Ryuji stifled a yawn as walked to Shujin Academy. His backpack with his spare set of clothes was slung over his shoulder, and he trudged towards his school like he'd rather be doing anything else. And he did feel that way, having spent far too long last night online. He knew he'd regret it, and yet he hadn't stopped himself and he'd still had to wake up at five that morning.
Somehow, he'd managed to drag himself out of bed, stuff himself into his running gear and take the train to school without really remembering it. The taste of strong, dark coffee lingered in his mouth, so he figured he must have gotten a breakfast down, but he couldn't remember that either.
A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision caught his attention. Ryuji turned his head to see a lean young man come walking his way with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. A duffel bag...with a twitching tail? Ryuji squinted at the approaching figure, trying to see more of the duffel bag. It was then that the young man abruptly changed course, heading away from Ryuji. Ryuji's natural curiosity got the better of him and he found himself following after the dark haired newcomer.
The dark haired boy was wearing a Shujin Academy uniform, so Ryuji figured it was reasonable to assume that this was the kid mentioned on the forums last night. Ryuji openly checked the new student out, trying to get a feel for him. He didn't seem like someone with a record. Mostly, the kid seemed like he was trying to fade into the background. And he might have except for the twitching tail coming out of his duffel bag. Ryuji continued following the newcomer down a strange route that took detours and double backs through alleys.
After a good extra mile of detours, the impromptu trio arrived close to the gates of Shujin Academy. Then, the dark haired boy pulled out his phone and began to fiddle with it, tapping away at the most unusual app. It looked like a graphic rendering of an eye. At this point the dark haired boy turned around quite suddenly, and Ryuji crashed into him.
The two boys went sprawling, and something dark and furry spilled out of the duffel bag. There was a screeching yowl, and Ryuji scrambled to his feet.
"Hey uh, sorry man! Didn't mean to bump into you like that!" yelped Ryuji, helping the new comer to his feet. The newcomer brushed himself off, and a black and white cat leapt onto the dark haired boy's shoulders. The cat glared at Ryuji with unusually intelligent bright blue eyes before hissing directly in his face.
Ryuji flinched away, holding his hands up as he backed away from a swipe aimed at his face. "Whoa dude! What's with your cat?!" he yelped, and the dark haired boy sighed before gathering his things up and stuffing the cat back into the duffel.
"Morgana's just mad that he got tumbled like that. He'll be fine, you didn't do any lasting harm," said the transfer student, ignoring the indignant mewling coming from the duffel bag. Ryuji lowered his hands with a curious look on his face.
"Morgana huh? Kind of a weird name for a cat," said Ryuji, his previous astonishment fading. "Also uh...why do you have a cat at school dude," he asked, now feeling just plain curious. The transfer student looked down, his eyes searching the ground. He seemed as though he were weighing several options in his head, and Ryuji watched the strange newcomer with interest.
Eventually, the transfer student looked up.
"He gets depressed if I leave him alone. If I leave him at home when I go to school, he gets so sad that he refuses to eat," said the transfer student mildly. Ryuji just stared at the newcomer. "It's not good for cats to starve themselves. And anyway, it's tough to keep him from following me anyway, this is just a good way to keep an eye on him," added the transfer student. Ryuji considered this before shrugging. Whatever, he thought to himself. Maybe the guy was just fond of his cat.
"Well, sorry I ran into you like that. I didn't mean to follow you around like a creep, I just heard you had a record and I wanted to see if you were doing anything uh...criminal," said Ryuji, perhaps a shade too honestly. The transfer student didn't seem to be offended though. "You don't seem like much of a criminal though," continued Ryuji and the transfer student smiled a little.
"Anyway, I'm Ryuji Sakamoto, good to meet you man," said Ryuji sticking his hand out a little awkwardly. The transfer student grabbed his hand firmly and shook it.
"I'm Akira Kurisu. I'm the transfer student, though I guess you already knew that," replied the dark haired boy and Ryuji grinned sheepishly.
"Yeah, well, I can show you around if you need. I don't think we're in the same homeroom, but I know where Kawakami's class is, so I can take you there," said Ryuji, jerking his head in the direction of the school when the sound of footsteps caught his attention. The tail poking out of the duffel bag withdrew into it quickly and the two boys turned around to see the school's volleyball coach approach them along with a blonde haired girl.
The blonde haired girl kept her head down, carefully not making eye contact with either of the boys and walked quickly into the school, while the volleyball coach approached the boys with a smirk on his face.
"Oh Sakamoto," sneered the volleyball coach, looking him over. Ryuji felt like he had a hot coal smouldering in his chest, and he quickly averted his eyes from the face of tall former athlete. "How's your training coming along? A little harder now that you forced the track team to disband?" asked the coach, his smirk growing wider.
"...It's going fine Kamoshida," said Ryuji through gritted teeth. His hands clenched and unclenched, and Ryuji wished that Kamoshida would either drop dead or leave. Kamoshida leered at Ryuji for a moment longer before turning his attention to the dark haired newcomer.
"And who's this Sakamoto? Have you gone making friends with the transfer student?" asked Kamoshida, some of the nastiness leaving his voice.
"Well transfer student, I know you're new here and all, but I would think twice about befriending scum like this," said the volleyball coach. Akira pretended to look thoughtful for a moment before he spoke.
"I appreciate the advice, but I think I can work out who's scum on my own, thanks," said Akira in a quiet but defiant voice. Kamoshida looked just as stunned as if the transfer student had reached out and slapped him, while Ryuji felt his mouth drop open.
"You're going to want to rethink that, transfer student. Or else your stay at this academy won't be for very long," snarled Kamoshida, stalking off towards the school with a thunderous expression. Ryuji continued staring at Akira in shock for a few moment longer before stuttering out a halting thanks.
"Don't worry about it," said Akira, returning to his former laid back demeanor. "You seem like a decent guy and that guy seems like an ass. It was a pretty easy thing," said the dark haired boy and Ryuji just shook his head in disbelief.
"Still, you stood up to him for someone you don't even know! Man, you're really something else," said Ryuji, his voice a mixture of disbelief and admiration. "Anyways, I'll show you around like I said I would," finished Ryuji and Akira smiled at him.