Description: Intending to settle an owed match with a fellow Seijyun student, Hotaru ends up getting talked into a challenge she's less prepared for. Losing at one contest of wits doesn't mean she is going to give up the real reason for seeking Yurika out, however.
It certainly has been quiet lately in Seijyun, hasn't it?
And really, that's the way Yurika Kirishima would like things to stay as for a little while longer. It probably won't be much longer until chaos reigns again upon school grounds- That is unless she nips the problem in the bud personally.
The musician has time to worry about that later. Yurika is very simple to find, there aren't many students who don't know where her room is though that isn't where she resides currently. On a beautiful day like today, perhaps late in the afternoon, the schoolgirl can actually be found just exiting the flower garden gates, clad in a very red, and very frilly dress, with a black mantle over her shoulders, matching color parasol worn over her head. It's very rare she gets to wear her favorite form of attire on school grounds, so it's an easy bet that she'll milk the summer for all it's worth. In her other hand, however, is a rather small novel, a romantic one no doubt, as she makes her way toward the school gates, her destination unknown.
However all Hotaru would have to do to find her is ask any student on campus. There isn't one person who didn't see that red dress.
A couple weeks of summer remain. A few scarce days of peace and quiet on the Seiyjun campus. The population has been light as of late, with only girls stuck with summer classes like Hotaru has been milling about most days.
Hotaru's classes are done for the day however, and she's stashed her heavy, bothersome bookbag in a locker and taken the time to change out of her school uniform into a simple but elegant pants, shirt, and vest outfit that has a traditional Chinese style to it. Much better for fighting in, and she's looking to make good on something she was committed to, even if being drafted into the WW-Mini in the first place was entirely without her knowledge...
The small, barely known tourny has wound down over time as student after student has been eliminated, leaving now only three Seijyun High students to compete for the end of it. Getting pestered regularly by the tournament organizer, Hotaru decides to finally get a promised fight out of the way. She knows Shinobu is incredibly tough from prior experience, but she doesn't know much about the other girl left. Rather than throw herself at Shinobu's fists again, she has decided to see how she fares against Yurika! After all, if she can't beat this other girl then it doesn't much matter how well she could do against the Savant styled fighter anyway.
Questions were asked and she was quickly pointed toward the gardens that she is so familiar with herself. Nearing even as the musician is leaving, Hotaru identifies her easily enough. The description other girls gave about the red dress were impossible to mistake. "Yurika?" comes the inquiry once she's drawn near, catching up before the other girl can reach the Seijyun campus gates.
Ah yes, the WW-Mini. There'd been pestering on her part as well, but one of the curious things about Yurika is that if she doesn't want to be found by those pesky folks, she just plain isn't. Leaving poor Hotaru to have to take the intiative. When Yurika hears her name called out, her steps come to a halt, and then her book is snapped to a close as she looks over her shoulder.
She somewhat recognizes the girl, Kurow actually never talked much about her at all- All she knows is what she's heard from other students. Still, Hotaru is greeted with a small smile, as she turns about fully. "Yes, that would be I," she replies. "You.. Are Hotaru Futaba, I believe? It's a pleasure to finally meet you, it's been a year and I still have not met all the students here.. It's a bit embarassing honestly."
The musician then takes a moment to slip her book into the handbag hanging off her arm, she probably already knows what this is about, but still she's compelled to ask. "How may I help you?" She tries to recall if Hotaru has gained a reputation as a rather 'lady-like' student.. Or is struggling to kee her marks up.
"I am," comes the reply, accompanied by a formal bow from the girl in clothing far more simple than the frilly dress Yurika has on. It would almost call into question whether she belonged at Seiyjun in the first place - what with her fairly simple hairstyle done up in pig-tails and lack of any fancy jewelry. A closer inspection might reveal the dark blue vest is made of intricately patterned designer fabrics with flowery imprints visible alongside golden trim. Custom tailored, her Chinese styled fighting outfit is actually far from cheap clothing.
"Well, don't feel bad. If you've been here for a year then I've only been back in attendance at Seiyjun for a few months during that time, and most of those weeks were summer classes," the girl explains. "I'm sorry to trouble you, but it seems that I have been lined up to face you in an elimination tournament of sorts. While I'm not sure that the scale justifies the constant reminders I get about it, I feel that I should at least comply with the requests of the organizers to help bring it to a conclusion in this final round. You're familiar with the World Warrior Mini tournament, right?" There's a bit of questioning doubt in her voice. After all, the last couple people Hotaru fought in the tournament seemed to barely acknowledge its existence either, so it's hard to say for sure.
Rumors about young Futaba are varied. Almost every girl knows she's an orphan. No parents will ever show up to meet her at the gates or speak with teachers about how she's doing in her classes. She maintains above average grades - Nothing stellar but nothing to be ashamed of either. Of friends she isn't known to have many, if any at all, here at Seiyjun. Some girls might call her aloof, not seeming to enjoy the same things they do, while others may refer to her as exhibiting un-lady-like eagerness to fight. A few might mention that Hotaru fought Seiyjun's Zaki to a stand still, so her reputation as a fighter isn't just complete fluff.
"I... I was hoping to have a match with you to resolve my place in the last round of the tournament. But..." She looks Yurika over, an apologetic expression on her face, "I think now might be a bad time for you? I could meet you again another time?" Surely no one would want to fight in the fancy, expensive clothing the young musicial prodigy has on.
Yurika thinks on it all for a moment, dark eyes glancing upward after she returns Hotaru's greeting with a curtsey of her own. About four seconds after that, she looks to Hotaru once more, looking her schoolmate over. "Yes, I have participated in a match myself, it was.. Ah. Much more troublesome than I had expected it to be." Despite her words, they are said with a bit of cheer, even if she's still dreading how that fight went. "Ah yes, I believe that does make me your opponent as well though, doesn't it? I'd actually be more than happy to help wrap things up.."
The apologetic smile actually pleases Yurika greatly, even if she doesn't openly express it, the girl isn't as bad as she had originally thought to be. And seems to be a bit well off on top of that. "Though as you may suspect, I may not be exactly dressed to fight with my fists.. But I am able to do so with my mind. Would you, perhaps, be up for a battle of wits?"
While she would never say anything, Yurika doesn't look like someone who fights at all. In fact, she fits in a lot with the image Hotaru has in her mind with regards to most of the girls at Seiyjun. Prissy gossips who are more interested in passive, safe hobbies than the high risk world of competative fighting. Young Futaba isn't going to completely dismiss the idea that the well dressed student /can/ fight, since as she knows, fighters can come in all shapes, sizes, and types. But if the parisol toting girl has training of any kind, it seems like it would be instruction in etiquette, official ceremony protocols, and other aristocratic interests.
When she turns the challenge right back around on Hotaru, however, the pig-tailed girl pauses, blinking with some surprise. She had expected the demure young lady to defer to another time when she would be better prepared, not to propose an all together alternative way to resolve this contest.
"Well... the rules were very vague." she allows, brow furrowing a little at the intriguing proposition. In fact, the rules said practically nothing about how the fights should take place and what limits, if any, there were. Being asked to take this to a battle of intellect makes her a bit nervous. What if Yurika is some kind of super genius? She'll make a fool out of her with no trouble! But on the other hand, if Yurika really can't fight, then Hotaru would feel terrible to force her into it. Hitting someone who can't defend herself is completely unacceptable in the mind of the Kenpo artist.
Resting her hands on her hips, her head canting to the side slightly, a slow smile working its way into her expression. This interesting twist might be a nice change of pace, regardless of how it goes! "Okay, I can go for that!"
Super genius? Yurika would be flattered if that concern were brought out loud, but alas. But it's true, that the fact that Yurika fights is a questionable rumor, those whom swear to have seen her in action would also swear she's as graceful as a swan. Then again, there are plenty enough rumors about her as is.
Yurika gives an amused laughter, she seems to pick up hesitance if anything else, but she then shakes her free finger, "Oh don't worry, it should be fairly fair, in fact I'm sure it is quite up your alley considering your style that I've heard about. While it's viewed by many as a simple game, JanKen is actually a game of anticipating your opponents next move. Obviously this is extremely difficult on the first round, but on the second, and if need be third round takes place, judgement becomes quite important."
Yurika squeezes her gloved hand into a fist, and raises it slightly, in as non-threatening a manner as possible. For Yurika, this must be very very difficult to not look imposing. "Therefore I propose a JanKen game. Best two out of three.. Of course if you're intimidated, I'd be more than gracious to let you concede?"
Of course Hotaru wouldn't. But Yurika has to seem like some sort of unstoppable pro somehow, anything to make the offer seem more interesting than it actually may appear to be.
"JanKen, hm?" Hotaru is quiet for a long moment after that. Yurika mentioned her style of fighting. It seems like the well dressed student knows more about her than she would have expected. And here she is, without the slightest clue about Yurika's abilities.
When the offer to concede is given, the Chinese-dressed Japanese girl grins suddenly and shakes her head, "No way! Two out of three it is." She tightens her own small hands into fists as she leans forward a bit. "I'll admit, this isn't what I expected at all. But it is an easy enough game, rules-wise, and just as deterministic as a real fight."
On the plus side, it does mean not ruining another one of her expensive fighting outfits. A competative game of Janken is free of the normal destructive assaults she typically has to cope with! Already she's studying her opponent in this match carefully, as if trying to get a feel for which of the three choices she'll start with. While the first round is hard to predict, it doesn't hurt to give it some thought after all.
Unexpected, yet hardly crazy enough to be considered a match-type ripped straight out of Ranma 1/2. Good for sanitys value, but for the Xtreem value. Again Yurika finds herself amused, though, Hotaru wasn't nearly as tomboyish as she had expected her to be. It may be worth her time knowing a bit more about her sooner than later.
But right now, it was time to battle! "Then you already know how to play, we bounce out fists on 'jan' 'ken' and then reveal your pick on 'pon'. I must admit, I'm quite impressed that you'd accept so readily, I expected your resolve to be a paper-thin."
That's not exactly true, in fact, Yurika is just using some weird little psychology there, seeing if she can get Hotaru to subconsciously pick paper. "Well then.. Jan.... Ken..." On the third word, two fingers point outward, the symbol of scissors. But did her ploy work? "Pon."
"Pon!" Hotaru echos Yurika with a matching exclaimation and... matching hand gesture, both fingers extended. Blue eyes glancing down to take in the tie, her expression is neutral at first before slowly shifting into a grin. She caught the comment before they began to shake their fists though, and it makes her laugh a little. So, is that to be part of the game too?
"I thought someone unprepared to fight might opt for a softer choice," the girl replies, her grin narrowing into just a trace of a smile as she lifts her hand to begin the next round.
Lifting her clenched hand, she starts the three syllable chant, "Jan, Ken, Pon!" Fingers extending, palm facing down, the girl has chosen the very thing she says she thought Yurika would've picked. Paper.
"And which one of us is unprepared?" Yurika offers back with shared amusement as she draws her hand back once more. It wasn't the response she had expected, but on the other hand, the tie worked to her advantage. She could assume that Hotaru would choose paper again, and so when she throws down her fist the second time..
Once more it is scissors. She makes a cutting motion, thinking to herself that she now has this match in her control.
"Well then, just one more and I win, Miss Futaba. Good luck to you."
"Jan.. Ken.." Will she pick scissors again? No, this time she uses rock. As her clenched fist extends following the, "Pon."
The chagrined expression on the slightly smaller girl's face indicates that she isn't happy about that outcome one bit! Perhaps she's thinking too much like a fighter now, expecting Yurika to have come out with the strong and decisive rock for her next choice just to prove herself. But the gambit didn't get her anywhere that round.
"Right," she comments with regards to the state of the contest. She's down by one now. She better think hard about where Yurika will go next! There is a moment of squinting analysis at the prim and proper sister of Kurow. Speaking of which, "This is an interesting way to settle a match... I happen to know someone else who shares your family name quite well." Both hands are held out, both clenched in fists as if prepared for a battle of force rather than mind. Another tie. "Maybe that coincidence caused me to expect you to be more willing to fight." Her sapphire blue eyes are focused on Yurika's face as she speaks now, as if analysing her much closer now.
Raising her hand, the girl commences with the count down again as the bout moves into the fourth round, "Jan Ken Pon!" And her hand flattens, fingers extended toward Yurika once again, having selected paper this time.
Another tie? Yurika's brows furrow and there's her first sign of a disapproving expression on her face. It would seem Hotaru isn't as predictable as the musician originally thought. Technically she was still in the lead, so that was all right. Or so she originally thought. Her response to the paper is a rock, making her cringe slightly yet again. So much for her lead.
Hand withdrawn, she ends up chuckling afterward, "Hmn, I thought I had this one in the bag, now it's gotten interesting." the musician murmurs, small smile drawing to her lips once more. Though she cooly looks to Hotaru again. "Oh is that so? It's too bad I didn't know that sooner, it's not much help for me now, though. I actually don't enjoy fighting much, as you can probably tell. I feel I'm better suited for duels, and fights here just.. Well. They're very rarely like that. I'm sure you mean Kurow, he's on television nearly every week. I always thought that a bit odd for a ninja."
Her fist bobs once more. She was confident she could still win, with her deduction skill. "Jan... Ken.." Expecting scissors, she gives a third Rock, hand in a fist. "Pon."
"Y-yeah," replies the girl as Yurika mentions Kurow. He really does get a lot of face time on TV now that she thinks about it. "Any relation?" comes the more direct question that she was working her way toward in the first place. Her tone is one of idle curiosity. Or at least, that's the intent. Deception isn't her strong point and Yurika may very well sense that there's something more to the question than just idle chit-chat.
"What do you mean by duels?" she asks after a long pause, sounding curious now, paying less attention to the match that she's managed to tie up now.
Which is why when it comes to the fifth round, she seems to slip into her fighting habits more than relying on analysis of her opponent. So much like the way she approaches a fight, she doesn't repeat anything twice in a row, always trying to keep them guessing where and how the next attack might come. Of course, when there's only three options to begin with like this game offers, that kind of limits it; her propensity to stay away from repetition making her actually easier to predict otherwise. "Pon!" exclaims the girl, extending her hand, the sign of the scissors made alongside Yurika's fist.
Blinking, she pouts for a second before laughing lightly, lowering her arm to her side. It's actually somewhat of a relief to think that she won't have the WW-Mini folks hounding her about their tournament anymore now that she thinks about it. "Well played," Hotaru replies, clasping both of her hands behind her back. "
Yurika was more than sure the question was what Hotaru was leading up to. Though she doesn't really have the slightest clue why the girl would want to know- Normally Yurika herself would be grilling down any woman who dares even stand two feet away from Kurow- Yet somehow this time the hairs on the back of her neck weren't hackling up. Was she perhaps maturing?
Or did she just feel Hotaru couldn't possibly be a threat toward getting his attention? Yurika doesn't mind repitition, obviously. The girl has been doing the same things for perhaps her entire life, following rules, following orders, and helping her underclassmen on the same subjects. Scissors meet rock, just as she had suspected and her free hand settles to her side, the other twirling her parasol a bit. "Good match, Miss Futaba.."
"It was a close one. As for duels, I mean exactly what I said. A battle that involves honor, dramatics. Not much unlike what you'd read in Romeo and Juliet." Yurika adds, though there's a slight pause, and her eyes narrow slightly, "As for relation.. Why are you asking? I would imagine that if you knew him very well, you would know if I were related to him or not, wouldn't you?"
"I don't understand the difference between that and any other fight," Hotaru remarks, looking like she isn't sure what Yurika is getting at. "Don't people fight for honor all the time? Honor of family, pride, or their art?" One of her hands behind her back comes forward, clenched in a fist for empahsis. "There's plenty of dramatics in any good fight, too!" she adds with enthusiasm. "Maybe you're just not seeing the right fights." Hotaru allows as she then lowers her hand, her arm resting against her side now.
But then the conversation steers back around to the question she had asked and while Yurika doesn't completely ignore it like the girl thought she might, she does completely avoid answering it, so it's almost the same. Except that it does leave a slight opening at least.
"Oh, well, for as many times as I've met him, I guess the matter of his family never came up. I was just wondering, that's all." She shrugs a little, avoiding Yurika's eyes for a moment. She has to play this carefully, knowing full well that resorting to deceit doesn't work very good for her and also tends to leave her feeling worse for the effort anyway. "But maybe it's just a coincidence. After all, he was very interested in learning about my family, yet never mentioned anything of his. I guess he would have said something about me sharing schools with a sibling..." Her attention is back on the other girl at that point, her voice trailing off, providing the other Seiyjun an easy out from her line of questioning.
But maybe she'll pick up on something anyway. Either way Hotaru shrugs a second time, mouth shifting from a neutral, faint smile into a more friendly one, as if perfectly happy to drop the whole issue now.
Dropping the subject entirely is something Yurika would be quite all for. But some things simply aren't adding up. Kurow hadn't spoken to her about Hotaru before. On the other hand, he never tells her anything 'she doesn't need to know', either. And it's that uncertainty that makes brushing the subject off altogeather difficult for her-
Hotaru has a puzzle piece that the musician wants. As for talks of perspectives of fights, she nods her head, "Of course they do, I've seen it. I've seen Hinako fight to prove that female sumo is great. I do believe that Miss Todoh fights for the honor of family. Most of the fighting I have seen, however, is for entertainment, or a publicity stunt. But perhaps you're right, maybe I need to see contests that aren't televised, however in heaven I would manage to do that."
The musicians eyes remain locked on the other girl, her eyes are almost dangerous, yet the smile on her lips is subtle, not quite malicious or friendly. Despite the annoying panging in the back of her head, there was something.. Cute about Hotaru's voice trailing like that. She likes that kind of cute. So she'll throw a bone, and see what happens. "My little brother is like that. We've reunited recently so there isn't much that I know about him. I'm still not sure if it's true.. As you might understand, it's a question I'm sensitive about."
It's funny how it goes. Yurika may have controlled most of the Janken match, yet Hotaru seems to have finally gotten a little bit of an edge in the matter that really mattered to her in the first place. At least, that's what she thinks when Yurika finally bites, confirming at last what she suspected was true before she even posed the question.
There is for a fleeting moment a shift in the other girl's expression. A flash of 'ah hah!' that... disappears almost as suddenly as it had appeared when the rest of Yurika's words are taken in. A recent reunion between sibling after an unknown time apart? Sensitivity about where their relationship stands? The scenario is one she can very well sympathize with herself and she finds Yurika's explanation very disarming. Hotaru's expression changes from one of quiet triumph to subtle dismay and a tinge of guilt.
"Oh." Her response hangs in the air for a long couple of seconds without anything to follow it up before she says anything else. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pressed." One arm relaxes against her side while her other arm crosses behind her back so that she can clasp the first one at the wrist, assuming a very passive posture. "I was only curious. I've met him in a number of... different places. We've chatted a lot." Sticking to the truth, even if vaguely so, is the Hotaru Way.
"He is a very interesting boy." There's something to her tone that suggests she isn't implying any kind of romantic interest. Merely... curiosity at the prodigy fighter. But she's definitely holding something back as well - that much isn't too hard to tell. "And I just thought that it would be neat to meet more people who knew him." She smiles a little then. A shy, uncertain smile, backing down substantially from her aggressive questioning from before. She had hoped to discover if Yurika was complicit in the various things Kurow had been up to as of the last couple months. But if they only just barely reunited, then that doesn't seem likely, now does it!
The silver-haired musician slowly shakes her head, her free hand gives a dismissive gesture. "I won't press a fit over it, it's been done. And.. 'Interesting' is a good word for him." Of course her aim was to make Hotaru feel guilt; though if it was for the sake of being mean or weeding out some other purpose, even Yurika isn't entirely sure. She's been .. Changing a lot, lately, and finding that deception as of late is really the only way she can move forward. At least, that's what the musician believes of herself.
The bottom line was, however, that she had to know how they met, and why he had taken interest in the young fighter. Luckily for her, an opportunity had presented itself, and she considered herself in the perfect position to grill the girl, without the trouble of having any troublesome questions directed to herself.
At least, that's how she thinks things should move along. Clever. Kurow would be proud. "I.. Am pleased about your aims.." Even if she does suspect it to only be half of the truth. "It embarasses me to confess that as much as I consider myself a model student, I.. Am not very good when it comes to social things like friendship." That, at least is true. She would offer that much. Romantic interest? It's quite possible Yurika's shoulders relaxed a bit at that comment. Her smile draws up just a bit more. "There is something that I need to take care of off of campus. But.. Perhaps I could invite you for tea at my room later in the evening, or tomorrow possibly?"
The moment Yurika speaks about her troubles with friendship, she has Hotaru's full attention. She looks surprised at first. How could a girl like her have a hard time making friends at a school like /this/? Isn't she practically the rolemodel all Seiyjun girls should be looking up to? A passive plea for friendship is all it takes to completely win the pig-tailed girl over as she nods her head slowly.
Shy on friends herself the offer of an additional visit is accepted without hesitation, "I would love that," comes young Futaba's reply, sounding completely sincere now, her heart going out to the prim and proper sister of Kurow. With a brother like him, no doubt a poor, fragile girl like her must be going through some very challenging times. Having to deal with a sibling who was off fighting in a war for the Bad Guys must be distressing, after all.
Feeling bad for ever suspecting anything of Yurika, Hotaru adds quickly, "I won't keep you any longer. If you don't mind, I'd pay you a visit tomorrow evening? Thanks so much for helping me resolve that tournament too. And good luck with the final round against Shinobu." She pauses for a moment, her smile warming, "You might want to try the same kind of match with her." the Kenpo artist offers helpfully now that she understands Yurika doesn't seem to like exchanging blows with other fighters if she can help it. Bringing her hands together, she offers a polite, formal bow, drawing upon years of very strict, proper upbringing. She might be a bit too aggressive to fit in with most Seiyjun girls, but that doesn't mean she's completely forgotten the lessons given while growing up in a well to do household.
The question of how Yurika could have such difficulties.. Hotaru may just very well learn in due time. But it is an excellent point; how is that even possible given her reputation?
Yurika's smile looks more genuine as Hotaru agrees to the offer, and of course has parting words of her own. "Thank you very much, for both the match and the good luck. It really had gone far too long.. And I'll certainly keep that advice in mind." beat "That said, tomorrow is perfectly acceptable. Until then, have a pleasent day." The bow is returned with another curtsey, and with that she turns to continue on her way. There's a lot for her to think about, it'd seem.. Though perhaps it isn't a terrible idea to make a quick stop by Justice and get Kurow to explain what in heavens is going on..
Log created on 21:45:37 08/08/2007 by Hotaru, and last modified on 16:01:54 08/09/2007.