Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 5:04 AM
Iwatodai Dormitory, 2nd Floor, Makoto Yuki's room
Makoto rolled out of bed with a yawn and a stretch.
His room was dark, only barely visible by the light glow of dawn. His suitcases laid haphazardly on the ground, emptied of only the most immediate essentials.
Everything still felt alien to him. Though his room was larger than the one he had to share with his cousins when he first moved in with them, it felt even more claustrophobic.
As he dressed himself, checked his phone, and brushed his teeth, it occurred to him he didn't know if he was expected to provide his own food or if it would be provided for him.
Was that mentioned in the flier? He spat out some water into the sink and checked himself in the mirror. Don't need to shave for another few days. Might as well go downstairs and check it out.
As Makoto made his way down the hall, dressed and ready for school in advance, he noticed that both Sanada and Aragaki had their doors left open.
He arrived to the ground floor, letting the smell of steamed rice and soup guide him. A tall man with messy brown hair wearing a red sweater and black pants was cooking several meals all at once. His focus was completely on his food, not even noticing Makoto as he stepped into the kitchen.
"Smells good."
"Gyah!" The red-clothed man jumped and spun around wildly, lifting his arms to defend himself. "Who the hell-"
"Yo." Makoto gave him a peace-sign. "Are you Sanada-san or Aragaki-san?"
Slowly, he unwound. "So you're the transfer student they mentioned last night." He grumbled under his breath. Makoto nodded. "Didn't expect to see you up this early." He tepidly offered a hand. "I'm Shinjiro Aragaki."
"Makoto Yuki." His hand was much larger than Makoto's own, but his grip was surprisingly soft and tender. "People shake hands here quite a bit." Makoto noted.
Aragaki shrugged. "Blame red-eyes, she insists on doing it for every new person she meets, and somehow it caught on here."
"Is she American?"
He shrugged again. "Dunno, didn't ask." Aragaki continued to toss the rice around.
"I forgot if this was covered or not, but are we expected to provide our own meals or...?"
"The third years are responsible for buying groceries once a week." He paused to check the soup. "You can cook or eat whatever is in the fridge over there, or go buy yourself some stuff with your own cash. It's up to you."
"I see." Makoto tugged as his collar. It was stiflingly hot in the kitchen, and despite being even closer to the oven, Aragaki looked none the worse for wear. "Thank you Aragaki-san."
He grunted. "If you want, you can have some."
"I would appreciate that."
As Aragaki finished, they took the food over to the living room, setting up enough for six.
Both of them sat and ate their meals in silence. The dorm was spacious, as Makoto looked around he definitely felt like it was large enough to hold an entire classroom's worth full of people. As he sipped his soup he looked at the other four meals Aragaki set up.
Me, him, Shiomi, Takeba, Kirijo, and Sanada. Just six people in dorm this big is a bit much. Are there going to be more people moving in? There's two vacancies in the boy's floor, so there should be at least two more on the girl's floor right. That's at least ten people.
As they finished up their respective breakfasts, it dawned on Makoto that there was one dorm-mate he had yet to meet. He looked across the table to his senpai. "I haven't had a chance to meet Sanada-san, what is he like?"
Aragaki snorted. "An idiot."
"...oh."
"Aki lacks common sense, so don't take it the wrong way if he says something dumb or rude." He said. "Trust me, he ain't smart enough to be insincere like that."
"I see." Makoto tugged at his collar again. "I noticed his door was open when I was coming downstairs."
"He usually goes for a run before class." Aragaki shook his head. "Dude never knows when to take it easy."
Before Makoto could say anything else, a loud "GOOOOOOD MORNING!" echoed from upstairs. Despite only meeting her once, Makoto could already tell who it was.
Aragaki sighed. "Speaking of never knowing when to take it easy."
"Is she always like this?"
Aragaki nodded. "Girl's got enough energy to power the whole island."
"It's too early in the morning to be that energetic." Aragaki snorted and flashed him a knowing grin.
Her rapid footsteps down the stairs portended her arrival. "GOOOOOOOD morning senpai, good morning Makoto!" She flashed them a peace-sign as she skidded to a stop. "You guys made this for me? You shouldn't have."
"Just eat your breakfast." Aragaki stood up. "I'm gonna go get ready."
Shiomi sat next to him and immediately started scarfing down her food. "Sho," she said in-between bites, "you an early risher or shomethin'?"
Makoto cringed at her table manners. "Yeah."
She nodded. "Alright, alright. You haven't had a chance to visit Gekkoukan yet, right?" Makoto shook his head. "Well don't worry, cuz me and Yukari-chan are gonna tell you everything about it on the way there."
True to her word, once Takeba arrived, Shiomi spent nearly the entire walk to the train, as well as the train ride itself, talking about Gekkoukan, jumping from one anecdote or fact or alleged secret to another. The only respite was when Takeba occasionally chimed in to contribute something.
As they arrived to the school itself, he stood and took in the size of the building. It looked modern and prestigious, nothing like his old school.
"Ta-DAAAAA!" Shiomi bowed and extended her hand up into the air. "Our illustrious Gekkoukan High School, a proud educational institution that has existed since the founding of Japan itself."
"I thought Takeba-san said it was built only a decade ago."
Shiomi pouted. "Come ooonnnnn." She whined. "Let me have fun."
"I can't stand hyperbole. I'll die before I let that happen." Shiomi stuck her tongue out at him, while Takeba snorted.
"Well," Takeba said with her hand on her hip, "I see you're in a good mood this morning. I'd love to show you around a bit more, but I gotta go do some club stuff."
"Same here." Shiomi said. "You should probably go to the Faculty Office to make sure everything has been cleared." Makoto nodded.
Instead, Makoto chose to make a detour, wandering around the halls, learning the lay of the land, and indulging in some people-watching.
Every school he had ever been to had people who, intentionally or unintentionally, tend to attract attention. Within ten minutes Makoto saw just as many people who fit that description, between boisterous jocks, flashily dressed girls, and a man in a samurai helmet conversing with a young blond foreign boy about samurai.
When he did eventually wander to the Faculty Office, he spotted a woman in a pinkish jacket who reminded him of an older Takeba. Maybe her sister or mother?
"Oh, hello." She said with a gentle smile as their eyes met. "You must be the new transfer student from Kumamoto Prefecture. Makoto-kun right?"
He nodded. "Makoto Yuki. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss...?"
"Toriumi. I teach Composition. Welcome to Gekkoukan by the way." She said with a smile. "Have you seen the classroom assignments?" He shook his head. "You're going to be in my class, 2-F. But I'm getting ahead of myself, we need to go to the welcoming ceremony first. Let me take you there." She closed her eyes and sighed. "Try not to fall asleep, these things can be a bit...unstimulating."
Makoto raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Like Ms. Toriumi said, the speech from the principal was indeed unstimulating. It was roughly as slow as watching a glacier melt. Or listening to his uncle ramble for the twelfth time about why Tokyo sucked. Words were heard, but not digested.
The rest of the day went by in a blur, somewhere around a million introductions and teachers flew right on by. They were certainly a colorful bunch, compared to his old school. The only thing that stuck with Makoto were that he was in the same classroom as Shiomi and Takeba, their seats being directly in front of his.
Just as the day ended, and Makoto was about to leave, he heard someone speak. "Sup dude? How's it going?" A classmate with a baseball cap, a goatee, and a big grin on his face approached Makoto.
Makoto tilted his head. "Um, hi. Who are you?" He vaguely recognized the boy as the one who sat over to his right.
With a smile that extended almost as wide as Shiomi's, he pointed to himself with his thumb. "Junpei Iori's the name. You can just call me Junpei though. I transferred out here in 8th grade, so I gotcha man, I know what it's like being the new guy." Out of the corner of his eye, Makoto saw two familiar faces. "Yo, Yuka-tan, Koko-tan what's up? I didn't think we'd be in the same class again."
"Sup Junpei." Shiomi and him both fist-bumped as Takeba sighed.
"Didya ever think you're bothering people, Junpei?"
"Ah come onnnnn." He whined. "I'm just trying to make the new guy feel welcome, like I did with Kotone."
Takeba ignored him and looked at Makoto. "Looks like all of us are in the same class. Neat huh?"
"It's pretty convenient."
"By the by," Junpei said, butting in, "I heard all three of you came in together this morning. Come on, spill the beans."
Takeba rolled her eyes. "Nothing happened, Stupei, he just got assigned to our dorm and we showed him the way here."
"I learned a lot of fun Gekkoukan facts on the train ride here." Makoto said. "Did you know Gekkoukan has been here since the founding of Japan?"
"Whoa." His eyes went wide. "Seriously?"
Shiomi giggled and Takeba sighed.
Makoto put his headphones around his neck. "It's true, I heard it from a good source." Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Shiomi grin wickedly.
"Anyways," Takeba interjected. "I've got some stuff to take care of for the archery team. Do you know the way back?" Makoto gave her a thumbs up. "OK good."
"I gotta go finish up some stuff too." Shiomi gave a little curtsy. "See ya guys back at the dorm."
After the day ended, Makoto wandered for hours.
Tatsumi Port Island was big. Really big.
Knowing that was one thing, but walking through it, watching it zip by on the train, seeing the unending mass of people moving about, it was something else. Makoto had lived in a few places over his life, but having spent the last few years in the much more humble city of Koshi, on the outskirts of Kumamoto, it was a different experience.
Not a bad one, he mused as he watched it pass by on the train, just different.
As he got off his last stop, Makoto took a minute to breath in the warm air, to feel the last bit of the day's sunlight on his face, and let a small smile crawl onto his lips as dusk fell on the island.
Yeah. I can do this.
Makoto fished his cell phone out of his bag and dialed a number. "Hey, Aunt Yae, is Uncle Daisuke there? No, nothing's wrong, I just wanted to call you guys and say hi."
Tuesday, April 7, 2009, 7:12 PM
Iwatodai Dormitory, 4th floor
"Yes sir, Mr. Chairman." Mitsuru said. "Understood, thank you." She closed her phone and let out a deep sigh as she sunk into the sofa.
Shinjiro raised an eyebrow. "Everything alright?" He sat on the other sofa, jacket messily thrown to the side of it.
Mitsuru turned her head, eyes tired and bleary in a way Shinjiro knew she'd never let anyone outside of this room see. "The chairman was supposed to be here today but canceled on us. Again." She shook her head. "I understand he's busy but I'd like a little more help here."
Shinjiro shrugged. "Nothing can be done about it." A lopsided grin crawled onto his face. "You wanna work out some aggression tonight patrolling for Shadows?"
"I'm not Akihiko you know." She said with a droll smile. "Besides, I have to stay here and keep watch on Yuki."
"Oh yeah, the new kid from this morning." Shinjiro said. "Speaking of, what does Penthesilea say? He got the potential?"
"Yuki slept through the Dark Hour last night without transmogrifying, so the chances are pretty high." Mitsuru said. "But I'll have to keep an eye on him for at least a few more days to make sure it isn't a fluke." She paused. "Given that it was the chairman's decision to place him here, I doubt it."
"Tch." Shinjiro kicked up his feet on the table, ignoring Mitsuru's frown. "First those two girls last year, now this kid. How the hell does Ikutsuki keep finding people? You ever ask him that?"
She crossed her arms. "You know that he won't tell me anything worthwhile."
"Yeah." He muttered. "We're just his attack dogs. Asshole won't even fight on the front lines himself."
Mitsuru opened her mouth, but shook her head and said nothing.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009, 1:12PM
Gekkoukan High School
"Open your textbooks, and we'll take a look at the first novel by...Zenzou Kasai." Ms. Toriumi rolled her eyes. "Ugh...why him?"
As she rambled on, Makoto took the time to observe his new classmates in their natural habitat. Junpei doodled in his notebook, not even bothering to pretend to pay attention. Shiomi happily swung her legs back and forth as she hummed something under her breath, head aimed in Ms. Toriumi's direction as she occasionally scribbled down notes. Takeba sat up straight and took constant notes.
Come midterms, Makoto knew who he was asking for help studying.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009, Dark Hour
Iwatodai Dormitory, 4th Floor
"How is he?" Akihiko asked as he arrived.
"Still normal." Mitsuru said, eyes closed as Penthesilea floated over her. "He's been sleeping soundly the entire Dark Hour three nights in a row."
Shinjiro looked down on his Evoker, a impish grin on his face. "How mean would it be if I went in there and used this on him?"
Mitsuru opened her eyes, glaring at him as Penthesilea's blade twitched. Akihiko raised an eyebrow.
"Kidding, kidding." He said with his hands up. "I wouldn't do that. But three is good enough for me. Kid has the potential. Might as well get him ready ASAP."
She crossed her arms and closed her eyes again, restarting her scan on Makoto. "There's no guarantee Yuki will even be interested in joining SEES. Especially not if we throw him off of the deep end like that."
Shinjiro shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not."
"It's worth talking to him about it when the chairman comes to visit." Akihiko offered. "If Ikutsuki can't convince him, maybe take him out for a night and show him how hunting Shadows gets the blood pumping. There's not a guy in the world that wouldn't say yes."
Shinjiro snorted. "I've actually talked to the kid, and he has more than three brain cells, Aki. I don't think combat is gonna be quite the catch you think it is."
"We will see in due time." Mitsuru said as she deactivated her Persona. "For now, since you haven't found any Shadows, and Yuki is sleeping soundly, we should break for the night."
Both nodded and followed her out of the room.