Description: Fanservice! Sakura Kasugano gets an uncomfortably close look at the lives of Seishirou Ryouhara and his apprentice, Riko Koganei. Poor Sakura. She'll probably need to bleach her brain.
((Editor's Note: The first scene here took place immediately after the Second Victory tournament match - Rock/Shingo vs Heidern/Duck, at Strolheim Castle. The poses Sakura and Riko made during the fight, as part of the crowd, are included for context.))
Sakura Kasugano, that special someone, gives the Kusanagi-ryuu disciple an enthusiastic thumbs-up and an ear-to-ear grin in return. She's got her own little cheering section in the crowd too -- a half-dozen schoolgirls with a big banner that reads [ GO SHINGO! GO ROCK! WOOOOOOOOO! ]. Highschoolers, sheesh!
Now, a few moments ago, Rock Howard made a quip about a friend of his, someone who fights with toys. But a friend that - unlike the 'Sergeant' - knows how to make it interesting. The friend Rock was talking about? Seishirou Ryouhara. The guy who blew up an entire tournament venue earlier just a few days ago. The guy who's currently lying low, due to all that wanton property damage. Unfortunately, being in hiding means he can't exactly turn up to see Rock fight. So he's resorted to alternative measures.!
Like his apprentice. Riko Koganei. She's here. Incognito, of course, like a good ninja. Riko's one of the half-dozen schoolgirls in Sakura Kasugano's little cheering section, standing in the crowd by the castle walls. Of course, Riko isn't actually -from- Taiyo High, but she's wearing the uniform nonetheless. And carrying a camcorder, lens pointing at the action. Diligently recording everything for Seishirou-sam
"GO ROOOOOCK," she yells, seemingly oblivious to the fact that Rock just got pounded with extreme brutal prejudice. Camera waving dangerously, she turns to the girl beside her, and chirps: "Isn't Rock-sempai just AWESOME, Sai-san?!"!
Miss Sai, a tall...oddly familiar kind of girl...fiddles with her sleeves a little. She stands self-consciously behind Riko, wearing the dark winter uniform of Taiyo High, and, perhaps a little uncharacteristic of the contingent of schoolgirls Sakura brought with her, a pair of slacks instead of the usual skirt. The black-haired girl carries a weathered satchel pack with her, clearly labelled 'Taiyo High A/V Club.' She seems to be interested in the fight, though obviously fairly academically; a fight where Rock Howard and Shingo Yabuki paired up isn't something she'd want to miss. She seems a little concerned about the camera Riko's currently holding, though...!
((Ed Note: Fight Ends. Scene start.))!
Moments after the final blow was delivered, Sakura Kasugano had -started- to run onto the field -- but that's what -security- is for.!
"W...what gives, pal? Don't you know who I am?!" Sakura points to her nose. "Sakura Kasugano! King of Fighters champion! Hel-loooo! And that's my boyfriend there, and I'm gonna--"!
Even though the girl's powerful enough to take the pair of guards down a notch, she doesn't -really- want trouble. So when they raise their hands and such, Sakura twirls her finger, cutting both herself -and- the guards off. "... yeah, y'know what, never mind, I know the way out."
Turning on her heel, she motions to the Taiyo High entourage. "C'mon, girls, let's go." She runs her eyes over the other Taiyo students, nodding her head with each person. "One, two, three..." she counts mentally. Gotta stick together and all! "... nine, ten, eleven, twelve. ... Thirteen."
Blink. Twelve had come. "... hey." she states, holding out her hand, glancing around at the various students.
Most of whom are staring back at Sakura curiously.
Thus making the oddball easier to spot, right? Turning over to Riko with a smirk, she points her finger at the camera. "Hey, niiiice camera..." Sakura's got her own, of course, but it stayed looped around her neck most of the fight. "Where'd you get it?" She flicks a brief grin over to Miss Sai of the A/V Club -- someone else she doesn't know all that well.
And it's a good thing Sakura doesn't know Sai well. It's a good thing /none/ of the other Taiyo students in the little group know Sai well - the A/V Club member isn't exactly a social butterfly. Most of them hardly recognise her, to begin with, beyond 'tall, black hair, glasses and camera'. But again, that's good.
Because...otherwise they might notice something odd about the girl.
Of course, that's -why- Riko chose her for this little escapade - she did her homework very carefully. Sai fit her criteria, and she spent a few days back in Southtown trailing the girl, before making her approach. She'd figured Sai as a -known- quantity to the other Taiyo students, but yet /not known enough/ that anything would be amiss. And also someone she could just latch onto as another weird A/V club member.
She wasn't quite expecting to be confronted by Sakura, though. Oh dear.
Riko gulps, trying not to show her sudden apprehension. She does a fairly good job of it, what with ninja training and all, though a -small- spark of panic might be visible in her eyes. She covers it by waving the camera lens at Sakura, red recording light blinking. Smoothly stepping in front of Sai, Riko tugs on her collar. She keeps the camera raised, and coughs. "Uh...um, special model, yeah! Dad helped me...uh, us...get it." She waves vaguely with her free hand.
Sakura, being pretty much the only person who could wrangle a Taiyo presence into the highly prestigious Strolheim Castle, really should have been paying more attention to the group around her. She's in charge, see. Scary thought, ain't it?
And that's why she gives Riko a fairly critical eye. She knows the -other- boys and girls here, from the plane ride, but not the newcomer. But even still... it's hard to see her face =through= the camera, though.
Or that distracting red light. There's a brief moment's pause as Kasugano realizes she's on camera, and that means she has to mug for it -- flashing a V-sign with her fingers and a broad grin. "Hey everyone! Great fight, wasn't it?" Never mind that Sakura herself wants nothing to do with the tournament -personally-...
Gracefully sidestepping out of frame, she takes a few quick strides over towards Riko, hoping to steal a peek at the -rest- of her face. "Yeah, it's pretty sweet! I'm, y'know, not too big on camera stuff myself, but... h-hey, you're new here, ain'tcha? Kinda surprised you didn't travel with the rest of us... you weren't on my list!" She flashes her left palm at the girl -- yes. She wrote all twelve names on her hand in ink pen -- some of the names are smeared. "You gonna be traveling back with us?" Killing with kindness!
Sakura flashes another brief, querying glance to Sai, as if to ask, 'She with you?' before asking Riko, "Think maybe I could take a few shots with it?" Of course, she's also waving the group onward. It's time to go!
"Uhhhhhhh," Riko hazards, switching the camera off and lowering it, blinking at Sakura. She's not entirely concerned with Sakura getting a good look at her. But she -is- concerned about the fact...Sakura's paying her -far- too much attention. And twigging to her not actually being part of the group. Riko shuffles her feet as she blinks again, mouth frozen in an earnest smile.
Behind that cheerful mask, though, her mind races. Simply inserting herself into the group may have been a mistake; it's no surprise that Sakura noticed an 'extra' member. But there were no other students in the group that fit Riko's height, build, and general appearance.
And she figured...too many substitutions and someone would be /more/ likely to notice, not less.
So Riko cut her losses. Besides, concealing herself was never the main objective. Still, now that she's...been called on the carpet, as it were...her crisis management needs to kick into overdrive. Conscious of the glances now being directed at her and Sakura by the other Taiyo students standing around, Riko's smile shifts, growing sheepish. To Sakura, she replies - notably, only to her immediate question about the camera, not any of the /other/ ones about her identity or travelling as part of the group - "Oh, no, no, that's probably not a good idea...er, I mean! No offense, but it's delicate equipment, and it'd be irresponsible of me, I'm not supposed to let anyone but me or Sai touch it...it might explode or something, then I'd be in trouble."
She says it all with a distinct genuine air, too. Because it /is/ true. Including the bit about exploding.
There's something to be said for quick thinking! Sakura has her suspicions, as are made pretty obvious, but really, who =wouldn't= be nervous talking to the Ansatsuken prodigy? Most guys who've had the misfortune of ticking her off end up with bloody noses, after all. And that's on a =good= day. So Sakura seems to write the fear off as simple nervousness. "Guess you came on a different flight, then, huh?" Sure, after all that, Sakura just =supplies= her an answer.
Or does she? Because with Riko flaking out, what better person to turn to than the quiet Sai? "Right, Sai? Aren't you gonna introduce me?" She elbows the taller girl in the ribs a bit as she walks down towards the spiral steps leading down to the city. "Surprised you didn't mention her at all..."
And all the while, Sakura keeps tossing a sly grin over towards Riko and her camera. Sure, the ninja girl may be deceptive, but can her =friend?=
"Hee hee. Man. That was a cool fight though..."
Riko visibly -flinches- as Sakura moves past her, heading towards the staircase...and elbowing Sai in the side, as she does so. Riko hops forward a step, as if trying to interpose herself -between- Sakura and Sai...but there's no way she can do that short of literally pushing the two apart. And -that- would be...rather -too- obvious. And problematic. So Riko skids to a halt, her sneakers scraping against the castle stones. She flails a little, the camera still strapped to one hand. Since -Sai's- carrying the bag, and it's not like the Taiyo schoolgirl uniform gives her much space to hide a camera.
Not with all the other sundry ninja weapons she's got hidden, anyway.
"Ummm...yeah! Yeah, it was! Totally awesome!"
Riko squeaks, pretty loudly, hoping for Sakura to /turn back to her/. Even suspicion's greater than her paying too much attention to Sai.
So troubled by Kasugano, Miss Sai, whom has been, up til this point, doing her absolute best to avoid having to participate in the conversation, gets elbowed pretty handily by Sakura, almost knocking the shy girl aside mid-stride, causing a brief sigh of resignation. She was hoping Riko could handle the situation as it arose, but that doesn't seem to be possible with Kasugano so involved.
"That's because I didn't need to yet."
The voice... is /distinctly/ male.
And if Sakura gives Miss Sai more than a passing glance in response to it, she will recognize that she is not in fact talking to an A/V student that she is relatively unfamiliar with. She is speaking to Seishirou, whom happens to bear just enough resemblance to the girl to have replaced her in the crowd. Replaced, being the key word, here. He.. is wearing the girl's Taiyo High winter uniform. ... With pants. Obviously. Hands in pockets and now looking a little more dour than just indescribably shy, the girl is most assuredly Seishirou, once Sakura actually gets close enough to see.
However, his tone is just low enough to carry only to Riko and Kasugano. As expected, the subterfuge would not last under any kind of close examination. But. That's no reason to call attention to oneself, correct?
"Riko," he begins tentatively, though it's unclear if he'll be allowed to finish his train of thought uninterrupted.
[OOC] Sakura... fuggin DIES
[OOC] Riko says, "Now go back and read all my poses. ;)"
[OOC] Riko says, "For subtext."
[OOC] Sakura saw, yes.
[OOC] Sakura XD
[OOC] Seishirou nod.
[OOC] Seishirou--> http://www.lunateia.net/justice/schools/taiyo1.jpg Seishirou's wearing the top part of the dark uniform there, FTR. :U
Turn back to =Riko?= Why would Sakura wanna do that? Riko's not giving her any answers! She gives the A/V student an amiable grin, nodding. "Oh... well, you do -now-, don'tcha?"
.. Sakura's a bit dense at times, though. Sai's true identity would be obvious if she looked, but she's needling Riko, not Sai. "Yeah? What was your favorite part, huh? I liked the one where Shingo just stepped aside and elbowed the guy, like *wham*..." She demonstrates, targeting a rather arrogant gust of air rather than anyone human, of course.
Turning back to Sai, she starts to talk right -over- the masculine voice, but she does manage to blurt out, "Don't you think that was the bes--" right about the same time as the introduction is given.
Ker-blink.
Sakura's face -falls-. "Y... how long have... you... " Clapping her hand to her mouth, another lightly-balled fist to her chest, she glances around to the other students in disbelief. Did they not notice =either?= What the hell?
.. it's... actually not all that clear whether Sakura is going to bust out laughing or throw up from disgust, from how she's hiding her face and doubling over.
Well, until one rather loud wheeze erupts, heralding a storm of giggles. "omigod omigod omigod you look =ridiculous!=" she hisses in a hoarse whisper, still covering her mouth as she slant-eyes over to Sai...er, Seishirou. And then coughs lightly, barely able to contain herself as she flickers her gaze over to Riko. "Nice to meetcha, *snicker* Riko..."
Seriously, someone slap her.
Riko eyes Sakura, looking as though she might take the other girl up on that offer. She pouts, sticking her lower lip out, balling a fist, stamping a foot in frustration. Then she lets out a sigh, shoulders slumping. Riko slides round behind Sei, tugging on the camera bag hanging from his shoulder, and slipping the camera into it. She begins zipping the satchel shut.
"Hello, Sakura-senpai," she says, blandly.
For someone so generally antisocial, Ryouhara seems to have little problem with Sakura's response or Riko's slipping the camera back into his satchel. Upon closer inspection.. 'Taiyo A/V Club is just a patch torn from somewhere else and sewn loosely onto Seishirou's real satchel. It seems to have had several of the exterior pockets removed, however, but it does have some of the same general wear patterns.
Absently, he continues in the same vein of thought to Riko, generally unselfconscious of the fact Sakura is about to pass out from either nausea or giggles. It was partially an introduction, but only partially. "Kasugano is easily distracted, so waving the camera around was a good plan. But she is also relatively social, so we should have kept a better distance to start with." Or sent Riko further away from Sai to start with. One of the two.
"Of course I do," he responds to Sakura. He's.. actually not even half as concerned over her laughing fit as Riko may be. "That was the intent. If you'd please avoid causing a scene..." Seishirou asks, calmly.
Sakura's able to piece together the relationship between the two just from seeing Riko put the camera. Seishirou doesn't let just -anyone- mess with his satchel, after all. Heck, he'd probably let people mess with them, just to watch them keel over from poison or something a few moments later while he walks off whistling. ... yes, the thought occurs to Sakura, which is why a =shiver= runs down her spine.
It fits in perfectly with Seishirou's simply-stated request... even if his words might seem a bit inconsistent. "... if you look like a moron in clear sight, no one thinks anything of it?" Sakura shrugs her shoulders, smirking. "Hey, man, whatever floats your boat..."
Of course, by this time, Sakura's looking ahead. The other students are starting to outdistance her. She cups her hands over her mouth. "Hey, Taka-chan... take it easy, okay? We got plenty of time!"
Of course, she then glances back to Riko with a snicker. "Heh..." And then another sideglance to Seishirou, with another light elbow if he'd permit it: "She'd only tag along if you came in drag, is that it?"
Riko nods mutely to Seishirou, acknowledging his analysis of her dealing (or failure to deal with) Sakura's errant attention. Then blinks, realising how, in light of /Sakura's/ statement, that nod might be misconstrued.
She doesn't try to protest it, though. Instead she just steps out from behind Seishirou, holding her hands, palms turned upward. "Seishirou-sama is a master of disguise," she says, piously, with a ring of complete and utter faith. She nods, as she says this...and raises a finger.
"-And-," she adds, smiling brightly, "doesn't he look -cute- this way?"
[OOC] Seishirou says, "...."
[OOC] Seishirou >:O
Seishirou gives Riko such a /look/ for her timing.
.. or lack thereof.
But, giving Sakura a similar sideways glance, but nothing so personally offended, he continues. He need only say a few choice words. "You certainly didn't." Til he elected to say something. It's about all the explanation he needs for the affair. And of course.. the uniform? It is .. /impeccably/ fit to his body. But whether or not he actually can successfully pass for a girl.. well. He's not going there.
"Her idea," Seishirou replies, somewhat warily. "My execution." Sakura's elbowing is starting to make his ribs ache. But that isn't the reasion he shuts his eyes sadly in some blithe expression of discontent with the world. No, that's more his "student's" fault.
[OOC] Sakura says, "I didn't what? I said a lot of stuff there. ^^;"
[OOC] Sakura says, "I'm not sure which statement to get offended at. XD"
[OOC] Sakura says, "Oh, okay, I got it."
[OOC] Sakura is deeeense tonight.
[OOC] Seishirou says, "get offended at it all! :U"
Fighting back another round of snickering, as she indeed =doesn't= want to draw too much attention to the two, Sakura nods. "Yeah, yeah, he does! I was totally fooled!" Sakura certainly didn't think anything of it? Well, duh -- but of course, she explains it quite differently from the reality of the situation. "His noodle-arms blended right in with the rest of ya..." she dismisses with a wave of her hand. And a snicker. "It's a good disguise though, props for that!"
Rubbing the back of her head, she peers over at the two with a curious grin. "So what... you two are goin' out now or something? I mean, I can only figure, since y'know Rock only goes after girls from Seijyun." Beat. "Being as he's an honorary student there and all."
She's having way too much fun here, if her smug grin is any indication. For she knows full well she can get away with it if the two want to keep themselves off the radar. And with the threesome walking amongst others down a long stone stairway... outbursts would be pretty obvious.
[OOC] Seishirou says, "--"
[OOC] Seishirou says, "shut up"
[OOC] Seishirou says, "just--shut up! C_C"
[OOC] Sakura XD
Riko returns Sakura's look of mischief with an unflappable stare, not at all ruffled by her teasing.
Any...overly dramatic...reaction would draw stares. So she's careful to keep up the appearance of a group of joking schoolgirls. So Riko laughs, lightly, beaming. Her /eyes/, though, most definitely stare. Not too harshly, certainly not a murderous gaze, but enough to add a certain...emphasis. "Oh, Seishirou-sama and Rock aren't going out..."
Riko pauses, and frowns. "...pity. I've heard they get along very well."
Then she raises a hand, and jabs a finger at Sakura, trying to poke her in the sternum. "But! Seishirou-sama does -not- have noodle-arms!"
That veiled glare intensifies.
Pause.
"They're okonomiyaki, at least," Riko concludes, firmly.
[OOC] Seishirou says, "----"
[OOC] Seishirou leaves forever
[OOC] Sakura laughs. XD
[OOC] Riko says, "Aw, what doesn't kill ya makes ya stronger."
"Hmph." He doesn't press the matter any further than that. So vindicated, Seishirou doesn't feel any particular need to make anyone suffer. Going down the steps, hands still in the pockets of the uniform pants, he merely adopts a distinctly troubled expression. Yes, his eyes are still closed. Yes. Any overly dramatic reaction.
"We're here," Seishirou interrupts somewhat grudgingly near the tail end of the exchange, "to visit Howard. We're currently on mission to lay low from the tournament officials." He doesn't say it.. but is Sakura was paying attention to his own fight back in Britain, she might realize he annihiliated the entire arena in an act that some will have mistakenly deemed a 'terrorist act.'
Hmph.
Sakura's eyes widen as she gives an enthusiastic nod. "Yeah, s'what I was thinking!" She could get to like Riko!
.. At least, that's what she thinks before she finds herself stumbling backward from being stabbed in the sternum, her arms windmilling to either side. That almost tipped the girl off-balance! ... Mostly because she was expecting an attack from -Seishirou- rather than the tiny girl. "H-hey!" she protests -- only to have Riko offer an admission of her own.
"... Okonomiyaki it is, then!" she concedes with a grin, taking a moment to straighten her shirt and skirt. Yeah, she likes Riko, if the broad grin is any indication.
"... hahaha, yeah, hadn't thought about that, but yeah. Good plan." Pause. "Does -every- one of your fights involve explosions nowadays?"
Another pause, as Sakura cranes her neck over towards Riko again. "Come to think of it, that =is= where I'd seen you before, isn't it...?"
Riko peers back at Sakura, as she trails her teacher and the other girl down the steps. When she speaks, Riko's face...is carefully blank. "Er...sorry? I, ah, have no idea what you're talking about," she says, in a somewhat confused tone. Her body language showing just a touch of bewilderment. The girl clasps her hands behind her head, linking her fingers round her neck. And blinks at Sakura, innocently.
Inwardly, Riko scowls. Is Sakura suspecting her role in the escape plan? She -did- have to rendezvous with Seishirou-sensei after his charges took the bridge out, and moving in an unfamiliar city like that, it's -possible- someone spotted them while they were fleeing the country...
[OOC] Seishirou says, ".. we so are terrorists. :("
He has to admit...
From the cut of his brow, its evident Seishirou's not entirely sure he likes to be compared to foods. But as he engineered, they move on to more palatable topics. Suiting him juust fine. He's not really willing to get into the exact specifics of their escape of course, but the fact that Sakura may have actually seen Riko before.. well. That interests him, to some extent.
He gives Riko a noted peer before looking back. "Hn?"
Genuinely curious. At the very least.
It's funny how, when asking one question in an extraordinarily vague way, one can often receive a confirmation for something else entirely.
Not that it =happens= in this case, though -- Sakura can't really pick up on hints that aren't dropped.
"... N... I just meant your league fight with Vyle. I get friends to sneak me tapes of the fights sometimes." She gives a pointed nod to Sai-chan's satchel. "Y'know, typical fangirl stuff." She would have included the word 'fanboy', but why miss an opportunity to jab Seishirou?
"Oh!"
Riko pronounces the word much like a certain ancient Greek would have yelled 'Eureka', the lightbulb going off behind her eyes. There's a certain amount of relief in the tone, too - thank God Sakura wasn't talking about anything compromising. That could have been -problematic-, to say the least.
Riko nods energetically, just about bouncing as her expression brightens. "Oh, -oh-, yes, though I didn't do that well...Mister Cross is quite good for a big burping man in dubiously coloured excessively tight spandex," she says.
As she takes another stride down the staircase, Riko tilts her head. "Seishirou-sama made me watch the video, too...mu, I made too many mistakes. But that's why I watch videos, too! Seishirou-sama has a very big collection."
Riko nods again. "Typical fangirl stuff!" Beat. "It's very educational."
Her repetition of Sakura's last assertion probably doesn't go down very well with Seishirou...though with the way Riko put it, she COULD have been referring to her -own- habit of video-watching. Not Seishirou's. Not implying anything about Sei, nope.
He doesn't actually make it explicit that Riko is studying underneath him. He'd rather no one know, all truth left untold. .. It's still probably not something he can hide. But he can hope, right? Ah.. "Some fighting styles I'll never understand," Seishirou comments idly, of spandex wrestling. It's very effective, but.. is it really worth all the macho cool posturing?
Example.
Seishirou isn't posturing at all right now. He has, in fact, taken a good deal of fire. It's as expected--he did in fact, look quite off in a TAiyo High schoolgirl's uniform, and some jabs are to be expected, especially when a friend notices him. But it's a necessity. He favors what works over what's necessary. He doesn't believe all the pro wrestling act is entirely necessary.
However, walking down the staircase between next to Kasugano, he does believe it's probably necessary to end the conversation before Sakura's afforded any more opportunities to attempt to get to him. Or teach Riko anything he'd have to make her forget later. That fangirl crack causes a twitch. "But I think it's time we move on to find Rock." To that end, he feels it is equally necessary to casually interpose his sneaker in the immediate path of one of her ankles.
You see, while it is greatly preferable for Seishirou that Sakura not cause a scene while she's standing right next to him, he has no problem with her causing a scene at the foot of the stairs. The difference is where the greater group's attention is directed.
Defining 'misdirection.'
. Today, it has a similar meaning to 'comeuppance.'
[OOC] Sakura says, "... you ass ;_;"
[OOC] Seishirou n_n
"Haha... yeah, exactly. I mean... they spend so much time making a big show of stuff, and then forget to actually, y'know, =hit= people!" She laughs at that, nodding in commisseration with Seishirou's tacit response. "Yeah. It's good to review fights, and look over at what other folks are doing. I hate going into a fight without knowing who I'm up against..." She smirks, flashing a thumbs-up over to Riko -- to whom she is really finding a lot of similarities to. "Keep it up, you might be good enough to face me one day!" Smug? Just a =bit=. Though Sakura -does- have a point behind her inciteful barbs.
She won't get to that point, though, because while her upper torso keeps moving forward, her ankles have been stopped suddenly. And with her heading downstairs... that's not a good thing. "Oo-whuh?" she stammers, eyes going wide for the split second she tumbles forward, her thumbs-up slipping away into an open hand, splayed out for balance. She rolls, literally head over heels, in a graceless fall =quite= in opposition to her boastful attitude.
Literally. Pride goeth before a fall. And nearly bowling over her less dextrous companions like tenpins is a pretty sad and =embarassing= way to go.
It's okay though. She'll stop after rolling down two flights or so, and most of the kids are quick enough to get out of the way by then. *whump* Misdirected? Just a bit.
She'd say goodbye, of course. But there's not much of a chance.
[OOC] Sakura says, "... and... I'm done. :o"
((Scene Break. One Week Later, Back in Southtown...))
Gym class. Lucky for Sakura, this is the last class of her day, a perfect cure for the boring skullduggery of listening to old people prattle on about things that have -- at least in her mind -- no bearing to her day-to-day life.
And today's sport is football! Also known as soccer, for the uncultured barbarians in North America, the game features a black and white ball about the size of Sakura's classic literature teacher's head. Mentally visualizing the correlation leads to a marked improvement of Sakura's scoring capabilities, unsurprisingly.
But all non-sucky things must come to an end, and it's just as Sakura's returning to the locker room that she notices an... unusual aura. Wriggling her nose, she doesn't think much of it at first... at least, not until she kicks her shoes off, opening up her locker.
Whereupon she finds a note on panda-themed stenography reading simply, "Behind you."
Sakura's eyes go wide, and nearly =instantly=, she whirls about to greet her attacker with a knuckle sandwich at jaw-level, because she knew, just plain =knew= there wasn't anyone standing there two seconds ago, and so few of the other Taiyo students are quite dumb enough to sneak up on the high-strung girl. "HYAAAAAA!"
And with a loud -WHUMP-, Sakura's fist meets a face, her knuckles crashing home between the eyes, caving in a nose. Swinging backwards, the abused head of Sakura's victim thumps loudly against a locker door on the other side of the aisle.
An abused head not attached to neck or shoulders.
Because it seems to be a fuzzy panda-face, nose and muzzle squashed in by Sakura's punch. It's a furry backpack, dangling round Sakura's eye level...hanging from straps looped round a short bamboo pole. Said pole is clutched firmly in the hands of a girl, a few years younger than the Ansatsuken prodigy...crouched atop the locker opposite Sakura's own.
Clad in shorts and a t-shirt - and not Taiyo sportswear, either - the girl blinks once, twice, three times, then tilts her head.
Riko pouts, "...aw, you hurt Mister Panda."
Well, that was satisfying! ... for about half a second, until she'd realized there was a head flying across the room, at which point her mood turned to horror. ... Which lasted about another second until she noticed there =was no body=.
Gaze darting up towards the source of the voice, Sakura's face colors with reddish rage. "Mister Panda ought to know better than to sneak up on a girl when she's changing!"
Of course, Sakura hadn't actually =started= changing yet, still wearing her official Taiyo High t-shirt and bloomers. Er, gym shorts. Whatever! It's the principle of the matter! "What the heck are you doing here, anyway? Sorry, there's no =stairs= to shove me down this time!" ... Never mind the fact that Sakura's been chasing down any leads on the mysterious ninja girl ever since that fateful meeting. Suffice to say -- she recognized that face instantly.
Riko's face? Or Mister Panda's? It's not a good idea for a ninja to be so easily recognisable. That's what Riko would say. But Mister Panda? Well, okay. He's a -panda-. He's a -celebrity-.
Or, uh, something.
Riko flips the end of the bamboo rod up, sliding the panda-bag back towards her. She untangles it from the pole. As she works, she glances down at Sakura from her perch near the ceiling, and says, with her lower lip sticking out, "You don't have to be so -mean-, Mister Panda's sorry already."
Fluffing the aforementioned panda back into shape, Riko gives Sakura a critical look. "And we're here to visit you."
Sakura passes a shifty look over to the other girls who happen to be sharing the aisle. She's clearly =wanting= to be angry, but the ninja girl is obviously a master at manipulating the situation to her own advantage. And ... Sakura would =clearly= be in the wrong for attacking Riko now.
"... Visit? Well... I gotta change back into my uniform sometime today, so can you and Mister Panda, just like... go somewhere for a minute? Somewhere =else?=" A polite enough request, though a bit =odd= one. Why should Sakura mind changing here, of all places, in front of her classmates who she's changed in front of countless times the past school year?
Simple. Because she's expecting Seishirou to pop out of another locker with a camera or something. Hence the bright red streak across her cheeks, and her attempt to avoid looking Riko in the eye.
"... sorry, Mister Panda."
Indeed, that's a question Riko asks as well. Not verbally, but she gives Sakura one of those quizzical looks, rather puzzled with the blush. Riko pauses in her panda-fluffing, leaning over the edge of the locker top and peering down either side of the locker room aisle. Some of Sakura's classmates peer back...but they don't seem terribly peturbed by the strange girl's presense. 'course, they're probably used to odd happenings around Sakura Kasunago - fighters tend to attract chaos as part of their lifestyle, after all.
Presently, Riko rocks back on her haunches, blinking at Sakura. "Aw, it's okay, Mister Panda forgives ya. And he won't peek, he's a gentleman."
At this, Riko turns the panda backpack around, and covers its glass eyes with a palm. "See?"
She nods sagely.
Sakura attracts a bit more than usual, granted. ... Partly because she has a tendency to pop guys in the jaw for even a =suggestion= of doing what Riko's doing now -- planning to watch Sakura change.
Honestly, though, Sakura's got her own doubts. She rises up on her tip-toes, squinting at Riko, getting a closer look. "... if I =ever= find out you're taking pictures of me, you're dead, okay? Smear on the pavement --" And at this point, she slaps her hand to the locker behind her, smearing her hand out across its length: "-- =D-E-A-D=, got it?"
The classmates nearby? Scatter at the loud noise, carrying their clothes with them.
.. which makes Sakura a bit nervous again, rubbing the back of her neck. "... seriously, what's your deal with Seishirou?" She looks up at Riko, placated somewhat by the departure of the onlookers, but still a bit... shy as she reaches into her locker for her uniform.
Riko gives Sakura an odd look of befuddlement. Then she shrugs, and obligingly grips the panda backpack with both hands, bringing it up in front of her face. Covering her face, actually, such that she's nose-to-nose with the fuzzy panda. She makes a rather odd sight, crouched gargoyle-like above a locker, bamboo pole lying beside her...and panda over her head. But she doesn't seem to find anything strange about this. Leastways, when she speaks, her voice is perfectly conversational. Aside from being somewhat muffled by the whole panda-in-face thing.
"Of course, Sakura-senpai," she says, "I only take pictures of Seishirou-sama." Well, and that time in Strolheim where she taped Rock's fight and subsequently helped push Sakura down the staircase, but that's not the point.
Sakura's cheeks had just started returning to their normal skin tone. Honest. Until Riko mentioned that she likes to take pictures of Seishirou, anyway. ".. I..in the =locker room?= Does he even =have= a locker room where he comes from?!" she sputters, covering her face with a hand and looking away. This girl's gonna give her a headache!
.. Well, almost. She sighs irritably, realizing she's probably volunteered way too much of her =own= thoughts there. "... surprised you can even =get= pictures of him, but I guess that's probably part of the challenge..." she half-sulks, turning her back on Riko as she pulls her t-shirt off, a rather unimaginative red lycra top beneath. Certainly nothing to be ashamed of, really, but just in case Riko decided to peek, she's standing close enough that the lip of the locker itself would provide some 'cover'.
"... Still, couldn't you find better people to fangirl after? Seishirou's a jerk, plain and simple, and he's got no sense of class." ... If Riko's going to architect her words, Sakura sees no reason to avoid engineering her own!
"Not really," Riko replies, still covering her face with the panda bag. Well. Almost. She somehow senses when Sakura's head is turned, and darts a quick peek round the edge of her bag. Before quickly hiding her eyes again.
No, she isn't peeking for voyeurism. It's...because a ninja needs to maintain situational awareness, and she needs to keep track of Sakura's movements to make sure she isn't making any hostile moves.
Really.
In a panda-muffled voice, Riko continues her retort, "'cides, he DOES have class! He's...like...a classy jerk! Yeah! Seishirou-sama is an asshole with STYLE!"
The way Riko says it, it's like she truly does believe that /is/ something to be proud of.
Pause.
"Even if he refuses to wear the embroidered boxers I made with his clan symbol."
Beat.
"Well, okay, so I didn't get the explosive lining right, but that's NOT THE POINT...it was a gift! Nngh."
Sakura chokes back a grin at that. At least she's sticking up for the boy -- which is, in roundabout fashion, the point Sakura was trying to get out of the girl. At least the girl's got her priorities straight.
And Sakura thought =she= was a fangirl... she's never gone so far as to craft undergarments for her idol and teacher! Covering her mouth with a hand -- her uniform clasped at her chest with the other, she whips her head back to stare speechlessly at the young kunoichi.
"Wh..wha--"
Stepping back, she gulps and finally contains herself. "What the heck? You're weird, y'know that?" Expelling an exasperated sigh, she pulls her uniform top overhead, spending a moment to reach behind her head and flip the headband out of the top. ... The headband that Sakura keeps forgetting =she isn't actually wearing= at the moment. But she spits out, only missing a half-beat, "Obsessed! But you sure coulda picked worse fighters, for sure." A faint smile, as she straightens out her bow.
"So I bet you came here to make fun of me again, huh?" she asks, an impish tone lilting into her speech as she retrieves her skirt from the locker.
"Seishirou-sama is the strongest ninja in our age group," Riko says piously, "and he -is- my sensei."
This time, she pokes her head round the side of the panda, making the motion quite -deliberate- so Sakura notices. Of course, there's no danger of peeking, since Riko's eyes are screwed shut with her tongue sticking out, the tip waggling.
Shifting atop the locker, Riko makes herself comfortable. She goes from a crouch to a sitting position, her legs dangling over the side, sneaker heels rapping against the steel door.
"But I didn't come to trade barbs with'cha, nope. It's -you- who've been askin' questions about me. And it's been totally cramping my secret ninja style, so stop."
"... yeah? Didn't think he'd bother to teach anyone. Heck, didn't think he was =good= enough to teach anyone." Chuckling faintly to herself, she steps into her skirt, buttoning up the side as she continues yammering away, "Y'know, he used to lose to darn near everyone when he'd get up and fight..." But, as Sakura's quick to admit, "... But he still beat -me-, way back when, so I guess that tells ya somethin, huh?"
Clucking her tongue once, Kasugano tosses her t-shirt back into the locker, seating herself upon a bench and grabbing her sneakers once more. "So yeah... why di--" She raises one hand, at that, winking back. "Sorry, bad habit! Don't wanna trample all over your cutesy ninja ways, so, uh... spill it!" She grins a bit, holding an open palm out for Riko to continue. Y'know, now that Sakura's fully dressed and all -- not that Riko would be able to tell if she keeps her eyes shut and all. Sakura won't exactly =volunteer= the information -- the ninja ought to be able to determine her state of undress based on sound alone, right?
And indeed, Riko -does- open her eyes and lower the panda-pack. She grins at Sakura, impishly - and then, just to make a point, suddenly whips a small digital camera from one of the bag's side compartments and mashes the button. The flash goes off, along with an exaggeratedly loud KA-KLIK from the shutter.
Sticking her tongue out again, Riko shoves the camera back into her bag, and zips it shut. "Spill what? Dunno why you were lookin' for me, if all you wanted to do was insult Seishirou-sama. And he's a GOOD teacher, lemme tell ya! He's already taught me lotsa stuff!"
Wh...whoa. Never underestimate a ninja -- Riko gets a picture of Sakura's eyes wide, her mouth opened in half-embarassment, half-protest.
"H... hey!" But seeing as how the damage has already been done, Sakura's wrists snap to either side, a frustrated growl escaping her. "I..."
Well, she =did= wait till the girl was fully dressed, at least.
Sighing irritably, Kasugano returns to the task of tying her shoes. "... that, huh? Nah, I was just gonna warn you that Seishirou's a jerk. 'course, you already knew that. But mostly to tell you to tell =him= that he better watch out, 'cuz when I catch up with him, I'm gonna get even!" She flashes a toothy grin back up to Riko, attempting to look serious (and failing!) as she points back at the ninja girl. "And I mean it, too!"
"What," Riko grumbles, "do I -look- like a messaging service to you?"
She grabs the bamboo pole she used to suspend her backpack earlier, unscrewing it into two smaller jointed rods. Putting those away, Riko finally shoulders her backpack, slinging it on properly. Then she places her elbows on her lap, cups her chin in her hands, and scowls. Giving a little kick of the legs, her heels slam against the locker door in petulant emphasis.
"I'm his cute ninja student, not his /secretary/, y'know. You could just have, like, e-mailed or something."
"Well, duh." Panda bag, bamboo poles... "All kinds of signs point to you as the pint-sized messenger! ... I dunno, unless he started using carrier pigeons or rabid ducks or whatever crazy kinda animals you ninjafolks use." She sticks out the tip of her tongue at the girl, springing back to her feet and bouncing once on her toes. "Yu'ssha..."
"Anyway, yeah... what =is= his email address? Figured it'd be something spooky like I Am Ninja Hear Me Bore at too leet for you dot com, or whatnot..." Twirling a finger beside her temple, she shrugs her shoulders faintly. "It's not like he exactly goes out of his way to make himself known, y'know? Whole 'ninja' thing? Maybe you've heard of it."
She starts to stretch her arms over her head, but she grows wary of the last time she'd let her guard down -- and returns her arms to her sides. "... Eh, anyway, whatever, right? If you don't want to pass my message on, I'll just tell him when I see him, 'kay? Nothing to be getting yourself all worked up over."
And with that, though... Sakura starts walking out of the locker room, even as some scared classmates are peering around the corner. Kasugano doesn't seem to mind, saying while glancing back over her shoulder at Riko, "So is that all, or am I free to go now?"
Hopping off the edge of the locker, Riko lands on the floor, her sneaker soles bouncing soundlessly. She follows in Sakura's wake, trailing the other girl as she approaches the door. Like Sakura, she ignores the other girls watching the exchange, oblivious to their consternation.
"Weeee-lllll, actually -he- doesn't have an e-mail address," Riko admits, drawing a small circle in the air with one raised digit, "I think the whole concept of modern twenty-first century telecommunications hasn't quite sunk in for Seishirou-sama."
She holds her finger up. "BUT," Riko chirps, "I rigged the printer so I can totally hardcopy e-mails for him on explosive paper so he can read the messages and have them self-destruct afterwards all traditional-style, you know, like top secret ninja message and everything. And lemee tell you, that was tough, took me some doing because the heat from my early prototype printers kept makin' 'em explode early while ink was being applied and Seishirou-sama didn't like the mess...well, okay, I don't think he /cared/ about the mess, but you know those frowny faces he does and who can tell."
Yeah, that girl's got one hell of a lung capacity.
And it's amazing how, despite all she's said, she didn't answer Sakura's question of being free to go. In fact, she seems to be matching Sakura stride for stride, all the way out of the locker room.
.. So... Sakura gets the idea Seishirou is way behind the times on technology. She'd gotten that initially, from seeing how his warships and such were cobbled together. Riko, though... may be way =beyond= the times. "... Tsu-kun'd love to get hooked up with you sometime..." she mumbles under her breath. The Tsu-kun she mentions is Tsukushi, Sakura's younger brother. Maybe Riko's heard of him, in her reconaissance sweeps?
Still... Sakura didn't catch a lot of what Riko had said in her rapid-fire musings. And since Riko doesn't really =answer=, Sakura doesn't feel a need to ask again. "You're either really bored, or just really obsessive..." she notes -- though whether she's talking about Riko's pursuit of Seishirou or her pursuit of Sakura herself, it isn't quite clear.
"Both," Riko answers, glibly, bobbing her head in a nod. She beams at Sakura, stepping past her as they near the doorway. "But! I'll be a good girl and get out of your hair."
As she says that, Riko stands on tip-toes and sticks a hand out, doing her level best to muss up Sakura's 'do. Not that it isn't already messed up from gym and everything, or held in place by a hairband...but it's the PRINCIPLE of the matter.
And with that - plus a final razzberry of the tongue, Riko races off.
Log created by Riko, and last modified on 07:43:38 04/22/2006.