Description: It's Christmas again and of course Yurika's gotten a gift for her biker buddy. And vice-versa how about that! Though thanks to Thailand, their relationship has grown increasingly awkward, and the musician isn't certain how to handle it. Enh, maybe it'll blow over.
At Seijyun, Christmas is a rather quiet place to be, many of the students having gone home and all. It should be of no surprise, then, that Yurika Kirishima would be about.. Though she does know of course that her closest friend -does- have a relative and it may be a good idea to catch Akira early before she goes wandering off.
After getting dressed up in a frilly ensamble of red and black, she makes her way down the hall with two things in hand, one large metal thermos, and rectangular, wrapped box. The kind of box where you -know- there are clothes inside, but the wrapping paper is gorgeous, golden in color with black ribbon about it.
After taking in a calm breath, she knocks lightly on Akira's door, pretty certain she should be about- For reasons better left unexplained, Yurika is qute attuned to her friends habits.
Akira's door is new. In fact, the whole room is new. Largely because after Choi and Yamazaki all but blew up her old room, Akira had to be moved. The only real difference is that the new door doesn't have a whiteboard glued up on it, but no one ever wrote on Akira's anyway.
As Yurika strolls toward said new door on this fine Christmas day, Akira is taking advantage of her new first-floor status and jimmying open the window from the outside to throw herself inward. With a quiet whump of impact -- and a clatter of all her spiked accessories -- Akira lands, just as Yurika happens to knock. "Uh-- one-- ONE SECOND, GETTING DRESSED!" she calls as she scrambles upward to shut the window and shed her jacket.
Akira's holiday attire will only be mildly embarassing, in retrospect -- a ribbed turtleneck sweater in Christmas-tree green, and white overalls over it. As she manages to use her arms independently to tug her turtleneck's collar down over her face and pull her overalls up her bared legs in unison, she is finally decent enough to yell "COME IN!" -- just in time for Akira to be fastening the shoulder straps of her outerwear.
Unfortunatly for Akira, Yurika is pretty much the master of recognizing sounds, she recognizes the sound of her friends impact, though the rest of the scrambling isn't quite as clear to her. Regardless once she's given permission to enter she does so with her usual mysterious little smile, which grows only brighter upon seeing the split-persona'd schoolgirl, "Good morning, Akira.." she greets, closing the door behind her and her dark eyes look over the others ensamble.
Absolutely adorable, but she manages not to fawn over it, instead walking forward calmly and offering the box to Akira. "This is for you, Merry Christmas.." Actually the gift is.. Pretty unusual. Should Akira choose to open it now, inside is a maid uniform and accessories- It's mostly black and white, as one would expect, with all sorts of intricate stitches, and flawless placement of frills and lace. However those are the only kinds of clothing Yurika is really experienced in hand-sewing. "Unfortunatly I do not think you'll get much use out of it, but it'll come in handy come Spring." As thats when the culture festivals and such come around. Apparently she already has ideas of what she wants Akira to do. Out of habit she raises her hand to fix up Akira's tussled hair from the turtleneck.
Despite being fixed by Yurika, the cowlick in Akira's bangs still sends one thin reed of hair shooting upwards, ignorant of any attempt to tame it. She doesn't really have time to say anything -- slow to start in conversation, as usual -- before she's handed the gift. "--the Spring?" she says, looking over with a confused expresion.
And then one of realization. "O-Oh. Thank you, Yurika. I got you something, too, I just need to, uh. I need to find it. All my stuff is in boxes. That didn't get wrecked, anyway." Akira's 'stuff' constitutes her textbooks and an assortment of motorcycle magazines so vast that there's no way they can all be local -- in fact, given that the one sitting open on her desk is in Spanish, there's no way they are. Akira doesn't even speak Spansih. Nonetheless, she's dutifully circled a couple pictures in Sharpie.
Akira herself, meanwhile, fumbles around in the handful of opened cardboard boxes. She has, of course, neglected to hide the evidence of her clandestine arrival -- her boots are still by the window, wet from snow, and her jacket, camo tanktop, and leather pants are sprawled out slobbishly on the floor next to her bed. "I know I put it somewhere -- I didn't have time to wrap it, though..." Akira kneels, ripping open a box with her hands.
Yurika nods her head, "Yes." In Spring. She'll be looking forward to it this year, as a result. Though, she had gotten something as well? The excitement is visable even through the dark eyes of hers, and she settles the box and canteen on a desk while her friend then proceeds to start shuffling through her boxes. The circled pictures of the magazine are mentally noted.. Actually a lot of things about the room are noted, and she ends up taking a seat, folding her hands atop her lap while watching Akira scramble about in subtle amusement.
"That's quite fine, you needn't wrap up anything for me, Akira.." she then replies gently, a touch of pink on her cheeks. Then abruptly drops the bomb, "So when you said you were 'getting dressed', did you not mean you were 'getting changed'?" a brief pause, "You don't have to hide anything from me you know, I won't tell.."
Akira is so startled by the dropping of the bomb that she jerks her head up and bangs it on the side of her dresser. "Ow--!" she squeals, falling back onto her duff and rubbing the side of her head. She gives Yurika the barest glance before looking down, at her own lap. Shamed Akira -- possibly bruised Akira on top of that. "Well, uh, yeah, kinda-- I mean, yeah."
Akira resumes rifling. The box she's looking through is full of clothes yet to be unpacked, which she strews around her haphazardly. "Edge and Gan came by yesterday and one of the guys in their metal shop class had managed to create a skeleton key for the school, so there was a big Christmas eve party in the gymnasium. It was, uh, it was kinda wild. Pretty cool. Some band played and everything." Akira doesn't look up, but her tone is a bit mumbly.
"Wait, wait, I found it," she says, springing to her feet. Her hands are behind her back; so too is the gift. "I didn't really have, uh, a lot to spend this year, but I figure you, uh, you're so into music, and you probably have like an iPod or a Zune or something, and, uh, well." Akira takes the gift out from behind her back -- it's a rather unassuming pair of sports headphones, the kind with the separate earpieces connected by the cord going 'round the back of the head. "I got the kind for people with big heads so they wouldn't mess with your hair that much." Akira's face is an easily read book, entitled 'I Feel Totally Outclassed: The Akira Kazama Story, as Told to Yurika Kirishima, Introduction By Geese Howard.'
Yurika jumps slightly when poor Akira bumps her head like that! She raises a hand to her lips and cringes, but then she just practically melts to the poor girls looks of shame. However after about two seconds, the musician decides that's actually probably not a thing to get excited about and clears her throat while glancing briefly to the side herself until the situation is explained. Ah, Edge and Gan, those two nightmares. Yurika tries to avoid them for obvious reasons, she really wishes the girl wouldn't hang with such company but she really does seem to have a lot of fun.. The kind of fun that a reserved and proper girl such as herself couldn't provide..
So perhaps she doesn't wish she wouldn't hang with such company after all.
As for the gift, Yurika's hands are clasped as she stands in eager anticipation. And once the headphones are presented, as well as the reason, her expression lights up once more, "That's so thoughtful!" she rather quietly outbursts, she accepting the headphones and attempts to pull Akira into such a tight hug, "I love them, Akira, thank you very much, I knew something was missing for my iPod! It's perfect!"
It's not that she's dumb, she's just not very technologically sound. The depths in which one will go to stick to tradition is quite astonishing, really. Now on the other hand, if she didn't know she needed headphones, what was she using it for??
Akira is pulled into the hug -- her ribs nearly creak like rusted door hinges from the squeeze her friend gives. Akira herself is slightly less inclined to smash her friend's spine back -- she kind of awkwardly hovers her arms over Yurika's back, one higher than the other, than switching positions, then tentatively giving a grazing hug before repeating the awkward proces another time or two. It only ever really resembles a hug when her wrists accidentally cross at some point; most of the rest of the time it just looks like Attack of the Frankenstein Who Never Learned to Show Affection Properly.
"I'm glad you like them," Akira says. "Gan said they were gay, so I punched him in the tooth." Who knows; she probably was out with her 'other friends' when she bought them.
When the hug terminates, Akira goes over to her box, slowly and carefully opening it. It's not that she's scared of Christmas presents; it's that the wrapping paper looks so expensive that Akira is scared to tear it. When she opens it, the /full/ realization of what the 'Spring' comment meant is made apparent. "Oh! Wow!" Akira says, holding up the primarily-black dress component of the maid outfit. "This must have cost so much-- uh." Akira pauses for just a beat. "You... included underpants?"
Poor Akira, it really must be awkward to not really know how to hug.. And that's something Yurika can't really fathom- She despises touching most people but even she knows how to do it! Perhaps its that old-fasioned maternal nature... Yes, that'd makes sense, considering Akira is quite lacking in it. Once releasing the grasp, she looks the headphones over, pausing only to the mention of the punching. One could almost see the single sweatdrop running down the side of her head briefly.
And then Akira opens her gift, and naturally Yurika seems pleased by the reaction! She raises then lowers from her tip-toes, "Hmmn? Oh, no no it actually cost very little, last year Miss Ninon Beart taught me how to sew my own dresses.. You'd be the first to try on something I've made.." she explains. Though then she raises her gloved fingertips to her lips, blinking rapidly a moment, "O- Oh, I'm sorry, I just.. Assumed white would be an appropriate color. Was I incorrect?"
"No, it's just--" Akira's default expression of emotional reluctance fulfills its double specialty: an excellent poker face. "--I don't have any other friends who would be /that/ thoughtful. So-- so it means a lot. Thanks." Akira sets the dress back down, before slumping into a chair.
"Um," Akira says, "so I figure you have a big Christmas thing. With your brother. Probably." Akira shrugs, not really sure where she's going with that. "I'm just going home to see my parents. They were kind of worried after those two crazy guys showed up here. I heard a couple parents transferred their kids to Taiyo. S'how I got another single room in the middle of the year."
Yurika's smile remains as she sits once more, and replies perhaps a bit too cheerfully, "I would certainly hope not, I wouldn't want to have to kill any of your friends, Akira." She.. May have been joking. Probably. She then looks a bit more relaxed, setting the earphones behind her head to try them on. She kind of feels like a deejay, so that's interesting.
"You're very welcome, I'm glad you like it, I confess the intention was a little selfish on my part but.. You do not have a lot of girlish apparel.. Actually, I don't have many plans, I do have plenty of work however. I'm trying to discuss some things with the parents in question and... Well. The whole scenario has kept me busy. My brother despises Christmas anyway." As the student council president, of course the incident had reached her ears. However she really wasn't sure how to approach Akira about it. She probably even played a part in the room arrangement.
"About that.. Incident. Did you recognize either of them? What in heavens happened, Akira?" Please don't tell her it was a Gedo prank gone horribly wrong.
"Uh." Akira makes a thoughtful frown for a moment, staring down at the floor. She maintains this look of blank-faced concentration for a moment as she considers how best to go about explaining why her room exploded. "There was -- one guy, a big guy, I don't really know who he was. But there was this, um, midget. Choi Bounge, I've fought him before. The big guy threw him up into a window and he was wearing this stupid costume and he was running around tormenting everyone because he's kind of a huge pervert."
Akira can only shrug. She's already told this story once (to the school administration), but she adds a few details she opted not to disclose before. "And I was just getting back from-- uh, hanging out. It must have been, I dunno, midnight, or something. And I saw Choi get thrown in, so I ran in to try and catch him, and we ended up converging at my room. And he's got -- this glove with claws on it, and he kind of tore everything apart and stole, um." Akira's voice drops to a near mumble. "He stole some of my underwear so I had to beat him up and get it back."
Akira is basically so red it's unhealthy, but stammers back onto the track: "And then after I beat up Choi, the big guy got upset, and he jumped up. Like, through the wall, he just... smashed it. And I tried to fight him but he was way too strong, and he beat me with the midget until I blacked out." Akira continues staring at the floor. "And that's, I mean, that's all I really know."
Aurgh, Akira looks so -cute- when she's blushing like that. Luckily the seriousness of the situation again keeps Yurika's emotions in check, she stroking her chin lightly with her pointer finger as she listens. And her teeth grit rather tightly- Of course that's what Choi would be going for, she's a bit familiar with Choi due to a different scenario however.
Still though, she's compelled to, and therefore does scoot her chair forward, drawing the same gloved hand to Akira's chin and brush her cheek with her thumb, "Thank you very much for telling me, Akira. It sounds like it was difficult.. Naturally I cannot forgive them." she murmurs, and draws her hand back. "It still doesn't make sense to me. However I find this to be unforgivable, perversion to that level. If you wish, I think we could arrange a way to get them back."
Akira is of course hesitant to show any real emotions despite the show of consolation; she just kind of gives a tight-lipped frown and retreats a half-step back further into herself. "If you want to," she says, murmuring. "I'm not really-- you know, I-- I'm not sure what to do until I can talk to my brother." This turn of events should be unsurprising. "But he's been so busy lately."
Akira abruptly stands up, kicking at a t-shirt left sitting on the ground from her earlier impromptu unpacking. "That guy was seriously crazy, Yurika. I mean, I'm not dumb, I know you have, you know, connections. But he was just -- a maniac. And probably a criminal. Either way, I don't want you to get hurt... or get into any other kind of trouble, either."
Yurika could certainly see how Daigo would be needed in this situation.. The man has probably seen it all even if he is still a high school student. Yurika is more sheltered, but of course she's seen her fair share of things as well- But the way she handles things and Akira handles things are probably very different. "Of.. Course.." she murmurs a bit awkwardly. Yurika herself was likely unable to provide as sage advice as Akira's brother. It didn't make her feel inferior, just a touch helpless.
"You're so kind and thoughtful, as always.. And I'm probably being irrational, it's just that there's only one of you, Akira. I'd do whatever I could to help you." the frilled musician stands up as well, taking her canteen and holding it tightly. She'll have to think about it a bit more, that's for certain. "Ahem.. Well as I said before, I have quite a bit to do, but I think I'm going to go lay down a little while first." she smiles to Akira. "Thank you again, it was wonderful getting to hang out with you again. I'll see you later?"
"Yeah. I might spend the night at my folks' place, but I'll be back around tomorrow." Akira looks unsure how to properly handle this social situation, to the absolute shock of zero. "Thanks for the present. And for coming by. It was, uh, really nice of you." Akira punctuates the sentence with an awkward attempt at a sincere smile, which she abandons about halfway through the effort.
"Merry Christmas," Akira finally says, rubbing the back of her neck.
Yurika most certainly isn't shocked. And she doesn't even see the social awkwardness as a problem, it's not an issue of her being used to it.. She just prefers it that way. The only problem, really, is that there is always a more awkward air hanging over their heads now that her relationship with Kurow is out in the open- She's much to embarassed to explain what her intentions are, and Akira will probably never ask until it's too late.
She heads to the door drawing it open and then looks over her shoulder to her close friend once more. "Have a wonderful time, please tell them I said 'hello' for me all right? And thank you so much for your gift, I'll be certain to use it.. There's no need to thank me for coming over though, silly, I should be thanking you for not seeing me as a bother.. Merry Christmas, Akira Kazama."
She's quite sincere, there's definatly a difference in how she speaks to the biker than how she does with most people. She gives a small wave and makes her exit. But not two seconds later she takes a step back and peeks into the room once more, "Akira, please don't ever change. You're wonderful." she murmurs, a touch of pink in her cheeks once more and she leaves for real this time.
Akira doesn't reply verbally, she just gives a little wave. When Yurika's exited and the door is closed, she all but lets her knees buckle, flopping backward onto her bed -- which, while fine as a bed, is not really the most ideal for such an activity, as the groan of the metal frame indicates. She lets out a long breath, and closes her eyes for a moment. When she opens them, she sits up, looking down at her biker gear on the floor.
Log created on 23:21:19 12/25/2008 by Yurika, and last modified on 04:56:41 02/12/2009.