Hero

Where It Always Rains

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Totsuka's response was as grumpy as ever. In the back of her mind, she figured it'd be weirder if he actually agreed to it right away. Still, it wasn't like she was asking just to get something out of him as they'd both end up benefitting if it actually succeeded. And if not, no harm, no foul. Probably. At a minimum, it wouldn't involve any violence that would sour his reputation any further. Well, actually, getting caught buying certain things as a minor wouldn't really look good. Oh well.

"Yeah, I need you to bash another druggie's head in," She replied dryly, albeit she decided to get right to it. "Since Akarino won't stop commenting on how tall you are, I wanted to see if you'd be able to get away with helping me resupply. I'm running low and if it works, I can just have you shimmy over and get it for me."

Of course, she would make sure that he wouldn't be doing this for nothing. "And in exchange, I'll happily supply you during school hours," She offered, wiggling her eyebrows in an attempt to make the offer seem more enticing. "...or, y'know, I'll do some other favor or whatever."

Where It Always Rains

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April 11th, 20idk
3:15 p.m.
Weather: Cloudy with a Chance of Rain

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The next few days passed without too much of a hassle. While the majority of the buzz had died down, there was no end to the rumors that circled around as people started to put their own theories as they focused on what happened to why it happened. Some said it was because Ken had threatened Ryusei, others believed that Ryusei had approached Ken looking for some of his "goodies", and even more came up with a rather ridiculous motion that Ryusei was jealous of Ken's skateboarding skills. None came even remotely close to the truth, nor did people care too much about reaching it as they were content with coming up with their own, more exciting ideas.

Once the final bell rang, the students were dismissed. While most of the clubs were meeting, the Boxing Club had been canceled for the day. The decision had been Akihiko's as he had something to do after class that required his attention. Shiori wasn't too hung up on it, having quickly grown bored with watching people do stuff while she had to sit and watch. The first few days were dedicated to drills, and there was actually nothing less exciting than watching someone punch the air a million times the same way.

At least she was free of it until Monday.

Getting up from her desk, she gave Ichika a wave--the Volleyball team was still meeting, so that meant Shiori was on her own. Not that she was going to complain; she was still a little awkward around the brunette and getting some alone time was for the better. That did leave the question of what to do, though. Actually, she knew what she should do. The number of cigarettes she had would only tide her over for the weekend, and she needed more.

Her eyes landed on the dark-haired 'ogre' of the classroom. Not how she'd describe him in her opinion, but she heard the word float around. He was actually good-looking, but he often looked either bored or angry so it was difficult to see. She really only noticed when she watched him focus in boxing. She couldn't tell if he was taking it seriously, but it was different enough that she noticed, anyway. She supposed if it wasn't for the story Nakano published, he'd probably get approached by a few girls.

Putting that aside for the moment, Shiori approached him. "Yo," She threw him a greeting. "Got any plans for your first day of freedom? If not, I got something I need you for."

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Ichika hopped over to Akari's desk, rocking back and forth on her heels, giddy. The brunette was ecstatic that she had gotten on the team and was all too happy to finally, finally socialize with people. And she had the perfect reason to approach the girl without getting glared at too much. Maybe it was Shiori giving her abandonment issues, but oh well.

"Sa-ka-gu-chi-san!" She called out her name cheerfully. "Wanna walk to the gym together?"

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Where It Always Rains

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Ichika packed up her things quietly. Shiori had already told her that she had plans to do after school, so she decided that she needed to keep herself busy, too. And the best way to do that was to indulge herself in her favorite sport, of course! Granted, she really only knew the school had a team when she overheard a pair of girls talking about it in homeroom, but since they were looking for members, that meant she'd be welcomed, right? That was the assumption she was going to run off on, and she wasn't going to let herself get down just yet. The school had a weirdness about it, making her feel sad sometimes, but she was gonna fight it for as long as possible.

With bag in hand, the brunette practically skipped her way to the gym. She saw Shiori go down the hall, though she paused as she noticed the other new student with her. Weird, were they joining the club together? Well, whatever the case, she could just ask her later.

The volleyball net was set up in the gym, and a few girls already doing some stretches. Some of the team headed towards the changing room, others were sitting on the bleachers chatting away. One blonde was watching the rest, frowning to herself, though she perked up once she spotted Ichika.

"Hello! Are you here to tryout for the team?" She greeted her cheerfully. "Though...you don't look like a first year. Still, all are welcome!"

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Where It Always Rains

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Oh, Ichika didn't like this. At all. Junko seemed way too comfortable talking about Shiori, though it was more the tone she didn't like. They must have had run=ins together; hearing her talk about more potential beatings was starting to upset her a little. Was this normal? No one else seemed to respond to that stuff. Maybe this is why Sakaguchi thought that Ichika being sent here was a punishment of sorts. Said girl got up to leave, and for a split second, Ichika assumed the worst. Fortunately, she got the hint.

"I...I have to go, too," She said, giving Nakano an apologetic look. "I'll, uh, see you around!"

With that, she made her hasty exit, trying to get as far away from the reporter as she could.

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After School

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Shiori had made a beeline for the Newspaper Club's room. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you were asking) the room was empty of its members. After ten seconds of deliberating on whether she should break every computer in the room or not, she decided against it--if only because she didn't have a bat to smash things with--and reluctantly made her way to the Boxing Club's room. She took her sweet time heading over to the school's gym.

It was amazing that the school bothered to have a sports gym in the first place, but there were a few clubs that required them. The Kendo and Judo Clubs often rotated in use through the free space, though the Boxing Club had its own room complete with a boxing ring. Said ring looked like it was kept in decent shape, taken care of with much love though it had seen better days. A trio of dummies stood, hanging on by a thread for the most part. A few mats were lying around, and two doors leading to other places were located near the entrance; it was likely that one was the changing room while the other was a storage closet. There was a sheet on said closet with a calendar listed, appearing to be a schedule of sorts.

Once the duo arrived, there were four other people inside. One was an older gentleman, one they would recognize as their history teacher, Shinsato-sensei. Despite his frailness, his eyes were sharp. One was a brown haired boy with golden eyes. He seemed at ease, seated on a bench and wrapping gauze around his left hand, a pair of boxing gloves at his feet. The last two were a portly brunette speaking to another student. He looked older than her, cool, blue eyes focusing on answering her questions.

On their arrival, Shinsato-sensei approached them. "Ah, Totsuka-kun and Himawari-kun. Welcome," He greeted the two. "Touga and I spoke already about your predicament. I understand you see it as punishment, but I hope you'll come to enjoy yourself."

He gestured over to the other students. "Uemura-kun will be the one in charge. He's the senior of the group so he will be the one showing you the ropes," He noted. "I believe Akarino-kun and Hattori-kun are in your class."

At the mention of his name, Uemura motioned for the girl to follow him. The kid on the bench got up as well, jogging over. Neither one made an attempt at hiding how they looked up at Ryusei's staggering height. Still, the dark-haired kid spoke with confidence."Yo. I'm Uemura Akihiko," He introduced himself before jabbing a thumb at the other two. "Go on and introduce yourselves you two."

"Holy fuck, you're tall," The other guy couldn't help but comment. "Sorry, I'm Akarino Kei. Bet you'll be a powerhouse by the time we whip you into shape!"

Shiori rolled her eyes, placing her arms on the back of her head. "This is stupid," She grumbled, walking over to the bench.

"If you're joining, you should probably go change into your gym clothes," Kei called after her.

Shiori ignored him, plopping down on the bench with her chin in her hand. Shinsato chuckled. "Himawari-kun will be our manager. I'll go over what she needs to do, make sure you go change so Uemura can show you the basics," He told Ryusei, patting his shoulder before shuffling over to the redhead.

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Pokémon Showdown! [Invite Only]

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Sylveon purred happily in Fiora's lap, all too content to nap as she gently stroked her head. Fiora almost looked gentle, her gaze fond as she watched her prized Pokemon snooze away. She was beautiful even in sleep. It was little wonder that she won so many ribbons, her movements graceful and her moves stunning. In fact, Fiora wondered why she bothered coming to this little battle club thing in the first place. Sure, as a coordinator she knew how to do battle as needed, but most tournaments and the like relied on raw power. That, and apparently, the team hadn't won even once. Then again, that was all part of the challenge, wasn't it? Winning all the time with little competition got boring, after all.

Fiora took a glance at the clock. She was early, sure, but she expected someone to show up by now. How indisciplined. If you were early, you were on time, and if you were on time, you were late. Then again, taking things casually was the way of the plebians, wasn't it? If they had even an ounce of discipline, they wouldn't lose so horribly. They probably didn't have quality care for their Pokemon, either.

Oh well. There was no real reason to dwell on it for too long. Truthfully, she wasn't as invested as she probably needed to be. She was only here to kill time and use the others as training dummies. Putting in too much effort was a waste.

Where It Always Rains

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Of course it mattered. Contrary to popular belief, Shiori did not randomly go around throwing punches at every possible slight. Not that Totsuka would be aware of that, seeing as how this was his second day. But he was definitely getting the wrong impression if he thought she was about to throw down with an entire room of nerds. Oh well, she had her target set and she wasn't changing her mind anytime soon.

His next words actually got her to relax a little. A smoke right now sounded great. She let out a sigh, beckoning him to follow her. "Yeah, we'll just go to the same place in case Nakano's lingering, that way I don't have to wait 'til after class to kick her ass," She noted, her hands behind the back of her head. "I was just thinking about my supply dwindling, too, so you picked a good time to offer."

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Ichika was a little relieved that Nakano stopped questioning her, but she wasn't a fan of the new arrival. Not to mention she basically confirmed what she figured was going on. The album comment was shocking as it is! Part of her wanted to eat her lunch in peace, but she wasn't sure letting the interviewer speak freely with someone ready to slander her cousin was a good idea.

Junko, on the other hand, was more amused than anything. "Other than knowing you should be expecting a visit from him soon in the future? Nothing, really," She chuckled, cleaning up some of the crumbs left by her sandwich. "I don't know what you were thinking. You watch the guy beam a kid with a skateboard and think you'll get away scot-free? Should've followed Sakaguchi's lead and skipped school today, too."

Ichika bit her lip, looking to Sakaguchi for help, though the dark-haired girl was more preoccupied with her phone. She visibly deflated, at a loss.

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Where It Always Rains

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"Uh huh."

A non-conventional proposal. This guy was so full of shit. Unfortunately, the deed was done, and as much as she'd like to exercise her anger, it wasn't going to do anything. That, and it would look kinda bad if she just started wailing on the new guy right after he just got sent to Boxing Club Jail for being violent. She tried not to roll her eyes too much as he continued, though he did bring up a good point. The real culprit of this entire mess was whoever took the pictures in the first place. She regretted not going back and smacking the camera out of their hands. By his description, though, it could have been a few people.

"Well, I was going to pay a visit to the Newspaper Club after class, but now I have to go somewhere else," She reminded him. "'Cause you've described at least three people and if I'm kicking someone's teeth in, it has to be the right person."

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Would it be out of character? No. But Ichika couldn't really admit to that without opening up a whole slew of problems. Shoot, she should be better at this sort of thing. She tucked a hair behind her ear as she tried to buy herself a little time, trying to think of how to approach this as diplomatically as possible.

"Not really. I'm shocked you're not more aware, Nakano."

Ichika closed her mouth and looked to her right, the source of the comment seated at her desk. Golden eyes were fixated on the sandwich the girl held, her mess of blonde hair looking just a touch different than typical shades. Her uniform was barely put together, her hoodie unzipped and hanging off her shoulders. Despite giving the trio no attention visually, it was clear she had been listening to them.

"Himawari's a known delinquent that's thrown plenty of punches. It's not that shocking to find her associating with another delinquent, is it?" She asked before taking a bite of her sandwich.

Ichika was a little surprised by this. "That's a bold assumption to make," She frowned.

The girl snorted, taking a second to finish before replying, "If I took a picture of every shiner she gave me, I'd have a whole album. Granted, it's mutual, but don't go pretending she's a good girl when she isn't," She replied.

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Where It Always Rains

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"My hair is obviously--that kind of question is--what is wrong with you?!"

Shiori was a little too wound up to be more articulate. Some of her fury fizzled away to embarrassment, but she was also too pissed off to not be angry. She was also wholly unamused by the explanation she was given. And to think she didn't rat him out, only for him to drag her down with him. What an actual asshole! The worst part was that as angry as she was with him, there was the tiniest sliver of truth somewhere in his explanation. Not the part where he admitted she was good company--she blamed that part entirely for flustering her--but maybe if she hadn't gotten him to leave they could've caught the rat before the photos were taken.

Taking in a deep breath, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "He says 'thankful.' This is what I get for being nice," She grumbled, taking in a deep breath in an effort to calm herself down.

"You know, usually when you enjoy people's company, you just ask them to hang out. Now I think you hate me since you decided to drag me down to Boxing Club Hell with you," She huffed, crossing her arms. "I should ask to participate so I can learn how to give you a good right hook."

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Ichika blinked slowly as she listened. Both Sakaguchi and Nakano were really confusing and she wasn't entirely sure how to approach the situation. Sakaguchi's comment made her feel a little bad, but it did explain why she assumed that Ichika was here as punishment. Nakano, on the other hand, was acting a lot like those girls that used to cozy up to her in an attempt to get access to her parents' money. She was entirely uncomfortable, but she had no idea how to escape this conversation without it getting awkward.

"Uh...I don't know any Totsuka, sorry," She started there. "Shi-Shi is, uh...well, grumpy. But she's a good person deep down! She's just kinda shy, that's all. So sometimes it's hard for her to talk to people, you know?"

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Where It Always Rains

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The fact that Shiori's neck hadn't snapped from how quick she looked at Totsuka was a testament to the durability of the human body. The fact that she wasn't throttling him was also a testament to her own willpower. She should've outed him, she should've thrown him under the bus, she should've gotten a license so she could drive the bus just to run him over multiple times! What the hell?! Why the hell would he suggest this?! If her eyes could burn into him any more than they already were, he would've been set on fire by now as her rage burned behind her glare.

To her absolute horror, Touga was now thinking. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening! Shiori didn't even dare look her way in case anything she did swayed the teacher. Unfortunately for her, however, Touga agreed. "The manager graduated last year, so I'm pretty sure Shinsato-sensei's probably looking for someone to fill in the gap," She said, looking at Shiori. "An idle mind is the devil's playground...So keeping you busy is probably for the best. Good idea, Totsuka."

Shiori exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, though she immediately protested. Unfortunately, any valid concerns she had were nonexistent as she couldn't think of anything that could get her out of this aside from blurting out, "But I don't want to!"

"And I don't want to see you two going down the wrong path," Touga scolded her. "It's not too late to turn things around! You have ambition. Just think of this as a way to keep you out of trouble. Now that that's settled, go back to lunch, you two still have time to eat something."

Shiori visibly deflated, dismayed. How did it come to this? As they were ushered out of the faculty room, the redhead felt herself visibly shake with anger. She quickly turned on Totsuka, once again glaring at him.

"What the hell?!" She snapped at him, furious. "First your little fire crotch comment--not cute, by the way!--but you decided to drag me into your punishment, too?!"

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Ichika wasn't entirely sure what Nakano was writing, though she couldn't assume it was good. It was like she was being interviewed--oh no. Is that what was happening right now? Was she in the Newspaper Club? Suddenly Ichika felt like she made a big mistake. Wait, no, it was okay, right? It wasn't like she was gonna go saying bad things about Shiori. If anything, she could easily clear up any misunderstandings!

The brunette nodded at first, though she paused. "Well, we're cousins, actually," Ichika admitted. "We're not super close, but she used to come to visit me a lot back in Tokyo with my aunt--our moms are sisters."

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Where It Always Rains

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"What you're lacking in is discipline, Totsuka. The club will help you with that and teach you how to redirect your feelings so you don't make the same mistake again," Touga corrected him. "I'll be checking in to make sure you attend as well, so I expect you to go there straight after school today to get yourself acquainted."

Shiori was a little surprised by this turn of events, to say the least. Since when was getting enrolled into a club punishment? Now that she thought about it, did the punishment really fit the crime? It seemed a little mean to have to give up your afternoons for the rest of the year. Then again, it'd likely discourage him from doing it again. Or at the very least, have him hone his abilities so the next time he'd knock out anyone that tried to take pictures.

With that settled, Shiori turned to leave. Unfortunately, it looked like Touga wasn't finished as she quickly grabbed Shiori's shoulder and turned her back around. "Not so fast, young lady. You're starting off the year on the wrong foot, too," She told her.

"I didn't do anything, remember?" She reminded her.

Touga narrowed her eyes. "Cigarettes were found where the pictures were taken," She stated, causing Shiori to grimace. "That's a week's worth of cleanup and detention for you, and I'm being light only because I didn't catch you in the act this time."

Shiori's lips formed a thin line as she closed her eyes. Welp, she couldn't get out of that one since those stupid photos basically outed her. She was definitely paying a visit to the Newspaper Club first, though. "Fine," She shrugged.

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Detective? Ichika looked at the other girl, the one called Nakano. She was looking into Shiori? But why? Maybe it had to do with the article. She wished she had finished reading the article to completion before showing Shiori, but she had acted impulsively out of shock. Her fingers tapped her lunch as she deliberated on how to respond. Obviously, it was better if Nakano steered clear, but by what Sakaguchi said, maybe it was best to warn her ahead of time.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Shi-Shi can be kinda grumpy," Ichika frowned. "She's not exactly personable."

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