1/13 Wed

"I'm Mixta. Mixta Akatsuki. Please treat me well."

No extravagant comments were made as Akatsuki Mixta introduced himself to his new classmates, bowing lightly all the while, though he was able to hear a few hushed mumblings as the few students that spoke between themselves inquired to one another about just who he was. His homeroom teacher seemed a little uncomfortable with the silence, but even so, she had gestured for him to take his seat behind one Niijima.

Akatsuki had offered no resistance as he did as he was told.

Upon being seated, his homeroom teacher, one Kawakami Sadayo, began to speak, with her reintroducing Akatsuki in a more formal manner and requesting that they treat him well once more before starting her lesson off on a somewhat tired note. Why was she so tired was a question that popped into Akatsuki's mind at one point, though he thought little of it as he simply paid attention to her teachings.

Amidst the lesson, however, a few more mutterings could be heard as the other students began whispering amongst one another, seeming ignorant to their homeroom teacher's talking all the while. They kept their voice down so as to not alert her to their mumblings, and if he were honest, Akatsuki wasn't sure what they were even talking about to begin with, but based on how the whisperers kept shooting stares in his general direction, their comments seemed to be in regards to him more so than anything.

At one point, Akatsuki did pick up on a comment regarding his looks, and at another, he did hear someone mumbling about who he was exactly, though Mixta had managed to tune out all those comments in favour of just listening to his teacher.

As someone that had been homeschooled for all his life, he relished in being able to attend a proper class with other students, even if he did wish that they would stop blabbering on and on without end and just let him pay attention…

Regardless, classes had ended sooner than he had hoped, and lunch break passed by without much incident, though he did catch wind of how there were a few small rumors going around about him amidst his fellow Second Years. Most of them were incorrect, of course, but a few did hit a little too close to the mark for his liking.

"Why is he three days late…?" - he had his reasonings.

"Do you think he dyed his hair?" - no, his hair was just naturally pink/light brown

"Does he look like a delinquent to you…?" - debatable. He wouldn't do anything out of line, not unless absolutely necessary. How he looked was up to him, though.

"I hear he's the son of a Yakuza!" - … no comment.

"Do you think that he was isekaied here?!" - … what?

Sporadic rumors aside, his first true day of school had ended without too much fanfare, though before he left, Akatsuki was summoned to the principal's office to meet Principal Kobayakawa. Akatsuki had already decidedly chosen to not like him, though he would tolerate him for being the one that accepted him into Shujin regardless, even if he knew that he had done so only to bolster the place's already stellar reputation.

Akatsuki had been summoned before classes had even started, as Kobayakawa had intended on giving him a quick rundown of what he could expect in the school before sending him off. In truth… his run down was nothing more than an attempt at sucking up to Mixta, something that was blatantly apparent to both himself and Sadayo, who was present due to how she was his homeroom teacher, and to say that it did not work… would be an understatement.

As for the afternoon summon, Kobayakawa had repeated much of the same shit he had spewed in the morning, albeit with one extra suggestion. Simply put, he wanted Akatsuki to consider joining a club! In truth, the suggestion piqued Mixta's interest, though as he heard the principal list off the ones he'd recommend, his intentions became clear; he wanted him to join a sports club…

Great. Akatsuki knew that Shujin was made famous thanks to how a retired Olympian that was now teaching here had launched several of its students into stardom, and it seemed as though Kobayakawa meant to capitalize on this by recruiting more students for their star to make popular. From a business standpoint, it was rather smart of him… but the pink haired boy couldn't condone using students to bolster one's reputation!

Regardless, Mixta… assured him that he'd consider it, and he did mean it, as he was somewhat interested in taking up a sports related after school activity, though he ended the conversation right there and then, with him not wishing to say anything more to the man that, clearly, had no respect for any of his students.

"You should've been a little gentler on the door, you know, Mixta-Kun," hummed Sadayo as she escorted Akatsuki towards the front gates of Shujin, to which the boy grunted. He cared little for such a trivial matter as slamming the door to Kobayakawa's office with the force of a tidal wave. Kawakami acknowledged his lack of care on the matter as she sighed and nodded, grumbling about problem children and how her paycheck would be docked because of this, though neither commented on it any further as they walked on in silence.

Once they were by the entrance, Akatsuki stepped out of the entrance and nodded to Sadayo as a sort of farewell. For all it was worth, the yellow-wearing teacher smiled a tiny bit and mirrored the gesture before departing back into Shujin, leaving the boy to his own devices as he turned to leave its premises…

… and yet, before he could leave for his rented apartment, which was just a ten minute walk away from the school, Akatsuki felt his gaze shifting towards a few flower pots that were lined up by the entrance to Shujin. Said flower pots were filled with, well… flowers that looked very healthy, and despite himself, the pink haired boy couldn't resist crouching down and examining a few of them up close for himself. Reaching for one with red petals, Mixta ran his fingers across its leaf and smiled a tiny bit at the sensation.

In truth, Akatsuki had wanted to do this in the morning, but even so, he, unfortunately, didn't have the time to do so, as he needed to head straight to the principal to be briefed on the ins and outs of his new school life. Honestly speaking, Mixta had been rather worried for them, as the Winter Season was still going on in Japan, though based on how green their petals were, the boy surmised that they had been properly cared for in spite of the cold, much to his relief.

Whilst observing the surprisingly healthy flowers, however, Akatsuki felt the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end as he felt a pair of eyes locking onto his kneeling form. Without pause, he glanced up towards the one staring down at him, and in an instant, the pink haired boy found himself making eye contact with an auburn haired girl that curled up near the edges and brown eyes, dressed in a cardigan and the atypical Shujin skirt.

Said girl seemed to be confused in regards to his presence here, and after a few moments of staring up at her, Akatsuki stood up and got ready to leave, with him assuming that his presence was not welcomed here. Much to his chagrin, however, when he stood up, he had done so with more force than he had intended, and the girl had taken a preemptive step back in response to this apparent act of aggression.

It looked as though she was afraid of him, and for all it was worth… that thought made Akatsuki frown a little as he slouched his shoulders and lowered his gaze. Brilliant, not even a day into his new school life and he was already threatening people without wishing for it.

'... I should go,' thought Akatsuki as he crouched down, picked up his bag and slung it across his left shoulder, and at that, he turned to leave, though not without sharing a few parting words.

"... sorry for intruding," apologised the boy sincerely, with his voice barely even a whisper as he got ready to leave, and yet, before he could do so…

"W-Wait! It's fine! You can stay here if you want…!"

… the girl had spoken, and upon doing so, Akatsuki had stiffened a little as he acknowledged just how… familiar that voice sounded. Pausing briefly, the boy glanced back at the girl and gave her another one over, and at that, his irises shrunk a little when he realized that the girl looked very familiar to him, but why he thought this way was anyone's guess at this point…

The pink haired boy was snapped out of his trance when he realized that one of the girl's hands was reaching out towards him, and on reflex, he moved out of her range and quickly race-walked out of there. He didn't think to look back all the while, but even so, his heart raced rather intensely, with it only slowing down after he got to his rented apartment block not too far from the school.

Once inside, Akatsuki breathed in heavily, threw his bag down and leaned back against the door to his home, where he slid down its surface and massaged his temple with two fingers, all the while wondering…

'... just who the Hell was she…?'