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Who: Kisa, open
Where: Gym
When: Saturday, April 22, after dinner; possibly other dates
What: Exercise.

The gym was Kisa's haven.

There were a fair number of athletes at Chitoku, of course, representing all sorts of fields (except baseball; with the school exempting itself from the Koshien, all of the serious players went elsewhere), meaning there was almost always someone there.

But she was finding herself heading there sometimes during dinner, after she'd eaten and while everyone else was resting up. It was peaceful--not always something she liked, but sometimes something she needed.

Normally she did stretching, aerobics, flexibility exercises--things to help her keep in tip-top shape for judo. But now, now that she had duties to fulfill, duties where others' lives might depend on her...

She headed over to the free weights and grabbed a pair of dumbbells. Time to get back into this.

(If you feel like doing a separate one-on-one thread, feel free to tag with another date!)

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Step, feint, strike! Step, feint, parry and retreat!

Clad in his kendo bogu, Baku had apparently been at the gym for some time practicing a series of offensive maneuvers on a steel frame fitted with pads. Judging by the lack of reaction from those few present to his clipped grunts and shouts, he had been at this for some time. His breathing was ragged, but he continued this pattern several more rimes after Kisa had entered, shinai striking the pads violently several times in rapid succession before Baku would retreat and take up a defensive stance, only to begin the assault again. On target. You're right on target. Don't push yourself. With that thought, the teen's stance relaxes and he removes his armor after a moment of respite. I thought I had water here... maybe not? Well, the vending machines should have some.

Baku shoulders his equipment bag and tugs the nearly-soaked keikogi from his form, ushering forth a burst of cold air directly to his chest. A sigh of relief comes soon after, but soon after the self-consciousness of standing there like a moron hits him, he makes his way over to the vending machine and procures some water, which is guzzled down as quickly as it had appeared. That's when he noticed Kisa by the free weights.

Normally, his social inhibition would have prevented Baku from approaching her without context, but his blood was still pumping from the exercise.

"Hey, sorry, do you know what time it is?"

Edited 2013-09-20 05:57 (UTC)

Kisa set the dumbbells back down on the rack and nudged with her foot in the same motion the tablet that had been sitting at her feet. The screen had been showing an app that checked her form--useful, since it had been a long time since she'd been at the weights. She hadn't been using them long so far, but her arms were already feeling a pleasant burn.

"6:45." She looked up to see who had asked, and her eyes met an unfamiliar face, which she greeted with a smile. "I don't think I've seen you around before. I'm Saiga, from homeroom 3-ha."

The young man silently bobs his head for a moment. Yeah, sounds about right. I was worried I'd overextended myself and missed dinner. Next is the appreciative smile he offers to Kisa.

"Thank you. Oh, me? I'm Ogata Baku, in homeroom 2-ni. Good to meet you, Saiga senpai."

He follows up with a firm nod after he speaks. His stance relaxes somewhat and he takes a few more swigs of his water. It's not like I know many people here, and besides, senpai is pretty cute. And with that thought, it became a bit more difficult for him to look directly at Kisa. Thankfully, his face was still flushed from his exercise. Come on, Baku, it's just a girl. Move. Say something. Anything.

"There aren't many people around the gym at this hour. Do you have some kind of special training?"

He'd meant for a club or activity, of course, but it was a coincidental statement given the circumstances.

"It's nice to meet you, Ogata-san." A few drops of sweat flicked off Kisa's bangs as she bowed politely.

His question, however, got a smile that was, for just a couple of seconds, slightly awkward and even pained, as she tried to figure out how to answer. Even if it hadn't been a state secret (something she still couldn't quite get her head around), she wouldn't want to worry anyone...

"I like coming in when it's quiet," she said without too much of a pause. "It's easier to focus. Plus I have to keep up with it for judo," she added with a more genuine smile. "What about you, Ogata-san?"

Edited 2013-09-20 18:02 (UTC)

The boy is far too preoccupied with his own thoughts now to pick up on the awkward body language prior to her response. Specifically, he was far too busy avoiding direct eye contact, as if she would stare right into his mind and pick out exactly what he was thinking. You charge headlong into shinai, you're not afraid of a girl.

"What about you, Ogata-san?" she asked him.

Baku snaps out of his inner monologue and returns his attention to Kisa, but the sudden nature of their direct eye contact prompts him to look back at his water bottle, pretending to take a keen interest in the level of fluid he had left in it.

"Kendo club doesn't meet on Saturdays, so I come here for the extra practice. You're in judo club?" Despite the inner turmoil, he manages to stay fairly composed in his response - for now. Keeping the attention away from himself gave him a measure of confidence, for some inexplicable reason. What? It's not like you can give her a wrong answer. You're such a chicken.

Edited 2013-09-20 18:25 (UTC)

"I'm the captain, actually." Now that the topic was on safer ground, Kisa was a little sharper about her conversational partner's cues, and tried to offer a disarming smile, with a touch of self-effacement to set off the whole 'captain' business.

"Kendo always looked interesting, but I could never get the hang of it for some reason..." She scratched the back of her neck. "I think I just couldn't get used to handling the shinai."

Edited 2013-09-21 00:56 (UTC)

As soon as his slight anxiety had set in, it was gone; this was a subject he could approach from a neutral angle. "I didn't really choose it myself; my father participated in the kendo Olympics, and so it was a given that I would take up kendo myself. I was very young when I started, and I just stuck with it," he allows a brief pause to hang in the air before his own reassuring smile springs forth, "if you want to get philosophical, it's been a medium for bettering myself beyond the sport itself." Captain of the judo club, huh?, huh? Wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

I like her good side better, anyways.

And, of course, it was obligatory that Baku ruin his poise with another idle thought like that. Once a mild anxiety sets back in, he knows it's probably better to end the conversation on a good note before he says something stupid. A faint color rises to his cheeks.

"Sorry, uhh, I didn't mean to interrupt your training for this long. Maybe I'll see you later, Saiga-senpai!"

Edited 2013-09-21 01:13 (UTC)

"Family? That's very impressive. And it's admirable of you to stick with it." And it sounded like she meant it, too. She had plenty of respect for those with the discipline to keep up with anything of the sort, let alone at that high a level.

But he was heading off, and she did want to get back to her training. It had been a pleasant distraction, though, and she saw him off with a smile. "I'm sure we'll see each other again, especially here. It's a small world. Take care, Ogata-san."

"Ogata?" Ryuta noticed his roommate talking to the Judo captain out of the corner of his eye. He drew in closer before Ogata could successfully escape. "You are Captain Saiga Kisa, correct? Might I ask what business you had with Ogata?" Ryuta looked toward Ogata, silently questioning why he has his kendo equipment.

Baku nearly jumps at the sudden sound of Ryuta's voice.

Shit.

He manages to interject when Ryuta poses his question, "Oh, I j-just met Saiga-san after I'd finished some exercises. I, uhh... club days are nice, but I like to put the extra practice in to maintain my form." Again, his water proves an ample distraction, and he immediately sets to downing the rest of it before someone starts to expect him to say more. He adjusts the equipment in the bag at his shoulder, ready to make his exit as soon as he spots the opportunity.

Why me? Why now?!

It was rare that Kisa frowned, but the intrusion -- from someone totally unfamiliar, no less -- was enough to earn a small one. She neatly set down the dumbbell she'd just retrieved and turned to him, her eyes narrowed slightly.

"Yes, we just happened to meet," she replied stiffly. A pause, and something in her mind clicked at the sight of his face. She happened to recall seeing some flyers... At least he didn't have her at a complete disadvantage there. "Is there a problem, Tanemoto-san?"

"No problem. I was just making sure my roommate wasn't causing you trouble. My apologies for interrupting."

He turned back toward Baku for a moment to address him once more. "By the way, I also dropped by to discuss something. You've broken curfew a few times in the past week. I hope that you will be more aware of the time from now on." A small warning, but it was very clear from his expression he was serious.

Baku's eyes narrow slightly with a smidge of annoyance, and his tone becomes exponentially more confident in his response to Ryuta, "Yeah, sorry, I broke my shinai and I needed another one by the next morning. Shouldn't happen again."

He turns back to Kisa and bows apologetically, this time looking her straight in the eyes as he speaks, a determined fire burning brightly behind his own. "I apologize for Ryuta-san; he can be off-putting at times, but he really does mean well... and I'm sorry we've kept you from your training for so long. I hope to see you again soon, I enjoyed meeting you." And with that, Baku turns to leave, calling back to Ryuta, "I haven't had dinner yet, so I'm going to go eat something. Maybe turn in early."

And with a friendly nod to each of them, Baku quietly exits the gym.

That was abrupt.

But Kisa was mollified, and the annoyance was out of her face as she saw Baku off, once more, with a friendly smile and a small wave.

And then it was just her and Ryuta. "Roommates, I see. I'm sure it must be an interesting arrangement."

"How odd. I wonder if I said something to offend him." Ryuta shrugs it off though, realizing that it was probably just Baku's desire for dinner.

Turning back toward Kisa, he casually addresses her statement as though nothing happened between them. "You could say that. Whoever assigned the rooms must have a bad sense of humor. Not only are we roommates, we also share the same clubs. Little more than coincidence as far as I can tell at least."

Edited 2013-09-21 03:42 (UTC)

...

It was better, Kisa decided, not to mention it.

The roommate assignment topic was safer ground to tread. "Maybe they wanted to match people with similar interests," she offered, idly prodding her tablet with her foot to keep it awake. "But looking at some of my floormates, it doesn't seem like they were too consistent about it..."

"I truly wonder about that." A small shrug followed afterward. "He is a little unkempt and needs some direction, but overall he is a rather interesting individual. I welcome the challenge that is keeping him out of harms way."

Surprise flashed through Ryuta after noticing his choice of words. How odd. I was going to say 'keeping him in line'. A slight slip of the tongue perhaps? Curiosity quickly replaced his surprise, followed by his usual calm demeanor as he ponders the question for a moment.

The slip took Kisa a little by surprise as well. Of course, she didn't take it as such; maybe the two were closer than she'd expected? There was such a thing as odd couples, after all. And if Ryuta was running for student council, he might well be the sort to take that kind of responsibility on himself.

"He does seem like the type who might need a little help with that," she remarked, a faint laugh bubbling up in her voice.

"I... suppose." Well, even if it was a slip in thought, it wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Ryuta didn't seem to mind all too much anyway. It was a nice thought regardless.

A thought occurred to Ryuta, seeing an opportunity to advance his goals. "Ah yes. I've been meaning to ask you something. I'm currently running for student council president, you see. However, it appears a variety of students are... unenthusiastic about the idea. I've heard that you are very popular amongst the student body, primarily the female students. Perhaps you could share some advice on the matter?"

"Ah?"

The abrupt change of subject threw Kisa for a bit of a loop. Popular? She supposed that might be the case, though she'd never really thought of it that way. People seemed to like her and be comfortable around her, at any rate...

"Advice? I'm not sure I have much..." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. "If you want people to like you, I think you have to show that you care about them. At least, that's the way I see it."

"Hmm." Ryuta seemed rather puzzled by her answer. 'Show that you care about them', huh. He never really thought about it too much. After all, he was doing this to prepare the students for their futures. Or at least he believed so. So surely they would come to understand his good intentions later on. But as for now... that was another story. Could he say that the students knew he cared for them?

Ryuta glanced around the gym absentmindedly as he thought to himself. He only came to when he noticed Kisa was still standing in front of him. Feeling it best to allow her to finish her workout, he said "I see that you are in the middle of your workout. My apologizes for disrupting you for so long. I shall take your advice into consideration as I plan my next course of action. Thank you for your time, Captain Saiga."

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