[Date: Thursday, March 4, 2004. Time: Early evening.] [Izumi and Wataru are all settled for a not-date this evening! Well, not really. See, the circumstances is that Izumi has been practicing a new hobby! Martial arts. What.] [No. Really. Izumi has signed up for self-defense classes! And asked for Wataru's support. Because what else are bestest of bestest friends supposed to do, eh? Except support each other. And Izumi has a way of "please please pleasing" until he gives in so mutually, it works out.] [The place is a rather nice training room in the Shibuya region of Tokyo on one of the side streets. It's a co-ed dojo, focusing on discipline and a mixture of martial arts, focusing predominantly on jiujitsu but incorporating style points from aikido and karate. The front is well lit and next to a fairly pleasing-smelling ramen shop on the corner that's aroma hits right down the street. Lights are just starting to come on to counter the evening dusk and Izumi walks arm-in-arm with Wataru. Or at least tries to as she guides him towards his doom! Or down the street. Either way works.] [Session Start!] * Wataru is wearing something the clerk at the store insisted was meant for dudes but really looks - and, he guesses, feels - suspiciously like yoga pants. He's also got a new plain charcoal-grey v-neck on that he keeps tugging at the collar of, just a little, because there are like three chest hairs that keep wriggling out and looking weird and foreign and hairy and even if they were the only three hairs on his chest (which they are not, quite) they would still give the impression of HIRSUTENESS, but plucking them out seemed like both (a) overkill and (b) painful, but by the time Izumi showed up it was too late to change and now he's regretting it and feeling so awkward and uncertain about himself that he can't even notice that the weather's getting warmer. He decides to zip his brown-and-navy hoodie up to the top, and wonders if he'll be able to keep it on the whole time. Probably not. Why did he let that clerk convince him to buy this crap...? <@Ardweden> [Izumi's excited! This is surprising? It was her idea. She actually is pretty excited, though. And she's chatting, maybe oblivious to Wataru's nervousness. "Thanks so much for coming with me. I've been here a few times, but it's still kind of hard, you know? I have *no idea* what I'm doing yet. But they're really good with beginners, and I think I can learn how to defend myself here!"] <@Ardweden> [Izumi's unashamedly wearing yoga pants.] [Izumi rocks yoga pants.] * Wataru does get pulled out of his introspection from her words. "Yeah...?" Hhe gives her a bit of a smile. "That's awesome. It's important, you know?" <@Ardweden> ["Yeah." Izumi looks back at Wataru, and then she looks away. "If you hadn't been there..."] * Wataru gives her arm a squeeze with his own. "You've saved my dumb butt a bunch of times. Just in different ways. Anyway," he says, feeling that familiar unease at talking about That Night at all with Izumi, "self-defense classes are fantastic for, like, self-confidence, too. I, uh." He smiles, just a little. "I could maybe use that." <@Ardweden> [Izumi smiles up at Wataru, and she nods. And they're at the building, so she pulls the door open!] * Wataru follows her in! [The door slides open! There's a step up leading to the dojo floor and actually a small set of bleachers. It looks like this place is meant for observers or families to come and join. Mirrors line one wall, presumeably for people who are practicing to watch their form.] [Early comers are already practicing starting drills in their gis, with echoes of "Haa~" punctuating each blow to the air in unity. The whole of the dojo is a mixture of females and males, mostly teens to young adults and slightly skewed towards the female side, though there are a few males scattered throughout. The man walking with a straightened posture carries the air of an older gentleman (well, more in his 30s) with his belt identifying him as the instructor. Locker space is in back, Izumi! You know where it is. Best get changed into uniform! Unless you want to be a rebel!] <@Ardweden> [Izumi is heading for the back with her bag. "Come on, the lockers are this way!"] * Wataru narrows his eyes, flinching a bit at the atmosphere as he does his best to follow her. "God, I forgot how noisy dojos are," he mutters. "Why was I expecting an aerobics class?" <@Ardweden> ["Sorry," Izumi tosses over her shoulder at Wataru, "What was that?" Maybe proving his point.] * Wataru forces a smile. He clenches his hands reflexively at his sides, hurrying along to catch up. [A series of straight punches later. A few kicks. Izumi leads him back to the lockers. The actual changing rooms would be off limits. Unless Wataru wants to find himself in a hilarious anime episode where he snuck into the girls' changing room. Note: Not actually hilarious in real life.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi throws her stuff in a locker and makes sure she's ready. "Woo!" She poses in a ridiculous martial arts anime sort of way. "Yeah!" Another pose. "I'm ready for this!"] "You want me to wait out here?" he looks around, shoving his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. "Am I gonna get in trouble for not having a uniform?" He can't see anybody *else* in yoga pants. He feels even dumber than before. <@Ardweden> ["Huh? No! You can just hang out at the bleachers." She smiles. "That's why you're here, right? To watch!"] * Wataru looks at her, then looks around again, blinking a few times. "Wait, what, I'm not doing this with you?" <@Ardweden> [Izumi blinks. "... Do you want to?"] * Wataru rubs his forehead. "Isn't that... Isn't that what *you* wanted?" Man, if only he'd gotten some actual sleep last night. "Did I miss the boat?" <@Ardweden> ["Looks like! Boat's right here. In the bleachers." Izumi tugs on Wataru's arm lightly, leading him towards them. "We can sign you up for next time, if you want!"] * Wataru sighs heavily, but lets her lead him, resigned to a world of embarrassment and surely future Izumi teasing for being such an absent-minded professor. "Why the hell did I buy yoga pants then," he mumbles again, and he feels his face flushing in spite of himself. <@Ardweden> ["We could do yoga together too, if you want. And they are comfortable."] [We don't know why you bought yoga pants! Maybe you can do yoga! Yoga's good for you! So is martial arts! There's a few that kind of stand out but overall it's a sea of faces. One of the guys towers over the others, but not nearly as much as Kyon Sorata. About a dozen people moving around and practicing until there's a sharp whistle from the coach and they all gather around.] <@Ardweden> ["Oh, gotta go!" Izumi jogs over there.] * Wataru nods, and takes a seat on the bleachers. He picks the front row, because it's actually kind of less noticeable than any of the ones behind it, taller as they are. He sits somewhat to the side, and tries to take it easy. At least no one is going to have to see his dumb chest hair now. [There's a few of the girls there of various heights and sizes, most of them with their hair tied back. One has her hair shorter than some of the others with a small braid caught in the hair tie. Tiny and thin. But she's hardly the shortest one there. A naggling feeling tugs at Wataru for just a moment but then it's gone and Izumi joins the crowd. "Alright! We are going to assign numbers and pair off for drills. Make certain you know your number when yours is called!"] [There's the general sharp response of acknowledgement in reply from the group, coming from proper martial discipline.] * Wataru resists every urge to check his phone. [Izumi won't judge you for that, Wataru. Much. Maybe. She knows how boring this can be!] [The bleachers are actually thankfully fairly barren. Seems *most* people don't have friends and family they drag to dojo meets. Or they just blatantly refuse to come. There's a few but small favors for Wataru.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi pairs up, as instructed! She's obviously new, but so's her sparring partner. It's not exactly a thrilling demonstration of martial arts. She *is* enthusiastic, though!] * Wataru can't really help but smile once she starts. Her HYAAHs are cuter than everyone else's. <@Ardweden> [They are SUPER CUTE.] [There's a couple other cute Hyaahs! None from the guys though. Then there's another calling of pairs. This one is grappling training. She gets paired with the girl with the braid tied back who gives a brief smile and a bow. Each gets the chance to perform the technique which the instructor performs which involves taking a thrust and using the opponents force against them to pull them off balance and trip them. Izumi's partner is obviously more skilled than her and it's not too long before Izumi finds herself flat on the mat. But at least the girl is sporting, offering her a hand up and a smile. "You've got good form there. Keep it up." Wataru may not hear it fully, being back in the bleachers, but Izumi does.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi smiles and lets herself be let up. "Thanks! You must've been doing this for a while."] * Wataru actually jumps up slightly when Izumi is flipped down. Eek! That looked, well, maybe not quite like it hurt exactly, but at least like it was uncomfortable. But there goes Izumi, brushing it off like nothing.... [The girl fusses a bit, fidgetting with her hairtie. "A little bit. I'm...kind of hoping this pans out in the end..." She lets out a heavy breath. "It's exhausting, really."] <@Ardweden> [It was nothing! Izumi brushes it off. "Yeah, but fun!" She smiles. "I'll work on getting better and then we can partner up again later."] * Wataru has the unpleasant realization that he could probably never do this. He can tease apart the strands of Fate and glean glimpses of truth through the cards, he can lift objects with the power of his mind, but he could probably never do this thing that Izumi and this other girl are doing, just grappling in this room full of people and violence. He looks down, thoughtful. [The girl grins and starts to answer before the coach in the corner bellows out, arms folded. "Switch! Number 12. You're with number 6. 8! You're with 4!" Eight! Izumi, that's you!] <@Ardweden> [Izumi waves! And jogs off to meet up with the mysterious number four!] [The girl also turns at the coach's direction. She must be number 12. And she heads off to her partner. Izumi shifts spots to face the mysterious number 4! Looks like she's a younger girl. Smaller than her. And Izumi recognizes her. Actually newer too. Go easy on her, Izumi!] <@Ardweden> [Izumi's new, too! But yeah, she takes her stance and goes easy on her, such as it is.] * Wataru puts his hands in his pockets, and sighs. He holds on to his phone, just feeling its reassuring weight. Satoshi's right. It's not like he's alone now, not really. Not anymore. His thoughts drift, skirting the edge of some dark places... [Going easy on her still means the girl goes down. She winces a little. But she's down. With her back on the mat.] [Meanwhile, from the other corner of the mat, there's a loud scream.] * Wataru's attention is immediately, sharply compelled into that direction, the scream shattering his train of thought. <@Ardweden> [Izumi's in the middle of helping the girl up when the scream happens. She looks over, hand still offered to her.] [It happens so fast. First there's chaos as the other students scatter. Or huddle, depending. The taller guy from before is flat on his back as the smaller girl strikes at his elbow at a painful angle and sweeps him. He tries to pull his wrists up before her elbow smashes into his face with a resounding *crack*. Blood starts pooling on the guy's face. Her back is to Wataru but Izumi can see the wide-eyed expression on both their faces. And she's not stopping. She goes back in one more time with the other students, unsure of what to do, take a hesitant step back.] [The girl's braid flies out as the instructor's voice cuts through the crowd. "NUMBER 12!" to try and grab her attention. It doesn't seem to faze at all.] "" Wataru blurts, standing up. He looks to see what the instructor is doing! [The instructor doesn't just stand there. He comes on forward as the girl grips the man's gi. "Takeuchi! Stop!" His rough hand comes down on her shoulder and she whirls around on him too, about to attack him for a moment, breath heaving before she seems to hesitate.] * Wataru is breathing rapidly through his nose, fists at his sides, throbbing. His phone rattles slightly in his pocket. <@Ardweden> [Izumi sprints over there. "Oh my god, are you okay?!" It's unclear who she means.] "--Izumi," Wataru takes a step forward. Oh god, he doesn't want her getting hurt. He doesn't want her getting involved. [The girl seems obviously shaken. As clarity comes back to her face, it dawns on Wataru that what he saw may not have been entirely voluntary. She looks about for a second as if unsure herself what exactly happened as focus comes back on the instructor. She's breathing heavily. Wataru gets the feeling that *something* may have set her off, but the what....he was a little too focused on his phone, his thoughts, and/or Izumi to really notice. But she definitely doesn't seem naturally violent. In fact, when gripping Izumi, she was downright cordial looking, even if he couldn't hear the exchange.] [The girl notices where she's at, notices the grip on her shoulder, notices Izumi coming at her and snaps up to her feet, brushing right by Izumi, breaking the grip and heading for the locker room. A couple of other students shout "Hey!" at her, but no one actually wants to block her passage as she goes.] * Wataru figures that if the girl was set off, then maybe there's something around that did the setting. He quickly looks at the other people to see if any of them seem threatening or odd... [The instructor chews on the inside of his cheek, as if mulling it over, then turns to two of the students "Kenzuki! Grab the first aid kit from behind the stand. Daishi! Call an ambulance."] <@Ardweden> [Izumi stands there for a moment, briefly unsure, before she starts running past the bleachers for the locker room.] "Izumi," Wataru calls, more audibly this time. Shit.... He doesn't waste any time, and runs right through the other people, following her. "Izumi, wait!" [Nothing in the environment stands out for Wataru. For all he knows, it was just the student and her.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi's faster than Wataru, that's for sure, but she does hear him after a point and stops, looking back at him.] * Wataru tries to catch up - why is she so FAST - and if she lets him reach her, he catches his breath. "Izumi," he says. <@Ardweden> ["Wataru?" Izumi's not as out of breath as he is. Why!] [Right at the entrance of the locker rooms! From back in the room, the instructor calls out "That's it for practice for today. Everyone take a breather and can go home." "What about our uniforms!?" "I'm not going back there! She's crazy!" "If you'd like to wait around for the locker room to clear out, that's up to you." He may not have noticed Izumi dash away. Too focused on taking care of the injury.] [From inside the locker rooms, there's hitched breath. Catching in someone's throat. As if someone is trying to choke down a mixture of panic and tears.] "You can't go in there," he shakes his head. "You don't know what she can do, she, she might go after you too." <@Ardweden> [Izumi blinks. "But..." She looks over in the direction of the locker room. "She's scared."] * Wataru swallows, looking at the locker room, too. "She's also scary." He puts his hands back into his pockets. Izumi isn't rushing in, that's good. "Do you know her? Who she is, or why she freaked out like that?" [The girl with the short braid has undone her hair tie, chin-length brown hair coming down as she casts her head down. She does look pretty freaked in her gi. In fact, her hands are still shaking as she just sits on the bench. She hasn't noticed either of them yet.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi shakes her head. And then she walks over to the girl. Even though Wataru's telling her not to.] "" Wataru snaps, and after a moment's hesitation he reaches out to physically grab her arm and restrain her. [The girl hears the footsteps and she looks up at Izumi for just a moment, purple eyes focusing. Her voice sounds morose and distant as it calms for a second. "Don't you want to run away?" Then Wataru goes to grab Izumi and she jumps to her feet, eyes suddenly hard. The shaking stops as she balls her fists. "Hey! Let go of her, you creep!" ] <@Ardweden> ["What? No!" Izumi tries to get between her and Wataru. Given she's already closer to the locker room, that's not too hard. "We were gonna check on you!"] "Izumi, I'm serious, I --" he looks over to the girl, danger pouring off of her like steam off dry ice. His jawline hardens. "Izumi, get out of here," he says, without looking away from the other girl. <@Ardweden> [Izumi tries to shake her arm free of Wataru's grip. "What's with you?" she asks, never mind that the girl had already beaten someone up.] [The girl looks hard at the two of them. "You don't have to listen to him! He's..." She then turns to look at Izumi, expression softening a little. "Uh...wait...you're one of the new girls right? Number...uh...eight?" She frowns at that. "Kayashi-sensei is terrible at making us do that numbers thing. Ugh." "I - do you have any *idea* how hard I try to keep you safe?" Wataru's voice nearly breaks a bit, the situation spiraling out of control, and why won't she *listen*?! "Please, let's just - look, we'll both just go, please, Izumi, come on." [The girl deflates, bravado gone, then goes back to sit heavily on the bench. "He's right. You should...you should probably just go...."] <@Ardweden> [Izumi finishes getting out of Wataru's grip. "No!"] * Wataru huffs, stepping away from her, snapping his arms out once in a gesture of impotent anger. "What is *wrong* with you?" Behind him, one of the long wooden benches topples over on its side, clacking to the floor noisily. Because he bumped into it, right? He bumped into it. [The girl looks up suddenly at Izumi, shocked and surprised. "What's *with* you?" She reaches up to hold her head, looking down at the floor. "There's...there's no way they're going to let me stay after that...you *know* that, right? Why are you wasti--" Then she snaps up at Wataru's outburst and jumps up, panicked.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi, on the other hand, whirls on Wataru. "Nothing's wrong with me! She's just scared, okay? She's scared and she's afraid everyone's gonna hate her!" She doesn't seem to have noticed any bench crashing, astonishingly enough.] "Izumi, this is not what we do in dangerous situations!" Wataru replies, exasperated. "Whether she's scared or whether she's evil or whether the guy did something to deserve it is not the point! You can't just go barging into potential danger. Self-defense lessons or no. I've got to..." He stops pacing, forcing a few breaths, and when he speaks again, his voice is calmer and sadder. "We've stayed safe this long, Izumi. We can't... we can't stop being careful just because..." * Wataru closes his eyes, head spinning a little. [The girl turns on Izumi, recovering from the shock of the bench clatter. "Everyone *does* already hate me! You saw them! Just because the guy *grabbed* me! And..." She freezes up for a moment, hands balling and unflexing reflexively. Or maybe not, but it seems unconscious.] <@Ardweden> ["Wataru?" Izumi reaches out to him. "Are you-?" And then the girl talks, and she looks over there, and then back to Wataru, not really knowing what to do.] [Her eyes do soften a bit at that statement and she finally focuses on Wataru now, her hand going up to her arm. The tense muscles slacken to release her hand and she glances up at some familiarity. "He...um..." She sighs and turns back to her locker. "I don't...sorry." She pauses. "You're not related, are you?" <@Ardweden> ["Us? Nah. He's my best friend, though!" Izumi smiles a little! And looks at Wataru. "You okay?" she asks, more softly.] [The girl pauses in her search of the locker. "Really?" She gives an awkward, half-smile back over her shoulder. "I thought only brothers did that..."] * Wataru breathes, and opens his eyes. He looks at Izumi, and at the girl. "...I get scared a lot about you getting hurt," he confesses, his voice low and secret. He has a bit of a smile, in spite of himself, looking at the dangerous strange girl. "I have a sister, but she's really far away. I guess I can't help but be a brother sometimes," he says, flushing a bit. He files away the likelihood of her having a brother, a protective one no less. He wonders if Big Bro is going to come pick her up, if the instructor called him. That's what Wataru would do, if it was Izumi. Sister or no. [She looks at Wataru for a second, then frowns, looking at his hands that went for Wataru, then back up at him, taking another breath as her hand goes through her hair, brushing it back. "Sorry. That...that must be rough." She goes back to another frown. "Sorry. I'm usually pretty distrustful of people. But I'm guessing you're not going to hurt her..."] <@Ardweden> [Izumi laughs. "Wataru wouldn't hurt anybody!"] [The girl turns her gaze from Izumi to Wataru. Something in that look suggests she's a lot more uncertain of that statement than Izumi is.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi is certain!] * Wataru blushes. Great, way to emasculate me, *little sister*. But then he feels the other girl's gaze on him, and he looks up, and it's hard not to think about what he might have done to her if she had hurt Izumi. He looks away. "I don't want to hurt anybody," he says, and from a certain perspective, it could almost sound as if he was just reiterating Izumi's statement... [The girl pauses as she looks down at Wataru's shoes. "...yeah. Me neither." She chews on that for a moment. "Actually I want to protect people. But...you know..." She looks back up at Wataru. "...you miss your sister sometimes?"] "All the time," Wataru says, speaking the truth in spite of himself. [She nods. Vaguely. Then looks back up at them, eyes focused. "What's your names?"] <@Ardweden> ["Oh, I'm Izumi Motobuchi," Izumi says with a grin, pointing at herself.] "Wataru," Wataru says, grudgingly, since she already heard Izumi say it. [The girl nods slightly, tilting her head. That doesn't sound like a last name. So she'll respond in kind. "Nanami. Uh. Pleased to meet you, I guess. Guess this isn't the best way to meet someone is it?"] * Wataru manages a kind of smile. "Not especially, but you can hardly pick these things. You seem... better," he says. It's slightly suspicious. [She snorts, reaching into her locker to grab her things. Her duffle. Her clothes. Her things. "Better is relative. I...uh...should probably get going." She frowns, turning to Izumi. "You tell the others I'm okay, alright? Uh...I'm probably not going to be allowed back." She sighs at that. "Time to find another program..."] "Well, you do seem already pretty competent at defending yourself." God, why is he trying to use humour? He's not good at jokes, and this is probably not the time to start trying. <@Ardweden> ["I'll tell them. Do you want to let me know when you find one?" Izumi asks. "Maybe I could join, too. Be a friendly face?"] * Wataru glances over again at her like *what the hell are you still doing*. [She smiles at Izumi at that, ignoring the weird looks. "Yeah! That'd be great really. Uh. It'd be good to hang out sometime. You know. When I'm not crazy." She looks away, pinching her own arm.] <@Ardweden> [Izumi nods. "What happened?" She pauses. "If you, uh, don't mind."] * Wataru catches that gesture, and realizes she's been doing similar things before. He wonders how badly he'd get ostracized if he recommended a good shrink. Stupid Japan with its stupid stigma and taboos around mental health. [Nanami frowns, looking down again. "I...um...is it okay if I don't go into it right now? I mean. No offense. But I'd kinda like to just go home and forget what happened."] <@Ardweden> ["Oh yeah, sure! Sorry, I didn't mean to press! Um... here!" Izumi pulls out a business card, because like everyone in Japan apparently has them, so why wouldn't she? It has her phone number and e-mail address on it. She hands it to Nanami. "So you can let me know when you pick a new place."] [Nanami looks down at the business card and looks confused for a moment. Then she takes out a pen and writes her own contact info on the back of it. She doesn't have a business card! She looks like a high school student!] * Wataru has decided Izumi is patently insane. He will need to have WORDS with her after this. He looks over to Nanami, testing a theory. "Is your brother coming to pick you up?" [Info exchanged! She'll take another business card if Izumi's offering! She turns to Wataru for a moment, then stares at him a little hard, confused. "Uh. Probably not. He's very busy. Kinda has to be, being in college and all." She frowns. "Look. Any other questions from the inquisition? Cause I really gotta go."] <@Ardweden> [She does! Information successfully exchanged! "Nope."] * Wataru has a noncommittal shrug! Nanami leaving alone sounds like it could be either very dangerous for her, or for others, or both. "You want company for the walk home?" [The girl nods and then digs through her pack, putting on her hat, a nice little violet beret. "Nah. I'll be fine." And it's then Wataru recognizes where that naggling feeling was coming from. His memories go back to the club. Back to his Third Year. The one where he was able to meet the Band. And Tenjirou Torajima.] [Features are a little different. A little more muscled. A little taller. The page boy cut of the then-13-year-old girl has grown out a bit. But that hat. He definitely recognizes that hat. And her getting lead into the back that night.] [But before Wataru can really react on the recognition, she's already heading out the back door, bag in tow.] * Wataru reflexively puts out an arm to prevent potential Izumi-followings, but he's not even looking. His mind is reeling, and the blood is hissing in his ears. <@Ardweden> [Izumi doesn't follow! She just waves. "Bye!" And then to Wataru, "Come on, I... Wataru?"] * Wataru has gone pale. He sits down on the bench in the girls' locker room, beyond caring. <@Ardweden> ["Wataru?" Izumi trails after him. "Is it something I did? I know you didn't want me talking to her, but it turned out okay..." She sits next to him.] "This is not okay," he says, but it's almost to himself. "We need to get out of here. We..." He closes his eyes, horribly dizzy for a moment. He lets his head hang in his hands. "This is not normal. It's not okay." <@Ardweden> ["Well... no...? That's why I wanted her to know she wasn't alone. It wasn't like her before, and she- I-" Izumi sighs. "I thought she needed a friend, you know?"] <@Ardweden> [Izumi turns the card she's holding - her card with Nanami's handwriting on the back - over in her hands.] * Wataru just breathes a bit, head in his hands. Okay. He has to talk to - who, Katie? Satoshi? Someone's got to know what happened that night. Izumi's motion catches in the corner of his eye, and he glances over to the card. [Nanami's full name does happen to be on the back of the card. Kind of has to be for contact info! Nanami Takeuchi. And there's a phone number attached.] * Wataru does notice that it's the same family name as Kaede, but the unlikeliness of the connection makes it barely even ping. "We've all been hurt," he says, very very quietly, but apparently actually addressing Izumi this time. "We're all scared." Then, rather suddenly, he stands up. "I want pizza." <@Ardweden> [She blinks. "... Okay?"] "Pizza Hut, the real deal, and it's on me. I need to get out of here and think about something else. Like cheese." <@Ardweden> ["Okay!" Izumi stands. "Let me get changed, then we can go!"] [And the events of the evening get to be forgotten in the wonderful black hole nebula of MEAT and CHEESE. Well maybe not meat if he's a vegetarian. But CHEESE. And crust. Definitely crust.] [Away they go. To change and get food after a long evening. Session End!]