Game 2 - Prologue

Chiken watched the girl listen to the butterfly, and send it free. He was burning with the desire to to know what it said, but found himself... intimidated by the dark girl. He turned around to look out the window, just in time to see the butterfly disappear from view. After that he sighed and turned around, flopping into the nearest desk. He then took off his watch and started tinkering with it.

Igarashi Sakimoto wrote:

(Lawl smythe, i dunno if you plan to leave that there, but that was a good one XD)

Damn straight, I'm leaving it up. ^_^ This whole scenario is getting waay too serious and dramatic for a Bleach theme. XD

Rikiki went up to Ashibue.

"What? What the rest of it say?!?" She said frantically, "It said something about class but I let go of it, and Aaaah!" Rikiki started running about angerly, she hated not knowing things.

"Oh stop it!" Hikari snapped at the hyperactive girl. "Don't you know how rude it is to eavesdrop on someone's Hell Butterfly?"

Anshou went up to Hikari and playfully messed up her hair. "Calm down sweetie or we might have to start calling you Tsundere-chan instead of Hikari-chan."

Hikari wrapped her arms around Anshou's elbow and pressed her lips out in a silly pout. "An-chaaaaaan, they're bothering Kage-chan, make them go away, pretty please?" She said in a too sweet singing type voice.

"Oh. It was hers?" Rikiki asked. "...O...kay then."

She sat down, looking crestfallen. She puts away Uzumaki, and suddenly becomes cheery again.

"Heeeyy... Canoe! When's class gunna start, huh?" as if Kanue would know the answer.

Junshirou looked up at the assembled comedy. "Such chaos", he muttered to himself, then stood up, announced "Tsumaranai!*" to nobody in particular in a loud voice, then went to sit in the corner of the room with a notebook, his gaze transfixed on Midori's group.

* Tsumaranai = dull, uninteresting, boring

Naomi got up as her friend had asked her to. She listened to the red haired man interduce himself. She then remembered the whole thing. She got up and excused herself away from him and walked down the hall with Kasahra. "So I remember him yelling someting then nothing else except having a bad taste in my mouth and lifting up my shirt", her face turned red just thinking about it. "Well least he knows there not fake" she said trying to make herself laughed. "Do you have a mint, It tastes like garlic and lime"!

Rikiki skipped up to Junshirou.

"Hi!" She said loudly, "Who are you?"

"Go away, I'm concentrating", came the curt reply.

Junshirou paused for a second, then asked, "You are Rikiki, right? I'd hate to think I've got my mental notes mixed up."

Kasahara shook her head. "No mint, sorry. I guess I could fill you in on what happened."

.. Atleast without teasing her friend right now. She figured that the blue haired girl was already embarassed from what has just happened anyways. "You were stuck in that closet right? From what Sakimoto tells me, he told you to move away so he could kick it open. You didn't.... I guess you can figure out what happened right there."

She gives a slight shrug and continued. " A bunch of people ran and found you lyin' on the floor. Takeshi, that guy I went off with, started giving orders and I had to patch you up. Since you couldn't breath, some guy gave you 'the kiss of life'." Kasahara stopped talking to laugh a little. " Mouth to mouth, you know?"

The brunette gave her friend a pat on the back. "Well, it looks like you have a bruised rib. Might hurt for a while, but it isn't serious. Try not to do anything strenuous."


Kasahara decided to leave out that little conversation she had with Sakimoto. That topic would have to be discussed at the later time, when she feels like teasing Naomi.

Rikiki sighed.
'Yeesh, what a cold guy.' she thought, but nooded to his question. She walked away to go bug Kanue.

She snuck up behind Kanue and yelled, "BOO" in his ear.

Naomi looks at her friend. "I could still hear what was happening a little. I missed a few parts, fill me in on what he said." "Who was it that kissed me Igarashi?"

"Hn? What he said?" She casted a quick glance at Sakimoto. It was only a brief once before she snickered. "You should ask him! Ask him 'bout the series of questions I gave him."

Kasahara was secretly delighted that Naomi genuinely wanted to know about what they discussed. She started walking faster than the two and, when she got a bit ahead of both of them, she turned around. "By the way! He wouldn't say it, but I think he does."

With that said, she rushed off back into the classroom before they could ask anything from her, leaving Naomi and Sakimoto to talk to one another.

Naomi walked up to Igarashi. "What did Kasahara say about serious questions?
Did you give me the kiss of life? What is it you will not admit?" Naomi was very curious at the moment.

Rikiki Brown wrote:

Rikiki sighed.
'Yeesh, what a cold guy.' she thought, but nooded to his question. She walked away to go bug Kanue.

She snuck up behind Kanue and yelled, "BOO" in his ear.

Ryouichi was glad for his keen senses, having noticed Rikki before she had gotten within ten yards of him. Thinking it would be strange if he didn't react, he decided to act surprised when she yelled in his ear.

Jumping slightly, Ryouichi gave a startled cry. "Brown-san!" He protested, "Why do you always do that? I'll die from an early heart-attack!"

"Because it's fun!" Rikiki chirped, and poked his shoulder, "You're reeeally jumpy today, you know? You usually see me coming. Ruins all my fun..." She added at the end.

Igarashi was about to leave that place when suddenly he heard Naomi's voice, asking him if he was the one that kissed her, about Kasahara questions, and something he would not admit, Igarashi would have turned withe pale if he was not already in a bright red tone, he had never been in a situation like this one before, nor had he felt such pressure before, funny, have him fight against five guys and he will not even break a sweat, but all this situation had come at him incredibly quickly, not even his mind had been able to adjust to it all.

Igarashi turned slowly to face Naomi, trying his best to look normal, and chose his words as best he could in such short notice. "I was not the one kissed you.. that was another man... ah..."

Igarashi could not handle the pressure, how to respond to her other questions? when he himself did not know the answers to them, or was refusing to acknowledge them at the moment, He added hastily "W-what about Kasahara?

His back was against a hard wall right now, he would not be able to avoid the matter for too long now.

Daisuke opens his hands toward Kanue-san. "No, please, do not be offended, I was merely curious. You must be careful, you know... Gaining power for the sake of power is what is called hubris and invariably leads to downfall... but I does seem that I am preaching far too much." The enormous man casts his eyes about the room. "My, this is quite a lively crowd. Quite a bit younger than myself, it seems." He smiles back at Kanue-san and Midori-san. "If you like, I can tell you a little about myself... sort of... break the ice, as you say?"

Daisuke cleared his throat. "As you can probably tell" He pats his enormous belly. "I was a sekitori in life. Born in Sapporo, just before the end of the war. I come from a long line of rikishi, my father was one, as was my uncle and my grandfather... However, my uncle was drafted and died aboard the Musashi in Leyte Gulf and my grandfather was in Nagasaki when... " Daisuke trailed off, but shook his head and quickly regained his composure.

"I apprenticed to a stable when I was 15, fought my way up through the ranks, was a sekitori before I was 25, and achieved the rank of ozeki just after my thirtieth birthday, and then..." The large man sighs. "I died in the ring. Heart attack. Right before I would have been promoted to yokozuna too. I suppose all that chankonabe finally got to me. I would say that my only regret in life is never getting to wear the tsuna." He closes his eyes for a moment. "But enough about that. Please." He folds his hands in front of them. "I'd like to know more about you as well. If you don't mind, that is."





chankonabe: a very high-calorie, high-fat stew, the typical meal of a rikishi
ozeki: a very high sumo rank, second only to yokozuna
rikishi: a sumo wrestler
sekitori: the top 'division' of sumo
tsuna: a ceremonial rope worn around the waist of a yokozuna
yokozuna: the top sumo rank, highly prestigious. There have only been 69 yokozuna in the entire history of sumo

*Hanving slowly wandered back to the class room, Zetsumei slipped in again. He signed heavily.*

Well, back to the back of the class for now. I really don't want to talk with anyone. If there was a good time for someone to just strike me down so I never came here, now would be a good time to do it.

At least there will be no buckets in the hall for me again. The teachers seems to be late.

Seeing all seemed to be well with Naomi, Midori turned her attention back to Daisuke and Kanue. Unlike the latter, she had no qualms with telling her story, what of it there was to tell. Besides, Daisuke interested her. Like herself, he was a constant seeker of information, but rather than gathering it through observation he obtained it through interrogation, calmly asking questions and seeking tales to be told. There was certainly something to be learned from this approach, and she intended to do so.

"I will share my tale with you, Kokubunji-san, what of it there is to tell," Midori offered, glancing at Kanue for the look of relief she expected on his face for the interruption. "Sadly I don't remember my life before arriving in Ryoukongai's 37th district, at all. Anything I experienced in my time among the living I've lost. I'm not sure if that's a bad sign or not, but that's how it is I suppose. The first thing I do remember is screaming, many people screaming as a Hollow appeared over the district. It didn't last long, it was a low-class creature and a Shinigami was quickly dispatched to remove it, so there wasn't much damage or harm to the people of the district, but beyond the screaming all I remember is an overwhelming sense of terror and anguish."

She sighed, then looked between the two men in front of her, first to Kanue-san then to Kokubunji-san.... then paused as Rikiki appeared and yelled in Kanue's ear. Once the two of them were in discussion, Midori turned her full attention to Daisuke. "I swore to myself on that day that I would never feel so helpless again. I trained for weeks on end trying to make myself stronger before a vagrant stranger pointed out the fact that I kept getting hungry when most people in Ryoukongai didn't was a sign that I had spirit potential. She showed me the basics and bade me continue in my training; sadly I haven't seen her since. I don't know if she was a Shinigami or not, so I'm hoping if so that I might find her here and have a chance to thank her for her help. It was she who told me to never let my limitations stop me, to always keep pressing forward. So I suppose you could say she is the reason I seek to keep surpassing my limits."

Kasahara walked back into the classroom and took a seat near the windows instead of the center. She didn't really feel like engaging in a conversation with the other classmates at the moment; to be honest, she was tired of talking after what had happened to Naomi in the closet. The boyish girl had things to think about, such as where her knowledge of first aid came from.

She turned her head out the window and stared at the blue sky above quietly. From where she is sitting, Kasahara could hear grunting and pound from the tree next to the academy. A quick glance told her that Takeshi was busy beating the tree, but she didn't bother yelling at him. She just cataloged that information so she could use it later when teasing the boy. The quiet girl propped her head in her hand, supported by her elbow, while the other hand just sat there on the desk. For every punch she heard Takeshi give the tree, she would clench the hand on top of the desk into a fist.

"..."

Naomi continued walking down the hall. The boy had not answered her question.She asked again "what is it? Is it about me?" Naomi realized what she said after she said it. Why did she say it, it was unlike her. For some strange reasson she acted different around that boy.

Naomi blushed just thinking about that. What was it, could it be.... she dropped the thought and continued walking.

Igarashi saw Naomi walking towards him, even closer now, His heart was pounding now, he could not handle this anymore, as much as he wanted to avoid it all, he could not let the issue go now, feeling the pressure at is most in his head, igarashi muttered to the girl.

"She.. she asked me about you... how i felt about you..."

Might Igarashi's head been made of any softer material it would have popped now because of the pressure he felt in his head.

Satoko whirled around, ceasing his onsluaght against the tree. He glared up towards the class window, someone had just been looking at him. Satoko was done abusing the tower of wood infront of him, and decided he would give his knuckles a rest as he discovered who had been cwatched him oments ago. Satoko took a step back, his knuckles where slightly bruised from colliding with the hard solid substance of the tree, so his hands might not work well from climbing the tree. Deciding it better to use his feet to scale the tree. as his hands might give out on him, and he did not wish to look a fool again. Satoko jumped onto the lowest hanging branch, which was none to close to the ground. From there he leapt up from one branch to another, never once relying on his hands to pull him to safety.

Upon reaching the uppermost branch which could support his weight (The man had tried some higher ones, but they all seemed rather flimsy and too small to support him), Satoko took perch upon it. It was nicer up here then he had anticipated, with a gentle breeze blowing through the air, a twittering sound which belonged to a type of bird that he could not name, and the flutter of a butterflies wings whcih flew around him. It was then Satoko realized it was not an oridnary butterfly, being a Hell one and all. Not knowing exactly wheter or not it was dangerous, for he had never seen one before, he decided it best to leave it be, jumping down to a branch below. Satoko then deicded he'd best do what he came up here for, and faced the classroom.

Inside the window, the very one he remebered falling out earlier, he saw Kasahara. She was looking none to happy either, mildly frustrated actually. Luckily for Satoko this was an emotion he was familiar with, as it had been used upon him many times when he had been but a petty theif in the streets of the Soul Society. Satoko noticed that the branch he was on extended to tclose to the window, as a matter of fact if Igarashi hadn't of caught him when he had fallen he was likely to have landed on this branch unharmed, this is not to say he wasn't still grateful for Igarashi's assitance earlier. Satoko then made his way out the branch, stepping lightly as he didn't want to fall, when he got to the tip of the branch, he leaped upwards and landed on the window sill.

Satoko spoke to Kasahara with a hint of concern in his cold indifferent voice, "Has something upset you Kasahara? You look displeased", Satoko eased his way inside the classroom through the window, just incase he was the cause of Kasahara's displeasment, he did not wish to be pushed to his death.

She slid her chair and desk away from the window to give Takeshi room. Kasahara didn't realize that she portrayed an upset look, as the boy had mentioned. She opened her mouth for a moment to respond with a serious answer for the questions Takeshi gave her, but promptly closed it again. It was best she kept personal things to herself. This girl thought it was best for her not to rely on anyone but herself. A quick thought gave her another response for Takeshi's questioning, though. This one pleased her.

"No. Did the tree upset you? I can't say that it enjoyed the force of your fists." She grinned slyly and spoke with an amused tone. Kasahara sat back down and propped her head up in her hand again, the way she was seated before the scarred male decided to slip in through the window. "Tree didn't do anything to you. Infact, I believe someone stumbled into the tree while it was just standing there."

The brunette once again, gave off a cocky grin to the boy.

Rikiki faces Daisuke and Midori. "And you guys are Daysukie and Mydory, right?" She said, giving Midori a tight hugs, and Daisuke a smile, as he was too big to be able to hug properly. "So, whacha all doin'?"

Satoko was taken aback, he had only entered the classroom in the first place because he had worried for Kashara, and she was mocking him? Satoko was clearly offended and angry, he did not deserve this kind of treatment, no matter how many mistakes he has made. The man shifted comfortablely, climbing back onto the window sill, thinking he may have made himself an enemy the first day at school. The poor boy did not comprehend that Kasahara's teasing was purely good natured, and likely meant as friendly banter, instead he only took offense to what he saw as mocking and an attempt to verbally hurt him, like the merchants he had known and stolen from.

Despite how upset he was, the boy tried his best to answer politely, but his tone came off rather angered, "I was merely training to strengthen myself, as is the reason I believe we've all come to attend this Academy. If that upsets you enough to jab at me unfairly then you will have to bear it, as I don't intend as spending time with someone who is only going to worsen the lack of self confidence I have. Good bye", with no more need to speak to the rude girl, Satoko leapt back onto the branch he had entered with, causing it to wobble due to the sudden weight applied on it. He then jumped to the ground below, and that was not a short drop, it would have been enough to kill a ordinary man, Satoko however landed with ease,to upset to notice one of his hands had begun bleeding after battering the tree.

Watching the boy leave the room through the window again, although not quite falling from it this time, Kasahara thought about what Takeshi said. She also picked up on how he said it. That boy was angry from what she had said to him. Perhaps she should apologize to him. But how? Takeshi left before she could say anything to him? The brunette readjusted her desk and chair back to it's original spot, before the scarred boy came back in.

She convinced that herself that she wasn't worried about the accident prone boy, but she couldn't help but look outside. Kasahara wanted to believe that she was just staring out the window when she studied Takeshi's retreating form. The tough girl, upon seeing his bloodied hands, then decided that she would not apologize for what she said. She was doing what she usually does when interacting with another person. There was no real reason for her to admit that she was at fault.

Even though Takeshi had already left the room and was far from hearing distance, she muttered something about him under her breath. "Aho*. You're going to bleed all over the school again..."



*Aho = "Moron/Idiot"

Junshirou, still intently gazing at Midori's group, started scribbling details intensely in the notebook he was holding, pausing every so often to think of what to write next. Soon, he put the notebook away and stood up. Not content with this, he stood on his hands instead, and walked over to the group he had been observing. Rikiki heard a voice from somewhere near her ankles saying, "Sorry about earlier. I've finished making notes now."

"So you're here to train?", he spoke to the group at large. "If I might ask, what would you consider your strong points? Are there any other kidou specialists, or do you concentrate more on your attack or defense?"

He got to his feet again and gave an unnerving glare to nobody in particular.

Junshirou Tenkawa wrote:

Junshirou, still intently gazing at Midori's group, started scribbling details intensely in the notebook he was holding, pausing every so often to think of what to write next. Soon, he put the notebook away and stood up. Not content with this, he stood on his hands instead, and walked over to the group he had been observing. Rikiki heard a voice from somewhere near her ankles saying, "Sorry about earlier. I've finished making notes now."

"So you're here to train?", he spoke to the group at large. "If I might ask, what would you consider your strong points? Are there any other kidou specialists, or do you concentrate more on your attack or defense?"

He got to his feet again and gave an unnerving glare to nobody in particular.

Ryouichi found himself smiling at the newcomer. This one had the look of a reclusive genius, which was something he quite liked. The boy reminded Ryouichi of himself.

"You're Tenkawa Junshirou-san?" After receiving a nod of confirmation, he continued, "I can't speak for the others, but I myself plan to specialize in Kidou. Why do you ask?"

"There are a few reasons... for a start, if we ever worked together, it would be useful to know who could do what and who specialised in what sort of combat. I'm also hoping to train my kidou myself, as although I've tried somewhat I'm still not as good at it as I would like to be."

Junshirou smiled. It wasn't immediately clear whether it was a fake smile or a real one.

"It's Ryouichi-san, correct? I think perhaps we could do well to work with each other," he said, tilting his head to one side and memorising the new data.

"This conversation sounds interesting, anyway... all this talk about power and limits. I'm glad to meet people who are like me, at least in some ways." Obviously, this didn't count the standing on hands, asocial nature and mentally trying to form teams of compatible people for any missions. (Incidentally, he still hadn't found a trainee medic for this.)

Junshirou smiled again, and fell silent, waiting for someone else to talk.

Startled at the voice coming from her ankles, Rikiki jumped.

'Yeesh, this guy really is a creeper,' she thought, but responded to his question anyway.

"I like Kidou and defensive stuffs. Close combat is 'nt fun at all, you see. What about you, Juneshyroo?"