pleasant mood, Eikichi’s first reaction is to lash out.

[color=6567be]“Ow! Watch where you’re going! This is a school for humans, not cannonballs!”[/color] he snaps, rubbing his head, which feels like it just collided with a steel beam. [color=6567be]"Didja forget the part about no running in the halls?"[/color]

It's only when he's picked himself up from the ground that he recognizes the unstoppable force in front of him. Wait, isn't that Ryuu? The one everyone whispers about getting into fights and stealing purses and breaking up gangs? The one who's bad news? 

Eikichi groans. Of all the people to run into, it just [i]had [/i]to be the delinquent, huh?