Hero

Where It Always Rains

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Getting sympathy was always a weird thing. Shiori wasn't typically one to wallow in her own bitterness--that'd just end with people's windows being broken--but it was appreciated. Sorta. No, it was, it was just hard to think the guy could be sympathetic considering he had done nothing but tease and fluster her so far. Maybe it was a ploy to soften her up to get in her pants. A ridiculous thought, but one born from someone constantly on their guard. She did recognize that she was probably being harsh, but it was mostly because she didn't want to admit that the new kid of all people had to be one of the only ones to express sympathy. She usually got a 'Well, what did you do?' or a 'You should honor your parents' or whatever.

For now, she would take him at his word and appreciate it in silence. Hearing him talk about the aquarium had invoked something in Totsuka as he actually gave something resembling a smile. Aha, she knew he was good-looking! She relished the moment of both satisfaction and...something else. Something innocuous, of course. Unfortunately, she had to tear her gaze away just to make sure she didn't end up revealing too much with her own expression.

At his question, she paused. "Well, my free time's been occupied by managing a club thanks to a certain someone," She threw him a look, though she continued. "On the weekends I drop by Ariyoshi Cafe to try out whatever new boba tea flavor Ariyoshi-san brings out. Sometimes Mr. Pumpkin's is entertaining to watch suckers try to win--the machines are definitely rigged, by the way--and, uh...well, Pic-Land's got some good fruit to pick for pies and shakes and stuff."

"Aside from that, I mostly just play video games or go to Kagoshima," She shrugged. "Of course, when I'm mad enough, I also live up to my delinquent reputation and go around breaking shit."

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Sakaguchi didn't seem too enthused by her description of her hometown. Then again, once she pointed it out, it was hard not to see what she meant. Ichika did notice that a lot of people generally kept to themselves and there was this weird sense of...what would she even call it? Hopelessness? Apathy? Whatever it was, it definitely permeated the school and even the town. She figured so long as she kept her head down, she would be fine, but maybe this was Sakaguchi's subtle way of trying to warn her or something. At least, that was her first thought, especially with what she said in her last sentence.

Still, Ichika was ever the optimist. "Maybe. But it's just for two years," She shrugged. "Then it's off to Tokyo U, where I'll find a husband and fulfill my life-long dream of being a bride."

Yeah, that was the plan!

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Where It Always Rains

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Totsuka's comment arrived at the same time Shiori inhaled. A tragic occurrence as the comment most certainly had an effect despite her previous statements stating otherwise. Then again, he had been flustering her all week, so was it really that surprising? What did surprise her was that for the first time while smoking she found out exactly what happened when someone choked; the cough interrupted her exhale, her throat burning as the smoke was temporarily trapped. She managed to cough it out, but not without the gross taste lingering in her mouth. If her throat wasn't going to itch before, then it certainly would now.

She managed to get it somewhat under control as he continued. They really got rid of him, huh? That was actually a little sad to hear. She wondered where his grandpa lived; since he got sent here, it was safe to assume his grandpa was established here, but she had never heard of any Totsuka residence. Maybe he lived around the edge of town. Either way, it was still sad.

Once he asked her about her folks, she fell quiet. She continued to smoke, trying to think of how to respond in a way that didn't make her seem bitter. Thinking about her parents, however, always got her mad regardless of the context. She ended up scoffing a touch, deliberating her words for another moment before finally speaking.

"Well, I am the reason my parents got stuck here. And they let me know that very clearly after they have their big blowouts and feel like taking out their anger somewhere aside from each other. It's fun for the whole family," She said. Nope, she wasn't able to even pretend she wasn't bitter about her upbringing at all. After a few seconds, however, she let out a small sigh. "I don't have to see them much at all anymore, actually. That other transfer student is my cousin. Her mom offered me a little money to babysit her for the year, so I took the chance and moved out. It's probably only temporary, and I'm pretty sure Ichika's one goal in life is to burn down that place trying to fry eggs, but it's better than being in that house by a longshot."

She looked over at the view, frowning to herself. "Once graduation comes, though, I don't plan on sticking around. I'll get my nursing degree and go anywhere that isn't here. Even if it's just Kagoshima, I don't want to stay here any longer than I need to."

She paused as she took another smoke. "Have you ever been there, by the way? To Kagoshima, I mean."

Where It Always Rains

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Ah, so Totsuka had a whole gang of scumbags to hang out with. For whatever reason, Shiori found that a little funny. So the giant had some other giants waiting for him back at the mountaintop he came from? Wherever that was must have had something in the water if the rest of his crew were as tall as he was. God, wouldn't that be a sight? Everyone avoided just one of him, she couldn't even imagine the reaction if there were more. Nakano would have a field day and then some as she would fill the newspaper with each person's happenings and their every move. Or would she be discouraged by more than just the one?

Either way, it did make her just a smidge sympathetic. To go from having people to suddenly having no one was a little sad. Maybe he was the lonely one, especially with how their classmates made sure to avoid him. Of course, this line of thought landed her on one question she felt she needed to ask.

And then he made his little comment and most of her sympathy was gone.

Now it was Shiori's turn to roll her eyes. "With all your colored commentary these past few days, I bet you'd love a chance," She retorted before raising her cigarette to her lips. Yeah, she thought he was cute, but there was no way in hell she could even hint at it. The guy saw anything resembling an opening and charged through it like an animal. That said, lingering too much on that topic would probably give him another chance to say something stupid, so she had to turn the topic around back at him.

"So why are you here, then?" She outright asked.

Where It Always Rains

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Asshole.

She had half a mind to shove him off the swing. Fortunately, Shiori wasn't the type to get all blushy and flustered so easily, so he would be safe from eating old chips and dirt. For now. The way he kept it up, though, she'd definitely be giving him a good whack sooner than later. Maybe he was into that or something? Then again, he could just be an asshole in general. It explained the constant scowling, at least. But with a cigarette in hand, all was well in the world with her.

As he started talking, Shiori couldn't help but be just a little surprised. She didn't take him for the talkative type. Maybe he was just bored. She wasn't exactly interesting company so she couldn't entirely blame him. She did, however, give something resembling a chuckle as he let his opinion on the park be known.

"Of course there's kids. How else do you think people end up getting trapped here? Kids are expensive and this place is relatively cheap to live in so long as you're not looking at any of the bigger places up in the Sakuraba Community," She answered first and foremost. "They probably go to the nicer park that's over by the station, though. This one pretty much got abandoned after some kind of fire happened. Not sure what's the story behind it, but it did a number on the grass. Probably spooked parents that actually care about their kids, so most people avoid it. Though that's why I like it. Nice and quiet and calm."

And it was a great place to smoke without getting interrupted. But that went without saying.

His next question was a little harder to answer, if only because she didn't like admitting she was a friendless loser. Though she supposed he had guessed that by now. "Not anymore, no," She admitted that much. "My former best friend turned into a real bitch so we stopped hanging out last year. And most people don't like hanging out with a violent delinquent."

Did she really come off as lonely? She thought she was fine being alone. Most people were annoying to be around, anyway, so she generally had an easier time alone. The more she thought about it, though, the less she wanted to admit that she didn't really like talking about it.

She did, however, recognize this was a good chance as any to have an actual conversation. "What about you?" She ended up asking, against her better judgment. "Got friends back home waiting for you? A girlfriend patiently waiting by the phone for you to call tonight?"

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Ichika was glad Sakaguchi didn't seem to judge her too much for it. She had played before though, just mostly during gym class. While she wasn't familiar with the terminology and the like, she did have the skill to play. And so long as she knew how to play, everything else would probably just fall into place. And she got past tryouts so she didn't even need to worry! Whatever she needed to know she could learn, anyway; fake it 'til you make it and all that good stuff.

Once Sakaguchi asked about her old school, Ichika nodded. "I attended Kokusai Koko last year--that is, the the Tokyo Metropolitan Kokusai High School," She beamed with pride, though she did deflate a touch. "It was...hard. I mean, there are a lot of expectations and the like, so you had to be on top of your game like all the time. And if you weren't good enough, you'd end up getting swallowed by the crowd, chewed up, and spat out."

She paused. "...I think I managed fine, but Mama worried anyway." She sighed. "I don't think she thought I could handle it, though. So...here I am!" She perked back up.

"So, now it's your turn. What is this school like?"

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Where It Always Rains

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Oh she would show him handsy, but it wouldn't be the handsy he liked.

Shiori pointedly ignored him as she stuffed the unopened pack into her bag, deciding to leave the other one in her pocket. She walked over to the swingset and paused as she searched her pockets for her lighter. At his comment, she openly rolled her eyes as she dropped her bag. Sato was weird but not that kind of weird. Granted, the fucker was all too eager to sell cigarettes to a high schooler, so Totsuka might have had a point if he hadn't pulled that little stunt before.

Whatever the case was, she was more focused on lighting up than whatever the hell Sato thought. She closed her eyes as she inhaled briefly, slowly exhaling as the nicotine slowly began to calm her jitters. Man, was anything better than that first puff? As she opened her eyes, however, she was treated with the sight of reality. The park looked shittier every time she came here. Still, there was a certain charm to it, and most people avoided it so that was always a bonus.

As much as she'd rather ignore it, though, she felt like she had to give him some kind of response. She had gotten caught up in his cologne that she hadn't paid too much attention to Sato. "Don't get the wrong idea, I haven't done anything to feed that addiction," She stated first and foremost. "But anyone would get the wrong idea with how you acted. Do you always sling yourself over any girl that doesn't shake in fear or did you really find the college dropout cashier that threatening?"

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Shoichi was fully exasperated by the time Kanna finished talking. He was in pure disbelief at the lengths this girl would go to. He had heard that she was...tiring from a few people, but he genuinely didn't think it would go so far. He looked over at Umeko in an attempt to get some help, but the girl gave him a half-hearted shrug. No doubt Umeko agreed with Kanna to some extent, or at least enough that she wasn't willing to voice any objections. He couldn't believe he had to be the one to make the attempt to stop this craziness! All he wanted to do was keep his head down and finish proofreading! He didn't sign up for any of this!

But as the seemingly sole voice of reason, he had to at least point out some flaws in Kanna's lengthy metaphor.

"Or you can see what was thrown in if you just watch the surface," He couldn't help but reply dryly. "Honestly, your dismissal of my concerns is pretty...uh, concerning."

Umeko let out a sigh. "So long as we don't get in trouble, it's not like she's doing anything wrong," She said as she decided to start sorting through the stack.

Shoichi threw a glare her way, but he returned his focus to Kanna. "I really, really think you're gonna end up either getting beaten up if you keep bothering the guy."

Where It Always Rains

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Shiori outright scoffed, giving his arm a whack before hurrying a little so they'd be walking side-to-side. Pointy, who the hell described elbows as pointy?! If he wanted to see pointy, she could always show him a knife. As she looked down at her thin arms, she quietly stewed in her annoyance. Fine, she was a stick, so what? It wasn't like she was entirely curveless. Obviously, she wasn't as blessed as Ichika or President Tits McGee, but she wasn't an ironing board nor was she a hippo like Hattori. In fact, she would describe herself as the pinnacle of Japanese beauty.

"You're lucky I didn't point it any lower," She huffed out her response, tossing his jacket back at him. "I just know how to use the assets I have."

And her assets were just fine.

She put those thoughts aside as she lead them off the sidewalk and towards a park. It, like much of the rest of the town, was on the sadder side. The swingset was miraculously intact, but the merry-go-round was rusted and the sandbox had a mix of sand, dirt, and an assortment of what looked like rocks. There was also a rickety slide that no sane parent would let their child climb up on. A pagoda sheltered the sole bench, pointing out to a sea of trees and a steep drop off that revealed a neighborhood and a river.

The redhead was all too eager to get a fix, immediately tearing away the plastic that protected the box. Once she double-checked her pockets for her lighter, she then remembered Sato's uneasiness. He was unusually squeamish around Totsuka--an all too-common effect for whatever reason--which could present a problem in the future. "And don't go messing with Sato too much. He enables my addiction," She added, plucking out a cigarette.

Where It Always Rains

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Kanna's entrance was punctuated with a small "Eep!" of surprise, with Umeko nearly dropping the stack of papers in her hand. As she recovered, she found she had a hard time keeping up with most of what she was saying. She did, however, be mindful to place the various papers and folders down before she gave her her full attention. Her frown grew as she went on, and by the end, Umeko was outright worried. She gave Shoichi a look of concern.

Shoichi was just as surprised, though he was already seated at his computer. He wasn't sure how to respond, but then again, he usually had a hard time keeping up with Kanna's endless amount of energy. Turning his attention back to the screen, he scrolled through the tamer articles that had been submitted for editing.

"Preemptive reporting? You gonna stalk him or something?" He decided to outright ask. "There's a fine line between reporting and harassment, y'know."

Umeko disagreed. "I was surprised by Touga-san's punishment," She admitted. "Feels like he got off light..."

Shoichi threw her a look. "But if he hasn't done anything wrong since then, we're just going to come off as obsessed," He pointed out.

Where It Always Rains

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Shiori was too busy trying to figure out what the hell Sato was talking about to notice Totsuka approach her. She initially assumed he had some sort of insult primed as some sort of retort. To her surprise, however, he looped an arm over her shoulders. The sudden weight snapped her out of her thoughts, a particular scent hitting her. It was something fruity and sweet, yet smoky and tropical and...like wood? Was that a thing? It wasn't something she had encountered before, the scent reminding her of...hm, she had nothing to compare it to, actually. But it was nice, the smokiness almost comforting if it wasn't for the fact that Shiori quickly realized it was Totsuka that smelled like it.

Of course, she had all of two seconds to get flustered by the sudden closeness before he opened his mouth again.

That was four! No, she wasn't going to let him get away with this one, even if it was the least egregious of the remarks so far. But he was too tall for her to slap without him probably catching it. For once, however, her height was to her advantage. There was probably a three-second delay before the redhead brought forth her arm, only to jab it backward into his stomach.

"You really thought I was gonna let you have that one, didn't you?" She chided him outright, only remembering that she should probably give the wide eyed Sato a response. "He's new in town, you'll probably see him around."

Not wanting to get questioned any more than that, she made an attempt at pushing the taller guy out of the alley. "Anyway, you should get back to work, we're gonna go, anyway."

Sato seemed to remember himself at that moment, raising a hand. "Uh...just...keep your guard up, Shiori-chan," He mumbled, a little defeated as he picked up the bags. He gave the pair one last look before he continued down the path of the alleyway.

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Ichika placed her hands together as they walked. There was the slightest break in the clouds as the sun poured out its sunlight into the hall, practically illuminating the way before them. As they passed a few people, they seemed drawn to Ichika's cheerfulness. Her hair bounced behind her as her eyes glittered with happiness, excitement, and anticipation. There was the slightest blush on her cheeks, her bangs bouncing off her forehead. She was the pinnacle of a happy high school girl speaking to someone she considered a little more than an acquaintance.

Her response was short, sweet, and to the point: "Nope!"

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Where It Always Rains

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The redhead openly rolled her eyes this time at his third crack. Good God, she thought TV shows were exaggerating teenage boys and their hormones, but Totsuka was putting them to shame. Maybe he was just testing the waters to see if she was easy? That's how delinquents were usually depicted, anyway. And if she was honest, she definitely expected Takano to end up being some kind of slut. The thought made her chuckle, though as she watched him start to unbutton--

Holy shit, this guy needed to get laid.

Shiori scowled at Totsuka, holding onto his jacket and tie and glaring at him until he left her eyesight. She sort of wanted to watch in case he got denied, but she very much still looked the part of a schoolgirl and would likely end up blowing their cover. As she waited, she realized she forgot to tell him which pack to get. Well, he only had so much, he could probably figure out that she wanted at least two packs of a specific brand.

On his return, he tossed the packs to her. Her initial reaction was a touch of disappointment--of course he ended up getting the sane brand her father did. She wasn't a big fan of it as they usually made her throat itch if they weren't the menthol version. Once she laid eyes on the sandwich, however, her expression turned to one of disbelief.

"You could've gotten a better brand if you didn't splurge on a sandwich!" She outright scolded him. "That wasn't part of the budget!"

A door leading out to the alleyway swung open, and Shiori hastily stuffed both packs into her pocket. She motioned for the guy to start walking, though she paused as she heard some humming. Another employee came out with a pair of bags in hand, likely headed to the dumpster. He paused as he noticed the pair, eyes landing on Shiori. His brown, matted hair was a slight mess, his face on the average side as he looked a little older than the two. The name on his uniform read 'Sato'.

"Oh, Shiori-chan," He greeted her happily, though he seemed wary about Ryusei, his eyes looking him up and down. "And...a new friend?"

Shiori figured outing Totsuka as her classmate would probably complicate things, so she nodded. "Mhm. Just stopping by for an...afterschool snack," She replied, though her disdain for the food paid on her yen was clear.

Sato placed down the bags for a moment, looking between the two. "Are you sure he's...a friend? Or a...'friend'?" He asked her.

The hell did he mean by that?

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Ichika gave the other girl a wide grin. She agreed to go and they were going to have a great time, why wouldn't she be excited? Socializing with the other members--actually, socializing, in general, had Ichika coming out of any nervousness more confident and happier than ever. She thrived in most social situations, and even if it was a sport, interacting with people was just so refreshing. It was better than being at home and watching Shi-shi stare at the TV 'til they went to bed at least.

"Honestly, you saying yes is what made my day," She cheerfully admitted. "I'm also ready to get in and spike some balls! Or...smacking them? Oh, you know what I mean!"

Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure what position she'd end up playing. She was kinda short to be in front, but she was great at spiking. Maybe she'd ask Mizuno-senpai once they arrived?

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Where It Always Rains

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Shiori's minimal attempt at looking tempting hastily deflated into unamusement once Tostuka spoke. That's twice now! She clenched her jaw in an attempt not to react, but as he stood up, the distance closing between them caught her off-guard. She stiffened slightly, almost expecting something, but instead he gathered his bag and walked out. She let out a huff of irritation, a little offset by how frazzled his response had her. Why did he keep doing that? Why did she keep getting so flustered by it?!

Shoving her thoughts aside, Shiori bit her tongue and stomped out afterward. She was tempted to shoulder-check him, but until she got what she wanted, she wasn't going to risk it.

"Yeah, yeah, I'll pay, I'll pay," She huffed at him, waving her hand absentmindedly.

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The walk was a brief one consisting of Shiori mostly stewing in her displeasure. Part of her figured it'd be useful to point out some important things from the town, but aside from one or two bus stops, there wasn't really anything to point out. She briefly mentioned one of their classmates' father's cafe, but even that was because it was close and they just so happened to have said classmate in their homeroom.

The convenience store was as run down as the other buildings with little foot traffic. The laundromat next door had much more activity, with a parade of students and stay-at-home parents filtering in and out. Shiori signaled for Tostuka to follow her and she led him to the alley between the two buildings.

Fishing her wallet out of her bag, she counted out the bills and double-checked that she had the right amount. "Probably best to give me your jacket since it's part of the uniform, but your shirt and tie shouldn't look too out of place for a businessman," She said as she offered the money to him. "All you gotta do is go in and ask for a pack. And if they say no, I'll just go with Plan B."

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