Description: Miko and her crew barge in on Kazuki's private time and fiercely question his musical tastes! Could be the start of a beautiful relationship?!
Miko Kobayashi looks like she's seen better days. Needle-thin red lines criss-cross her face, neck, and ears. There are presumably larger gouges that aren't visible, though, as there is also a large band-aid running across her nose, along her right jawline, and her left hand is completely enshrouded in bandages. But she's just as cold to the Gedo punks as ever -- excepting her companions in the 4th period history class, three of whom have been following the third-year student around the past week or so.
"Saya, I don't see how you can put up with guys like that," offers Miko with a smirk, as the four walk out of school. Miko carries a small black lunchbox -- nondescript as ever, to go with her black school uniform.
Kazuhito looks over towards the other three. "Where we gonna eat today, Miko?"
Miko makes a sweeping hand gesture towards a tree, which already has a handful of people around it. "Dunno. Somewhere over there."
Touji quirks an eyebrow, but slams a fist into a palm in anticipation. "Yeah, if anyone don't like it, we'll just hafta convince 'em!"
Miko, the young woman wearing a Gedo girl's uniform and a boy's black overcoat on top of it, strides purposefully over to the tree, her three companions following close behind her. Woe be to anyone who might be at the tree today!
There actually IS someone at the tree. A young man is sitting against it, headphones on, his eyes closed. The remains of a box lunch lay next to him. He's... fairly average. Standard Gedo uniform, completely average Japanese teenaged male. He seems utterly unimpressive, and utterly unaware of what is coming for him.
Faint music can heard coming from the headphones, metal from the sound of it.
Miko stops just in front of the tree. She hazards a brief glance over towards Kazuki. She knows peripherally that he's spoken with Daigo in the past. She presumes this is a good thing -- even as she peers over and sees that the seated Kazuki is not removing his headphones, not looking up, and generally not responding at all to the presence of four people practically towering over him.
Of the four, Saya's always the one who wants to start something. She doesn't waste any time, either -- with Kazuki unresponsive, she just walks over, trying to pluck those headphones right off his head.
Key word: Trying.
Kazuki Kirigana doesn't even open his eyes, simply ducking his head to one side, still nodding with the music. He opens one brown eye, looking at Saya patiently. He doesn't stand up, but turns the music down.
"These aren't yours," he says. Politely, but firmly. Just as firmly, he reaches up withone hand and pushes Saya's hand aside as he stands up.
"Can I help you with something," he asks, just as polite, just as firm. If he's offended by Saya's forwardness, he's not giving any indication.
Saya narrows her eyes, but takes Kazuki's firm denial in good stride. "Well no shit they ain't mine, assface! I just wanted a listen, don't make it sound like I's trynna steal 'em or nothin'!"
Now that there's more elbow room, Touji avoids eye contact entirely, inviting himself to sit down right beside the tree -- if Kazuki hadn't stood up, trying to do that would've meant occupying the same space as his elbow.
Miko and Kazuhito are a bit more patient, and they don't shy away from making eye contact with Kazuki either. As Miko explains: "Our apologies. Saya really didn't mean to interrupt. She's just got no class." And without really waiting for a response, she lowers herself to take a seat where she stands, a few feet away from the tree trunk, but still within its bountiful shade. She rests her lunchbox in her lap, looking up towards Kazuki. "There's plenty of room at this tree for all of us, wouldn't you think?"
Kazuhito and Saya remain standing, for now, keeping their distance as they gauge Kazuki's reaction.
"Galneryus," the young man explains. "Angel of Salvation." He pulls the headphones off, draping the now silent accessory around his neck. "You could have asked," he says, slightly annoyed. He takes a short step forward, placing himself just inside Saya's reach. Other than that, he makes no aggressive moves.
He glances aside to Miko. "There's plenty of room," he says, staying polite. He glances aside at Kazuhito, marking his location. More than his eyes, Kirigana is trusting his ears perhaps more than his eyes. "Can I help you with something," he asks again.
Tactically, the situation is adverse to an uncomfortable extreme. Best to keep things cool.
"Coulda, but where the hell's the fun innat?!" Saya cackles. ... Though, being that no one else is really laughing along with her -- though Touji does offer a smirk -- she lets the laughter die out after a moment. "Eh, whatever."
Miko by this point has already opened her lunchbox. Inside is only a ziplog bag full of celery and carrots, and a small thermos jug. She unthreads the cap, explaining, "It got boring eating inside our history class. Nice day out here, figured we could use the sunlight before Kazu -- er, Kazuhito -- here turns whiter than a sheet. Speaking of which..." She looks up at the quieter one. "Kazu, sit your ass down. You're making our friend Kazuki nervous."
Kazuhito and Saya both do so, arraying in a wide arc between Touji and Miko, each pulling out hastily thrown-together sandwiches from their nondescript lunchbags.
Miko offers a wry smile, turning back up to Kazuki. Everyone's in view now, he shouldn't be -as- nervous. "Your reputation precedes you, Kazuki. My name is Miko, you've met smartass Saya, and these lunks are Kazuhito and Touji." She offers a faint smile as she speaks, taking a sip from her thermos.
"Yeah, you need to lighten up, guy..." snaps Saya -- before Miko raises an eyebrow. Saya's jerks her hand lightly, as if she'd been bit by a mosquito -- which she subsequently slaps with her other hand.
"Be nice," chides Miko, her eyes remaining fixed on Kazuki. "There's no reason to be /rude/ to a fellow Gedo student."
Kirigana turns to regard Miko, appraising carefully. He takes a slow breath. "I wasn't aware that I had a reputation," he says quietly, suggesting that perhaps he was trying to avoid such a thing. He notes Saya's actions, and more interestingly, her /re/actions. His eyes, however, are all for Miko. Kirigana has her pegged as the leader of this bunch.
"I'm just a first year here," he says, still in polite, almost formal speech. "I'm not really interested in causing trouble." The oddity of it, given what school the group is at, is that Kazuki is completely serious.
Miko laughs faintly. "Haha, really? Don't kid yourself. Anyone who can hold Daigo's ear for a few gets passed down in whispers and murmurs. The legend of the fabled Kazuki of the Metal Headphones will be passed down for generations."
A playful smirk indicates her mood; a fact acknowledged shortly afterward as she says, "Perhaps I exaggerate slightly." She takes a delicate bite out of a celery stalk.
Saya takes a bite out of her sandwich -- aside from a glare thrown in Miko's direction as she'd spoken, she looks down at the half-barren landscaping dirt beneath her feet. Likewise, Kazuhito remains more or less quiet as he eats his sandwich.
"Galneryus all y'got on there, Kazuki?" asks Touji, feeling the need to establish -some- form of friendly banter.
Miko, however... has fixed a somewhat unsettling stare upon Kazuki. Or maybe it's not Kazuki at all -- she seems to be looking -through- him.
Kazuki keeps his eyes on Miko. She... seems to be aware of more than what's just in front of the classic five senses. While this doesn't seem to be an actual challenge, something tells Kazuki he'd be wise not to be the one to back down. "Maybe a little," he says with a small smile of his own.
"I have some Back-On, some FLOW, some Granrodeo, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, a little bit of Beethoven, some Nirvana, a little Garth Brooks, but I have a hard time understanding the lyrics on those last two. English isn't my best subject." he answers Toiji. "I... like music," he says, perhaps a bit shyly, but still keeping his eyes on Miko.
Touji nods attentively, to the first three groups. He's heard them, but... well, they're not all 'metal' bands that Saya would appreciate.
In fact, Saya speaks up to that. "The hell? That's one fucked-up playlist, dawg." But it's not an insult, not... not -really-, coming from the brash short-haired girl.
Kazuhito intones quietly, "You gotta respect the masters..."
Miko smirks faintly, working on a carrot stick. She'd stopped staring, at least -- that's good, right? "I'm rather... particular about my musical tastes. The right song can influence my mood, change how I move... block out other conflicting emotions." She pauses, taking the moment to smile appreciatively. Her interest certainly -seems- honest enough. "Would you agree?"
Kazuki looks around at the quartet, taking a low crouch. He's not ready to sit back down yet. "There are some things I just don't like to listen to sometimes. It depends on a lot of things," he answers truthfully.
He moves slowly, cleaning up the remains of his lunch box. "I like Mozart during practices," he admits. "It can be pretty calming."
Miko quirks an eyebrow at Kazuki's insistence on standing. "We're not going to bite you. ... Well Saya might, but I've been trying to train her."
Saya hurls a punch at Miko's face but the 'boss' calmly raises her hand, brushing it aside like one might an annoying mosquito. Unperturbed, she continues to address Kazuki: "Oh, definitely can see that. It invigorates the spirit and provides clarity of focus."
Touji and Kazuhito both nod quietly. Saya seethes, taking a swig from her can of soda.
Miko smiles pleasantly up at Kazuki. Expectantly, perhaps - but she'd rather not push him too hard.
Kazuki stays calm, at least outwardly, but he's a bit uncertain about all of this. He gathers his things next to him and, perhaps unsurprisingly, sits seiza. It might be a way for Kazuki to be both polite and ready at the same time (he's well versed in Aikido after all) or it could just be reflexive (again given his background).
He's quiet again, and not at all assertive of himself. He's still not sure what is going on beyond just some students having lunch.
"You said you were a first-year, mm? It must be tough navigating amongst all the social groups and whatnot here. There certainly seem to be a lot, after all. But I can tell you... it's really not as hard as it seems." She sips from her thermos, her eyes never really parting from Kazuki even as she does so.
Saya speaks up: "Yeah, Miko only got here about a couple days 'fore you did. She still pisses me off, but, eh."
Miko sets her drink down, and throws an undercommitted punch, which Saya easily deflects aside with a brush of her hand -- and a smirk.
Kazuhito chimes in, "Yeah, it's really not so bad. It's just listening, really. Gedo's a'ight, it's just hard to get people to open up. Folks are too busy being macho to really... -talk-."
Miko downs the rest of her drink, and gestures with an open palm, "... That said, if we've disturbed you, we won't take offense if you tell us to get lost."
If there is one thing Kazuki can do, it's listen. It's something he's /very/ good at. He nods politely at the various comments. He notes that while Saya may have honestly /tried/ to land that punch earlier, Miko really wasn't. And Saya didn't seem to have a clue. Which was telling in a lot of ways; if Miko was trying even a little, Kazuki was certain she'd wipe the floor with Saya.
That's interesting in itself.
"It's okay," he finally says. "I don't have any particular claim to the place, and my lunch period's almost over at this point." He stands, smoothly, with the ease of almost a lifetime of practice. "No offense was taken."
Miko nods quietly as Kazuki seems to be judging -them- now.
Which is, after all, why the young woman had brought them over. It's interesting to assess the personalities of her companiosn overlapping and interacting with Kazuki... and the responses are enlightening. As is the lack thereof.
"It's almost like they don't -want- us to make any lasting bonds of friendship or anything, heh," says Miko, wrinkling her nose at the remaining vegetables in her lunchbox.
Saya glances up to Kazuki as he rises. "Hey, I... sorry about the headphones. Won't mess with your tunes again, man." She may be mostly bluster, but she's a Gedo student through and through -- the apology comes across as a bit forced.
Touji and Kazuhito nod their heads to Kazuki. Miko, for her part, just raises a carrot stick. "It was a pleasure meeting you, Kazuki. See you around?"
Kazuki feels like he has things pretty well sorted where it pertains to Miko's quartet. "Or perhaps they wish to cultivate a strength of self above all else," Kazuki says. "It's hard to say one way or the other." He nods to Saya, accepting the apology without words before bowing ever-so-slightly at the waist to Miko.
"It was a pleasure," he says agreeably. "I suspect that we will see more of each other. I look forward to it." It sounds like he means it, and he does. This group was exactly typical of his experience in dealing with a group of Gedo students, and it was a somewhat pleasant surprise.
Miko smiles quietly, withdrawing a carrot stick, wagging it at Kazuki with a grin, "Oh, there's no doubt of that," And then she takes a nibble out of it. "If you're up to changing your training routine around, I'm pretty sure we'd all have things to learn from one another."
All four set their lunches down and rise to their feet, offering a formal bow to match Kazuki's formality. Well, Saya's not -as- formal, but she tries.
"Do take care," says Miko, showing much appreciation to Kazuki for sharing his spot at the tree -- as much as the quartet basically barged in on him, he handled it with grace, dignity, and politeness.
All good pieces of data for Honoka to add to her mental file on the young aikidoka.
Log created on 21:00:44 12/06/2014 by Honoka, and last modified on 00:57:23 12/07/2014.