Description: Despite some rocky relations with Taiyo High concerning a victory over Hurricane Hime, Vince returns to the school in an effort to make a display of diplomacy between Pacific and Taiyo. In the process, the captain of Pacific High's fencing team meets the captain of Taiyo High's lacrosse team. But will civility prevail!?
One prior visit. That's all Vince has paid to Taiyo. He's seen both good and bad representation of the school, both from females. The last and most profound impression would unfortunately be of the worst kind, but he'd hate to mark off an entire school body on the slights of a single individual. The young noble has decided to give it another chance, with no clue how they might receive him and his.. quirks. But still, the establishment well deserves a second chance, he thinks. Insofar, he's met some mixed reactions. Some are intrigued by the European, some simply don't like him for his last visit. Regardless, nothing has really stood out as a solid representation yet.
A bit aimless, Vince wandered into the library. He's been in here for about half an hour, now accumulated two books and both open. Both are on history, one a more broad topic, the other narrowed down on the school. Not as thick as the other book, but more detailed - and it's the one on top.
But by now, a small cluster of students are chittering not far, blatantly staring at the oddball and murmuring amidst themselves.
"Hnn... I hate books..." Ichiro Oe, Captain of Taiyo High's Lacrosse team mutters as he trudges his way through the library with a rather large stack of books in his arms and his ever-present dufflebag slung over one shoulder. Dropping the load of books onto one of the large communal tables that take the middle of the study area with a jarring bang, Ichiro sighs and lets his duffelbag drop to the floor next to him and sinks into a chair gratefully, apparently ignorant of the disturbance his entrance caused in the fairly quiet library (chittering and murmuring aside). Wiping stray trails of water that run from his wet hair down to his brow with a forearm, it's rather apparent that the youth just got out of the shower; there isn't a cloud in the sky, after all. Plucking the top book off of the stack, Oe cracks it open and stares at the page for a few moments before glancing about the study area in boredom.
"What the..." The lacrosse captain mutters as he spares a glance at the rather anachronistically dressed blond stranger who appears to be rather absorbed in his reading. "What a getup that is..." he remarks under his breath with a grin. "Ah, I think I've studied enough," Ichiro informs himself as he closes the cover of his book emphatically and rises from the table. Running his fingers through his short spiky black hair, Oe tugs on the front of his unbuttoned black school uniform jacket and approaches the stranger casually. "Hey, there," Ichiro says to the stranger in a friendly tone of voice. "Haven't seen you around here before. Are you some sort of exchange student?" he asks as the smattering of gathered students who weren't brave enough to approach the strangely dressed kid perk their ears up to find out what this guy's all about.
Engrossed indeed, is the young noble. Icy blue eyes peruse the text before him, looking to be about a quarter through. It doesn't appear as though he's so lost in his studies that voices don't register to him, as a few seconds after the question, he offers up a response.
"It might seem that way, non?"
The voice is smooth and affluential, clearly cultured and laced with just a hint of a French accent.
The brim of the cavalier hat tips back, revealing a pair of large icy blue eyes regarding Ichiro with curiosity. "Alas, I'm merely a visitor from a neighboring school," he reveals. "One interested in gleaning more about this school, at that. My name is Vince LaRose. A pleasure to meet you, I'm sure." His right hand lifts to pinch the brim of his hat, tipping it in gallant greeting.
Suppressing a bemused grin at the other teen's strange dress, mannerisms and accent, Ichiro scratches at the side of his face in thought as he watches the other student and tries to take it all in. "Neighboring school, huh?" he asks curiously. Ichiro hasn't had very many good experiences when meeting students from other schools, sadly. This Vince guy can't be from Gedo, that's for sure. Someone dressed like this wouldn't last very long in that place, Ichiro thinks with a distasteful wrinkle of his nose. "Well, nice to meet you, uhh... Monsieur LaRose," Ichiro adds with a grin. Who would have thought, that half semester of French turned out to be of some use after all! "My name is Ichiro Oe, I'm the captain of the lacrosse team here at Taiyo High, though you might not have heard of the sport, not many have it seems," Ichiro informs the blond with a slight frown.
"Oui, a neighbor. Pacific High," Vince elaborates. His expression brightens at the use of Francais, looking rather pleased. "Oh, certainly a pleasure, then. I am the captain of the fencing team - something perhaps a little different in Japan, I've found." His index finger sets to his lips, brow knitting thoughtfully. "On the contrary, Monsieur. France has a lacrosse association. Regrettably, I don't know much about it." Both hands settle over the text before him, folding together.
Ah, Pacific, that's not so bad, Ichiro muses. There seems to be a lot of colorful characters from that school, so it shouldn't be much of a surprise that Vince hails from that particular school. "Oh, you are captain of the fencing team? That explains the sword I guess," Ichiro deduces with a glance down towards the scabbard at Vince's hip. "Taiyo has a Japanese fencing club, taught by Hayato-sensai," there is a sparkle of admiration in his eyes as Ichiro mentions his hero's name, "But I don't think we have any European fencers here. That isn't to say that Taiyo wouldn't welcome a fencing association of that sort, we're very supportive of our sports here," Ichiro says with a grin.
Oh, I hadn't heard if France had a lacrosse association yet. I knew that they hadn't participated in the European Lacrosse Championships yet, but maybe they will this year. The sport grows bigger and bigger all the time!" Turning his back to the table, Ichiro hops up to sit on the tabletop, much to the chagrin of the student put in charge of monitoring the library this hour. If Himeko was around she wouldn't put up with such behavior for long, that's for sure. "So, do you just fence for sport, Vince, or do you partake in the fighting circuit too?" Ichiro asks with thinly veiled interest. "Southtown IS pretty much the hub of the fighting world, after all, and your sport DOES lend itself to fighting much better than most, I guess," he admits a tad grudgingly. "I mean, you must be here for a REASON, right?"
"To some degree...," muses Vince cryptically to Ichiro's first observation. He then falls silent as he explains his lack of knowledge concerning France's lacrosse involvement. He really can't blame him. Vince didn't even know much about it, so apparently it is somewhat obscure where he's from.
At the further inquiring, a sly smile tugs across the noble's features. "Circuits? I did for a time, before I was.. disappointed at the demonstration of quality. Now, I simply address problems as they arise, and partake in training where possible. I do more than fence, Monsieur - the rapier is my life."
The looks becomes more passive, and his right hand lifts to gently wave in a passive manner. "I am here simply to learn about Taiyo High. It is one of the three most esteemed schools in this city, and it has a fair reputation. Following my previous visit, I had hoped to make a more... diplomatic demonstration between our schools, and learn more about its history." The perching atop the table? It doesn't seem the phase Vince terribly. To each their own.
"I'm not surprised that you want to learn more about Taiyo High, but here in the library isn't really the place to do it," Ichiro replies with a smirk. "What makes Taiyo High special isn't something you can find in a history book. It's something that can only be found in the hearts and minds of those who call Taiyo home!" Ichiro replies, his voice rising in intensity and volume as his burning spirit begins to flame to life. A pointed and disapproving cough from the librarian is enough to calm Ichiro down a little though. This IS still a library after all, burning spirit or no. "Like I was saying," Ichiro resumes, "The strength of Taiyo is our devotion to our school and to each other; the burning spirit that binds the Students and faculty of Taiyo High together as one. THAT isn't something you can learn about from a dusty old book," Ichiro punctuates with a purposeful thump of his index finger against the book that Vince had been reading.
A wide-eyed, innocent look is trained on Ichiro during his spiel, only broken once by a sidelong eyeshift towards the librarian. The gaze returns to Ichiro, right up until the finger thumps against the book. The impact and movement is sharp enough to get the swordsman to jump slightly in surprise, peering at the finger.
...Then the eyes peer back up at Ichiro.
"But it -will- tell me the history of the school."
A bright, lightheartedly mirthful smile alights on his face. You know the one - squinty upturned eyes, tooth-pinging smile.
After the look is held for a couple seconds, Vince settles into his default, pleasant smile and inclines his head. "Those are good values, I must admit. It seems the most prominent of things to take pride in; unity."
Ichiro regards Vince blankly for a few moments after he gives his short reply to Ichiro's spirited lecture. "...Haha! Yeah, I guess it will, I guess it will..." Ichiro replies with a grin as he slides his posterior off of the table and steps back onto the ground again. "Yeah, you have that right. Unity is what makes Taiyo High stronger than any outside force that would go against us, it's what helps my lacrosse team to victory, and it's what makes our school such a great place. There are a couple downsides though. Our devotion to each other makes us such a tightly knit group that it's sometimes hard for others to feel welcome around us. Frankly, I'm kind of surprised to find you sitting in here alone with all of my peers standing around gawking at you," Ichiro admits with another friendly grin. "I guess it speaks a little about your confidence and character," he muses.
Running his hand through his black hair once more, the Japanese teen gives Vince a slight bow and motions back towards his books. "Well, it was good to meet you, Monsieur LaRose, I guess I'll let you get back to your histories, unless you have any questions or need of me. I have some studying of my own to do anyway, or I won't be doing much of anything else soon."
"All would benefit from such lauded unity," Vince concurs. Thoughtfully, he adds, "I've noticed this. The same could be said for Pacific High, sadly. The rivalry between the schools, as I've observed, is more akin to a war between clans. Escalated a bit above civility, in many cases." A small exhalation of a sigh is given, and the feather in his hat droops, curiously enough.
At Ichiro's comment concerning his confidence and character, however, a hint of a cocky smile instantly sets to Vince's face. "I -am- a LaRose, after all."
Apparently that means something.
"Either way, I'm pleased to have met you. You're a bit redeeming from the typical, admittedly expected brutish reception I anticipated. You've represented your school well." Icy blue eyes lower to the textbook, then back to Ichiro with a more sincere smile. "Perhaps I can extend to you the same courtesy, should you find an interest in visiting Pacific High. In my company, I assure you will be treated well. But for now, I thank you for the insight and time. Adeu." Once more, Vince tips his hat.
Smirking a little at LaRose's reply, Ichiro shrugs and says, "Most people seem to write me off as a dumb jock, so you wouldn't be alone in that expectation. I try to surprise people, though," he adds with a grin. "And thanks, maybe I'll look you up next time I'm in the area. Good reading, Monsieur LaRose," Ichiro says in parting as he strolls over to his pile of books and bag, which he collects before walking out of the library, apparently deciding that he'd be better off trying to study at home.
Log created on 22:48:33 07/13/2008 by Vince, and last modified on 02:11:11 07/14/2008.