'I'm beginning to dislike this arduous situation. What makes her think I want to compensate for her inability to plan properly? Does she want me to ask her if she wants to accompany me to the festival or something? Doesn't she know that other people have their own problems to deal with? Self-sufficiency is a virtue, after all.'
"Mmm, sure," Hideaki answered, suppressed pessimism hammering against his consciousness like water trying to escape a dam, "It's no skin off my back." The upperclassmen put a hand to his chin in thought. Within the poisonous cesspool of his mind was a surprising amount of actual thought put into helping this girl. Credibility must be retained, after all, and besides, it was like his mother said: if you were going to do something, you do it right the first time. Unfortunately, though he'd much rather not bring her to help with the class president's operation, given his own motivations were not exactly out of charity, it seemed to be the only option that wasn't a rather blatant 'screw off' on his part.
"You could come with me to help the class pres," Hideaki suggested, finger pointed upward in representation of his 'new' idea, "I'm sure she'll need all the help she can get. From what I've heard, it looks like all her usual help left for the summer." He shrugged, "That's the best I can come up with at the moment, unless you want to stay at home."
The young bowman resumed walking away from the school, gesturing for the kendoka to follow after him. "Well if you aren't coming, I guess I'll see you later, maybe." @Sharyxe
Not long after Hideaki had locked the archery dojo doors and set off homewards, Aloise Akane, the ace of the kendo club, had suddenly chosen to address him. She completely unmatched in her art, if the rumors held fast, and Hideaki could respect that. She was also foreign but that was not too unusual, the archer supposed. It wasn't an unusual sight; Namimori was practically full of foreginers these days, after all. Her query was in regards to his preparations for the festivals, something that the bespectacled bowman thought was distinctly None Of Her Business. He'd let it pass though, give her the benefit of the doubt that this budding conversation wouldn't be the droll exchanging of pleasantries he'd been so accustomed to.
"Hmm? Good afternoon, Aloise-san," the boy cheerfully greeted the younger girl, sending a curt wave and a practiced, imperceptively insincere smile her way. It was a sequence of actions practically seared permanently into his being. Though mostly extraneous social formalities like these weren't something he particularly enjoyed having to do over and over again, he'd play his part well, just like he always did. First impressions counted for a lot, after all. "Ara, that's right. I do have to prepare for the festival. Guess I lost track of time," he agreed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head, "But it's fine, I've got my outfit ready and everything. So all I have to do is go home, dress up, and maybe help out the class pres with her booth, ne?"
"What about you, Aloise-san?" the two-faced archer asked politely with feigned concern, "Don't you have to prepare for the festivities yourself?"
Username: Grey Name: Minase Hideaki / Yi Hyun-ki Age: 15 Gender: Male Country of Origin: Japan (Zainichi Korean) Role: Vongola Guardian Candidate Flame: Cloud, Lightning Weapon/Fighting Style:
Bow and Arrows - As the captain of Nami Middle's Archery Club and one who lives by the traditional Japanese philosophy of archery, Hideaki's skill in bow-based marksmanship is supernal. Furthermore, Hideaki possesses exceptionally keen eyesight that assists in sniping targets moving at fast speeds and at super long-range. Among mafiosi, the perception of his eyes is one of, if not the, best.
Razor Wire - A spool of monofilament metal wire and a pair of gloves with wire running through them. It's a very versatile weapon, equally capable of laceration and strangulation, among other things, but requires a high degree of skill to properly utilize. The wires capitalize on Hideaki's superior dexterity and agility moreso than his mediocre physical strength or endurance, and, in the future, his proficiency with these wires is equal to or surpassing his marksmanship. Currently located within a mundane box in his attic.
Appearance:Present Day -> Ten Years Later Personality: The phrase 'alone in a crowd' sums up Hideaki very well. Though he seems to be the kind of naturally-popular, outgoing sort of person in his daily interactions with others, he's actually a rather detached person. He's not a loner by any extent, but he can't consider anyone his friend on principle. There's an old saying that 'the perfect archer has learned to suppressed the self', and Hideaki has done this to a T. In the face of discrimination against his people, Hideaki's learned to act the part of a wholesome Japanese young man and hide any perceived imperfections in his personality in public, but even sometimes he doesn't know where 'Minase Hideaki' ends and 'Yi Hyun-ki' begins. He's a very proficient actor nonetheless. In terms of his "true" personality, Hideaki is very much one to toss aside the fetters of traditional morality and follow his own path, not those that offend his sensibilities. Fortunately events in his daily life are not too contrary to his beliefs, even though he hates having to put on his happy face for the sake of his mother and his family's social standing and is actually kind of a two-faced asshole when it comes to his real opinions. His beliefs can be rather unorthodox at times, but it all lends to a decent capacity as a 'left-hand man' of sorts History: Hideaki, born under the name of Yi Hyun-ki, seems to come from a rather innocuous family. His mother, a hardworking Japanese woman in her mid 30s, runs a book cafe in downtown Namimori while his Korean father works overseas and only really returns home once in a blue moon. However, his family is far more unusual than it would seem at first glance. Though unbeknownst to even Hideaki himself, his father is a notorious agent under the codename 'Tarantula' who works for an international police organization opposing the mafia whilst his mother, though now genuinely a functioning member of normal society, was born into a criminal organization and used to leverage her appearance and occupation as an investigative journalist to act as their informant. Incidentally, they both met without knowing a thing about each others' allegiances. When they learned that Hideaki was on the way, they changed their identities and relocated to Namimori, mostly as the Vongola Famiglia was not one to tolerate civilian attacks or enemy factions making trouble in their territory. As a result, Hideaki led the normal life his parents wanted for him, even if his father was hardly present for any of it, free from the influence of any criminal enterprises. However, he wasn't free from the second class status that came with his particular half-blooded ethnicity. His mother, ashamed of his status, unintentionally instilled Hideaki's warped, two-faced values with her cynical, heavy-handed, and sometimes traumatic teachings on the ways of the world. Other:
@Kyun "Still, it's all that work, down the drain for nothing," Sasaki said, tone betraying a little more than a simple apology for ruining the miniscule young man's works. The giant noted the hurried concealment of the artist's chosen medium. Was this kid one of those good artists who were afraid of showing others what they were capable of, or maybe ashamed of their art's perceived terribleness? The shorter boy definitely didn't have anything lewd in there, from what he had seen. The mildly entertaining thought of the artist having some degree of romantic affection for the violinist briefly passed through his mind before being dismissed as groundless musing. It was a good day after all, very picturesque in its ways. Good for art, in other words. Besides, looking too deeply into these kinds of things usually only results in wrong ideas all around. Usually. Speaking of which...
"Hm? No, it's alright. She's not my girlfriend," Sasaki answered simply. What were you expecting? Multiple exclamation points, a reddened face, and a loud declaration screamed to the heavens with an emphasis on the negative? "She probably doesn't want to see me anyway. I figure if I go it'll make things worse," he explained, sitting up straighter, further emphasizing the size discrepancy between the two, "How about you and your... model?" That probably wasn't the art term for what Aria was serving as, but whatever. "Nice of her to let you do that."
It didn't take much to neutralize the songbird, did it? Her short spiel was admittedly rather lacking in tact, but she took the bait like a good fish. Just went to show that someone lacking in mental fortitude like her wasn't good enough to hang around her precious Onii-chan. Sunye watched Namashiya make her way closer and closer to her brother, tears streaming down her concealed face, and took that as her cue to get out of there before Sasaki could catch sight of her. With little fanfare, Sunye sprung from the bench and entered the school building via the closest entrance and melted into the crowd herself.
Following the direction of the academic mass, the kawaii imouto caught sight of another kawaii imouto, except the other one was yelling words very loudly. Words that could be easily misinterpreted. Seeing that this individual was no threat to her livelihood, Sunye tapped the older, light-haired girl on the shoulder. "Excuse me," the Level 3 addressed, "But are you okay?"
Sasaki Kirima
@Kyun@Suku "Mhm," the giant of a boy hummed wiith a nod, "It really was very good." Petals drifted through the courtyard, carried by the light spring breeze. It was almost like something out of a manga. The world seemed to be at peace here, nothing but the dull backdrop of the Academy City's hustle and bustle to accompany the serenity of this courtyard. So far, today was looking brighter and brighter. "Guess you don't owe me that song anymore," Sasaki joked before taking on a more serious tone, "You're definitely as good as you said you were, back then."
The titan allowed the peaceful silence to settle between the two rather than the awkward one that had punctuated their previous discourse. However, instead of being broken by one of the two, another individual appeared. Kotori Namashiya, a hero to many, a friend to himself, and deliverer of breakfast it seemed. He didn't too much note in the girl's stuttering. After all, she was a timid sort and admittedly it was a rather awkward and very misinterpretable situation. However, before he could thank the mousy young girl, she left with a vigor after apologizing for some perceived trouble that she'd caused. "...What was that..?" the befuddled young man murmured, watching the songbird retreat into the cage of her timidity. He glanced around the courtyard attempting to find Sunye as Aria asked about Kotori, but found neither hide nor tail of his younger sibling. Finally, when his gaze was directed down to Aria, Sasaki took note of the wet spots dotting where she had stood previously. Had Kotori been... crying?
"I... I guess I know her, but at the same time, it's like I don't," Sasaki admitted, voice monotone as he looked down to the bento in his hands, "Hey... Fabre-chan, I know you and I don't really know each other that well and all, but can I ask you to do an important favor for me?" He passed the box to the violinist, "Can you go check up on my friend and give this back to her? I... don't think she wants to see me right now and I've got a real bad feeling about all this.."
That finally said, the giant took a seat on a bench beside the young, somewhat effeminate individual and put his face in his hands. He sighed, remaining silent in his very mopey position as he began to run through the events of the last time he had seen Kotori in an attempt to find the root of the problem, so to speak. He'd left class, administered some very ghetto first aid to several (un?)lucky people, and carried the telekinetic to the infirmary. Not much in the way of 'publicly available' trouble anywhere there... There was always that, but he'd made a point not to mention such to Sunye. Maybe he'd done a worse job than he'd thought. Resting his chin on his hands, a quick look at the contents of the adjacent individual's drawing pad made Sasaki realize an unintended consequence of his actions. "Oi, artist-kun," Sasaki said, finally addressing the artist-kun in question, "Sorry for ruining your drawing."
Clouds lazily drifted through the sunny sky as Minase Hideaki cleaned the archery dojo he cherished so very much. As captain, he'd dismissed the rest of the members early and insisted they go home to prepare for the festival, leaving the bowman to his own devices in the vast expanse of the empty room. It was almost soothing, in a way. No need for pretenses or facades here. Just him and the sounds of nature. 'It really is a nice day for a festival,' the blue-haired youth mused, small smile on his face as he put away the relevant gear and prepared to head back home, 'Hopefully it doesn't rain or anything tonight.'
Hideaki placed a hand on the range's sliding door, preparing to close it before retracting his hold. Nobody would mind if he took a few more shots at the straw targets. It was fine, he was still in dress and the one cleaning up after all. The half-Japanese young man opened the equipment locker and took a yumi as well as about nine carbon-fiber arrows. He walked to the edge of the range. Footing, body, aim, raise, nock - Hideaki paused on that step before reaching for two more arrows, nocking all three of them at once on a whim - draw, release, meditate, repeat three more times. Nine shots, nine hits. That went better than planned. The shooter crossed the range, plucked his arrows from the target, and returned his gear to storage after doing the necessary cleaning and maintenance. Now finished with his business here, the archery ace slid the doors closed on both ends, locking them up for the night. The kyudo captain sat in the center of the dojo and ran through his mental checklist. Bows were safely maintained and stored, range doors closed and locked, floors cleaned, etc... Seemed everything was all well and done here. Now he could head home and make the necessary preparations for the festival later that night.
Speaking of plans, though Hideaki could be considered a pretty well-known guy amongst his school's social circles, he hadn't made any socially-inclined ones for tonight. He owed the student council president a favor after all, and he wasn't going to let her cash in on her own terms. Besides, anything that upped his club's chances for additional funding was very much appreciated. Not that it was wholly necessary, considering the president would probably be inclined to help financial if he asked nicely. She was not a psychopath drunk on her own power - so far, at least. But you never knew what people were like underneath all the masks. He shouldn't be thinking bad about his peers though. It wasn't acceptable of him. Business at the dojo finished, Hideaki locked up the entrance with his keys and went on his merry way.
Sitting against a streetlamp, Sasaki stared at his hand, body still trembling from the effects of the energy drink he had chugged down in less than a minute. He'd expended what medical care knowledge he'd possessed, and he was neither a qualified medic nor a sanctioned JUDGMENT member. Therefore, he'd left the rest of the healing and rescue to those better suited for it. He flexed his fingers and calmed his breath as the drink's influence died down. What was there left for him to do here? At this point, with all these professionals scurrying about, the titan's attempts at 'helping' would probably be doing nothing more than hindering those more competent than himself.
"...I should go check up on how Kotori-chan is doing..." Sasaki sighed, picking himself up off the cold hard ground, dusting himself off, and making his way back up the stairs of the ruined building that he had last seen his friend. "Ara... You feeling alright?" the towering boy said, kneeling down and placing a hand on her forehead. She wasn't running a fever (Why would she?) and her nose wasn't bleeding anymore, but she'd definitely overworked herself. A feat like that wasn't a thing someone below Level 5 could do just as casually as one would lift a feather. "...Doesn't matter, I'm bringing you to medical care," he stated bluntly, sliding one arm under her legs and the other under her back before lifting the fatigued telekinetic up like a princess. "Haha, how cliche of me," Sasaki reflected, the thought that such an action could be easily misinterpreted by passersby finally occurring to the Iron Giant, "It's like something out of a shoujo manga." But he was assisting someone who needed it, right? Nothing more, nothing less.
"Alright, Kotori-hime," Sasaki joked, "Let's get you some help, ne?"
This was bad. He shouldn't be here, and yet he was. School District 10, area G also known as 'The Strange'. Urban decay ran amok here, and not only the kind that involved buildings. Skill-Out gangs, yakuza, run-of-the-mill delinquents, whatever. If it was gang related, it had a presence here in some way, shape or form. As for why Kirima Sasaki of all people was here... The White Chapel Ghoul Incident stirred something base and instinctual inside him, like a craving that had been fed just enough to draw attention, but not enough to sate completely. It was something he couldn't deny much longer, but he still had to show restraint. Killing someone wasn't what he wanted, not this time.
"Hey asshole! You eyeballin' me?"
Sasaki stood, staring at a group of five delinquents. He made no move to redirect his gaze or shift his stance, standing on the other side of the empty street with his visage illuminated only by a dim streetlight. The giant played with a 5 yen coin in his hands as the delinquents inched closer, spouting insults and threats. The quartet stepped into the radius of light. It was almost like an arena in a way. The group's apparent spokesman flicked out a switchblade and moved closer as the other three moved to flank Sasaki. Skill-Out didn't make the best partners for this dance, but they would do for now.
"You ignorin' me, kid? Do you know the fuck we are?"
Sasaki didn't know who the fuck they were, and just stood in his ominous silence as he practically stared a hole into the thug before him. The cheap coin in his hand glinting in the lamplight as the twat who was shorter in size, but larger in ego got closer. "Tch," the cocky miscreant sounded in distaste at the giant's distinct lack of any reaction whatsoever, "Get 'im boys!" Simultaneously, the massive young man flicked his hand upward, and the patch of street was drowned in darkness as the streetlight was shattered by the force of the skyward coin.
He deflected the incoming stab with his right forearm, blade tearing into the jacket and making a small cut in his flesh. Now there was no need for diplomacy. They attacked first, after all. They attacked first... which meant what happens next wouldn't be his fault anymore. Sasaki smiled ferally, his unsettling rictus now completely fitting for the situation.
The giant stepped into the knifeman's guard with his left foot and delivered a swift left uppercut to the gut, folding the man at the abdomen. Sasaki opened his fist, grabbed him by the shirt, and threw the wounded knife fighter into the roundhouse of his compatriot aimed at Sasaki's right flank. At the same time, the Iron Giant pivoted on his right foot and aimed a kick of his own using his left, sending both back into the wall. He used the momentum from his push kick to lunge forward and dodge the wooden bat aimed at his head. He ran his left hand along the ground and picked up a sizable shard of glass completing the circle, turning himself into a position to block the incoming metal with his forearms, direct it to the side, and stab the unfortunate individual in the gut with the improvised glass dagger, causing him to cry out in pain. Unfortunately, that wasn't all. Sasaki took hold of the back of the thug's neck, pulling him close and adding more force to the knee Sasaki sent his way, pushing the glass even deeper and, very likely shattering some of it inside the enemy's body.
Sasaki tossed the third to the side in a crumpled heap and looked around. Now... Where was that last one?
The movement of AIM and slight shift of lighting in the alley behind him was registered, evaluated, and submitted into his awareness in time for Sasaki to react, 'Glad to see my instincts haven't gone rusty.' The non-esper swiped the ground and sent a few glass shards, pebbles, and that 5 yen coin flying at his enemy. The light quickly disappeared as the enemy's calculations were disrupted. Simultaneously, the Iron Giant picked the wooden bat off the ground and charged down the alleyway.
Sasaki brought the bat crashing down on his foe.
'...D-Damn it...'
"Okay Sacchin, spill it," the brown haired scientist demanded, spinning to face the bespectacled, black haired younger man scrawling notes into his notebook, "What's wrong? Why have you been skipping classes? A girl rejected you? Failed a test? What?" The scientist rolled her seat over towards Sasaki. "It's affecting your work, y'know." That statement seemed to have gotten Sasaki's attention, even though it was mostly a bluff. "It's nothing important," he answered vaguely, still working ceaselessly, "Just thought I'd take a break after the whole White Chapel Ghoul debacle last week. What's wrong with my work?"
"Nothing, you're handwriting's just gotten increasingly shaky though." "How would you know that?" "I'm a Kihara, we've got an eye for these things. You've also got bags under your eyes."
Somehow that answer didn't surprise the young part timer. Sasaki shut his notebook and leaned back into his own swivel chair. He craned his head over the back of the chair, head upsidedown. "If my writing's your biggest concern on this project, you might as well start getting some actual work done, Kihara-san."
"Oooooh, Kihara-san is it, now? Someone's getting snippy. What happened to Kihara-sama? Now I'm really curious as to what's got your panties in a bunch." "..." "I know you're that age where you want to be super secret and edgy and do lewd things with your friends and yourself, Sacchin, but I'm just concerned about you that's all." "Sigh...You're not my mother, you know."
"Yeah, but you're an Error, and you stick around here so much that I might as well be," she said harshly but truthfully, "Look kid, I may not be your guardian, but suddenly staying cooped up in this facility for a week isn't like you." The young man sat in silence, taking in words he had just heard like a scolded child sent to time out for something they were guilty of but would never admit to doing. Pushing that note into the back of his head, Sasaki continued his work noiselessly until it was about time to check out. However once again, in his way was his boss. "Say, how about I bring you and Sunye-chan to that buffet in School District 4?" she offered suddenly, "The one my husband brought me to a few months ago."
"The one that you said had 'godly food' and 'ungodly expenses'?" "The very same~"
Sasaki was silent for a few moments. "...Sounds like a plan," he agreed.
Today, Morning AKA Sasaki Ruins Kei's Lovely Drawing Sasaki stepped into the Hybrid Academy school building for the first time in a week. Unsurprisingly, it looked like the Ghoul's attack didn't do much to hinder the operations of the academy one bit. He supposed it was one of life's minor miracles, but now Sasaki had realized that he'd missed a week of school and would have to do some catching up on his own time. Perhaps it wasn't really a minor miracle. He had about three hours left until classes officially started. Perhaps he could ask Bang-kun what he'd missed during the interim. It was kind of sad that everyone else he knew was in the grade below his own, though. Being a burden on the other fighter wasn't a thing he'd prefer to do. Either way, first he'd have to find him, and that meant prowling the school.
As the so-called Iron Giant made his way through the school, searching for the boxer in his homeroom class, his ears registered the sound of a lovely melody resounding from the courtyard of the school. Though Sasaki wasn't much for music, it sounded orchestral. Maybe like something out of anime, movie or a video game, too. Not that it mattered too much to the massive student. He peaked out the window to see where it was coming from, and spotted a familiar face playing on her mysteriously varnished violin.
"Ara, I knew it had to be you making that nice music," Sasaki chirped, having finally made his way to the bottom floor and out into Aria's side of the courtyard. Of course he'd waited for her to stop playing that particular song. He wasn't some kind of monster that would deprive whatever audience Aria had from listening to the virtuoso and her works, "...Ah...! I'm Kirima-san, if you don't remember."
Sunye Kirima
@Feisty-Pants Unfortunately for Kotori, that fated arrival was not meant to be just yet, for the Kirima-san that arrived was not the Kirima-san that she would be expecting. "Hmph!" the younger sibling of the songbird's friend huffed with indignance. "Onii-chan told me to apologize to you," she said bluntly, eyes narrowed and directed not at Kotori but at Sasaki. Or maybe Aria, who Sasaki had decided to talk to. Probably the latter. "So 'I'm sorry Namashitya-chan'," she 'apologized', staring daggers into the songbird before finally noticing the bento box and the note upon it.
"..."
There was a heavy silence between the two girls. Silence so heavy that Namashiya's telekinesis couldn't even lift it. "...Why thank you for your kindness as well~!" Sunye said, tone somewhere between a growl and a chirp as she confiscated the bento box that Kotori had prepared for her brother with surprising strength, "Did nii-san put you up to this? Isn't it great how he wants us to be friends and be good to each other~?" She popped open the box, took the chopsticks, and began fervently downing the breakfast. 'It's actually pretty good', she had to admit.
The female Child Error threw her arm over the telekinetic's shoulder and slowly tightened her vise-like hold on the older girl. "Do you wanna know something, Namashiya-chan?" the short-haired girl whispered conspiratorially into the songbird's ear as Sunye began to literally give her the cold shoulder, "Onii-chan skipped a whole week of school after you got all buddy-buddy with him. I wonder why~"
"Nii-san definitely wasn't sick 'cause he still went to work and stuff," Sunye mused quietly to the Level 4 esper, "Oh! His boss told me that his work ethic was deteriorating and that it's probably has something to do with his social life. Y'know, his friends, people he associates with, people he talks to..." Though her venomous words exaggerated the anecdotes, the expression on her face was surprisingly genuine in her concern. Though unintentional, it added a degree of legitimacy to her claims. Was this perhaps a way of opening up to Namashiya without admitting such? "He's also been staying up real late at night, and not getting a lot of sleep. Says it just 'bad dreams' when I asked. I wonder what's so bad about what he's dreaming about, I mean, it's not like he went through stressful experiences any time recently, right? Well, I guess someone benign like you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"
"Anyway, now that we're friends and all, do you mind me asking where you ran him off to that day, anyway? Did you do anything risky (risque)?" she added after a pause. The thought of destroying this girl's clothes and leaving her to humiliation at the hands of her peers at this point was very tempting, but the Korean was smarter than that. After all, nii-san would hate her if she did something like that to this telekinetic bitch, even if it was for his own good. She had to get rid of bad influences like Namashiya, after all. It was no matter of 'want'. She had to. Because she was a good sister, and good sisters protect their brothers.
Xiro Zean
Sloth
