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Who: Kazuki, open
Where: 3-ha classroom, hallway
When: Monday 24, Lunch
What: Kazuki's first day at school.

Tac. Tactac.

The light tapping of a pencil against the desk briefly joins the variety of sounds within the classroom. It is the sole clue giving away the enthusiasm of its owner. Yukimura Kazuki has assisted Chitoku Academy for not four hours, and already he finds himself relaxed and cheerful. You'd hardly notice this from looking at him, expression frozen into his typical poker face. Innerly, however, Kazuki is ecstatic to be here. A new school comes with hundreds of new first impressions, as well as the disappearance of the ones he gave in his last school (or, if not that, at least the opportunity to make them irrelevant).

The high schooler isn't the least bit picky about who he associates with, and as he hears the door in front of the classroom open, he decides to interact with the individual entering before he so much as sees who it is. Since it does indeed turn out to be a classmate (and a pretty sociable one at that), he decides to make eye contact and wait for conversation. Unfortunately, Kazuki's old habits die harder than any 80's action flick, and even though he lock eyes with his classmate, he remains silent for the entire five seconds he looks at him, seeing the other party join his friends at the other end of the room.

...Did that come off as weird?

Kazuki's question is answered by the blossoming conversation he witnesses the group having. It looks like, in trying to come up with a topic to talk about, he became one himself.

That's alright. He anticipated this. Leaving the classroom in what he slowly starts to recognize as embarrassment, he leans against a wall in the hallway and starts to wait out the minutes until class resumes. Kazuki refuses to let this ruin his good mood. There's as many chances for this as there are people in the world. If nothing else, he can balance things out by giving a good first impression to the ones who do talk to him. The black-haired boy's train of thought is briefly interrupted by the slow sound of rolling and one last 'tac' coming from within the room - louder, this time, dropping from his desk.

Ah. The pencil...

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Without the knowledge that Baku is not a very stationary individual, one might find it peculiar to see him meandering about the halls of the school with a cup of instant ramen in one hand and chopsticks in the other, taking in the sights about him, being new as he was. Sporting an open school uniform jacket and an untucked dark red shirt, he certainly didn't look like he was stressing over the uniform code in the slightest. Finally, food. Sawatari-sensei knows how to drone on. Lunch proved the perfect opportunity to wander about the school and take in the sights and the layout.

On this day in particular, he happens to be wandering through the halls adjacent to the 3-ha class. Seeing Kazuki exit the classroom did not initially strike Baku as odd or attention-worthy, but he began to pick up on some discomfort coming from the young man, maybe even embarrassment. Maybe his girlfriend just broke up with him or something? You're not going to find out sitting here and staring at him with a face full of ramen, Baku.

"Hey. You alright?" He manages to swallow the ramen in his mouth before blurting this out. Marginally better.

"Huh?" Kazuki's expression momentarily becomes one of surprise. Despite his concern, he didn't expect to get another chance this quickly. He blinks a few times at the casual demeanor of this new person, a little too drastic a departure from his own personality for him not to react to. It doesn't stop him from being thankful, not only because of the concern.

"I'm alright. Just trying to kill time. Thanks." It's not exactly said in a cheerful tone of voice, but the airy, nonchalant way with which he reassures the other student lends credibility to his statement. Perhaps because Kazuki believes it himself.

"What about you? Having lunch?" The answer to that is... pretty obvious, but Kazuki's not used to seeing people walk and eat something like that at the same time, so he might as well ask about that.

Baku bobs his head gently before swallowing the mouthful of ramen, "Yeah, I've never been up to the third-year class hall before, so I figured I would come and check it out." He offers a polite bow as he introduces himself, "I'm Ogata Baku, my class is downstairs at 2-ni." With that, his gaze drifts to the classroom before it settles back on Kazuki, "You don't like going out for lunch?"

There's something a little off about this kid. Yep, I know girl troubles when I see them. I wonder if he's even had lunch.

After an awkward moment to monologue internally, he squints and appraises Kazuki again, "you really should eat, you know."

Edited 2013-09-21 05:11 (UTC)

There was one more person eating lunch in the classroom, and although she hadn't been banished, she emerged nonetheless, head poking out curiously and shortly followed by the rest of her.

Kisa was holding a cheap convenience store onigiri, already half-eaten and showing the pickled plum inside, and looking at Kazuki with a little concern. She knew he'd just started here -- unusual in and of itself, judging from some of the teacher reactions -- and that bit of gossipping he'd already fallen victim to couldn't be helping.

"Is everything all right?" And then she mentally caught up with the rest of the scene. "Oh, Ogata-san." She offered a quick, polite little bow. "I'm surprised to see you up here."

"I... had other plans for lunchtime. They fell through, though." Vague but honest. "No problem, though. It's just this one day." Having just found out he's a year above Baku, Kazuki finds himself a little at a loss on how he should act. As an upperclassman, he figures he should seem cooler, but seeing as this is as stoic as he's willing to get...

"Yukimura Kazuki, from 3-ha. Nice to meet you, Ogata-san." The student is able to get his introduction out just before seeing someone else come out of the classroom. He probably should have foreseen this, looking back. To his credit, Kazuki actually avoids eye contact this time, at least until he realizes he's actually being approached this time. The irony is not lost on him.

"Ah. Everything's fine. Thanks." Kazuki looks at his classmate, his face registering little anguish over his faux pas from earlier. The one good thing you can say about his unusual combination of personality traits is that a calm exterior and an affable way of talking help you ease people's worries away. Although, having been asked if he was okay twice in the last few minutes, maybe he could be doing a better job at that.

"Saiga-san, right?" If there was at least one person in there who had enough interest to check up on him, then things are far from lost. It actually helps him put things in perspective. Everything did just happen in the span of a few seconds, after all. Kazuki's starting to realize he may be blowing this out of proportion.

Baku doesn't seem convinced for a while, but eventually his moment of scrutiny passes and he offers a simple nod in response. He doesn't look older than me. He could even be younger than me, if I didn't know better. Could be some hyper-intellectual genius or something, come to think of it; they always have odd habits. He remains utterly oblivious to the fact that he shovels ramen into his mouth while meandering the halls of a class he has nothing to do with could be construed as odd. He does have the sense about him to offer Kazuki a gentle nod, "Likewise, Yukimura-senpai." He maintains a comfortable second or two of eye contact and even manages to throw in a smile before his attention is drawn to a rambunctious group of third-years down the hall.

He seems cool enough; a little quiet, but that's nice sometimes. This is going rather wel-

"Is everything all right?" Baku heard a familiar female voice and nearly jumps, making a conscious effort to turn back to the door at a normal speed instead of all at once. Sure enough, there was Saiga-senpai. She looked different in her uniform, but that was to be expected; they'd last met at the gym, after all. Saturday's memories began rushing back. The way Ryuta just walked in and... right in front of Saiga-senpai, too. Oh, I'll get him for that...

"Oh, Ogata-san. I'm surprised to see you up here," she said with a quick bow. He returned it (a bit too quickly, some might say) and offered her the best smile he could muster. Come on, Baku, it's easy. You did this yesterday, damnit.

"Oh, Senpai! I was just, uhh... taking in the sights. I'd never been up here before, and when I saw Yukimura-senpai out here by himself, I thought I may as well introduce myself," He seems much more collected than he was at the gym but, like before, he again switches the subject away from himself, "so you're in the same class, huh?"

Edited 2013-09-21 16:16 (UTC)

"That's right." Kisa nodded to Kazuki. She hadn't seen much from him thus far, but he seemed sharp... if a bit quiet. "It's nice to properly meet you, Yukimura-san."

Baku's response made her eyebrows raise a little and brought on a slightly bemused smile. "I hope you're not disappointed--I'm afraid there's not much to see. But I can see why you might want to stretch your legs after sitting all morning."

She rolled her shoulders, as if accentuating the point; truth be told, she felt a bit stiff herself. "Ah, and yes, we are."

"Same here." There's a half-second delay in which Kazuki processes Kisa's words. Despite having memorized the names of his classmates, he didn't expect to not have to introduce himself. Barring anomalies like the one from a few moments ago, Kazuki is typically very good at slipping under the radar, hence why this makes an impression on him.

"I think the novelty hasn't worn off for me. There's a lot more to do than at my last school." He isn't planning to check out the clubs until this afternoon, but he figures there has to be a photography one here already. Then again, like he said, the impression that the school is bigger than the ones he's attended may be just that - an impression. Not knowing anything about the school, his imagination may be getting the best of him.

Edited 2013-09-23 02:32 (UTC)

The teen's calm demeanor returns as the conversation wears on and the throbbing of his heart from Kisa's sudden appearance slows to its normal pace. His stance relaxes as he shifts his weight to learn gently against the wall next to the duo, working his chopsticks around a bit more of the ramen contained within the cup in his hand.

"It feels weird to sit down and eat lunch. I've been running around all summer, so I never did have time to sit down and actually enjoy what I was eating. Besides, where would I sit?" That sounded much less pathetic in my head.

"In any case, you should come take a look at kendo club, even if it's just once. Tanemoto-san owes me a match, anyways," his attention returns to Kazuki and his eyes flash again with a competitive flame that Kisa may have spotted the other day. "I haven't told him he's up against a yūdansha yet though, so I think he's in for a bit of surprise." A proud grin dominates his features. Kendo was the one achievement he could brag about with any measure of veracity.

"Haha..." It's said with a hint of sheepishness, which is still a long ways off from the more honest 'I've never held a bokken in my entire life', at least. Still, Kazuki enjoys a friendly match as much as anyone, and after a little consideration, gives Baku a subdued thumbs-up. Admittedly, both the chuckle and the gesture seem a little out of place for someone that acts like him.

"Sounds good. I don't think I can beat anyone with that much experience, but I can even the score if you come by the photo club."

. . .

Please let there be a photo club... Please let there be a photo club...

Perhaps he noticed the unease with which Kazuki had spoken, or perhaps he was still in the midst of his competitive streak, but Baku offers him a gentle smirk and a noncommittal shrug before he pipes up again.

"We could even have a little tournament with the three of us!" Of course he would suggest that; he's probably the only san-dan in the entire club, but he maintains a bright optimism about the prospect of an extended challenge such as this. Don't go too hard on him though, or he won't be interested at all. That's what he kept telling himself, anyways, but he knew it may go an entirely different way in the heat of the match.

In any case, he'd heard of the photo club before - Saturdays, right? That's my training day. I suppose I could always train after dinner anyways, though. He gives Kazuki a nod of affirmation, "alright, fair's fair! I've never actually tried photography before though, but I can't imagine that I can be any worse at it than I am at music."

"Say, what's your cultural club, Saiga-senpai?" he turns his eyes to Kisa with a questioning look.

"Art."

Kisa scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "I've never been great at it, but I'm doing my best to improve. Most of my time goes toward studying and judo, so it's difficult..."

The sheepish smile remained as she moved on to the topic of the competition. "I think I'll have to decline the tournament. I really can't do anything with a bokken." For a moment, there was a twinge of something odd and pained in her smile, but it was gone as quickly as it had come. "But I'd be happy to come watch if I can."

"That would work." Albeit not very favorably for him. This has the potential to go badly, what with his amateur status. Still, in this kind of situation, with everything progressing as smoothly as it is, he's not exactly the type of person you would describe as a long-term thinker.

It's the aforementioned concern (as well as the growing realization that he's the only person here not good at any sort of sport) that makes any subtle expressions the other two make fly right past him, observant as he may usually be.

"I thought Art was one of those subjective things, you weren't 'good' or 'bad' at it..." Baku regards Kisa with renewed curiosity at her statement, but his attention returns to Kazuki as soon as he speaks, sporting a sheepish grin of his own as he scratches the back of his head, "You've got guts, Senpai, that's for sure. I didn't actually think you'd want to try, but you're more than welcome to if you really want to! I think I'll challenge Tanemoto-san tomorrow."

And again, there was the mischief that typically accompanies his competitive side. In fact, he had been so enthralled with it that he had forgotten entirely about his now-lukewarm noodles. He looks down to them with an expression of surprise and hastily finishes the rest.

Edited 2013-09-25 20:57 (UTC)

"Oh, no, not at all. That's more common in the West, I think. Some of the art over there..." Kisa grimaced and shook her head. "But I'm trying to get better at it."

But the kendo topic was a little more interesting -- certainly to the others involved -- so she was fine with sticking relatively close to that. "I have judo tomorrow, so I'm afraid I won't be able to make it. I'll try to come by if it's after club, though."

The teen nods emphatically with a bold grin, "yeah, I figure I'll approach him after kendo practice. If you hurry, you might catch the tail-end of it all!" "Tail-end of kicking his tail" is what you wanted to say. In any case, lunch was almost over, and Baku was much further from his class than the others, so this was as good an opportunity as any to say his farewells.

"Anyways, I have to head back to class, else Ryuta-san might fuss at me again," he nods again to Kazuki and offers him a wide smile, "good to meet you, Yukimura-senpai." When his gaze turns to Kisa, a faint tinge of color returns to his cheeks and he continues, "great to see you again, Saiga-senpai."

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