Meet the New Class – Student Number 08 – Suzuki Keiko
Keiko's alarm clicked in preparation to ring, but she quickly pressed the button before it could start and sat up in her bed. 'Good, caught it again today,' she thought to herself as she stood up and stretched. She put on her glasses. Today's catch made it nineteen days in a row she had stopped the alarm clock before it could ring; she was getting quite skilled at waking up when she wanted to wake up. She gathered her clothes and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower before her roommate could wake up.
As usual in the mornings, Mako had woken up while she was in the shower, and had started preparing breakfast. Keiko came out, nodded to Mako, who went for her shower, and had breakfast finished and ready for her by the time she came out. All of this was accomplished with a minimum of speech, something neither girl particularly cared about. They had snapped into this routine with ease after only a few days as roommates and both found it comfortable, so neither wanted to change it.
"There's a test today," Keiko said over breakfast. Mako replied with a rather bland "Mm", and they fell back into a comfortable silence that continued until the racket of their neighbors waking up and getting out of bed made Keiko sigh. "Want to leave early?"
Mako nodded. "That's fine."
"Okay."
They left the dorm building shortly after, taking their time as they walked in order to quiz each other on the various items that would be on the test.
Keiko sat through homeroom observing Negi-sensei, the clouds outside, Negi-sensei, the amusing faces Rosemary made when Negi-sensei's back was turned, Negi-sensei, Miyako sitting in her chair half asleep, Negi-sensei, and Aiko struggling to stay awake in the front row, followed by Negi-sensei. It was simply the usual homeroom, and Keiko didn't mind at all; especially if she got to observe Negi-sensei. She was well aware that he was WAY out of her league; so far, in fact, that their distance could be measured in light years, but that didn't mean she couldn't find him so pleasant to look at.
First period passed with a pleasant slowness and she quickly finished her work, leaving her with little to do but pull out a book and start reading. Rosemary glanced over at her, giving her a meaningful look, so she moved her paper over so the American girl who sat next to her could see some of her answers. She knew Rosemary was intelligent enough to find the answers herself, so to Keiko it wasn't that big of a deal to just give them to her. If Rosemary had been an idiot, though, Keiko wouldn't have bothered.
The next class was math; Keiko again completed her work with time left over, and again pulled out her book and started to read. It was part of a light novel series about immortal gangsters in the early twentieth century in America, and Keiko found it oddly fascinating; in particular she enjoyed the many, many characters and the way so many ongoing plotlines moved alongside each other. Unfortunately, that class ended far too soon and they were sent off to P.E.
Keiko hated P.E; it was the only class she could say that about. She was not an athletic person, no matter how hard she tried to train her body; and the P.E. teacher, a big American who would be right at home in the novel series she was reading, could be quite scary. She sort of liked the assistant P.E. teacher Sasaki-sensei, however; the woman was pretty and cheerful and went a long way toward balancing out the dreadful atmosphere 'Scary Max-sensei', as he was commonly called, seemed to create by his mere presence. Strangely enough, the two teachers got along extremely well. At first she had assumed they were in a relationship of some sort, but Sasaki Rina-san, her classmate and Sasaki-sensei's little sister, had quickly disabused her of that particular notion. According to Rina, and Keiko had reason to believe her, Makie simply liked everyone, and for whatever reason Scary Max-sensei was inclined to be friends with her. Rina had told her this with an insinuating look which Keiko had found deeply intriguing. After all, what sort of middle school girl didn't want to know a little more about romance? She didn't dare ask the two themselves, however; the thought alone was too scary.
P.E. eventually ended and they went on to the next class, which was English. This was Keiko's favorite class, mostly because Negi-sensei was the English teacher, and he tended to praise the students who did well on his tests. Speaking of which...
Keiko finished her test and leaned back in her seat to stretch. P.E. always made her tired...she glanced out the window and blinked. Had that been a girl flying over the trees...? She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. 'I must be overworking myself,' she thought briefly before her gaze strayed back to Negi-sensei.
Eventually the last class of the day ended and the students were released. Keiko watched, a little envious, as the other students gathered together in small groups, talking and laughing and making plans for the weekend. She quietly opened the door of her shoe locker and changed her shoes in silence. It wasn't that she didn't want to be friends with the other girls, it was more that they couldn't seem to keep up with her. By the time they moved on from a subject of conversation, Keiko had already had time to go through everything she knew about it, get bored, and move on to another subject, sometimes more than once. Their pace was all wrong for her. It was something she had gotten used to, however, and she didn't blame anyone for their slowness. It was just the way they were.
She set off by herself along a random footpath until she came upon a small wide spot with a bench, a fountain in the middle, and a couple of vending machines off to the side. She got a drink and a candy bar and sat down on the bench. She sat there for a moment in silence, looking around at the nice scenery. She liked doing this sort of thing; taking a random path and seeing where it led. She had found many small, hidden areas like this by doing so. She finished her snack and leaned back on the bench, looking up at the clear blue sky and the few puffs of cloud that floated through it. She let out a deep sigh and relaxed, sinking back into the comfortable bench.
Keiko snapped awake to find the sky dark and someone seated beside her.
"Ah, you're finally awake, huh? It's not a good idea to fall asleep on random benches, you know," the woman beside her said, nodding enthusiastically.
Keiko straightened her glasses and looked at the assistant P.E. teacher Sasaki Makie-sensei. "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time," she said as she sat up and stretched. She had always looked up to Makie-sensei; the woman was pretty and strong and could take care of herself; hadn't they all watched her punch that scary man in the mouth back in May...? She nearly jumped out of her skin when something moved in the shadows on the other side of the fountain. When the other person stepped into the dim light from the vending machines, she was somehow not very relieved to see that it was Scary Max-sensei. Makie could also deal with that scary person with ease too, arguing and laughing and joking as if he didn't look like a ghoulish giant; that was something else she had always admired about the woman.
"She's right; it's not a good idea for you to be out on your own this late," he said, his rough, gravelly voice standing out in sharp contrast with Makie's.
"Oooo," Makie said, annoyed. "You big idiot, you're scaring her! Come on Keiko-san, I'll walk you back to the dorm," she said, holding out her hand.
Keiko looked from her to the big teacher and back again, and took her hand, allowing herself to be helped up. She looked from Max back to Makie, and realized with a start that Makie wasn't much bigger than she was herself. She looked down at Makie's hand, holding hers, and realized they were the same size. 'She's...she's just like me?'
"Is something wrong?" Makie asked.
Keiko heard the concern in the teacher's voice and shook her head, then looked up and met her eyes. "N-no, nothing's wrong." Makie smiled real big and Keiko realized she couldn't think of anything to say, so she settled for an awkward smile back.
"Well, let's get on our way~" Makie said suddenly, deftly removing the weight of attention from Keiko's shoulders.
"Will you be all right?" Max asked.
Makie paused, looked up at the late evening sky thoughtfully, and grinned. "Yep! Keep patrolling, I'll catch up at the world tree. Come along, Keiko-chan~"
Keiko looked wonderingly at the diminutive P.E. teacher as the two of them walked along. Makie walked straight into the inky darkness between the patches of light from the streetlights without a care in the world; it was all Keiko could do to summon the courage to not jump at every little sound when it was so dark. When a dark figure suddenly moved in the shadows, Keiko almost screamed; Makie simply greeted the imposing masked figure with a happy, up-beat "Hello Kaede! I haven't seen you around in a long time!" to which the scary ninja-like person had replied with a gentle laugh and a "It's nice to see you too, Makie. Have you been training?"
Keiko watched the easy back and forth between the two in wonder until the scary ninja-like woman excused herself and seemed to disappear, apparently merging with the darkness around them.
She was quiet for a long, long moment as they continued on, then turned to Makie, who had begun humming a happy tune. "Was...was that a ninja?"
Makie laughed, a light, tinkling sound, and smiled. "Yep! That was Nagase Kaede, one of my old classmates. We had a lot of fun back then," she said, her tone turning somewhat wistful.
Keiko looked down at the ground, knotting the side of her skirt in her free hand. "H...how do you do it?" she asked quietly.
"Hmm? What do you mean?"
"H-how are you so brave like this? How can you walk when it's this dark? How can you talk to Scary Max-sensei and ninjas like you do? You called him an idiot!"
Makie looked at her for a moment, surprised. "You think I'm brave?" she asked, surprise clear in her voice. She smiled and shook her head. "I'm not brave; my friends are the ones that are brave," she said, nodding as a confident look swept over her face. "Without their support, I wouldn't be here now."
"But they aren't here..."
Makie shook her head. "Poor Keiko-chan. Poor sweet, dumb, silly-"
"Sensei!"
She grinned. "Okay, okay. See, they are here, in my heart," she said, placing her free hand on her chest. "I know it sounds sappy, but it's true. When I think of what they have faced alone, a little darkness doesn't seem so bad, you know?" She paused a moment. "Training helps too," she said as she struck an exaggerated pose like something out of a Bruce Lee movie.
Keiko stifled a laugh at the teacher's antics and looked down at the path as they walked. She wanted to understand, she really did, but...she couldn't. She didn't really have any friends. Sure, she talked to Rina sometimes, Mako was her roommate, and Rosemary sat beside her in class, but...were they really her friends? She liked to think they were, but she had a sneaking suspicion that they were technically something closer to acquaintances.
They walked along in silence for a moment.
"How do you talk to people so easily?" she asked suddenly, her cheeks heating up as she stared at the ground.
Makie was surprised. She looked at the young girl walking beside her, holding her hand, and felt an overwhelming urge to hug her. So she did. Keiko tried to jerk away, obviously surprised, but quickly gave in and buried her face in Makie's shirt while she patted her head.
"It's not easy," Makie said quietly. "You never know if they're going to snap at you or ignore you or insult you, but so what if they do?" she said quietly. "You won't know if you can be friends until you talk to them, right?" She held Keiko out at arm's length and looked her in the eye. "Right?"
"I-I guess," Keiko said. "But what if they don't understand what I'm trying to say?"
"Oh, I see. The old 'I'm-so-smart-nobody-understands-me' problem, right?"
Keiko looked embarrassed, but nodded.
"I see," Makie said knowingly. "Well in that case, just get to know them and adapt to their level when you're talking. That's not so bad, right? Besides, they'll realize you're holding back and naturally try to catch up. Who knows, you might end up having more in common than you think~ Its good all around, right?"
Keiko hesitantly nodded. "I guess..."
Makie grinned and nodded her head. "Right. You're in Negi-kun's homeroom, right? How about tomorrow morning you say hello to the girl that sits next to you?"
Keiko looked down at the ground as they walked. Say hello to Rosemary Dean? But she was a pretty American...! What could they possibly have in common...? But that was a defeatist manner of thought. She realized Makie was speaking again.
"Oh look, you can see the dorm from here."
Keiko looked up. Sure enough, the lights of the dorm were in sight.
"You'll remember what I said, right? Riiiiight?" Makie said, nudging her with her elbow. Makie smiled hugely at her, and Keiko nodded shyly.
"I'll remember."
"Good! Now remember, Keiko-chan! If you never bother to speak to them, you'll never know if you can be friends or not! Friends are important!"
They walked up to the dorm entrance in silence.
Makie paused at the foot of the stairs. "Well, that's it then; I have to head back to find Max-sensei. You'll remember, right?"
"Yes, sensei."
"Good." Makie nodded decisively and gave Keiko a confident smile. "Good luck!"
Keiko opened the door and stepped inside, only to find a small crowd waiting for her.
Nakamura Sachiko, the class rep, a girl she couldn't recall ever having spoken too, stood there before her. "You are okay?"
Keiko nodded, surprised more by the question than by the one asking it. To be honest, she hadn't thought anyone would notice her missing.
Sachiko looked her over to check for bloodstains or missing limbs, and nodded in return, an expression of relief briefly flashing across her face before she turned away.
"Geez Keiko-chan, don't scare us like that! We thought you were kidnapped or something!" Sasaki Rina said, pouting angrily at her. Several of the others nodded and expressed similar sentiments.
"I-I'm...sorry...?" Keiko said hesitantly. Really, this was all quite unexpected. She quickly glanced over the group; it looked like half the class was there. "Ah...thanks. For worrying about me, I mean..."
Makie stood outside, looking through the glass doors at the crowd inside. "Hehe, looks like it turned out better than expected~"
Max grunted. "That's good. I was getting worried about her; she never hangs out with any of the others during P.E. or after school."
Makie nodded. "She should have some friends after this, though. Come on, we still have the rest of our patrol to get to~"
Suzuki Keiko
Born - 1/25/1995
Height - 4'11"
Pottery Club
Likes – Collecting Things
Dislikes – Recognition for her accomplishments
Roommate – Mako Sylvester
Little Known Facts – Everyone knows she's smart; they don't know just how smart.
Titles: Student Number 8, The Genius of Class 2-A
Close Friends: None (still gaining friends)
Enemies: None
Notes: Keiko's another one created for SW3. From the moment I chose the name, I knew she was a short, intelligent girl; the problem was in giving her enough of her own personality to set her apart from the same basic character in a million shows. I like to think that in the end, she feels more like a real person than a one dimensional anime-style character. Physically, she's short and thin, wears glasses, has dark brown eyes, and has long brown hair that she often ties back in a proper ponytail. She's a very contemplative sort of girl, and can often be seen walking along with a book in hand, and somehow manages to avoid tripping or running into anything.
Appearances: First Appearance- Chapter 8 (Preparations)
Kamo's Negi Love Chart
Motherly - 0
Sisterly - 1
Friendship - 7
Crush - 11
Love - 18
H - 5
Kamo's Comments: "This poor girl's got it bad...I know I don't usually say this, but let her down easy, will you?"
Haruna's Stat Chart
Friendliness - 13
Courage - 12
Attractiveness - 10
Intelligence - 20
Athleticism - 2
Instincts - 2
Anger - 10
Loner - 5
Outgoing - 4
Popularity – 10
Attributes – Smart girl, short girl, quiet girl, long hair, glasses girl
Haruna's Comments: "So-so looks and personality, but she's really smart. Rumors say she'll let you copy her homework if you ask nicely. Useful to have around, but a bad conversationalist. Oh, and she's also madly in love with Negi-kun~"
Comments From The Rest
Asakura Kazumi: "She's a smart kid; I'm just wondering how long it'll take her to find out the truth about magic."
Anonymous Underclassman: "Suzuki-sempai is very kind; she helped me with some difficult homework and even made some flash cards for me! Suzuki-sempai is someone I look up to."
