Rocks and Flowers

[growl]

..1x1 between growl and Nami Hashimoto..
_____________________________________________________________________________________​

xxxxxAkemi breathed in the heavy sweet smell of the sakura as she made her way up the sidewalk towards Miraisen High School. She felt particularly optimistic. The night before, she had vowed to bring up her grades, get a boyfriend, and join a club before it was too late! With these thoughts in mind, the girl joined the flood of students walking through the iron gates of Miraisen. She drifted towards the second year class rosters, ducking around and under the outstretched arms waving club sign-up forms. However, she wasn't agile enough to dodge them all, and by the time she reached the crowd around the bulletin board, she had five or six crumpled sheets in her hands. Akemi stood on her tiptoes, trying to see over everyone else's heads. She wasn't especially short, but she wasn't tall either, and she could barely read the names on the lists much less find her own.

xxxxxAs she danced around the group of students, someone roughly knocked into her and she stumbled backwards into somebody else. "Agh!" she yelped, scrabbling to get a grip on the person's clothes before she could tip any further and end up on the ground. Akemi took a deep breath as she righted herself. She released the person she had used to stabilize herself and dusted off her skirt. The girl turned around, but the student who had shoved her aside had vanished. She turned back to the guy in front of her, a blush creeping up her cheeks as she realized that this whole time she hadn't uttered a single word of apology or thanks. "Sorry! For grabbing you, I mean... and, uhm, thanks..." She thought her whole face must be red at this point, and she stared at the ground resolutely.​

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

Kotarou sighed as the school's looming structure grew bigger as he approached it with lazy footsteps. School had always been such a pain to him and sometimes he wondered if he could just escape somehow and never be seen again. He had good grades anyways and he was pretty athletic. What else do the teacher's know that he doesn't know. He was probably even capable enough to teach a class. Not that he'd admit it in front of a teacher, they'd have his head and there was probably no one alive in the world that would find detention 'fun'.

Kotarou heads for the bulletin board to look for his class. The sooner he gets to his homeroom the better, he thought.

"There it is." He mumbles mostly to no one and was just about ready to step out of the crowd when a stranger's hand suddenly went flying over to his shirt, using it as some sort of balance. Kotarou stuffed his hand into his pocket, not particularly interested in the stranger's apology.

"Tch, it's the first day of school and yet I've already managed to come across a nuisance." Kotarou grumbled, slinging his bag over his shoulder before turning his heel away from the stranger and walked away.

 

[growl]

xxxxxAkemi gaped at the boy as he walked away from her. A nuisance? Her? Sure, but he didn't have to be so blunt about it! "How rude!" she muttered darkly. Now irritated, the girl elbowed her way through the mass of other students until she was at the very front. Class 2D, class 2D, she thought over and over in her head, so that she wouldn't forget. She fought her way back out of the crowd, and thumbed through the club forms as she walked into the building. Who knows, maybe she got some decent ones. Literature club? No thanks. Cheerleaders? Well... that could be fun, I guess. Music club? I can't play any instruments, and I'm not that good at singing. Anatomy club? Why does that even exist? It sounds like some kind of cult. Nature club?... oooh, they go on hikes and stuff. I can do that. She tossed all the papers except the cheerleading and nature club forms into a trash bin, and tucked the two papers into her bag.

xxxxxSuddenly someone careened into her, and Akemi was about to go off on them before she recognized the scent of vanilla perfume. "Moka-chan!"
xxxxxTomoka stuck her tongue out at her. "Heeeey. How've you been?" The two of them linked arms and chatted about nothing in particular as they went up the stairs, both of them letting out a happy exclamation when they learned that they were in the same class. "So, why didn't I see you this morning?"
xxxxx"I was by the rosters the whole time." Akemi huffed, reminded of the rude boy from earlier. "Some people are so rude. I was pushed into some guy, and he called me a nuisance! It's not like I fell on him on purpose!"
xxxxxTomoka laughed. "What did he look like? Maybe I know him." She flipped a swathe of her glossy blue-black hair out of her face. Akemi touched a stray pink lock of her own, hoping that her braided bun was behaving, before she tried to think back.
xxxxx"Well, I didn't really get a look at his face, but he was tall. Our year, I think. And he had blonde hair, but it was a little reddish too... I'm not sure."
xxxxx"Mmm, that sounds like Hashimoto-san. He was in my class last year. Super cute, but a real cocky guy too." She winked at Akemi. "Doesn't he sound like your type?"
xxxxx"Whaaaaa? No!" Tomoka giggled, and Akemi realized she was joking. After all, Akemi had described her dream boyfriend at length at their sleepover over winter break. She listed the qualities back to herself as they entered the 2D classroom. He had to be sweet, and considerate, and easy to talk to, and funny, and patient, and kindhearted. Oh, and good-looking. Akemi knew her standards were unrealistic. After all, they were just ideals. But as her and Tomoka chose seats by the window and Akemi's eyes landed on the boy from earlier-- Hashimoto, was it?-- sitting in the desk behind theirs, she suspected that with the exception of the last one, he didn't fit any of the qualities she had just thought of.​

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"Hey Kotarou, how ya doin'?" A rather obnoxious looking teen with fiery red hair (probably dyed) and strange ear piercings blared as soon as he entered the class. Everyone's head turning around naturally to see who had disrupted their wonderful morning before returning to their previous business. This strange teen however didn't seem to mind being the object of uncanny stares and made his way over to Kotarou's seat with a skip in his step. "Glad to see you in the same class again! Man you look as snobby as ever!" He snorted, slapping the blonde's back with great force that Kotarou bent over his desk.

"And you're as annoying as ever! Would you stop that? I thought you said you weren't coming to school today Shun?"

"I thought you might miss me, and I didn't want little 'Ko-kun' to be lonely and scared." Shun laughed for another round. He knew just how much his childhood friend hated the nickname and it was always amusing to see his beet red face whenever it was brought up. His sister, Nami, still calls her that from time to time but other than her, Kotarou doesn't allow anyone else to call him that. It was like taboo.

"As if I'll be missing you! Why don't you just go back home and play with your 2D girlfriends?"

"Sheesh I was just teasing. Nothing to be worked up about." Shun occupies the seat behind him and casually tips his chair backwards. Rocking it back and forth slightly before the teacher came walking in.

 

[growl]

xxxxxAkemi rested her head against the window. The sunlight streaming in was tinted pink from the sheer scope of the blooming sakura trees in front of the glass. They blocked her view, but she really didn't mind. The fragile blossoms, trembling in the wind, were mesmerizing. She almost didn't notice when their homeroom teacher entered the classroom. Their teacher was a middle-aged woman whose heels clicked ominously against the floor, her pale hair piled in a flawless bun on top of her head. She broke a new piece of chalk and wrote "Nishimori-sensei" on the board before turning to scan the classroom of students. "Alright, I would like everyone to introduce themselves now. It will be a good start to our year together, and it will also allow me to take roll." She pointed at Tomoka without looking. "Begin, please."

xxxxxTomoka stood up without hesitation. "I'm Chinen Tomoka. I hope I'll have fun with everyone this year!" She jutted her hip out to one side, put one hand on her waist, and winked. Akemi saw more than one boy with wide eyes; after all, Moka-chan was beautiful, and she wore her confidence like one might wear a flattering gown. Well, less of a gown and more of a party dress. Tomoka sat back down, and then it was her turn. She stood up and clasped her hands in front of her, directing a glowing smile at the rest of the class.
xxxxx"My name is Umeda Akemi. Let's get along this year." She raised one hand to flash a peace sign, and then settled back in her desk-chair as the next person went.​

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

Kotarou's brow raised slightly at the sight of the familiar pink head and his mood soured instantly. He wondered why of all people he had to be stuck in class with, it just had to be the clumsy looking female he encountered this morning. She was cheerful, too cheerful in his opinion. Once the class had finished their introductions, the teacher prompted each student to greet the students that sat around them.

"You'll be seeing them everyday in class starting today, you should get to know your seatmates better." Ms. Nishimori announced gleefully. Happy chatter rose almost immediately, everyone greeting the student beside them with either a 'good morning' or 'hello'. Kotarou didn't seem as interested as the other kids. He brought out a piece of scratch paper and doodled on it to pass the time.

"Alright, that's good enough. Let's start our lesson. Bring out your textbooks and flip the page to page 5."

 

[growl]

xxxxxThe only people next to Akemi was Tomoka and the irritable boy, so Akemi could only fake an introduction with Tomoka for the giggles before glancing furtively over her shoulder to see if the boy (Hashimoto-san) was at all interested in greeting her. Or anyone for that matter. He wasn't. Ms. Nishimori told them to take out their textbooks, and the lesson started just like that. The concentration required for note-taking and memorizing dates overtook her, and soon she had forgotten all about the ill-tempered student sitting right behind her.

xxxxxTheir other classes flew by, and before Akemi knew it, it was lunch period. She took out her bento and sat on her desk, facing the back of the classroom and propping her feet on her chair. Tomoka also sat on her desk, although she sat facing Akemi so that she had room to swing her legs while she ate. "What club are you joining?" Moka asked as she popped a shrimp into her mouth. Akemi shrugged before she remembered the crinkled club forms in her bag.
xxxxx"Oh! I might join the cheerleaders, or the nature club."
xxxxx"Cheerleaders?" Tomoka looked genuinely surprised. "Also, aren't you allergic to nature? Remember that time last year when we went walking barefoot through the woods and you got an allergic reaction?"
xxxxx"I've been getting shots for it, and I just forgot to take my medicine that day!"
xxxxxTomoka laughed. "If I weren't already in the Drama Club, I would totally do cheerleading with you. You'd be good at it."
xxxxx"Really?"
xxxxx"Yeah! Sure, you're not the most coordinated person, but it's not like our school's cheer squad is doing competitions or anything. They just cheer on the athletes. You stand out, and you're cute, and you can be really loud when you want to be. Think about it!"
xxxxxAkemi puffed out her cheeks. Well, she supposed that everything Tomoka had just said was true. She'd meet lots of new people. There were bound to be some cute guys in the athletic teams! "I think I'll submit the form today!" she said, raising a fist to show her resolution. Tomoka clapped her on the back in mock salute.​

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

[Hi, so sorry for the lateness of the reply. Some things came up and I wasn't able to go online for a few days >.<]

Thankful for having survived half a day of boring lessons and classes, Kotarou was bent over his desk. His head buried into his arms as he tried to get some shut-eye before the next long hours of endless yapping by so-called 'educated' individuals. The blonde wasn't all that hungry so skipping wouldn't make much of a difference at all.

"So yeah there was this cute girl in the arcade yesterday so I went over to say hi and-"

'blah blah blah' Kotarou thought grimly as Shun was trying to go over his last day of freedom in detail, he didn't believe half of them actually. Since it was quite unlikely for the spunky haired teen to have been able to successfully hit on a girl. Shun wouldn't even be able to stand talking to a girl besides his aunt and cousin.

"And-- Hey! Are you even listening? Anyways so this girl was playing this cool shooting game and she was really great at it. Turns out she's in our year and in our school. She said she liked men who are into sports so I signed us up for the basketball club." Kotarou was mindlessly nodding to everything his friend was saying, so it took more than a few seconds for him to actually process what he was nodding to.

"You what?!" He exclaimed.

 

[growl]

xxxxxTomoka proceeded to tell her about the guy who hit on her in the arcade while she was playing 'Galactic Gunman.' "Maybe you'll see him when you're doing your cheerleading things. He said he's in our year, and that he plays basketball."
xxxxxAkemi swept the remains of her lunch back into the bento box. "Was he cute?" she asked as she stuffed the box into her bag.
xxxxx"In an awkward kind of way. He had crazy hair and piercings so he looked like a delinquent, but he was so obviously out of his comfort zone." Tomoka giggled somewhat viciously, her lips pulling up into a smirk. "It was fun stringing him along. I'm not even that into athletes."
xxxxx"Moka-chan!" Akemi scolded, making a face. One thing that irked her about her best friend was that she had way too much fun toying with other people. But Tomoka's description sounded familiar. Awkward? Crazy hair? Piercings? She jerked a thumb over her shoulder at the boy sitting two seats behind her. "Do you mean Shun-san?"
xxxxxTomoka's eyes widened when they landed on Shun. Count on her to completely miss the most obnoxious-looking person in the room. "That's-- !!" Before Akemi could grab her arm to stop her, Tomoka hopped off the desk and stamped over to Shun. The black-haired girl pointed an accusatory finger at the boy. "You're the weird and awkward guy from yesterday! Do you really play basketball?"
xxxxx"Oh spirits..." Akemi sighed and dropped into the empty desk near the two of them. Right next to Mr. Rudepants from this morning, she realized when their eyes met, but she had nothing to say to him. She fanned her face, yawning and inspecting her nails as if what was happening before her happened every other day.​

 

[Nami Hashimoto]

"Hmm?" Shun looked up from his current conversation with Kotarou. His eyes glaring at Tomoka with sharp dagger-like stares as he had yet to realize who the girl was. Then everything just clicked, the moment he noticed her familiar features, his eyes had widened visibly. Shun stood up abruptly, scraping the chair against the floor as it was roughly pushed back in his surprise. "You! K-Kotarou! This is the girl I told you about, do you believe me now?!" He exclaimed, cheeks flared red as he stared at her longer.

Kotarou could care any-less. Although it did come as a surprise as to how his friend did manage to talk to a girl, he wasn't all that particularly interested. His eyes trailed away from the pink haired female's eyes to stare out the window.

"She's nothing impressive." He commented dully, yawning even as he busied himself with thoughts of what he planned to do after school.

 

[growl]

xxxxxAkemi tittered and partially hid her smile behind one hand as she looked back and forth between her friend, who was still posed dramatically with one arm flung out, and Shun, red-faced and bug-eyed. He really was awkward. Tomoka lowered her arm and hmphed, though she still sat on the edge of the desk next to Shun. In the span of twenty seconds, they were in their own little bubble. Akemi was still fuming from Hashimoto's earlier comment (Moka-chan was too impressive), but she knew getting into an argument about it was the last thing she needed at the moment.

--*timeskip noise*--

xxxxxAfter school, Akemi waved goodbye to Tomoka, who was headed for Drama Club, and made her way down the stairs to the front office to turn in her cheerleading form. When she looked out the window, one of the signs hanging on the door to the gym made her freeze. 'SECOND YEAR CHEERLEADING TRYOUTS TODAY,' it read in thick black marker. She hurried outside and texted her mom that she might be late coming home before bursting through the gym doors. To one side of the gym was a group of boys gathered around an imposing man. On the other side was a smaller huddle of girls, many of whom she recognized, listening to an equally imposing woman. Akemi inched toward the girls with her form clenched in one fist. She could feel the blush climbing up her face, but only a few others turned to look at her approach.
xxxxx"I want everyone to get changed into their gym clothes and be back out in five minutes-- we don't have all afternoon, ladies," the coach was saying. "We'll start off with stretches and maybe some flips. Then I'll teach you a basic routine, and I want you to commit it to memory so that I can look at you as a group." Akemi bit her lip. That sounded like code for "I'm judging you so I can decide whether or not you're any good." As everyone dispersed to the locker rooms, she sheepishly handed her form to the coach before spinning on her heel and following the other girls. Who even holds tryouts on the first day of school? she thought to herself. And who are the guys on the other side of the gym? Are we going to have to do tryouts in front of them? Now that she thought about it, she was sure she had seen Shun-san's red head among them. Perhaps the basketball tryouts were happening simultaneouly?​