S'been a while… I've been a bit distracted lately, along with some writer's block, but here I am, writing another entry in this tale. Um, and that's about all I have to say at the moment.

-Kouji Tamino

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Kurogane High

Chapter 4: Day Off (Part 1)

A few more days had passed, and the long school day was coming to an end. Tomorrow was Sunday, which of course meant the weekend was here. All of the kids already had plans, but Tetsunosuke had a dilemma. His tickets for the 'Seven Samurai' movie were for the premiere tonight, but he had no idea who to invite now due to several new factors. "Suzu's my friend, but so is Saya. I've known Suzu just a little longer, but poor Saya has really had it tough." He thought for a moment before groaning. "And Susumu… I have to thank him for helping me the other day somehow…" He yelped as someone suddenly put a hand on his head. "Hey, what the--!"

"Not interested…" the tall boy replied, an apathetic look on his face. "It'll never be as good as Kurosawa's classic. Why don't you ask your girlfriend or whatever?"

"She's not my girlfriend…" Tetsunosuke muttered, blushing slightly. "And she really doesn't seem like the type of person who would be into these types of movies…" he added, referring to Saya of course.

"You don't know that, though." Susumu replied, uncharacteristically interested. "For all you know, she could have a little violent streak in her and likes the sight of blood…" Chuckling, he crossed his arms. "You'll never know if you don't ask…"

"Well, I guess I can ask Saya…" Tetsunosuke said in an unsure voice. "At least now I don't have as many choices to make over who to bring..." Looking at his watch, he screamed. "Damn, I'm gonna be late for Kendo Club again!" He ran towards the dojo without much as a 'seeya' as he hurried off.

Susumu simply shook his head, kicking the ground absentmindedly. "What a nuisance…" The boy froze as he suddenly felt someone or something hugging him from behind. "What in the-- Oh no…" A feeling of dread fell upon him.

"Oh, Susumu!" A familiar sounding young girl's voice shouted. "I've missed you all day!" She cooed, snuggling against him cutely as he shivered. She tilted her head in concern, backing up a bit to get a good look at him. "What's with the shivering? You okay, Susumu? You have a cold or something?"

"No…" Susumu muttered through gritted teeth, a demented looking fake grin planted on his face. "Everything is just fine…" He reluctantly endured it all, swearing that he'd make Tetsunosuke pay later…

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"Good work, everyone!" Souji shouted happily, his hands together and a smile on his face. "Have fun on your day off and good work today!"

Tetsu sighed in relief as he removed his mask, brushing a bit of sweat from his brow. The club's meet today was coming to an end and the members were preparing to pack things up and get home. "That was a pretty good match, huh Suzu?" If Tetsunosuke were going to ask his friend and rival, it would have to be now. "Um… Suzu?"

"Hm?" The white haired boy turned as he took of his bogu, kendo armor. "What is it, Tetsunosuke?" He had to admit, Tetsu was getting better at every meeting. If he didn't keep up on his toes, he might just get better than him. They were still pretty equal, with Suzu edging the other boy out just by a bit.

"Well, I had tickets to the new Samurai Seven movie, and I was wondering if you wanted to go!" The red head exclaimed, holding the tickets up triumphantly. Nearby, Okita chuckled a bit as he watched in approval.

"Sorry, Tetsunosuke, I'm already going with my guardian." Suzu replied, putting his equipment away. He kind of felt sorry for Tetsu, but he rarely ever got to hang out with Yoshida much these days, so this would be a very rare event that he just couldn't pass up. "You'll have to ask someone else."

Tetsunosuke nodded, smiling. "That's okay, it just makes things easier on me! I had another friend who I wanted to take, but only two tickets!" He'd love for his two best friends to meet. "Maybe we'll see each other at the theater? I want to introduce you and Saya to each other! You might know her already, since she goes to this school!"

"Hmm, not sure if I've met her or not…" Suzu said, scratching his chin in thought. He smiled back at his friend. "Yeah, maybe we'll see each other there." He smirked deviously, adding, "I'd love to meet your new girlfriend".

"She's not my girlfriend, damn it!" Tetsu shouted, stomping his foot and invoking snickers from the whole Kendo Club. He growled in exasperation. "Aw, not you guys, too!"

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Tetsunosuke ran towards the tennis court at breakneck speed, hoping to meet up with Saya before she left. She was in Tennis Club with Hana, so he could catch up to them before they left for home if he hurried. Catching them coming out of the girl's locker room, he ran with all his might towards them, leaping over a bench as they passed, "Saya!" and failing to clear it completely. He fell flat on his face, making a few witnesses laugh. "Own… Damn it, I really screwed up." He was too embarrassed to even pick himself off the ground, not wanting to see how everyone was staring and laughing at him. It frustrated him so much! He wanted to stand up and shout at them, tell them all to shut up, but he knew it was no use. They would just laugh at him harder.

Biting her lip and glaring, Saya shook angrily. How could they laugh at someone who had fallen like that? He could be seriously injured! She rushed over to Tetsu's side, frowning furiously at all of the spectators who were taking pleasure in his pain, huffing and giving them the cold shoulder as she turned to the boy, her expression softening as she tried to get him up.

"What's wrong with you people!" Hana shouted, a glare on her face. "Poor Tetsunosuke could be hurt, and here you are, laughing at him!" As she scolded them, the laughing began to dissipate. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves!" Screaming, she began to chase everyone away, waving her arms wildly. "Go away! Shoo! Shoo!" Sighing as the crowd dispersed, she smiled over at Saya and Tetsunosuke.

"Th-thank you, Saya…" Tetsu said softly, glancing over to Hana as he sat up. "Thank you, too." He knew that this incident would continue to haunt him for a while, though. Still, it was a relief to be free of torment for now. Suddenly he remembered what he came here for. "Oh! Saya!" Reaching into his pocket, he took out the tickets. "I… wanted to know if you wanted to go to the movies with me this weekend…" Becoming timid, he shook his head. "No… Why would you want to watch a movie about samurai?" Sighing, he began to put the tickets away. "Sorry, it was a stupid ide--" He gasped as Saya suddenly grabbed his hands, smiling at him. "You mean… You want to go?" He smiled back as she nodded yes. "That's great! But um… Where should we meet?"

Giggling, Saya took a pencil and a piece of paper out of her bag and began to scribble down a meeting spot that they'd both recognize before handing it to the boy. She was so excited. No one had ever asked her out like this before. She felt so flattered that of all the girls at school, he would choose her. She waved as she left with Hana.

Waving at the girls as they left, he sighed, smiling. Mission accomplished. Now all he had to do was wait for tomorrow… He yelped as he suddenly realized that he had failed to tell his older brother anything about what was going on, tickets included. "Aw, damn it! With as excited as I was, I'm surprised I didn't brag about it to him! How the hell is he gonna let me go on such short notice!"

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Oddly enough, Tetsunosuke was allowed to go, on one condition… "…'Call me every hour or I'll get worried'… Bleh!" Tetsu rolled his eyes, impersonating his older brother. Sighing, he calmed down. "He's just… worried about me", he softly, in understanding. "I don't blame him. I probably shouldn't even be alive." Dressed in a long-sleeved blue jacket, white t-shirt with black stripe, dark blue jeans, and his usual sneakers (it was a pair of the school's indoor shoes that had been cut by the buzz saw), he waited patiently for Saya by a fountain in the new shopping center that was the talk of the town. "Where the heck is she? This was the meeting spot and the time that she arranged! It's been almost 17 minutes and it's gonna throw off my whole schedule I had planned out for us!" Well, as patient as Tetsunosuke could get.

About a minute or two later, as if she had heard his shouts, Saya ran towards him, panting heavily. She wore an unbuttoned long sleeved pink blouse, matching skirt, white spaghetti strap shirt, and white sandals. To finish off the adorable outfit, she wore a pink bow on her head. Tetsunosuke was almost knocked off his feet by how well she pulled off the look. "Saya, that's a really cute outfit!" he said in compliment. Blushing, the girl took his hand and pretended to write something in his palm. 'Did you wait long?' was what the message said. Lying he shook his head no. "Actually, I had just gotten here a few minutes ago. Anyway, I thought we could go do a little window-shopping after we eat lunch. The movie won't start until around 6:45." Winking, he added, "I have a little money saved up, so if you see something you like, don't be afraid to ask!"

Saya, blushed, politely declining his offer with a shake of her head. She didn't want to be a bother. He was the person that saved her after all. She sweat dropped, noting that Susumu was the one that technically saved the day. But Tetsunosuke did alert him of the situation, and he tried to help, which is all that matters. Plus, Susumu wasn't the one who comforted her afterwards… She walked along side him as they walked to the food court, feeling quite hungry since she had overslept and had to skip breakfast, which was of course, the reason she was late. Tugging on Tetsunosuke's sleeve, she pointed to a nearby noodle place.

"So you wanna eat there, Saya?" he asked, looking in the direction she was pointing in. He smiled, walking over. "Okay then! Let's go!"

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After ordering their meal, they walked over to a table, sat down, and waited. As they waited, they heard an overly loud, obnoxiously sloppy slurping sound from behind. A bit of broth splattered Tetsu in the back of the head. Turning around in annoyance, he began shouting at the offender. "Hey, you! Why don't you--" He quickly stopped himself as he realized who he was screaming his head off at. His jaw dropped and he began to stutter. "O-o-officer Saito…"

"I had a feeling that the head of red hair in front of me belonged to you, Ichimura…" Hajime replied, slurping up a bowl of soba noodles, as usual. He leaned forward, giving the boy a stern look through his bored looking eyes. "It's very rude to disturb a man's meal."

"It's also pretty rude to get your food onto other people…" replied smugly, crossing his arms. "The fact that you accomplished that from your distance clearly implies that you're the one at fault here!" Huffing angrily, he calmed down as he took note of the police officer's clothing. He was wearing what looked like an old Meiji era police officer's uniform, sans the hat… It clearly wasn't standard police attire, and he could get in big trouble if he was caught. "Um, what's with the outfit?"

"It's my day off…" He replied plainly, taking another slurp of soup. "I always wear this on my off. I found it in a clothing shop that specialized in old clothing, in almost mint condition surprisingly, and it just seemed to call out to me…" Spacing out for a moment, Saito stared off into the distance. "There's a spirit here."

Saya tilted her head in confusion, making a faint "Hn?" sound. This Saito person was quite strange, Saya thought to herself. Could he really be a police officer? She decided not to question him.

Nothing the girl's confusion, Hajime explained, holding up some beads. "I originally came here to deal with a restless spirit who died on this land. I got hungry and came here, to the food court."

"Lunch can't get here soon enough…" Tetsunosuke muttered, running his hands through his hair and tugging on the red locks, Saya giggling as she watched. "Aw Saya, it's not funny…"

Meanwhile, at another table that was within hearing distance, Okita held back his snickers, a stoic looking Hijikata sitting across from him. Souji wore a light blue turtleneck, white pants, and matching sneakers. Toshizo was wearing a black sleeveless shirt, jeans, and black boots. Hijikata "…It's really not that funny", the principal muttered, glaring at the embarrassing display by a student at his school. "I swear, that brat had better not cause any trouble…"

To Be Continued…