Another new student. Big Whoop. (Open)

[Galihan]

Seireitei, The Court of Pure Souls. The home of the Shinigami and Nobles of Soul Society, isolated by the slums of the run down Rukongai, home to the countless who've lost everything,

Thoughts went through the head of Takeshi as he walked through the open courtyard towards the large academy, looking back towards the outer walls separating Seireitei from Rukongai briefly every few moments as if to remind him of the second life he would be walking away from. This time by choice, of course.

He felt so awkward wearing the blue and white uniform of the Shinigami student, but then again he never before had to wear a uniform for school from what he remembered of the past. How many years ago was it? Over a decade at least, but probably more.

Has it really been that long?

Then again he probably wasn't alone feeling this, maybe less then others seeing how he actually was raised with an education unlike most of the people born and raised in Rukongai their entire lives.

No, he corrected himself when he thought like that. I'm not Eric anymore. I'm Takeshi, just another nobody from Rukongai. Eric died and now I'm Takeshi. Eric died pursuing his education, I'll use this school to build a new life for myself.

Among hundreds of new students like him who were all yet to prove their worth as anything, he stood out as someone different. His face, his voice, his clothes even were different. I hope nobody'll give me trouble for being who I am. If anybody does then they'll regret it when I prove my dedication and graduate years before they do.

He heard an announcement being played on an intercom system of some sort as he walked through the large gates into another courtyard. The Shinigami Academy lay just beyond.

"Welcome new students to Shingami Academy. You're now part of a proud tradition, a unique school dedicated to building the Secret Mobile Corps and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads of the future. Apply yourselves diligently to your studies and uphold the honor of our school."

"Where'd that announcement come from?" Takeshi said out loud in his usual quiet tone, completely muted by the rumble of the other freshmen around him. He hadn't even noticed that he wasn't able to hear himself over the other people. He decided to try to find his class and start this new life of his.

[Galihan]

((Whoops I forgot, I'd love for you to join in! Sorry for the delay, was busy with school summatives))

It had been just over two whole weeks now since Takeshi had begun attending the Shinigami Academy. At this point he was getting used to the daily routines, the class schedules, the training. It felt so odd, the idea that all the Shinigami before him were here before joining the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, just like him.

Don't let it get to you Eric... dammit.

He did it again. When he lived in Rukongai he never had this problem but it wasn't uncommon for him since coming to Seireitei that he was calling himself by his true name. He kicked himself again and again and again, but he was never able to get it right for some reason. What he needed was someone to talk to. He rarely spoke to anyone in his class, he didn't have any reason to as of yet.

Anyways he was now at the large Lecture Hall for today's lesson. He was quite a few minutes early like usual and waited for the class to begin, so before stepping into room he leaned against the door in the hallway, opening up his notebook. He stared at the blank page and began flipping through the pages until he reached the page he was looking for, for a quick review of all his notes.

[Gahrok]

Dante leaned up against a locker in the hallway, watching as a rather eager student who appeared to be early for his class sat on the ground flipping through a notebook. Dante cocked an eyebrow, sometimes people really amazed him. Why be early for your class? Half of the lessons were complete bullshit anyways, honestly these keeners had their noses so far up their proffesors rears he could smell the stink of their brown noses from a mile away. This one however, seemed a little different, Dante noticed as he analyzed the guys movements. Could it be this little keener was nervous?

Dante chuckled, he had best get going soon, if the professor saw him… well… he might not have an excuse for skipping, and that was never fun. He had only showed up to waste some time, it seemed like that was all he did these days. What else was there? IT had so little substance, he had begun to realize, this slacking off and goofing off. It wasn’t even like he had friends or any important goal to be striving for or even avoiding. It was all nothing, it was all a blank random inane waste of time. How fitting, he thought, of his life.

“You in this class man?” Dante was shocked by his question, why would he even bother with this conversation? Was he turning into one of those social cretins… but such a hollow and meaningless question couldn’t be left un-accompanied, he sighed mentally, “I’ve never seen anyone come early to this slag-heap, it’s a real bore in there if you want my opinion”

[Galihan]

Just as he was about to begin skimming the pages for anything useful, Takeshi was surprised that he was approached by this person, he didn't look too familiar. Even though he rarely paid attention to other people in his classes this person didn't seem to ring any bells at all. Maybe he was in a different year, or maybe he wasn't in the advanced class. Takeshi sighed.

Obviously he's in this class, why else would he be talking so highly about it He probably just skips alot.

He briefly looked back at his notes, but couldn't find anything that he didn't already know. But the instructor did say there was to be a quiz sometime this week so it had to be today, so he just hoped it he didn't need to study and closed the book and secured it to his uniform's sash. Takeshi turned his head towards the person, his different colored eyes wide open. His hair longer and a lot darker than his own, a little bit taller but also a bit scrawnier than himself. He would remember this person for sure, and he spoke back.


"Yeah, I'm in this class." he said aloud, quiet as usual but the hall was empty enough for his soft voice to travel, "If this slag-heap is such a bore to you then why are you here this early yourself?"

Takeshi stood up, stretched his back and yawned a large yawn.

[Gahrok]

Dante rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not a hint of a smile gracing his features… he’d always been bad at that act. This is why, he admonished himself, I told you not to get into conversations my friend. With you it’s either a war of words or a test of endurance, either way its best that you keep silent. Why was he here? He kept telling himself it was just to kill the time, but maybe… maybe he was working up the courage to someday walk back through that door and try again. And maybe… too succeed.

“Why be anywhere? I’m just wasting the minutes till I get the grounds to myself while all the nerds are in class.” The comment had come out a bit more venomously then he would have liked, as always he had screwed it up. His true intent had been some light sarcasm to add a little humor, but of course in his over-analytical zeal he had once more failed. Social ineptness, it really was the worst curse. “I guess I’m just a little bored.” he muttered sullenly scuffing his feet as his deep blue eyes searched the hall for a resting place.

[Tsuke]

Tsuke sprinted down the hallway, his green bag full of thick books and limp notebooks trailing behind him. "I can't be late for this class," Tsuke muttured to himself as sweat appeared on his forehead. It had been about a week since Tsuke had entered the Academy as a 1st Year student. "I need to make a good impression and be top of my class." He turned sharpely at the end of the hallway, only to be clotheslined by and opened locker. He hit the floor hard, his pens and equipment scattering across the floor. He heard the other students whispering and giggling with each other as they watched the squirming kid hastily pick up all of his stuff. Tsuke thought to himself, "Just ignore them, Tsuke. It's not like you were going to make many friends here anyway. Remember your goal." The goal he was thinking off was his plan to graduate and become a full-fledged Shinigami.

Tsuke continued down the path towards his next class, glancing at the numbers on each and every door, until he finally reached his destination. He walked through the doorway only to find and empty classroom, with the exception of two other people, one of which was reading his notes. Tsuke grabbed a schedule out of his pocket, skimming over it to make sure he was in the right class. That is when he noticed the time he had thought to be here, was about and hour earlier then he had needed to. His arms dropped to the side and he closed his eyes, telling himself how stupid he was.

He looked back at the two other figures in the class. He smirked as he jokingly stated, "Well, at least I won't be late."

[Harmony]

((you guys mind if I join?))

[Galihan]

((Feel free Harmony, the thread's open.))

Takeshi couldn't help but notice this other student stumble by. He seemed like he was in a hurry to get to class early. This person didn't seem to familiar to him either, but maybe he was newer than the other guy. Did he really have such different classmates? One seemed like a kindred spirit who didn't give a shit about this place and was only here to escape the slums of Rukongai, the other seemed like he was overly eager to attend school and be at the top of the class.

"Late?" Takeshi said aloud, "the next class won't be starting for at least a few more minutes, you in this class too or something?"

He looked away from both of them and opened his book again to a fresh page. With a pen in hand he began a quick sketch of both people, rather poorly compared to his usual drawings but he just needed to kill some time.

"Rubbish," He told himself quietly, scribbling the page over and over until he decided to just rip them out of the book and tear the paper into confetti, and then tossing the paper bits out the open window into the courtyard. He didn't even want to take the quiz today anymore, he felt like he wanted to be in the Training Grounds or the Demon Arts Pit, instead of waiting for class.

[Harmony]

((Posting order will be Gahrok, Tsuke, Galihan, Me))


Bugs... crawling all over her. She could feel the thousands of little legs moving along her skin, and she closed her eyes, frantically trying to brush them off. She had dropped her books in the middle of the hallway, and a bit of a bemused crowd had formed around the girl. She didn't know they were watching her.... all she knew was that she was going to be eaten alive, and she began to cry in her panic, collapsing to her knees, vicious tremors shooting through her.

Beetles, centipedes, spiders, and ants... there was no end to them. They reached her face, and she fell forward, eyes wide in horror. She didn't make a sound, didn't breathe, didn't move. She was frozen in fear and only the constant shivers coursing through her body kept her awake.

A hand on her shoulder!

With a gasp, Namida sat up, the hundreds of insects dissolving into the air, replaced by the small crowd watching her. Her place face grew flush, and hot tears sprang up in her eyes. They saw her... She really was crazy!

"Are you... ok?"

A fellow student asked her this, and she stood wordlessly, her lips trembling. The bugs were never there... they were never there... She felt them crawling all over her, but they were never there... and everyone saw her...

Without answering she took off, abandoning her books. She didn't care about them... she was crazy... she was crazy...

No one followed her, but she couldn't stop herself... she had to keep running. She had to get away from that place. She ran down the length of the hallway and took a right, ending up in the same hallway as Takeshi, Dante, and Tsuke.

She took no notice of the three, and hurried past them, headed for a drinking fountain. She felt like she was going to throw up.

Cold water reached her lips, and she stood hunched over the fountain for a long while, slowly calming down. Her heavy breathing began to level. The only remaining sign of her distress was her tear-streaked face and shaking hands.

With a gasp, she finally backed away from the fountain and turned, immediately recognizing Dante. She jumped in surprise, her face slowly growing very red. She felt very self conscious, standing there and staring like that, and she quickly looked away. He was with two other students she didn't recognize, and she felt her blood running cold. They were probably his friends. She wanted to go up and talk to him; there was something about him that made her feel better, like she could forget about all the bad. But, at the sight of the other two boys, Namida grew very nervous. If she approached him... he may lose the qualities she liked about him while in front of his friends... He could turn out to be a jerk after all, and rather to risk more embarrassment, Namida slowly sank to the ground, leaning her back against the wall, hoping against hope that he didn't notice her.

[Gahrok]

((Ok just so all new arrivals know this is taking place in the HALLWAY, not the classroom, it appeared there was some confusion))

As nervous as a dormouse the newcomer came rushing through the hallways, poking his nose into each classroom to check if it was the right one, all the while fervently checking his schedule. Dante tried hard to stifle a chuckle, that made two keeners. He was about ready to blow the joint, there wasn’t going to be much stimulating conversation or action going on here. Upon arriving the nervous fellow broke into a grin and proclaimed his excitement at the fact that he wouldn’t be late, beautiful, thought Dante. He opened his mouth to make a rather snide line upon which to exit when he heard a familiar squeak of a gasp, a slow grin began to creep up the side of his mouth as he turned to search for its source. It had to be her.

Dante locked eyes with Namida as his head turned, his smile dissipating in the realization he might look like quite the fool. Kicking himself he took a step towards her, only beginning to notice she was blushing rather profusely from he position hunched up on the floor. Worry over-rode his uncomfort, was she hurt? Had those bullies been around… he would kill them… or had, had he embarrassed her? “Namida,” he called resolutely, “Watcha hiding from you crazy girl?” he said, laughter ringing in his voice, his tone as comfortable as he could make it. God he hoped the joke connected, if not he was headed for the familiar position of looking like a complete asshole.

[Tsuke]

((Yeah, I would be in that rather confused group...thought we were in the classroom. Oh well, the show must go on.))

Tsuke watched this nervous, sweating girl pass through the hallway, stopping at the fountain for a few moments, but eventually facing away from it, staring at the wall opposite her. He noticed her glance towards the three boys who were standing in a group and how her face seemed to light up for a second as her eyes focused on Dante. But just a few moments later she returned to the previous scared sort of look on her face.

He watched Dante step forward, welcoming this new figure. Her name was mentioned, but Tsuke was to caught up in what was taking place. He felt that he must reassure this girl as much as possible. "You seem afraid, but you musn't be," Tsuke stated. "It is quite alright, for I don't bite." Tsuke smirked as he tried to seem as friendly as possible. He looked towards the boy who continued to scribble in the notebook. "As for this guy," he said as he gestured towards the other student ,"I am not so sure." Tsuke's smile remained on his face while he awaited for a remark from the boy.

[Galihan]

Takeshi looked around in a bit of confusion and quietly, almost silently murmured "Huh? Why would I want to eat her..." Takeshi realized that he probably misheard what the guy was saying and decided to hush up. No use making them all think he was an idiot as a first impression. But then again being an idiot would probably be better than being someone who tries too hard to funny or a jerk like the other two people, or a least that's how he saw them.

He felt like he was able to empathize the fear that this girl, Namida, is that what that guy said her name was? Well anyways Takeshi felt like he could understand her situation if he knew more about her, but that'd be a lot of hassle that wouldn't turn out very good for him so he decided against taking any action for now until he had more of a grasp of what was happening to her.

He leaned against the wall next to the door again and got lost in himself once more. After a brief recollection of thought, he was sure that only one of these other people was in the same year as him, the eager kid who started a week after he did. What's his name, he asked himself in his head. His name... was it Tsuma, no, Tsume Isuma something... god I suck with names...

He couldn't help but stare at everyone around him now, especially this Namida girl and Tsu-something-or-other. The first guy didn't seem interesting to him anymore.

[Harmony]

She heard Dante call her name and she looked up slightly, fighting the smile that was threatening to surface, relief flooding her black eyes. He wasn't a jerk after all... he was being real with her.

“Watcha hiding from you crazy girl?”

Her cheer dissipated for a short moment, and she stared at him blankly... crazy... She remained motionless in her silence... crazy girl. She really was crazy, wasn't she? Maybe she needed to leave... Her thoughts began to wander, toying with this new concept... She could leave on a big boat, and sail across the sea. Nothing but her and the waves and as many sunrises as she wanted... and no one to see her lose herself... no one to see her fear... yes, maybe she should leave. This idea hurt her as much as it pleased her. She could feel it like a dagger in her abdomen. She wanted to leave... but... did she truly want to be alone?

She shook herself, coming out of her thoughts rather suddenly. She had been staring at Dante all this time, and she hadn't even realized it. God how she hated that habit of hers! She was always staring at people when she went into these little journeys of contemplation. They always woke her up from it too with a "what are you looking at?" It always embarrassed her so much.

She remembered suddenly that Dante had spoken to her, and she did hear the light in his voice. He had meant well, he hadn't meant to make her go silent, and her face cracked in a large sincere grin. She stood wordlessly and was preparing to go over to him but another voice interrupted her. It belonged to one of the other boys. Namida stared at him, her head tilted slightly to the side. She never really liked it when people talked to her the way he was. It made her feel like a stray dog. It also drew attention to the fact that she was indeed upset about something, which is what she had been trying to avoid all along. She hated drawing attention to her fears or sadness... she didn't need anyone pointing them out to her. But, she knew also that he was trying to be nice, so she forced a polite smile in his direction. As he mentioned the third boy, Namida glanced over at him, noticing with gratitude that though he was staring at her, he didn't feel the need to say anything to her. She was about to turn back to Dante when the boy's eyes caught her attention. They were... different colors... One was a soft green, and the other was a startling piercing blue... how in the world? She had never seen anyone with eyes like that, and she would have been content staring into them like that for a long time, if it weren't for her self-consciousness. She shook herself and looked between the three, noticing with an inward laugh that Dante wasn't as muscular as the other two. Of the three, he seemed to her the one more likely to start problems, so it struck her as funny that he didn't appear as strong as them.

With this assessment, Namida took her place beside Dante, who of course made her least uncomfortable of the three, and looked up at him briefly. She wanted to know how he was feeling. The last time they had met... he had worried her quite a bit. Looking at him now he betrayed no signs of anger or hurt, and this comforted her a little. Maybe she would ask him later.

[Gahrok]

Dante’s insides began to crumble in fear as she stared at him blankly and he held back a pained sigh, she hadnt gotten the joke. His fear and disappointment must have been palpable on his face because she suddenly seemed to realize he had meant well and after moments of excruciating staring and silence she broke out into a grin and stepped towards him. Dante smiled, his heart lifting immediately, he must’ve done something right to make her smile. The new dork arrival interrupted with some rather odd comments, allotting a sarcastic twist of Dante’s lips. Well at least his had been a real effort. The kid was friendly, but seriously, his jokes had been painfully awkward. Dante winced as he noticed the wave of his over-the-top cheesy humor washed right over Namida, who surprisingly managed a forced little smile.

Dante’s heart starting beating fast as Namida walked over and stood beside him, giving him a short concerned glance. He flashed her a quick grin, overcoming his nervous and pained stomach which was telling him to nonchalantly flee before he betrayed how awkward she had just made him feel. Would these people think… I mean she had just stepped beside him. Without even thinking he put a hand on her shoulder, quickly withdrawing it, letting it hover above for a second before he retracted it, “Are you feeling alright?” he said worriedly, true concern apparent in his eyes. She had seemed very distressed, he hoped she was well enough for class… but then… did she even go to class with these suckers? Hadn’t she been out the other day? Or had there been another reason for that….

Dante’s eyes turned quickly to the others, to embarrassed, to afraid to wait for his response lest he spook her again. He was all to good at that. “Well, it seems you to are all ready for class.” said Dante, sarcasm coating his words heavily. He felt a twinge with guilt, why did he become so mean… so sarcastic when he was nervous, when he was backed against the wall? Couldn’t he just leave. He really didn’t want to single the poor guys out. “I think however, that I’m going to have to pass on the fun and excitement of another indoctrinating lecture by the neighborhood tight-ass.”

He turned to Namida once more, biting his lip, his heart was going even faster now… he had started with his bull-shit talk and now he had to finish it. “You… you really gonna sit through this?” he stuttered the words, his tone so different from the patronizing mockery that he had saved for the other two. He was almost imploring her too take his side, to bring rationality to him as a defense. Bright blue eyes searched longingly for a kindred rebel.

[Tsuke]

Tsuke's smile slowly turned into a straight-lipped look, as nobody even let out a giggle to his jokes. He noticed the little smile the girl had released, but Tsuke knew that it was just to make him feel better. Kind of ironic that the person he was trying to make feel better, was the one that made him feel better. He thought to himself, "Best keep quiet now, Tsuke. Don't want these people to think you are an idiot." Even though this reassured him, the people probably already wrote him down as an imbescile.

Tsuke made sure everything was still in the bag on his back, before setting it down near the doorway. He stepped to the side of it and put his back to the wall, slowly inching his way down the side until he rested safely on the ground. He noticed that the girl and that one boy were very calm with talking to each other, so he decided to take himself out of this ackward conversation. He set his head on his arms that were tangled around his knees, carefully listening to the conversation.