The Furry Forums
Creative Arts and Media => Roleplay => Serious RP => Topic started by: Shinzuu Katame: Her Tolfy on April 27, 2010, 02:47:21 PM
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Welcome to Feral High School!
Here in Feral High, your days consist of going through your language classes, history, and math. Everyone in the school has PE at the same time, though at different parts of the school. Boys' and girls' gym classes are separated and you always change in the classroom (gender separated, of course). Lunch is also universal for everyone at noon, for 1 hour. After school, you go to club and/or sports team practice for at least 2 hours (Might be more if you're doing sports). School year starts in the Spring and ends after the end of Winter. You'll have 1 month of summer vacation and 1 month of winter vacation.
Your experience here will be filled with drama, fun and just living throughout your daily school life. Things will happen to you. How you deal with it, will be up to you because this world is not what it's cracked up to be. And you'll never know what kind of crazy crap will happen.
It is the first day of school and you are late for the Year's Opening Assembly. Get your lazy butt out of bed and out to school. Your parents are working and there's no such thing as a bus. How are you gonna get there?
Shinzuu snorted as he awoke from his mother's voice. "Shinny! Wake up already! I'm going to work! You're already late! I love you!" Shinzuu rubbed his eyes as he looked at his clock. 9:00am...... Holy (censored)!!!! He jumped out of bed and quickly grabbed his duffle bag and his school ceremonial uniform for the day. Shinzuu shoved his jeans and his t-shirt into his duffel as well so that he can change into them later. He tripped over his feet as he reached the door of his apartment and face-planted into the door. Son of a (censored) and (censored) and a (censored) and a (censored)!!!!! Shinzuu jumped into his shoes and opened the door, slamming it shut behind him and sprinted full speed towards the school. Dammit, thbe assembly started an hour ago and I'm supposed to be my class speaker!
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Veronica slowly opened her eyes and, by judging the light coming through the window, already knew she was late. Her parents had both left at 7:00 am for work so they weren't there to tell her she would be late when she usually got up at 7:30 am. She groaned as she rolled on her side then sat up on the bed, her hair standing up in several different directions. She got up and put on her first day ceremonial uniform then quickly brushed out her hair out and pulled it back, tying it in a ponytail. Checking her bag, she made sure that her cheerleader outfit was already in it and put her regular outfit in it as well to change into later. She left her room as she slung her bag over her shoulder and grabbed a banana as she passed through the kitchen and left. Once she hit the street, she started running full sprint towards the school as she ate her banana on the way.
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Reno was lying asleep in his desk chair snoring and drooling on himself. Infront of him his laptop with a bright red "Game over" strewn across the screen. He was already dressed in his spiffy cerimonial outfit, he had been awake several hours earlier. He waited all night for a game store to open to finally buy a new game he had been putting away for. He didn't get much sleep and fell asleep playing it. Suddenly a knock came on his door. "Reno, aren't you going to be late for school?" asked a female voice from outside. Reno quickly woke up and fell out of his chair with a thud and a moan as he wiped the drool from his cheek. "Are you okay, Reno?" "Aye, Dorris, I'm fine!" said Reno scrambling to his feet. "Are you sure, do you want me to get you some breakfast?" asked Dorris. "No thank you, Dorris!" said Reno running onto the small bathroom in his little hotel room. He looked at himself in the mirror. He then wiped the rest of the drool from his face and smoothed out the ruffled bit of fur on his left ear, which also had a piercing near the tip. Reno then stuck his fingers in his mouth and stretch it open looking at his teeth. "Clean enough." He quickly ran out of the bathroom grabbed his bag and headed for the door. He opened it and stepped outside; Dorris directly infront of him. "Morning Reno, better hurry or you'll be late." she said with a bit of a smile. Reno looked down at his watch; he was way late. "I am way late..." "Want a ride? I'm just about to head home anyway." "Aye, that would be lovely, thank you, Dorris, your a life saver." "Alright, c'mon then." With that Reno locked his door and followed Dorris to her car outside the hotel.
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Shinzuu weaved through people, parks and random traffic, rushing to school. (censored) (censored) (censored)!!!!!!! As he crossed the last street to the school, the gates were already up and a car came screeching in front of him with another student and what looked like a prostitute. Without skipping a stride, Shinzuu hopped up onto the car's hood and used it to launch himself just over the top of the closed gate. He made a direct line for the gymnasium and began to hear the voices from the gym. "And now, let's hear from your class speaker for this year, Shinzuu Katame.... *silence* Shinzuu? Where is Shinzuu?" Shinzuu burst through the door and dropped off his bag right as he got in and ran straight for the podium. "I'm here! I'm here!" As he got up to the podium, he panted and tried to catch his breath, and then he gave his speech.
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Once Veronica rounded the corner and saw the school gate she also saw the car and another student who used it to launch himself over the closed gate. "Couldn't hurt..." She said softly to herself as she continued her run towards the car and the gate. She jumped onto the trunk of the car then the top of it and pushed herself up into the air. She touched her hands to the top of the gate, looking like she was doing a handstand on it for a millisecond, before flipping in the air and landing lightly on her feet on the other side. "Who would have thought that cheerleading moves would come in handy in everyday life?" She said to herself as she ran to the gymnasium. Going through the doors as Shinzuu had just gotten up to the podium, she calmly walked over to sit by her friends. "Did I miss anything, Carmen?" She asked the cougar next to her. "Just the usual." Carmen responded, waving a hand to brush it off like nothing without taking her eyes off of Shinzuu. "Too bad he's gay..." Carmen said softly and sighed. Veronica rolled her eyes and looked towards Shinzuu, listening to his speech.
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Reno was getting out of the car by the time Veronica had used it to jump the gate. He just shook his head, closed the car door and walked over to the gate. There was a custodian shaking his head aswell on the otherside of the gate. " 'Ey, mind opnen' the gate for me, runnin' a tad late." The custodian walked up to the gate, he was ready to tell him to go around but realized it was Reno. "Hey hey! Reno mah boy, how's it goin'?!" said the custodian fumbling with some keys. "Bah, same ole same ole." "How's the wife?" Bye the time he asked the custodian had already opened the gate. Almost instantly Reno responded "Which one?" They both began to laugh hard as Reno came inside and the custodian closed the gate behind him. "Ah, you got your father's wit you do, Reno." Reno instantly stopped laughing, his expression changed to a more depressed look. "How is your old man anyway?" Reno turned a bit to hide his depressed face, the last thing he wanted to do was have anyone worry, or say they're sorry. "Uh...'e's fine, 'e went on a bussiness trip with me mother, won't be back for awhile." "Ah, how like your father, always busy, you tell him I said hello, alright?" A tear formed in Reno's eye as he began to walk off to the ceremony waving over his shoulder without looking back. "Aye, will do."
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Shinzuu stepped down after he finished his speech and Principal Yass whispered to him as he passed her by. "My office, after homeroom, Katame. Already causing trouble on the first day of the year. Not exactly being a good role model to the freshmen." Shinzuu ignored her and found the empty seat that was reserved for him in the front row. He sat down and the duck next to him whispered over to him, "Wow, dude. You really know how to tick her off, don't you? I mean, come on. It took us way too much effort to get the others to vote for you, and you show up almost an hour and a half late." Shinzuu scratched the side of his neck where the Principal had come close to him. "Eh... I didn't ask for it. Give me a break. Besides, even if she wants to, old Principal Hare can't lay a finger on me because I win us the meets and games."
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Veronica sat there listening to Shinzuu's speech as her eyes roamed around the gymnasium. Once Shinzuu had stopped speaking her eyes moved back to the the podium and saw the principal say something to him. "Oooo, somebody's in trouble!" Carmen exclaimed in a soft whisper. Both Veronica and the female otter sitting on the other side of Carmen turned towards Carmen, put a finger to their lips, and shushed her. "Sorry, jeez...just trying to make things less boring..." Carmen muttered and put her chin in her hands. "Oh don't you start pouting!" Veronica whispered teasingly and nudged her friend, causing her to smile. Veronica smiled herself and looked back towards the podium again. It was true that she was bored. She had always hated assemblies so she was kind of glad that she had been almost an hour and a half late.
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Reno walked in as Shinzuu was stepping down. He sat in an empty seat in the back with a few empty seats between him and others. Reno had never been interested in assemblies, he was planning to start ditching them eventually. He noticed a few girls talking amunst themselves, he payed little attention as one shushed the other. Reno took out his iPod, and went to a playlist labeled "Classical" and stuck the two earpieces into his ears and sat back listening to the light sounds of various symphonies.
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The last hour of the assembly went by slowly as the teachers introduced themselves and the staff handed out everyone's schedules. As they got up to leave, the duck that was sitting next to Shinzuu patted his back, "I'll see you on track, man. They put me in 2-F this year. Oh, and I can't do basketball this year, either. I'm being forced to study more now." Shinzuu smiled and waved him to run off. He's never been a boy of much words, but then again, he and his buddies were always like that. Shinzuu slowly made his way to the Principal's office. There, he sat on the chair farthest from the door and waited, nothing to look at but the stupid name plate in front of him. Shinzuu still couldn't help but chuckle. Principal H. Yass. The door opened behind him, "And what's so funny?" The short, fat rabbit in a maroon suit walked in, it was more than apparent that she was probably baking bread in her shoes, but he wasn't about to get into anymore trouble for mentioning such. Hare sat down at her desk and began to chew out Shinzuu for his first day.
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Veronica's mind wandered throughout the rest of the assembly. Only Carmen nudging her made her realize that the assembly was over. She got up from her seat and exited the gymnasium. "What class do you have first? I have Algebra." Carmen asked as they walked along the hallway, the otter walking on the other side of her. Veronica looked down at her schedule. "I've got Spanish. How about you, Liz?" She looked over at the otter. "English." Liz answered as she looked down at her schedule. They all waved to each other as they went their separate ways. Veronica walked slowly to the French classroom. When she walked in the door she took a seat close to the door in the second to last row of desks. She was actually one of the first few students there so she took out her notebook and turned to the last page, starting to doodle as she waited for class to start.
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Reno looked at his schedule as he left the assembly not saying a word. He had English first. He was familiar where the room was so he zoomed through the crowds of people; walking rather quickly like he usually did. The only time he acknowledged people were his so called "Friends" who called him by his nickname "Garf". He gave them a silent nod and a smile and continued on his way to class. He tried his best to still be earlier, but despite his best effort he showed up with only about half the class full. Reno wasn't acustom to being this late into a class, normally he was first or one of the first. He had never been late since he started High school, and he's only missed two days so far in his time at this school. Reno walked into the back and sat down away from the others, waiting for class to start.
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Shinzuu walked out of the office with a large smile on his face. Like usual, only a slap on the wrist, nothing more. Being the star of the basketball team and the track team sure had its benefits. Shinzuu then sauntered slowly through the halls while he itched his chest and face. He made his little grand entrance into the classroom, to applause and wooing from both the girls and the gay boys. Shinzuu walked along the wall to avoid being too close to the girls and sat down at the seat in the back that was saved for him by his buddies that were from his class.
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Veronica was glad when class started. She got bored way too easily when there was time to spare. "Buenos días!" The Little Grebe greeted the class as she walked in the door and towards the front of the room. The class responded with a simultaneous "Buenos días." "Me llamo Señorita Abilene Valdez." Ms. Valdez said as she wrote her name on the board at the front of the classroom. The class went on like that, not all in Spanish since it was a freshman class after all, but in a conversational fashion. She was pretty good with languages so she was actually enjoying the class.
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Reno remained quiet as the teacher entered the room. She passed out a small packet of papers to each of the students and when his packet was delivered his pen was already in hand. He quickly began working on it, by the time the rest of the papers were handed out he was already on the third page of six. They were simple matching questions and definitions. About ten minutes later he was finished and set his head down on his desk. Almost instantly he fell asleep.
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Shinzuu waited impatiently for all the students who wanted to go to the cafeteria to all fan out before he left for it, too. "Hey, guys. I'm gonna be right back. I don't have a lunch today, so I'm gonna try to grab the curry bread before they run out downstairs. You guys want anything to drink?" What's left of his buddies in G-Class voiced what they wanted and Shinzuu ran right out of the room. However, he was very unfortunate when he got down to the 2nd floor when he turned the corner. Shinzuu ran right into a female arctic wolf freshman, while tripping on his laces and landed on top of her.
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Veronica had been one of the first to leave the classroom when class was over. That advantage was one of the reasons she sat close to the door. She was heading for the cafeteria since she hadn't had a chance to eat before she came to school and her stomach had been growling throughout class. She was wondering what she was going to have to eat when someone ran into her out of nowhere. She let out a "humpf" when she hit the floor with the one who ran into her on top of her. When she actually focused, she noticed that it was Shinzuu. A blush spread across her cheeks, not because of who it was but because a guy was laying on top of her in the middle of a hallway, and she rolled him off of her. She sat up and looked over at him. Instead of the usual 'Watch where you're going!' that people get in that situation, she asked him, "Are you alright?" She was always more worried about others than herself so this seemed like the appropriate thing to say.
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Shadenfreude had been late, which was really, no surprise. She had woken up late, missed the assembly, and came in halfway through History. The teacher had given her a scorned look, but she had blown it off, taken a seat and doodled in the back of the class room. It wasn't much of a doodle since it was a sketch of the back of the guy in front of her's head. She was a little thankful that her bangs fell in her face almost all the time, making her eyes hidden. It often fooled teachers into thinking she was taking notes. It seemed like eternity, but she was eventually free to go to the cafeteria.
She stood up from her desk sketchbook in hand, and began to leave the classroom, ignoring the teacher's stern stare as she stepped out the door. The walk was brisk, somewhat refreshing, except for on the way she noticed a few odd looks from the students. She was sure they were probably trying to determine her gender, since she did in fact appear to be a really feminine boy or a boy-ish girl. She didn't know what to make of this school yet... So far things were uneventful, proven so by the quietness of the hallway. The only thing heard clearly was the constant clinking of her suspenders that hung at her sides. Finally, she was at the cafeteria. After going through the line and getting a tray, plus her food, she took a seat at an empty table in the corner and began to shovel it down, sketching with her other hand.
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Reno was probably one of the later people in the cafeteria, he slept through the first few minutes of it because the teacher didn't wake him up. He hurried into the line, ordered and grabbed his food and looked for a table. All the tables had someone in them, unfortunately what he gets for sleeping. He saw a table with only one person in it, drawing somthing while she ate. He approached the table, pulled up a chair and sat down. " 'I there, 'ope you don't mind me eating 'ere." Reno hesitated to eat really, waiting for an answer as he kinda looked her over. He was clearlly a bit nervous, his hand was shaking a bit while he waited for her to answer.
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Shinzuu rubbed the back of his head as he tried to get up. "I'm alright, I'm just..." He noticed that it was a girl that he ran into and he backed up fast against the wall. Shinzuu checked himself over, surprised that he wasn't itching like crazy from contact and proximity to her. Shinzuu stood up and cleared his throat. He was curious now and extended a hand to the girl. "I'm sorry, I didn't see where I was going. Are you ok?" Sweat poured out of the back of Shinzuu's head as he noticed that his hand and his arm weren't itching.
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Veronica got a confused look on her face when Shinzuu backed against the wall really fast. She was even a little more confused when he returned to normal and offered her a hand but her face returned to normal. She took his hand and let him help her up. "Oh no, it's okay. If I hadn't been zoned out I would've seen you coming and dodged. I'm fine." She replied, brushing herself off out of habit since she wasn't really dirty from the fall.
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Schadenfreude dropped her pencil and finished chewing her food, looking the guy over. "And suppose I do have a problem with someone sitting at this table?" Her eyes were still hidden behind her hair as she studied him for a minute, the tense silence seeming not to bother her. She leaned a little closer, giving off a smile that showed her needle like teeth, and drew attention to the stitches at the sides of her mouth. They seemed to go all the way to her ears. An eternal smile. "What happens then?" She propped her head onto her hand. She noticed his hand shaking, and wondered if the one question would make him leave or spark conversation. As she waited on an answer, she looked over her sketch, absently brushing a few eraser shavings from it.
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Reno was a bit creeped out, but he didn't show it. Somthing came over him, forcing him to mimic her lean towards him. "Well I suppose as the gentleman I am, I would kindly leave." He then propped his head onto his hands and looked at her. "But I don't think that's the case or you'd 'ave told me to bugger off as soon as I sat down." Reno took a bite of his food, as to seal his position at the table, still wondering in his head what he was doing. "What the 'ell did I just do?" He then sat quietly waiting for a response.
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Shinzuu smiled nervously and ran off. "Well, it was nice to meet you! My name's Shinzuu! Class 2-G!" Shinzuu watched his hand as he ran for the cafeteria. That's so weird. I think that might be the first time I've touched or been near a girl without breaking into hives. Is she....... a tranvestite!? Or maybe a guy who was raised as a girl? As he pondered all the possibilities to what she might be to explain the phenomenon, Shinzuu bought his curry bread and juggled about 5 bottles of juices and sodas. He ran back back upstairs to his classroom with his prizes. As he sat down, one of the punk girls from the class came up to him to ask him out. Politely, Shinzuu turned her down and she slapped him before leaving. He immediately began scratching furiously at his face as hives broke out under his fur where he had been slapped. Yea, that girl must've been a dude.
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Veronica watched as he ran off and opened her mouth to respond but it was too late as he had already rounded the corner. She shrugged and walked in the same direction that Shinzuu had gone towards the cafeteria. She was in no hurry. Getting into line, she grabbed her food and a drink then paid for it. She didn't bother to sit down as her friends were like her and took their food back to the classroom with them so she didn't expect to see them. Surprisingly though, Carmen walked up beside her in the hallway. "How was Spanish?" Carmen asked, turning and walking backwards. "Spanish-like. How was Algebra?" Veronica asked, chuckling. "Math-like." Carmen responded, chuckling then pausing as she eyed her friend. "What happened to you? Your hair's a little messy." Veronica casually shrugged. "Got ran into by Shinzuu and we both fell..." "What followed?" Carmen interrupted. "I don't know...he acted really freaked out for a second or two then went back to a normal attitude. It was confusing." Veronica answered and Carmen nodded. "Yeah, I seriously think he's afraid of girls and that's why he's gay." Carmen said with a thoughtful look. "Or maybe I'm just that horrible-looking." Veronica said. "Oh stop. You're very pretty. Anyways, I'll see you later, gotta get back to the room." Carmen said, smiling then waving as she turned to face forward and walked off. Veronica let out a sigh as she continued to her room and sat down at her seat.
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"Well, alright then, long ears." She picked her utensil and popped it in her mouth, chewing on it, the plastic ringing against her teeth. She pulled her feet up, which seemed to be covered by the large legged pants she was wearing. They were tattered at the bottoms, but when her feet were revealed they were bare. The pants had pockets and zippers all over them. She didn't quite sit in her chair right, just perched, or sat as if it wasn't a chair at all. It seemed as if it would be uncomfortable, but she was perfectly comfortable how she was.
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Reno sort of just smirked, not being much of a conversationalist he just continued to eat. He could help but to look at her, he wasn't meaning to but he was opposite her at the table so she was in his immediate line of sight. And he didn't want to seem like he was intentionally looking away from her, but he didn't want to stare either. "So...Watcha doin' there, miss..." he finally managed to choke out. Again he had no idea why he was doing this, normally he'd see if he was welcome, eat, say nothing and leave. But for some reason Reno was enjoying her company.
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The rest of the day was fairly short for Shinzuu. Since classes didn't start until so late, the afternoon classes were short and they didn't have to change for gym. At the bell to end the day, Shinzuu waited for everyone to leave with his team and then they closed the doors and changed into their athletic-wear. The boys grabbed their duffels and ran down for the field. Track was always first because basketball team started later and sometimes ran as late as it needed to. The coach was nice enough to let Shinzuu do track team as well without penalty or losing his starter position. The spring weather was fair, so it was a "breeze" to get through the runs and event practices. Like usual, girls and gays had been on the sidelines swooning over him. It made Shinzuu particularly uncomfortable since he was afraid of being around either one. The coach growled under his breath and pretty much every track member heard him as they ran by him. "Son of a... I can't believe this crowd is bigger than our meets."
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Veronica loved it when the classes were shortened. The teachers never had enough time to get through all the information they wanted to so it was less work or just none because all they did was talk about what would be taught over the course. As gym class ended, she started to head towards the library like what she did in previous school years. She had always found a book in the library and read while waiting for cheering practice because it didn't start until basketball practice started. She didn't really get why they practiced when basketball did. But anyways, she looked out the window and saw the track team practicing and shrugged. "Why not?" She thought. "I've got nothing better to do." So she went out a side door and headed for the field. She had no idea why the crowd was there. Sure she knew that a few people watched practices like that sometimes (like the guys who watched the cheering practices sometimes), but this was a big crowd. When she realized that it was mostly girls (which is reasonable when there are guys practicing) and gays, her eyes automatically ran across the team members running. Of course, Shinzuu was one of them. Now she understood. She didn't pay attention to that fact though and went on watching the whole team. She herself was a fast runner but she never had any interest in doing it for sport, just exercise.
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She looked up at him, coming out of whatever fog she was in. "I'm looking at my sketch, long ears, what do you think?" She clinked the plastic spoon around a little more in her mouth, a little frustrated. The sketch itself seemed incomplete, but she was afraid to add more to it because it could get cluttered. Since she had left class, she had managed to add a psychotic doctor and a hacksaw poking out the back of her classmate's head. Maybe she needed to clean up the lines. She spat the spoon on her tray, along with the pieces since she managed to break it.
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Reno wasn't sure if she was insulting him or asking what he thought of her work, so he kinda cocked his head looking at the picture to get a better look. "It's uh...Nice." After that he quickly finished his food, said goodbye and took off. Before he knew it the school day was over, luckily swim team didn't start meeting until next week so all he had to do was go to chess club. He didn't know what it was all about aside from the obvious and the stereotypes. When he found the room there was a bunch of chess tables set out with about seven or so people in there. He picked a far off table from the rest of them and sat alone looking over the peices that had been set out before him. Reno was too shy to ask anyone to play with him or go engage in a game with someone else, so he took out his iPhone and brought up a chat window. It was one of his good friends onlince. Reno told this friend he was trapped in chess club and needed a partner. His friend obliged him in his situation, and they both went into a digital game of chess. Reno also moved the chess pieces infront of him in corrilation with the pieces on his game. If he were looking at himself, alone playing chess with himself, he probably would notice he looked crazy.
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Shinzuu grunted and held his side as they finally finished 4-mile run. He hated long-distance running. The coach finally broke them off into their groups off 4 to practice their events. Shinzuu stayed on the track with his team, since they were the sprinting team for the 100M, 200M, 4x1 and 4x2. As usual, Shinzuu was the head of his team, and the last leg for the relays, and maintained his high times for all practices. They then moved over to field event practice for individual practices. He worked hard as he practiced for the long jump, triple jump, and shot-put. The coach blew his whistle after a long while, signaling the end of practice. Shinzuu quickly ran to his bag, grabbed it, and ran straight for the gym. He checked his watch, Hmmm... 10 minutes in, they should be almost done with warm-ups.
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Veronica hadn't watched the whole track team practice, leaving it with enough time to go inside and change before cheering practice started. She realized that she didn't need her uniform for practice and that made her feel like an idiot. Luckily, she had some shorts in her bag and was already wearing a tank top under her hoodie. Like is usually customary with cheerleaders, her shorts were tight, butt-hugging ones. She shoved her jeans into her bag along with her hoodie. Checking herself in a mirror, she untied her ponytail, brushing her hair out and re-tying it in a slightly higher ponytail than before. She headed towards the gym and arrived to practice right on time. They did stretches and practiced their jumps for about the first ten minutes before getting ready to do stunts. She was a flyer so she went up in the air for the stunts.
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Schadenfreude grabbed her things after the rabbit left and headed to the art room for art club. It was a long day of drawing and "giving back to the community" through art. She often scoffed at the idea because a lot of the time art was the first to get cut in the long run, and she wondered why she should give back to a community that would sooner cut her program before football games and Ms. Fur-Al contests. She entered the room bitter, but ready for instruction. She hated that she had to participate in a club.
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Reno won his first game with his cyber buddy, but quickly lost the second. After that he called off any further matches, said good bye and put his phone away. With that done he sat there just looking around resetting the chessboard infront of him. There was a few more people in there bye now, he hoped no one would come over to him because he was extremly nervous. As he was sitting there just looking around his hand was shaking a bit and he was sweating a tad. Reno turned to his chessboard and kinda hid his face with his hands.
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Shinzuu couldn't help but notice the arctic wolf at both the track practice and at basketball practice. So she's a cheerleader, too, huh? I wonder if she had joined my fan club, too. They're always usually the only spectators at practice. Maybe I should ask her. No, it might seem a bit conceded.... As Shinzuu contemplated this, a basketball came flying at him and knocked him square in the face, making him fall on his side. The coach blew his whistle and rushed over with some of the other team. "You ok, Shinzuu? Are you sick or something? You seem pretty out of it today." Shinzuu waved them off, "No, I'm fine, just been thinking, is all. It won't happen again." His teammates helped him up and practice went on. Since today was more tryouts than actual practice, everyone left early after being told they were either on or not on the team. Shinzuu had left right after he watched his friends get accepted again. He didn't really need to do anything, since everyone knew he would be chosen.
As he made his way out the door, he decided to stay a little while and watch the arctic wolf Freshman practice and fly through the air. He paid really good attention to her for a few minutes before finally getting up and going home. Ok.... so she is not a he. Now what's your explanation, genius?
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It wasn't hard for Veronica to have a chipper attitude when she was flying. It was such a liberating feeling when you didn't have to worry about the bases catching you. Even though most of the girls on the cheering team had crushes on Shinzuu, they knew better than to let their eyes wander while doing stunts. "Veronica, smi--!" The coach started to tell her to smile but soon realized that she was was already grinning naturally. When practice finished, everyone was on the squad and none of the freshmen, including her, were surprised that they got spots because they had all been cheering for a few years prior. She felt sort of an elated feeling as she left to go home.
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Today had been good, there wasn't that much conversation in class. A few people had tried to talked to her, but they were the art-education type: preppy, smiling, and more for teaching or bossing than doing. They were easily shut down with a dirty look or scowl. She hated them because to her, they weren't real artists. Real artists experimented for themselves while those types preferred to go by the book. Grabbing her sketchbook, she felt it was a relief to finally get outta there.
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Reno looked to the clock and saw it was time to leave, relieved he didn't have to talk to anyone he left quickly without a word. As he was walking down the hallways it donned on him, he still needed to get to work and he didn't bring his bike. "Oh crap! I'll never make it to work on time!" Realizing this he skipped into a wild sprint down the halls and out of the building with suprising speed for somone who seemed like one who doesn't run a lot. Reno sped off school property and down the road to work. After about twenty minutes of a dead sprint he finally made it to work, it was a restaurant. Reno burst through the door and zoomed into the back; once in his boss' voice could be heard. "You're late, Reno!" Reno looked to the clock in the kitchen and saw he was ten minutes late. "Aye, sorry, boss, won't 'appen again." Reno was panting wildly as he head to a small room followed by his boss. "I'll let you slide this time because it wasn't passed ten minutes, you know my ten minute policy." "Aye, boss, I do." "I give you a little breathing room, ten minutes is all you get without getting in trouble." Reno mouthed his boss' words as he took off his school clothes and got into his work clothes in his locker. "Alright, Reno, table 13 needs to be bussed, and table 8 is ready for their order and..." His orders just came and came as Reno began to walk out of this room begining his work. The only thing that was going to get him through was knowing it was payday.
-
Shinzuu got home before his parents did and sighed. He took off his shoes at the door and stepped up onto the floor of the rest of the house and made his way into the kitchen. There, he pulled out some leftover food and dug into it as he walked over to the family area of the apartment, right next to the kitchen. Shinzuu sat onto the couch and turned on the television. I know it's unorthodox to be eating this and being a couch potato, but I just need a break. His mind wandered and continued to think of the freshman girl of whom he had no allergic reaction to. Shinzuu finished his food and set the box on the table. He continued to think about the girl until he finally fell asleep... Only 8:30pm.......
-
Veronica walked through the door of the house and removed her shoes. She went into the kitchen and put on water to boil. Going to her room, she changed into some PJs which consisted of a pair of boy's sleep pants and a tank top. She untied her ponytail and let her long hair loose. Heading back to the kitchen, she found her water boiling and dumped in a box of Kraft macaroni & cheese, setting a timer for seven and a half minutes. She went to the living room and turned on the TV, sitting on the couch and watching it until the timer went off. She prepared her food and went into the living room, starting to eat as she watched TV. Her parents came home out around the same time when she was halfway done with her food. They asked her how her day was and she used the usual "fine" response. She watched TV with them until 10:00 and then went to bed.
-
She walked outside the school, taking in her surroundings, pondering on where to go. She didn't want to go home. She never did, and so she often tried to stay out as late as possible. There were a few crowds of kids together outside, talking, enjoying the sun outside after class. One cocky wolf stepped out of a clique, noticing she was by herself. Apparently, he had confused her for a guy, and a gay guy at that and wanted to look big and bad in front of a group of girls. He began to shove and insult her with a grin on his face, frequently calling her a faggot, not getting the she was a girl. She ignored it, until he realized that she was not going to respond and he jerked her up, taking it a step further by reaching out and patting her face a couple of times as if to challenge her through play slaps. Of course all the other kids whooped over it, enjoying the guy picking on a new kid, but a few moments later he was on the ground with a broken nose, arm, and bloody lip, her on top of him hissing, and rearing back for more until other students began to interject, grabbing her arms. They had to pull her off of him, because if there was one thing she didn't like, it was someone touching her face, discriminating (though she wasn't a gay guy), and being a jerk on top of all that and she was the type that wouldn't stop until he stopped squirming. She knew she's probably be suspended for a couple of days, but her bloody lip and that was worth putting someone in their place. That guy wouldn't be harassing anymore gay guys now that his pride was hurt in front of some girls. The guys that pulled her off threw a couple of shots to her stomach while holding her and threw her to the side. People rushed over to attend to him, while she was left behind in the rush, students calling out to get some kid of authority from the school. Schadenfreude caught her breath, and headed somewhere before the principal got there. As she walked on, she licked the blood from her lips and smiled. Today wasn't so boring after all. She couldn't wait to see what tomorrow brought.
-
Reno finally managed to make it to his room at the hotel at 11. He walked inside, closed and locked the door behind him and fell face first onto his bed tired. He reached for his iPhone and punched in some numbers. "Hello, this is Gracia speaking, how may I help you?" spoke a female voice over the phone. "Oh, Gracia, it's me, Reno. I was just calling for some room service." "Oh, Reno, why are you calling this number?" "Room phone is all the way over there." "Tough day?" "Aye." "Alright, what do you want? I'll have it sent to you." "Thank you, Gracia, your peach you are. I'd like a sausage pizza and go ahead and get something for yourself if you want." "Alright, Reno, thanks. Room 212, right?" "Aye." "I'll get on it now. Take care, Reno." With that Reno hung up and forced himself off the bed and to his feet, unbuttoning his school clothes again. He shook himself wildly to wake himself up as he went over to his laptop and brought up his music player. He put on a playlist entitled "Rise Against" and took off his shirt tossing it on his bed mouthing the words to the song that was playing. Reno walked into the bathroom and reached into the shower turning it on. He got the rest of the way undressed and got in the shower and quickly cleaned up taking only about 15 minutes. He dried himself off and wrapped a towel around his waist while using another to dry his head and ears. He walked out of the bathroom towards his computer and found the song "Devils trill by Vanessa Maes" and hit the repeat button. The sound of a violin filled the room as Reno floated over to a violin case leaning against the wall near his bed. He openned it and took out a violin and began to play along with the song with suprising rythm and grace. The only thing that stopped him was a knock on the door. He got up, went to the door and sure enough it was his pizza. He paid for it, took it inside and began to eat it at the foot of his bed. He looked at a picture of him with his parents as he ate. "This piece is for you..." he said softly placing a piece of pizza on a napkin next to the picture frame.
-
The second day was pretty much like the first, not really much different except for longer classes. This time, though, he left basketball practice on time instead of early. That night, his mother was home and they both stayed up late watching TV. Shinzuu stretched as he got up from the couch on Sunday morning. Ah, and here I thought I would be looking forward to school again. Man, I am sooo stupid. Hmmm.... I think I'll head out to Shibuya and chill out with the guys at the arcade.
-
On the second day, Veronica didn't watch the track practice and went to the library to read instead like what she usually did. That was the only thing that was different about her day though and the fact that she stayed up later that night. On Sunday morning, she got up at around 9:30. She hung around the house until about midday when Carmen called her and asked if she wanted to go to the movies which she of course said yes to. She got ready and grabbed her cell phone, heading out the door she said bye to her mother since her dad was out doing something. Walking to the movie theater, she looked around at all the people out and about.
-
The second day at school was a little more eventful. She got pulled into the office about her fight. It was then the guy realized that she was a girl, which embarrassed him a even further. Oddly enough, she didn't get in very much trouble because it was considered self defense, but she did get a firm talking to for going so overboard about it and having to be pulled off. As far as she was concerned she didn't much care. She went to lunch, then Art Club, the visit to the office taking much of her time before lunch. The day was like a blur to her.
-
Reno was up early that Sunday morning. No work the day prior meant he could get to bed earlier, and since there was no school today he had a free day. "You Irish [censored], how the (Censored) did you (Censored) see me there?!" shouted a very angry person over the speakers on Reno's computer. Reno was playing a game online with some others and had just killed this person which set him off. " 'Ey now, don't be insultin' me just cause I'm better than you." "(Censored) you you piece of Irish (Censored)! Your cheating!" "Now 'ow am I cheatin', by shootin' ya in the sodden face?" "I'm gonna find out where you live and kill your (Censored)!" The player then left. "Intresting..." Reno left aswell, he wanted to head out and get somthing to eat. Later after some walking he went into a small corner store next to an arcade. Sipping on a soda and eating some chips he looked at the arcade. "Hmm...Since I'm 'ere, might as well." Reno entered in and went straight for a zombie shooting game.
-
Shinzuu and his friends spent the morning and lunch time at the arcade in Shibuya, playing the basketball ticket games. He walked sat with his friends and chatted as they all counted their tickets. Shinzuu had accumulated more than 100,000 tickets in the 4 hours they were there. And it didn't cost me much to win these, either. Shinzuu looked up to see what prizes he wanted today, but was distracted by what he saw past the windows. There, at the theater across the street, he spied the same arctic wolf freshman from the other day. Hmm... I wonder what movie she's watching... Maybe I should go say hi. He got up and ran out the door, sticking all his tickets into his jacket.
-
Veronica, Carmen, and Liz were just getting up to the ticket booth. Liz bought her ticket first and then Carmen bought her ticket. By the time Veronica had said, "One for Alice in Wonderland in 3D." Carmen had spotted Shinzuu, running in their direction from the arcade. "Oh Veronica...guess who is coming this way...and in quite a hurry, I might add..." She said, looking in Shinzuu's direction. Veronica didn't have to turn her head to know who Carmen was talking about since she only used that tone when talking about Shinzuu. "He probably was here earlier and realized that he forgot something." Veronica said, shrugging and handing the cashier her money. "I don't see why you feel the need to look into things too much." The cashier handed her the ticket. "Thank you." She smiled and turned to Carmen & Liz, getting out of the way of the other people in line and ready to go into the theater.
-
There was a tap on her shoulder.. Another and an "Excuse me" followed. Schadenfreude sat up and yawned, looking around only to realize that she had fallen asleep on a bench in the park. "Ma'am, I think you ought to go home." It was a patrolman. "The park's been closed for a while." She looked at him blankly at first, then shook her head and stood up. She had gone home and showered, but didn't stay long because she didn't like her home. She walked out of the park escorted by the officer, then decided to hit the arcade. She could either see a movie or play at the arcade.. But as she dug around in her pockets, she realized her funds were less than sufficient for a movie, so she took the latter choice.
-
Reno had noticed Shinzuu while he walked to another zombie shooting game. He recognized him but didn't care to say anthing, not like someone as popular as him would even look at Reno. He began to insert some tokens into the machine when one slipped from his grasp and rolled across the floor. He chased it down looking at it while he did so, he eventually stomped on it, unknowing to him right infront Schadenfreude. Reno noticed her after he picked up the token, he jumped a bit not expecting to see her. "Oh, uhm...'Ey there again." He scratched the back of his head a bit nervous.
-
Shinzuu made his way to the theater and stopped just short of the group of girls, keeping his distance. Normally, he never really liked going to theaters, what with their high female population. However, Shinzuu just felt something inside himself telling him to be here. He waved at Veronica, "Hey, so what brings you out to Shibuya, other than the movie?" Shinzuu checked the posters along the wall to see what was on in 3D. Sure enough, only Alice in Wonderland. He held up a finger to signal the girls to wait a second. Sinzuu rushed up to the ticket booth and slapped a few bills onto the tray. "Get me one for Alice in Wonderland." Surprised, the person in the booth printed the ticket and took out some 3D glasses. Shinzuu grabbed the glasses and the ticket and followed after the girls, being sure to maintain his distance from them.
-
Veronica just looked sort of confused as he waved and spoke to her. "What brings me here? Well, these girls are taking me hostage and are going to use the movie as a diversion when we get beamed up to the mothership so they can use me for experimentation. How about you?" Was her witty response that ran through her head. The only actual response she gave was a shrug and her saying, "Just hanging out with my friends." When he rushed over to get a ticket, the girls all turned and started inside but were still slow enough that he would be able to catch up easily. Carmen and Liz were on either side of Veronica and they were both looking at her with grins on their faces. Carmen nudged Veronica and got a sort of glare as a response. "Somebody likes you..." She teased in a soft voice. "There's a pretty good probability that he does." Liz added in her usual smart talk but softly as well. Veronica rolled her eyes in response to them. "You guys are crazy. I'm just average. He has no interest in me and I don't mind that." She said though she felt like she might be lying a little in the second half of her last sentence. When Shinzuu caught back up to them, they returned to their normal walking pace and entered where their movie was showing, looking around to find where they would most like to sit.
-
She looked down to see the rabbit again, this time chasing coins along the floor until he stopped, stomping on one right in front of her. He greeted her, again somewhat nervously. "Hey long ears." She was looking at him, but again, her bangs were in her eyes. She looked back up to the game the rabbit darted from to see two guys inserting the last coin and taking the game to play. She jerked her head in that direction, looking back down at the rabbit. "Friends of yours?" she asked. She didn't think they were by the way they acted, but you could never tell.
-
Reno turned a bit and looked back to his game, noticing the people that were now on it. "Hmm...I guess that's what I get." He faked a smile and a bit of a chuckle and turned back to Schadenfreude. He was a little bummed considering that was the last game he was planning to play, which had been hijacked by a couple of little punks. But for some reason he felt like doing something about it, something about this girl infront of him made him feel strange. "One sec. I'll get ride of'em." With that Reno turned and walked over to them. " 'Ey, bugger off, this was my game ya little punks." The two turned to him and sized him up with their eyes. Reno was a bit srawny looking, black suit pants, long sleeve white button up shirt with a black tie. The only even slightly intimidating about him was his height for his age, but that didn't phase these two kids. "Eh...Too bad, we found this fair and square...Punk."Reno was dumbfounded, his assertive attitude was just brushed off. He even insulted them, how could they not listen? He just stood there a bit shocked his plan had failed.
-
Shinzuu followed them and sat 2 rows directly behind the girls. He checked around to make sure he wasn't near any other females, either. Shinzuu was surprised with the quality of the movie and how the weapons and other things jumped out of the screen. However, he couldn't enjoy the movie as half way through the movie, his entire left side started to break out in hives and itched like crazy. Shinzuu turned and saw some of the girls from his fan club waving to him and heading towards him. He whispered over in front of him, "I'll see you back at school. I hope I'll get your name then." Shinzuu quickly ran away to the right, jumping over the couple at the end of the row and darted straight up the stairs and out of the theater, girls not too far behind.
-
Veronica kept her eyes on the screen the whole time even when Shinzuu spoke saying that he was leaving as she was focused on the movie. When the movie was over and the girls exited the theater, Carmen nudged Veronica. "You never told me that you didn't tell him your name!" She exclaimed. "You are so dragging out his attention on you!" "Actually, he ran off to the cafeteria before I could say what my name was." Veronica replied calmly and coolly. "That makes sense actually." Liz responded to Veronica's reason. Carmen just rolled her eyes. "Whatevs. Just be ready for me to say I told you so about all this." She said, crossing her arms. The girls walked together until they parted ways to go to where they each lived.
-
The possum walked up to the two coming from behind the rabbit and noticed that they were playing a zombie game. She liked zombies, and they had just taken it, she assumed after the rabbit paid for it. One of the punks was standing behind the other rooting on his friend as he played the undeserved free game. Grinning, she bumped up into the punk cheering knocking him out of the way and grabbed the second gun controller. She began to flail it around in front of the player's sight making loud obnoxious shooting noises to disrupt his concentration. The fox looked at her wearily and growled, trying to play his game that he was obviously losing because of her, while the other one that she had knocked down stood up, outraged, "Alright you idiot!" His tail whipped from side to side, irritated just as cats always did once provoked. She continued her annoying act, jumping in front of the screen until the fox cracked her across the face with his gun.
-
Reno was standing by, watching her as she pestered the two. His eyes widened when she was hit in the face, mainly due to the fact he realized she was indeed a she. " Ey', 'ittin' a lady is not somethin' I take lightly!" He exclaimed grabbing the fox's shoulder whirling him around. Reno had his hand cocked back, ready for the instant the fox was looking right at him. Once ready he let loose a hard right jab into the fox's nose knocking him flat on his back. The cat lunged towards Reno and grabbed him from behind, but he headbutted the cat which set him free from his grip. With that Reno whipped around and tripped the dazed feline. " 'Oly crap, when could I do this?! This is like outta of a game! I'm so cool!" Reno kinda stood there with a smug look on his face for a moment, until he remembered Schadenfreude was hit in the face. He quickly turn to her and approached her. " 'Ey, miss, are ya alright?"
-
After running for a while, Shinzuu finally shook off the girls that were chasing him. Dammit. Why does this always have to happen to me? Especially when I've met a girl other than mother that I can be near. Oh well, I guess I'll see her tomorrow then... Shinzuu pondered about everything he would try to say or at least what he COULD say, when a sudden realization hit him square in the face. Oh, (censored)! I didn't tell her what class I'm in, or even found out which one she's in!
-
When Veronica got home, she prepared her bag so it would be ready for her in the morning. Once she was finished with that, she went into the bathroom, locking the door behind her. She took a shower, staying in until the water started to get cold. After drying herself off, she slipped into some PJs and went downstairs to make her supper which would be spaghetti tonight.
-
The two guys scrambled to their feet, the fox holding his nose the cat darting out of the arcade, while the possum stood there wide-eyed. She wiped her nose to see that it was bleeding, but didn't really react other than to say, "Ah crap, is there a bathroom around here somewhere?" She hadn't quite expected such behavior from the rabbit, but either way, she handed him a couple of quarters and said, "Well you got your game back." She didn't know why she had been so nice to the guy, maybe it was because he couldn't tell the difference between when she was insulting him and just talking to him as plainly as she knew how. Maybe it was also because he never brought up that stupid rumor about punching her teacher at the last school, too.
-
Reno saw her bleeding when she handed him some quarters. He just held them in his hand while he undid his tie, extending it to her. "Uhm...'ere, for your nose." His hand was shaking again, the tough guy attitude from before had vanished as quickly as it came around. While he held it out to her in a shaking hand while looking around for the bathrooms but it didn't seem this place had any. "Uh...Doesn't seem like there is any bathrooms..." said Reno practically stuttering. He was clearly nervous, not only did he beat up two people and lived he was talking to a girl, something that was pretty new aswell. He was naturally chivalrous, which is probably why he acted the way he did towards her, but it was also something about her, something that made him act strangely. Reno just stood there, hoping she would accept his kind gesture. If his spine didn't run away he might have said his name at this point, but it did run away, so he could barely manage speaking.
-
Monday morning, Shinzuu got up with his alarm and had a quick breakfast before leaving for school. On the way, some of the freshmen from the track team gathered around him and walked to school with him. Shinzuu sighed as some of them talked about nonsense to him or to each other. The conversations seemed to run themselves, since he never said anything to them, but somehow the conversations went on and on and just didn't stop. You know... For once, I'd like to actually go to school with real friends who don't just hang around me to look good. This is complete (censored).
-
On Monday morning, Veronica woke up to her radio alarm. She sang along with "According to You" by Orianthi as she got dressed for the day and decided that she didn't want to tie up her hair today. She ate a banana for breakfast then headed out of the house. As she was walking to school, she looked over and happened to see Shinzuu being crowded around jibber-jabbering kids from her class that she had seen at the track practice. Rolling her eyes, she looked forward again. "Popularity leeches." She muttered softly to herself as she walked through the gates of the school.
-
The possum merely looked at him, he was shaking. He was nervous. She did all she knew how to.. Before taking the tie, she grabbed him by his shoulders and shook him furiously with a glint of madness in her eyes and a wide grin. She figured a shock to his system was in order. She then took the tie and tied it around her nose, and headed out of the arcade into the dark. Time had apparently escaped her once again. "Thanks, Thumper." she called over her shoulder.
-
Before Reno was able to do anything Schadenfreude had gone, he was so nervous. Not only had he talked slightly to a girl, but he beat someone up for her, gave her an article of clothing and she even touched him on purpose! He looked at the quarters in his palm, she left before he could give them back. Reno sighed as he walked home. “I didn’t even get ‘er name…” It was about an hour until he got home, he wasn’t exactly hungry so he just went straight to the shower. He got undressed, hopped in and twenty minutes later hopped out putting on a towel. He put on some more violin music, took out his violin and sat down at the foot of his bed looking at the picture of him and his parents. Amazing Grace started playing, by the time it did Reno was about to start playing but instead of that he froze. This was the song played at his parents funeral…A tear ran down his face as he finally started playing along with it.
Reno woke up the next morning, he got dressed in his black dress pants and long sleeve white button up shirt. He was thinking about last night, what happened seemed like something out of a video game; it was so unreal. He thought he had to be dreaming until he saw the quarters in a small stack next to his laptop. “No way…That was real?” Reno chuckled a bit as he pocketed the change and headed out the door with his bag. As he rode his bike to school he saw Shinzuu being crowded by all his “friends”, he didn’t pay him much mind though, Reno figured he wasn’t and wouldn’t be high on Shinzuu’s list of priorities. He just rode to the school bike rack, locked his bike and went to class.
-
Shinzuu was already napping in class before lunch. As the bell rang, he awoke with a grumble, and waited for everyone to get up and leave, but no one did. What the...? The PA system came alive before he could gather his thoughts. "Attention all students. To conform with the rest of the schools in Japan, we are going to be employing a new policy, effective tomorrow. You will all be required to wear school uniforms, which has our school's insignia as a badge on the collar and will be issued to you in the cafeteria." Shinzuu looked over at the kid next to him, who was on the track team as well. The kid nodded, knowing that he's going to have to pick up Shinzuu's uniform for him. Shinzuu sat back in his chair comfortably as everyone rushed out of the door. He took out his lunch box and opened it up. Sweet, curry sandwiches with some soda.
-
Veronica wanted to scream at the PA system after the announcement was made. As she left the classroom to go get her uniform in the cafeteria, she glared at the floor. "Like I want to walk around in a school girl skirt and knee-high stockings all day." She grumbled to herself. She didn't mind having to wear a skirt as part of her cheering uniform because she was used to that kind of thing, but wearing a skirt every day almost all of the day? That was not something she was happy about at all. She was stereotyped as a tomboy for a good reason. She liked her jeans, t-shirts, and hoodies. It was what she felt comfortable in. Now she was going to be more self conscious every school day.
-
Schadenfreude sat at her usual table, fiddling with her food listlessly. She snarled at the announcement. There was no way she was going to be wearing a skirt. If anything she expected to be issued a boy uniform that way at least then she could be covered. She figured she would get her uniform once others came, that way maybe she could snag a boy's one instead of a girls in the rush of confusion. She yawned. Today up until now had been a blur.
-
Reno was getting his lunch when the announcment occured, he kind of ignored it having been focusing all day on what he was about to do. He stood to the side of all the looking over the forest of tables until he saw her, Schadenfreude. He walked over to her table set his plate down opposite her and took out the quarters. " 'Ere, you dropped these." He set the quarters in a neat stack at the center of the table and sat down, hoping she wouldn't "Devour him for his insolence!"...He thought of that because it was in a game he recalled.
-
As Shinzuu ate, his track teammate came up with some drinks and his uniform. "Thanks, man." As he continued eating, his mind wandered to the freshman girl that he had started taking an interest in. I wonder why she doesn't affect my allergies? What's her name? Will I be able to see her? I haven't caught even a single sight of her all day. I wonder if I can talk to her more?
-
Veronica took her uniform when it was handed to her and shoved it into her bag. She walked back to her classroom and sat down at her seat. She pulled a chocolate milk from her bag and a small bag of Funyuns. As she ate and drank, her mind wandered. She wondered why Shinzuu was giving her so much attention all of a sudden after bumping into her just once in the hallway. She felt herself liking the attention that she was starting to get though. She sighed, not sure if she wanted to like him.
-
The possum looked lazily at the quarters, then reached into her pocket pulling out a tie, handing it to him. "It's washed, though this one's one the house." She pushed the quarters back to the rabbit and and crossed her arms placing her face into them. She sat there with her head down. She didn't want to wear a uniform. She hated uniforms because it often made a sameness with people who were not the same. There was no expression, and if anything they would be a fashion statement for the preppier people.
-
Reno grabbed his tie and then the quaters being it clear she wanted him to take them. He didn't exactly want them either but it wasn't like him to let money go to waste. "Thanks, miss, was my favorite tie." He put his tie on and stood up. " 'Ey, I'll get you your new uniform." With that Reno walked off to the line where the uniforms were being handed out. He waited until it was his turn which took a few minutes. He asked for a girls uniform and a boys uniform. The person handing them out gave them to him curious why he needed two but was preoccupied and couldn't ask him before he left. He got back to the table with Schadenfreude and set down the girls uniform while he looked at his. " 'Ope it's not too girly for you...You don't seem to enjoy the more...Feminine clothing..." Reno looked from his uniform to Schadenfreude, he had an idea but wasn't sure she would go for it. "Uhm...If ya want, you can take my uniform, I'll probably get in trouble for not 'avin' one but I don't really mind." He smirked as he extended it to her, hoping she would just take it.
-
Shinzuu's day at classes were boring and he found himself napping again. After the bell rang, he snorted back awake and waited for everyone to leave as he packed up his uniform into his bag. Shinzuu ran down back to the track and was once again bombarded by women and gay guys alike. He scratched his arms and face as they did warm-ups, having been touched by women. Shinzuu never really liked running long distances, but it was a required warm-up, and it helps to build stamina for basketball. This sucks...
-
Veronica's day felt like it flew by. Before she knew it the bell was ringing to signal the end of the school day. As she walked through the halls, she looked out the window to see the track team practicing with the usual crowd watching them. A debate started up in her head about whether she should go watch again or not. She definitely didn't want to feel like she was stalking Shinzuu or anything, but then again, this would only be the second time she went to a track practice and it wouldn't be like she was one of the people who followed him all day. But she also liked her usual routine of reading in the library. "Or you could just sit outside and read by the track practice..." She thought to herself. Heading for the library, she checked out a book and headed outside. She sat on the bleachers and opened the book, reading and glancing up at the team members practicing every once in a while.
-
Schadenfreude pulled her head out of her arms to see the girl's uniform in front her, neatly packaged. "I guess it's a good thing it was a black tie." She then looked at the boys uniform that the guy was extended to her. "So are you taking the skirt then?" She joked, but she just seemed as if it she was tired or didn't care. She took the uniform, smiling dully and replying "I guess I don't have to beat up some geek to get one because there's no way I'd wear a skirt."
-
Reno smiled having given Schadenfreude his unifrom, he then left and went about his day. Before he knew it he was in chess club, which for him was cut 25 minutes so he could go to swim practice. He dressed out in his normal swim gear, which entailed a speedo and swim cap to hold his ears down. He didn't particularly enjoy being so exposed...He was pretty self concious, though he wasn't fat he didn't exactly sport a six pack either. The coach lined the team up at the edge of the pool, blew his whistle and he and the rest of the team dove in.
-
Shinzuu had kept an eye out for the freshman during practice and saw her reading a book on the bleachers during track. Is she part of my fan club, too? No, she can't be. She wasn't even here the last practice. Basketball practice wasn't much either. Like usual, the fan club followed and sat in the bleachers, and the coach pretty much had the other guys working hard to become starters. Shinzuu marveled at how some of the guys even got on the team. A lot of the freshman guys had absolutely no ball handling skills at all, and most of them rely on their heights to dunk and can't shoot. Come on. This is not America where this is the team of Shaq.
-
Veronica had left the track practice early without looking back and took the book back to the library. She changed into her shorts and tank top for cheering practice. On this day of practice her and the other freshman were taught the cheers that they didn't already know and worked on making their jumps higher. They also found that their routine would be set to Madonna songs and worked on the first little bit of their routine.
-
The possum scooped up her things and headed to her classes, again, ignoring the art education people. She seriously began to wonder when and if any actual artists would get into this club, and again, she wondered why she bothered with this club. The art teacher didn't even like her because they butted heads so often. This time she was put out in the hallway because they had gotten into an argument over styles and tastes. The teacher refused to accept anything that wasn't her preference.
-
Reno swam for quite awhile until the coach blew his whistle calling them all out. He climbed out of the pool and began to towel off. " 'Ey coach, can I take off a tad early? I need to check into work and let them know about my swim practice." The coach looked at him oddly. "When did you get a job, Reno?" "Over the summer." "Parents cutting your allowance again?" Reno paused for a moment then gave him a fake smile and nod. "Aye, they did. So I got a job." "Alright then, dress out, don't think this can happen again though." "Alright, thank ya coach." Reno finished toweling off, got dressed and left for work.
-
Shinzuu decided to stay late after practice was over. His teammates called back to him. "Yo, Shin! Are you sure you wanna stay here, man? We're gonna head to the Cat's Eye Cafe. Why don't you come with us?" Shinzuu shook his head, "No thanks, guys. I'm still a little rusty from the winter break, so I'm gonna work on my long shots tonight. I want to make sure they get in instead of just hitting the rim. Sorry, just go without me, I'll clean up when I'm done." Shinzuu made another shot before grabbing another ball from the basket and making another shot from 2 feet behind the three-point line. He practiced late into the night and ended up not finishing until 11:00pm. Shinzuu packed all the balls back and swept the floor with the push-broom and then mopped up before getting his stuff and locking up the gym before leaving. He sighed as he made his way home, sweating hard from his practice. Well, that should be enough to get me to bed. Guess I'll be have to be excused of the homework again. Heheheh.
-
Cheering practice ended at the same time as basketball practice just like it always did. As Veronica prepared to leave, she heard Shinzuu's friends yelling to him and him saying that he was going to say and practice late. She was then distracted by one of the girls yelling to her from the doorway. "Hey Veronica! You'll be at the Sunday morning practice, right?" The lioness asked. "You know it!" Veronica grinned. The lioness gave her a thumbs up and left. Veronica headed for the door and as she exited she glanced back at Shinzuu for just a second before disappearing. She went into the bathroom and changed back into her regular outift. "Might as well get my use out of these clothes for the day since it's into uniform mode tomorrow." She muttered to herself as she left the bathroom. When she got home, she switched into pajamas, made supper, and ate it. After she was done, she went up to her room and went to bed.
-
After Art Club, Schadenfreude did her usual things. She walked around town until it got dark, stopping at Cafes, or really anything that offered entertainment. She looked the uniform over some of the time as she sat in the park, losing herself in thought. Apparently the patrolman had gotten wise and a few hours after dark, escorted her out of the park again. She couldn't avoid it anymore, she had to go home. She approached a broken down looking apartment building and walked inside, taking an elevator to the third floor. The hall lights flickered as she walked to the end and entered the last door on the left, ignoring the domestic abuse going on next door. The place was pretty clean other than the flaws of the place. The floor seemed to sink in near the entrance to the kitchen and her window was broken in one spot and boarded up because of it. She went in her room and threw her uniform on her bed and ran a shower.. Her mom wasn't on.. Which was a relief, but also horrible because she was probably out drinking again. The only thing illuminating her room was the light from her laptop.
The shower was hot, and nice, relieving to her nerves which had been twisting and turning all day. It almost cleansed the mood. When she got out, she put on a pair of boxers and plopped on her bed, despite the uniform, back pack, and sketchbook that cluttered where she layed. Her eyes dropped for a bit, and the last time she caught on the computer was 3am. She fell asleep to sirens ringing out, probably to respond to the disturbance next door.
-
Reno got off work around 10 as usual, but after he let them know about swim practice he had to be pushed up. He would now be let off at midnight. He rode his bike home, locking it up out front he went inside. Dorris and Gracia were talking at the front counnter when the noticed him. "Oh hello, Reno, how was your day?" "It was fine, Dorris." "Make any new friends? Got any homework? How was swim practice? Are you enjoying chess club?" Reno looked at Dorris with a smirk. "Uh...No, no, fine...Somewhat." Just as he finished his sentence he disappeared behind a corner and headed to his room. "Good night, Reno!" Dorris was peering around the corner waving at Reno as he got to his room. "Good night, Dorris." He replied just before heading into his room. "He's such a nice boy, it's a shame his parents are always on a business trip. They're missing out." "You know he's lying, right?" "What? Lying? What do you mean?" "His parents were both killed over the summer...It was in the newspaper." Dorris' face grimaced, shocked at the news. "A-Are you serious?! How does he manage?" "Well, he has a job...He can suprisingly get a room every night. It's amazing...He's only a boy and already has it this tough." "I'm going to go talk to him about it, I'm sure he-" "Don't, why do you think he lies? It hurts him to talk about it..." Just then they could hear Reno playing his violin, it went on for a few minutes. When it stopped, Reno had finally gone to bed.
-
The next few days were the same, except for the fact that he had to wear the stupid uniform. It's not that he didn't like the style, but the fact that girls chased him around even more, now. Ugh... this is why I never wear formal-wear. Everyday went like clockwork. This week, he stayed late every night to practice, though no one thought he needed it. During track, he would look up into the bleachers to find the intriguing freshman. Sometimes she was there, other times, she wasn't. Shinzuu tried to ask his friends about her, but he would forget to either because he woke up from his nap in class or because he was more focused on practicing. As Sunday came, Shinzuu groaned as he woke up at 9:00am. Hmmm... I might want to get to practice early so I can get a proper warm-up before our first game of the year. Shinzuu grabbed his stuff and hurried off to the school gym. As expected, he was the first on the team to arrive, and was surprised to find the door unlocked. It's only 9:30, who the...? Oh... Inside, on the sidelines, the cheerleaders were already practicing for today's game. Shinzuu went over to the side storage and changed into his shorts and tank top. He grabbed the cage of balls and brought them out to the court. He began doing stretches to get ready for practice. Beads of sweat trickled under his fur as he felt the eyes of half, if not all, of the cheerleaders starting at him every time he bent to touch his toes.
-
Veronica had very uncomfortable in her uniform the entire week, but other than that fact, her week had went on like usual. Nothing interesting happened. She might have been getting more looks from boys in her uniform but she didn't really pay attention. On Sunday morning, she got up at 7:00. She took a nice hot shower and ate her breakfast. She arrived at the school gym at 8:30 and went to a bathroom to change. They had been practicing for about an hour when Shinzuu arrived. They all continued to practice until almost everyone else seemed distracted. [color=teal"What's their problem?"[/color] She thought and looked around. When she spotted Shinzuu doing toe touches, her palm met her forehead. She lowered her hand and then clapped them both together a couple times. "Hey ladies! Aren't we supposed to be practicing not drooling?" She said looking at the others. The ones who were staring at Shinzuu looked to her with slightly disgruntled looks but returned their attention to practicing nonetheless.
-
A restless week. That's all it had been, and she'd been out a lot and night trying not to come home. She'd also been wearing her uniform, not at all bothered by the boy's uniform in comparison to the girls and had been hit on by a couple of girls that didn't realize that she was female. She actually kinda liked the uniform and busting on the girls that thought she was a dude. Their faces often contorted to red when they realized she wasn't a guy and they'd run off to gossip about her once they were embarrassed. She still wasn't making any friends in art club. She seemed to create more enemies than friends in there.
Sunday morning came and she was up at five. She had slept through Friday night and all of Saturday, not purposefully, but probably because of the lack of sleep she had over the week. She had gotten on her laptop and browsed the net for a while until she felt the urge to go out again. She was tired of everything. She decided to sit on the stairs outside.
-
This past week for Reno was utter crap. His first day at school after uniforms were handed out he was sent to the Principle’s. The conversation went south after Reno was given his uniform. Principle Yass brought up something about Reno’s parents, she found out they were dead and extended her condolences. Reno flew off the hinges and after arguing back and forth he stormed out of the office. The rest of the week he missed school, he didn’t intend to skip more than a day but he was arrested for being out past curfew. He sat in jail alone for about three days until somehow Dorris came and picked him up, claiming to be his mother. Bye this time it was Saturday, he explained what had happened to his boss, who immediately fired him. Reno ran home without Dorris, Dorris explained to Reno’s boss his situation and decided to give him another chance, because his boss too knew what it was like to lose a parent. Dorris went to Reno’s room and explained that he had his job back, not telling him the real reason he was let back, just saying “He cooled down”. Reno rested the rest of the day, it had been a long week.
He woke up around 10AM Sunday morning and decided to head to school to explain his absences, preferably to Principle Yass. He finally got to school, headed to the Principle’s office only to find out she wasn’t there. “Hey, Reno. Looking for Hare?” said the custodian walking behind Reno. “Hare?” The custodian face pawed. “Principle Yass, to you kids.” “Aye, I am. ‘Ave ya seen’er?” “Yeah, she headed into the Gym to wait for today’s game to start. “ “Thanks.”Reno walked off and headed to the Gym, once there he saw her sitting in the center of the bleachers with one of his teachers. They immediately picked him out as he entered. “Reno, there you are, we were starting to think you were kidnapped!” Scoffed Hare. “Don’t let her fool you, Reno, she thought you ran away because of your argument.” Said a Duck, which was his math teacher. [color=lightblue“Quiet, Jeremy.” they both chuckled as Reno walked up the bleachers, stopping a row below them. “Sorry, it just so ‘appens I was arrested.” “Arrested?!” Said both Hare and Jeremy in unison. “Aye, I was out past curfew, was there for a few days.” “Are you alright?” “Aye, I’m fine. I just came here to tell you, and hoped maybe you can excuse my absences…” “Sure thing, Reno.” “Really? That simple?” [color=light blue]“Yep, on one condition.” “What’s that?”
“Stay and watch the game with us.” “I’m not a big sports fan…” [color=light blue]“Well, you could leave and I can expel you.” Reno got a shocked expression on his face. “What?! Fine, I’ll stay! Just don’t expect me to sit next to you…” With that said Reno walked back down the bleachers and went to a vending machine. He got some cheetos, headed up the bleachers about halfway and sat down. He pulled out his iPod, put in his earphones and sat listening to his music eating his cheetos. “That boy has a problem…He should open up more. Even if his parents died.” Well, he’s a tough kid, you can’t blame him really…He tries to carry all that burden alone.” sighed Hare “Alone? Doesn’t he have friends?” “He’s too nice to tell the good ones from the bad, mostly people just use him.” “What can you do.” shrugged Jeremy.
-
The rest of the team showed up on time, not too long after Shinzuu had already had started running his routine practices. Soon after, they were all practicing together, and Shinzuu couldn't help but feel the hostile stares from the freshmen on the team. The coach pretty much reprimanded the whole team for not being as "enthusiastic" as Shinzuu was with practicing, though he just did it for personal reasons. Shinzuu could really care less about the future of the school's team. He just wanted to play, play well, and win. About another hour later, at around 12:00, the other team arrived and did their little warm-ups. By then, the stands were already packed, and people were even leaning over the railings of the indoor track that was its own on above the bleachers and baskets. Like usual, over the home team basket, the exclusive few from his fan club were sheering in their own cheer outfits with his name on their shirts. Ugh.... they get worse every 4 months.
-
The cheerleaders hadn't practiced the whole time. Basically when the rest of the basketball team members showed up, the cheerleaders sat on a bottom corner of the bleachers and watched them practice. When the other team arrived, the girls moved off the bleachers to make more room for the fans and went to stand in their places on the sidelines. Veronica looked at Shinzuu's fans up on the track and couldn't help but roll her eyes before looking back at the court. "Good thing he doesn't have a girlfriend or they'd probably all be dead right now..." She thought and chuckled aside to herself.
-
She noticed people from her school heading to the school and curiously followed them to the gym. There was apparently a game going on. She didn't sit in the bleachers, but she didn't stand around either. She really just looked around for a teacher and climbed to the top, propping up on the ladder than lead to the track. She could see the whole court from there, and really stayed out of boredom. She had nothing better to do. No better place to go.
-
Reno was begining to get bored, he forgot to charge his iPod so it died fairly quickly. People had begun to show up, filling the bleachers. He wasn't really a crowd person it was always too noisy. Just then he saw Schadenfreude, he didn't know why he should care but he did. He climbed up the ladder onto the track aswell and hesitantly walked over to her. He was still quite nervous and just stood there for a bit shaking slightly. Principle Yass nudged Jeremy with her elbow and pointed to Reno and Schadenfreude. "Look, he's got a girlfriend." Jeremy looked and kind of scoweled. "That one's a trouble maker she is..." Reno still said nothing, he didn't really know what to say. He was gone all week, what if she didn't remember him? "Uhm...'Ello again." he finally managed to choke out.
-
The game was intense, but not really high-pointed, since it's the beginning of the year. Thankfully, Feral High won the game, so after the end of the game, the team cheered out for a celebration party at the cafeteria. Many girls ran down from the track and the bleachers and chased after Shinzuu. Shinzuu ran away, the team covering his escape. He ran into the storage room and waited for everyone else to assume he was still with the team and followed them out. After the majority had left, Shinzuu came back out, finding three particular people still around. He quickly recognized Schadenfreude and Reno, though they never really met. "Hey, I've seen you guys at the arcade a few times before. What's up?" He extended a hand, not realizing that Schadenfreude was a girl. Shinzuu's eyes, however, noticed the peculiar freshman around, and couldn't help but turn his head over.
-
The cheerleaders did their cheering throughout the game and did a big cheer on the basketball court during half-time as well. Veronica was glad that their team won, of course. She saw Shinzuu hide in the storage room to escape his fans until they moved on then come out and approach a couple of other students and speak to them. Looking down at her pom-poms, she "combed" out the strands to make them straight as the other cheerleaders started heading for the cafeteria for the victory party. She sighed for no reason in particular and headed for the cafeteria, her eyes scanning the floor.
-
"Lop ears, where you been?" She joked.. "S'been lonely around lunch.. Though, I have had a girl or two hit on me." She watched the game with a glazed interest. She never quite understood sports to begin with unless you hit each other... Ball games never made much sense. But apparently the team had won, so that was good, she guessed. When the game was over, she climbed down from the track, looking to see if old long ears was following until she was approached by Shinzuu, one of the more popular guys. She blinked, a little unsure of what to do. She didn't really know what to say, but she shook his hand and replied with a "Nothing much."
-
Reno smirked at the question "Eh...Been uh...Detained you could say. Sorry to make you so lonely." After the game had been won he followed Schadenfreude down the ladder and into the cafeteria. When Shinzuu approached the two he was a bit unbelieving, someone so popular to even talk to him. Reno was too awe struck and nervous to even shake his hand, he waved lightly. "Uhm...'ey, good game." He was a bit shakey, not really sure what to say. If he wasn't so nervous he'd probably be hiding behind Schadenfreude.
-
Shinzuu jumped back 3 rows on the bleachers at the sound of Schadenfreude's voice. "Y-you're a girl!?" He quickly covered his mouth and looked at his hand, Hmmm? Nothing again? What's going on? Shinzuu noticed Reno's wave and waved back, trying to force a smile. "S-so... you guys with the rival school, or with Feral High? I've seen you at the arcades almost every weekend since break. I'm Shinzuu Katame, Junior here at Feral High. And you guys are....?"
-
As Veronica was passing by the three, she heard Shinzuu's exclamation. Her head snapped up in their direction with her eyes narrowed. She looked to Schadenfreude then back forward again. "Looks like a girl to me..." She thought to herself. Heading into the cafeteria, she sat at the far end of a table by herself. She looked around at all of the people celebrating and smiled, setting her pom-poms on the tabletop. There was nothing quite like the victory high from your team winning a game.
-
By this time, Schadenfreude's eyes were as large as marbles, but her hair hid her expression well. What had gotten into him to make him shoot across three rows of bleachers? Part of her chuckled at his odd behavior. "I know I'm scary, but I didn't think I was THAT scary." She smiled. "I go here as a junior, too. It's not surprising you see me out. I hardly ever stay in." She was sure she sounded pretty awkward because it had been so long since she had bothered to actually talk to someone aside from occasionally talking to Long Ears, but she continued on anyway. She figured everyone was strange in their own ways, including the most popular guy in school. He had to be strange somehow. She was sure she would be if she were constantly being chased by a fan club.
-
"Uhm...I go to this school too, nice to meet you. I'm Reno O' Malley." Reno scratched the back of his head nervously, he didn't think Shinzuu would be so rabbity. He was looking around when he noticed Veronica, then he looked to Schadenfreude then to Shinzuu. He was confused on what really to do, it's not often he engaged in conversation with multiple people...Expecially a girl and the most popular guy in the school, it all seemed so unreal.
-
Shinzuu chuckled and made a gesture with his hand for them to come with him. "Well, by now, the commotion should be more stable. Why don't you two join me at the cafeteria? The coach got us a good amount of pizza, hotdogs, burgers, and all the American celebration food that he loves so much. I personally prefer a buffet of sushie, but whatever. Come on, there's a single table that's off to the back so that we can talk without too much trouble." Shinzuu walked towards the cafeteria through the door and finally relaxed. Upon relaxing, he noticed an enormous itch on his whole right hand. Raising some of his fur, Shinzuu found those nasty hives underneath. Yep. That's a girl alright."
-
Veronica had gotten up from her spot at the table by herself and grabbed a couple of hotdogs, not putting anything on them because she's picky like that. When she went back to the table it was still empty. A lot of people were either crowded with each other at other tables or standing around together to trade small talk. The other cheerleaders were only one table away from her and sitting at the middle instead of the end like she was. She knew she was welcome to sit with them but she had been around them since 8:30 in the morning. Raising a hotdog to her mouth, she took a bite and began chewing it as she looked around the cafeteria. She then spotted Shinzuu walking through the door. "What if I look like a pig eating this?" She thought to herself as she looked down at the hotdog in her hand and the other one on her plate as she continued to chew. "Wait...why do I even care what he thinks? *sigh* I really need to stop..."
-
Schadenfreude looked over to Long Ears, a little unsure of what to do since she often kept to herself, then shrugged and followed Shinzuu into the cafeteria. There was the table all right, and sitting at the table was one of the cheerleaders. She felt a little out of place with the crowd of people that were in the cafeteria. Most of them were talking sports and reviewing the game while others just bustled about their booming social life... Neither of which Schadenfreude was familiar with. She felt somewhat ridiculous there in her clothes. If she had been wearing her school uniform like any other day, she might not have stuck out like the sore thumb she was.
-
Reno followed Shinzuu and Schadenfreude to the table, he noticed the hotdogs and practically started drooling. But he refrained from grabbing one because he was always nervous about being ridiculed about eating one. After all they were at school, and the maturity level here was not the highest. They would probably make a dirty joke about male privates and laugh because he's eating them. So instead he just sat at the table quietly and looked around at the others, not really knowing what to say. Even if he did know what to say, he was still very nervous.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he sat down at the corner, across from Reno, who sat next to Schadenfreude. He did his best to not be too close to Schadenfreude, but not so much as to offend her. It wasn't until he sat down that he noticed the freshman next to him. Shinzuu extended a hand over to her and smiled weakly, still rubbing his other hand against his back against the itch. "Hey, I'm sorry, but I never did get your name. I'm sure you already know me, since you were cheering for our team."
-
Veronica had almost not noticed the others sit down at the table with her since she had been staring at the table. When Shinzuu spoke to her, she looked up at him, having finished her first hotdog. "Yeah, you had rounded the corner before I could speak." She said then looked at his hand before looking up at his face again. "My name's Veronica." She shook his hand with a smile on her face. Looking at Reno then down at the hotdog on her plate, she pushed it towards him. "You can have it if you want. My eyes were bigger than my stomach." She chuckled.
-
Schad took her seat and looked over to the freshman, then to the others. She was really just listening and picking up on all the conversation going on around her since she herself was not partaking in any at all at the time. She still felt a little out of place, not knowing what to think, suspecting that she might just be here so that the popular kid could look good for fraternizing with the underlings. She didn't know for sure, but she went with it anyway. It couldn't hurt anything for the time being.
-
Reno looked at the hotdog, eyes widened. He really wanted it, but he was nervous. He finally reached for it, slowly but surely grabbing it pulling it over to him. "Uhm...thanks, miss." He managed to choke out before taking a bite of the hotdog. He was terribly nervous but didn't want to seem rude and not take it. He slowly ate it trying to hide how much he was enjoying it. There wasn't much of a conversation going on, so he did something he normally wouldn't have done. It seemed being in the vicinity of Schadenfreude aroused a dormant trait within him. He pointed to Shinzuu. "Shinzuu..." He pointed his thumb at himself "I'm Reno..." Then pointed to Veronica and Schadenfreude "Ladies...?"
-
Shinzuu excused himself after shaking Veronica's hand, blushing a bit under his fur. He grabbed a stack of pizzas and burger onto his plate and then grabbed/balanced four cups of cola and brought it back to the table before Drevo started his intros. "Sorry, I'm really hungry. But I got everyone a cola, at least. Here." Shinzuu handed out the drinks and chewed on his pizza. He pointed at Schadenfreude as he face Veronica. "Her name's Schadenfreude. Everyone, this is Veronica, one of our flying cheerleaders." Shinzuu picked up another piece and ate the whole thing in one bite, and chewed it a bit before wolfing it down.
-
Veronica nodded to Reno and Schadenfreude to acknowledge the introductions to both of them. She looked down at her soda. "I really shouldn't drink this. It causes havoc on my teeth." She thought to herself. "Oh well, it's only one cup." She took a sip of the soda and set the cup back down. She looked around at the others, not really sure of what to say.
-
Schadenfreude sat there, kind of blankly looking at everyone. It seemed that the awkward silence was growing since they had already been introduced. In a way, the silence was killing her. Without warning, she slammed her hand down on the table making a loud noise, then followed it by a "WELP. I'M GOING TO GET FOOD," and an awkward smile before she got up and walked over to where the pizza was.
-
Reno did the same thing, aside from hitting the table. He was the sheep that followed the wolf... "I'm gonna go grab something too" He walked off to the table with all the food on in and stood back surveying it. He did this until he spotted what he wanted and went on over. It was the last slice of sausage pizza. He grabbed a plate and then the pizza, followed by some ketchup. He turned to go walk back to the table when three boys were standing infront of him. "Hey, Garf, hows it been?" asked the dog in the middle of two others. "Uh...It's been fine, Jackson." "Me and the boys were about to hit the arcade and uh...Were a little short on cash, wanna help us out?" Reno scratched the back of his head for a second. "Eh...Sure, 'ere, 'old this." He handed Jackson his pizza while he took out his wallet. He took out a twenty and put his wallet away. " 'Ere, 'have fun." Reno said handing Jackson the money. "Thanks, Garf, your a real pal." Jackson then left, eating the pizza and pocketing the cash. "Ketchup for pizza? What a freak!" Jackson said to his followers as they walked off laughing. Reno sighed a bit and went back to the table of food and looked it over for something new to eat.
-
Shinzuu chuckled from when everyone left to when they sat back down. "You know, this is probably the most fun I've had outside of the field or the court. Though I gotta say, it feels more business out there this year. The freshmen on the team are very unfit to be on the court." Shinzuu grew solemn and the smile faded a little bit. "I know this is coming out of nowhere, but do you guys want to hand out next Sunday? Meet, say, outside of the arcade in Shibuya?"
-
Veronica felt kind of awkward after Reno and Schadenfreude left the table to get their food. She was sitting alone at the table with Shinzuu after all. He didn't start a conversation so neither did she since she wasn't great at conversation anyway. She stared at her cup of soda and took sips from it randomly until the other two came back. When Shinzuu spoke she just listened and didn't raise her head until he mentioned hanging out on Sunday. "Sounds good to me." She responded with a smile, looking at him. She then looked at the others to see what they would say.
-
Schadenfreude had been scolding Reno for just handing over money like that, especially that much to such jerks. She herself had thought about punching them upside the face if they hadn't skittered off so quickly. She sat back at the table, devouring her pizza as if she hadn't eaten.. Which, in fact, she hadn't today. She never ate much when she was out of school because her mom spent the money on less that desirable things. She had been so caught up in enjoying her pizza, she only heard arcade, and immediately agreed.
-
Reno was about to get some food before he was scolded, it made him loose his already dwindling appetite. It ate him inside handing over that kind of money, but he didn't want to seem like a jerk to his other friends. He sat down without any food and drank his cola when Shinzuu said to hang out at the arcade. "Uh sure, sounds like fun." Schadenfreude was going, why shouldn't he? He was really only comfortable around her...He still was unsure why he acted the way he did around her. Maybe it was chivalry, or because he liked her, or just that he was too cowardly to turn these people down.
-
Shinzuu gave a slight, but confident, smile. He had a really good feeling about these people, though his hand that was fairly close to Schadenfreude was starting to itch up a storm. The next couple days were fun, compared to the first week. It was finally warm enough outside that they could actually have a real gym class. As usual, guys were to swap rooms with the girls from another class and they would all change in gender separated classrooms, but whatever. Shinzuu had no interest in girls anyways, since he had an allergic reaction to them. The boys would be doing track and soccer for these next few weeks while the girls did swimming. Shinzuu didn't particularly enjoy the watered down version of track practice, but it was better than staying cooped up inside with nothing to do. Many of the guys were distracted, trying to sneak in peeks at the girls' swim class at the pool that was up the hill, next to the school's left wing. Oh, brother...
-
Veronica was very happy to hear that she would be swimming during her gym class for the next few weeks. She loved to swim, so much so that her family swore that she was part fish. The only thing she didn't like about swimming in gym class is that they were required to wear swim-caps. She had just tucked her hair inside her swim-cap and was starting to put on her goggles when she noticed the boys trying to sneak peeks at the girls' swim class. "Oh please..." She grumbled. "What?" A girl next to her asked, looking at her. "That." Veronica responded, outstretching her arm and pointing towards the boys. "Jeez, you would think that they went to an all-boys' school or something." The girl said, rolling her eyes and turning towards the pool. "I couldn't agree more." Veronica replied as she started to turn towards the pool as well. She paused for a second as she spotted Shinzuu. A barely noticeable smile appeared on her face and she blushed underneath her fur as she completed her turn towards the pool.
-
It had gotten warmer. And since it had, the Art Club got the nice privilege to go outside for once and work. They had set up near the track, from there the club split up, but was knit tightly enough for the teacher to mingle with the students and look at their work. Schadenfreude had chosen to use paint today, as messy as it was. She looked up at the track, not particularly interested in picking a subject to paint, and simply began going nuts on the paper. She made no specific pictures, just splatters and random strokes.
-
Classes were dull for Reno, and so was Chess club and swim practice. The only time he was enjoying himself was when he was talking to his bestfriend online at home and playing his violin. His spirits were uplifted when payday came around. He decided to go stock up on some soda. While he was out someone from school reckognised him, it was David; a very large and towering bear. He seemed too big for school but he was a junior. He grabbed Reno's shoulder with one paw and squeezed; dropping him almost to his knees. "Hey, Reno, hows it goin'?" "A-Ah, David, everythings fine, just 'eadin' to the store for some soda." "The store huh? Buy me somethin'?" "Let me go?" David gave a big belly laugh and let Reno go. "You drive a hard bargain!" With that David slapped Reno on the back shoving him into the store. About ten minutes later Reno and David exited the store, Reno holding a bag of soda and David a mountain of an ice cream cone. "Thanks for the ice cream, Reno." "Don't mention it." They went their seperate ways and Reno went home, thinking about hanging out with the others.
-
The week went by fairly quickly, though Shinzuu wished that he had more time to spend with the others. The thought of actually hanging out with real people that weren't hanging around him because of his popularity or his looks. It was a truly invigorating thought to actually be going out and doing stuff with people who see him for who he was and not what everyone else THINKS he is.
-
Saturday seemed to drag on forever especially since Veronica was in a bad mood. There was no particular reason for it. It was just one of those days where she was easily irritated by anything. At lunchtime, she went to the cafeteria to get a drink and some food. When she went back to the classroom, she ate rather quickly. On this day she actually felt really tired even though she had had enough sleep the night before so when she was done with her food, she rested her head on her arms on the table. "Can it just be Sunday now?" She thought then fell asleep before the bell rang to signal the end of lunch.
-
The week was the usual for Schad. She avoided coming home as usual, hung out with Reno, who she still had developed the habit of calling him Long Ears or Thumper. It had been customary for such a long time it was a hard habit to break. If you didn't give her a name, she'd name you something anyway. She went through classes eager to leave. She wanted to go home and get her laptop. She had downloaded a couple of hacked games on there she wanted to play, but the bell seemed to just take its time.
-
Reno got up early Sunday and got dressed. He forgot what time they were to meet to hang out so he woke up around 7AM. He put on his normal white long sleeve button up shirt, black dress pants and put on his black tie. The clothes were kind of wrinkled aside from his tie which he took care of the most because it was a graduation present from his father. Coincidentally it was the last thing he had ever recieved from him. He also got a small heart shaped locket from his mother which he normally kept it under his shirt. It had a picture of the three of them in it. Reno decided to walk instead of take his bike and on his way to the arcade he stopped by a small cafe nearby it and order a bit of breakfast. He sat down to his couple of doughnuts and hot chocolate, eating quietly.
-
Shinzuu woke up early Sunday morning. He groaned as he sat up in his bed. Shinzuu had practiced until midnight the night before and he was sore. His mother's voice came from the kitchen. "Shinny, honey! Are you still going out with your friends today?" Shinzuu groaned, "Yea, ma! We're going to meet out in Shibuya and probably going to try to go around the other shopping districts." "Can you help me pick up some teriyaki sauce and some fresh salmon from the market when you come home?" Shinzuu walked out of his room in his boxers and undershirt, and walked into the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face. "No, ma. I can't even guarantee that I'll be home before dark or even for dinner. So how much did you win this time, mom?" Shinzuu's mother, a white-tiger with long, black hair, stuck her head into the bathroom and held up a large stack of bills, giving a big smile. "I bet a whole month's paycheck on your game with the others. You really had me going in the final half. Glad you practiced so much. Well, here's your half of the winnings. Now, what do you want for breakfast?" Shinzuu spat into the sink and grabbed the money, laying it beside the sink. "Just some toast for me to take out. I have to be out in Shibuya by 10 o'clock." His mother's face smiled brightly as she retreated and headed back to the little kitchen area. "Ok! Just make sure you don't knock anyone up while you're out there!" Shinzuu coughed hard at the surprising end statement, choking a little on the water in the washcloth. "MOM!!!"
After cleaning up and doing a little bit of grooming, Shinzuu walked back into his room and got dressed. He put on a pair of loose, baggy jeans and a black collared, short-sleeved shirt. Shinzuu ran out of his room and grabbed the toast off the plate his mother just finished putting them on, after lathering peanut butter and condensed milk in them. He hurriedly jumped into his sneakers and ran out as he continued to bite and eat his toast. Shinzuu made it out to the train station just as the train was getting ready to leave. He ran in, barely squeezing through the closing doors. Shinzuu made it to the arcade 15 minutes before 10 o'clock. He stood in front and looked around, waiting for the others. Hope they don't treat me like some freak...
-
Veronica woke up at 8 o' clock on Sunday morning. She went into the bathroom and took a shower, blow-drying her hair after she dried off. She pulled on some fitting dark blue jeans and a white tank top with a design on it. Then she went downstairs and ate a bowl of cereal. Afterward, she went back upstairs to the bathroom, brushing her teeth and putting on some deodorant. Her mother, a snow-white Arctic wolf with silver hair and piercing blue eyes, was in the chair in the living room when she came downstairs again. "Mom, could you give me a ride to the arcade in Shibuya?" She asked as she stood at the entrance to the living room. "Sure, hun. Hanging out with Carmen and Liz?" Her mother asked as she got up from her seat and shut off the TV. "No, actually, some other people..." Veronica said as the put on their shoes and left the house. "Are there boys included?" Her mother said with a grin. Veronica rolled her eyes. "Yes, mum. Two boys and another girl." "A double date?!" Her mother squealed as they got into the car. "Nope, just hanging out together." Veronica said nonchalantly which made her mother drop it for the entire ride.
They said goodbye to each other as Veronica got out of the car in front of the arcade and she waved as her mom drove off. When she turned and saw Shinzuu standing there, she froze for a second. She felt embarrassed for a few reasons: 1) Her mom had dropped her off, 2) She was the first one to show up besides Shinzuu, and 3) She just felt like a fool around people she didn't know well, especially if it was a guy who seemed to be giving her a lot of attention. She raised her right hand in a slight wave to him then dropped it as she walked over to him. "Hey. So...we must be the first ones here..." She said, not really knowing what to talk about.
-
The possum rolled out of bed at 9:50am, literally rolling out and hitting her head on the dresser as the landed in the floor, further knocking her laptop off of it. It landed on her back. She grabbed it off her back and let it plop on the floor as she sleepily sat up, pushing herself out of the floor and glancing at the clock to see the time. She got to her feet and rubbed her eyes as well as the back of her head where it hit the dresser, taking a second look at the clock. It was indeed right. She bent down and grabbed her laptop and threw it on her bed, and dug through a pile of clothes in the corner of her room. She hopped in the shower and washed up, her fingers running along the tire mark on her midsection. She chuckled slightly, then dried off and got dressed. Today she had some black wide legged cargo pants with white stitching and pumpkin patches on them, placed strategically on one of her back pockets and on some of the side pockets. She had a pair of black suspenders on as well, but they hung at her sides, along with a white long sleeve dress shirt with a frankenstein T-shirt over the top of it. Her hands and feet had fishnets on them and a collar's silver loop poked out from between the collar on the shirt. After getting dressed, she was off to walk to the arcade. She tiptoed quietly past her mother who was on the couch passed out and reeking of alcohol. Her fur was matted in places, and told of a rough night. She closed the door behind her, slamming it and taking off down the apartment's stairs hearing a string of curses arise from her now startled and awake mother.
-
Reno had finished his breakfast but got caught up in day dreaming, wondering about the others. Someone so popular talking to such a loner, another girl actually hanging out with him out of school. The four of them...And odd party indeed, a loner, too shy and can't stand up for himself. A jock, a gay jock at that, most popular kid in school. A tomboy cheer leader, a freakin' cheer leader, the reserved fruit of the jocks. And the delinquient, the very girl he had no understanding of, yet didn't enjoy not being around. The phrase "Opposites attract" came to mind as Reno stood up, left some money on the table and walked out and to the arcade, seeing Shinzuu and Veronica already there. He was at the crosswalk across from the arcade, it was his turn to go but he hesitated. He was getting stage fright, this was all so strange...So new...He was scared of new...He didn't know how to react...Didn't know what to do...So he just stood there, like a deer caught in the headlights waiting for it's impending doom or divine intervention.
-
Shinzuu chuckled nervously at Veronica and said his hello. When Reno and Schadenfreude showed up, Shinzuu inched slowly away from Schadenfreude, while trying to get Reno over. He ended up running over to Reno to get him to move over with the group, but also used it as an excuse to be further from Schadenfreude. The hives he was getting from her were really starting to build up. As he brought Reno over, Shinzuu smiled slightly and sighed. "So what do you guys want to do first? I was thinking a cafe for the afternoon, but I have no idea what you guys are into.
-
Veronica was now feeling very awkward in the situation. Her face felt like it was burning as she was stuck standing there between two guys. It wasn't like she knew Reno at all so she shouldn't have felt embarrassed or nervous, but she was very close to Shinzuu too, and she wasn't exactly used to being around guys in social situations. The combination of that and one of the guys near her being someone she was starting to like. "Doesn't really matter to me what we do." She responded to Shinzuu's question with a shrug, only able to glance up at him. Looking at the others, she waited for what they would say they wanted to do.
-
The possum was late as usual, but upon getting there realized just how awkward it was. She looked at Reno when asked the question, unsure really of what she wanted to do. In all honesty, she wanted to draw or run over to the arcade, but at this point she had to do what the group wanted and was sure her mother had ripped up her sketchbook by now for waking her up. She looked back to Shinzuu and shrugged. "I don't mind what we do. I don't get out much except to the arcade and the park, so I guess anything works."
-
Reno was extremely nervous, Shinzuu had to walk him over. He was shaking a bit, but trying his hardest not to. He stood there holding his own arm, his lips pressed tightly in a line, sweating a bit and eyes wandering around avoiding looking at the others as much as possible. When Shinzuu spoke he kind of snapped out of his own cowardice. No one else was speaking so he blurted out something. "Arcade, lunch, mall, dinner!" It was quick but understandable, once finished he immediately put his hands over his mouth not believing he just made such an outburst. His mind began racing; "What the 'ell am I thinkin'?! Dinner?! Stupid! What if they think it's some kind of date?! You're so stupid sometimes, Reno!"
-
Shinzuu was a little taken aback by Reno's little nervous breakdown and chuckled. "That sounds fun. Come on. We're already in front of the arcade anyways. Anyone need money? I just got paid big time, so I can help anyone out." Shinzuu led the way by opening the door and hung out with the others. Whenever they would find a game, he would either play it with them or play one next to them. Shinzuu ignored his usual crowd and shooed them away, not wanting those people to smother him and his potentially new friends. I just hope this doesn't make these guys hang out with me just because I offered to help them out, money-wise. Then they'd be no different from the people who always surround me because of my popularity."
-
Veronica had chuckled when Reno had his outburst but agreed with his ideas. She rejected Shinzuu's offer to help with money because she had brought her own. She played any game that looked like it would interest her. She didn't speak much during the time they were in the arcade. Whenever she played a game, she became absorbed into it and pretty much nothing could get her attention away from it. It probably looked like she was in a trance some of the time.
-
Schad was fine with Reno's outburst, though later she figured she'd give him hell for the fun of it. He seemed like he wanted to have fun, but his timidness would get in the way too much. The possum rather enjoyed zombie games, especially the game House of the Dead. She used her own money that she had earned from doing some art commissions, and let go, deciding to at least try to have fun. It didn't seem like she was bothering anyone, and it was nice for someone to not judge her by how many schools she was moved from or how many fights she got in.
-
Reno almost collapsed from everyone looking at him after his outburst, but they thought it was a good idea which relieved him greatly. He was the last to go into the arcade, turning down Shinzuu's offer on money. He then went and got twenty bucks in quarters and headed for a zombie game. There was a few but he walked over to the one Schadenfreude was playing and stood next to her. "Uh...Care if I join?" He was about to put some quarters into the second player slot but waited for an answer.
-
Shinzuu enjoyed playing with the others for a couple hours. He ended up only spending only 300 yen ($3.00 USD) and played only Street Fighter 4 and Capcom Vs Marvel 2, beating the games every time. At around noon, Shinzuu rounded everyone up and they went off the a cafe nearby. After they all sat down, he ordered a milk tea and okonomiyaki. "So what do you guys do for fun?"
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu to the cafe after they all got together again. When they sat down, she ordered hot chocolate and a grilled cheese sandwich. She made sure that she would get a few pickles with her sandwich too instead of just one alongside the fries. She was looking out the window when Shinzuu spoke to them all and she turned her head to look at him beside her. "Well, I sing, go to the movies, hang out with friends, read, rollerblade, and do a bunch of other things." She said and glanced down at the table. "I'm not really good at talking about myself." Chuckling slightly, she thanked the waiter when he dropped of their drinks.
-
"SURE." She blurted, blowing out a few zombies' brains. "But I'll kick your butt, ya know." She shot offscreen at his face, reloading the gun and shooting more zombies. He joined in, and they played a while before Shinzuu rounded them up. She wasn't really sure why Shinzuu wanted to hang around her, she had a hunch he had also been trying to avoid her like the plague, and that in and of itself was enough to bother her... But she dismissed it. She didn't want to start something and ruin everyone else's day.
They had gone to the cafe, and when they sat down, Schad ordered a blue berry muffin and a hot tea. She didn't drink coffee. She listened to the other two, and felt a little embarassed because she didn't do much. "Well." She scratched the back of her head thinking, "I play video games, and draw.. And wander.. Occasionally surf the net." She didn't have much that she actually went out and did. It had been ages since she had done something like this, and she almost expected one of them to continue on with the gossip that had been going around: "Punching teachers, beating up students... Being a lesbian." Though the last part was false. Idiots assumed that because she looked boy-ish.
-
Reno had enjoyed the games he played while in the arcade. Then Shinzuu got them all to the cafe and sat down. Reno ordered some chicken fingers and a coke, bye the time his order got there the others were talking. After they finished he scratched the back of his head. "Uhm...I guess it's my turn." He took a drink of his soad them began to put some ketchup next to his chicken fingers. "Uh...I play video games, mostly on my laptop...Uh...I read on occasion, I play my violin...Uhm...Work and eh...That's about it." Reno finished putting the ketchup on and started to eat.
-
"Well, at least you buys actually have hobbies. I'm usually only practicing basketball all day, everyday. Only on Sunday, do I ever do anything else, and I just end up playing ticket games. Which reminds me..." Shinzuu bit down on his chopsticks and reached into his side pocket and pulled out a plastic card. "I actually had time today to scan in all my tickets from last week into my card. I got more than enough for a lot of the prizes. I win a lot of tickets per game, so I get high priced items for only a few hundred yen. I got about 30,000 tickets on here. Anything you guys want to get after this, before we head for the mall?"
-
Veronica's tickets were shoved into her left pocket while she ate her grilled cheese sandwich, fries, and pickles and drank her hot chocolate. She was planning on saving them up until she had enough for a good prize at some point. She didn't like the idea of using Shinzuu's tickets. He was the one who had earned them after all. She shook her head in response to his question. "No..." She replied. "I'm saving my tickets up for a later date and there's no way I'd use any of your tickets." She really was just that kind of person. She didn't like taking something from someone even if it was offered to her by that person.
-
Schadenfreude's mouth dropped. That was a lot of tickets. She had some tickets from where she had played ski-ball, but that was it. She didn't really get many tickets because the zombie shooters didn't give out tickets. She brushed her hair down in front of her eyes to hide that she felt somewhat eager. She had her eye on a croagunk plush the arcade had just got in. Aside from zombies, she also liked Pokemon, but often hid that she did like it so much. She had her DS in her pocket, in fact, her R4 card packed with different games, her current catch being Soul Silver. She had been lucky. The only reason why she evn had a DS was because she traded in her Gameboy SP that she had gotten as a used gift and only had to pay 90 bucks. She stuffed her muffin in her mouth, waiting to see how Reno responded. She didn't want to gush about it, or just take someone's tickets, though she badly wanted that Craogunk.
-
Reno was a little surprized at the amount of tickets Shinzuu had, but it was nothing. His parents had always taken him to the arcade since when he was little, thus feuling his interest in video games. He was also quite skilled at many of the ticket games, one he was particularly good at was a game in which you had to drop in a quarter at the precise time an arm swayed over a dump truck. One time he had won so much on that single game the ticket reel had to be replaced twice before he was even done. When he was old enough to go to the arcade on his own he was always given money to use. Which still earned him a mass of tickets on his own. But even with all these tickets he had he never knew what to get with them, so they grew in number over the years. The last he looked it was near 70,000, but he treated them more like trophies than a form of currency. "Good job, Shinzzuu, sounds like you uhm...Worked hard for being so busy. But uhm...I'll have to decline your offer again...It's nothing personal, I was never able to choose a prize even with my own tickets anyway...I think we should just uh...Go to the mall." Reno scratched his head and kinda smiled. "Oh crap, you told them what to do again! Stop being so...Uncharictreristic!"
-
Shinzuu shrugged, "Well, that's about how much I get a week. I play the basketball games and the punch meter a lot, and those usually max out at 200 for perfect games, and if you can get over 1000 in the punch meter, you get 500. And I usually get maxed every time I played each. I already used my tickets from the week before to get an X-Box 360, and I don't know what else to get with these tickets, since they're out of game systems. They only carry one, since they never expect anyone to have the 29,000 so soon. But sure, let's go to the mall after this." He finished up his okonomiyaki and sat back to sip his milk tea. Shinzuu finished and drank another before everyone finished. They all got up together and paid for their food before leaving. The four of them walked down the sidewalk together. He sighed and chuckled to himself, Ah... this is actually kind of cool.
-
Veronica had listened and finished her food & drink in silence. She wasn't big on talk anyway so she didn't really have anything more to say. She paid for her meal when they were all finished and left with the group. As she walked down the sidewalk with them, she remained silent and her mind wandered. She wondered what they were going to do at the mall. She figured they would just end up walking around and checking out some stores. She also wondered what movie they were going to see later and hoped that the majority wouldn't want to see a horror movie. She hated horror movies.
-
Shadenfreude stuffed her hands in her pockets after paying for her food and continued to walk with the three. She knew she wanted to hit Gamestop while she was in the mall. She probably had enough money to treat herself to something. She pulled her wallet out. She loved her wallet, it was again, another gift. It looked like an old NES controller, and on the inside lining, it had mario coins. She opened it and flipped through the bills, double checking on how much she had left.
-
Reno paid for his food and walked with the others remaining silent as a mouse. He even kinda tip toed to not make any sound what so ever. He was thinking the others were going to start getting annoyed at his suggestions so he wanted to lay low. He thought about what he was going to do at the mall, he definately wanted to hit a candy shop and Gamestop to browse more like he usually did. He felt like getting something sour...
-
Shinzuu felt a little awkward going through the Gamestop with everyone and certain stores in the mall. He rarely ever went to the mall, since there were so many females there. Waiting for the girls to finish shopping in Victoria's Secret didn't help either, even though they came out fairly quickly, but it was the longest 10 minutes of his life, to date. While he waited outside with Reno, he browsed through a newspaper that he picked up to read the sports, to find what movies were playing, but didn't exactly find anything interesting. "Hey Reno. Why DID you decide to come out with us?"
-
Veronica had always been uncomfortable with Victoria's Secret. She wasn't very well-endowed so the store made her self-conscious since a lot of the stuff tended to be mostly in the bigger sizes. She did go into the store though and bought an undergarment set, a pair of sweatpants, and a pair of flip-flops. She browsed the perfumes for a couple minutes before exiting the store to join the group again.
-
Schadenfreude had gone into Victoria's Secret. She saw a few things she'd like, but part of her didn't want to spend her money. She was often somewhat paranoid about her money. She'd often cling to it because she didn't have a consistant job, so her income was unpredicatble. While browsing, she noticed that Veronica had gone, so she left as well.
-
Reno's eyes widened at Shinzuu's question, he grabbed his shoulder and looked away having been put on the spotlight like that. He finally managed to look normal again and spoke. "Uhm...Well uh...I...Uh...Well, Schadenfreude went...It's not like you and Veronica are evil or anything, it's not like that, I'm just saying, uhm..."His speech was slow at first, but when he was trying not to sound like he didn't like Shinzuu and Veronica he sped up, clearly nervous until he shut up. "So...Why are you hanging out with...Uhm...Us? Surely you have something better to do."
-
Shinzuu chuckled and looked up into the air. "Not really. Sunday's probably the only day I'm not practicing basketball. I'm just really tired of people hanging out with me because of my popularity. No one really cares for who I am. So I thought I'd try hanging out with people who aren't part of the 'in' crowd, who might actually like me for who I am. I've never had real friends before, and I thought that maybe you guys might be a good change of environment." Shinzuu stopped talking as Veronica and Schadenfreude came out of the store. "So anyone up for Iron Man 2?"
-
Veronica smiled as Shinzuu mentioned Iron Man 2 when her and Schadenfreude walked up. She was resisting singing the Iron Man theme song. She loved singing it but it would have embarrassed her if she had sang it in this situation, so she just sang it in her head. "Sounds good to me. I love Iron Man." She responded to the question. Then she realized that earlier when she had been wondering what movie they would be seeing that that hadn't been a part of the original plan, but apparently Shinzuu had gotten bored with the mall so she was kind of happy about it.
-
"OH GEEZE ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Burst Schad, "I heard it's going to be freaking awesome, they're bringing in an adaptation of Backlash and they are actually going to follow thruogh with making him the Crimson Dynamo!" She was gushing at this point, she loved comics and was really excited to see Iron Man 2 since the first one had been so close to the comics. "Oh oh oh, they're also bringing in War Machine." She was practically jumping up and down now. "Plus, who can't love the cast, especially with Robert Downey Jr. and Mickey Rourke?"
-
Reno just smiled at what Shinzuu said about having real friends, though he didn't say anything back. Because he thought he was shy considering how he stopped talking when the girls came back, and he himself was too shy to say anything anyway. When Iron Man 2 was suggested he didn't object, he saw how extatic Schad was about going to see it. It seems she was a fan of Iron Man, Reno didn't hate him, but he though Batman personally was better. Reno was more of a "Gadget guy" rather than a "I have big power suit like Master chief guy". Batman also seemed more noble than Iron Man, he didn't have to flaunt his wealth or power to gain reckognition. Reno forgot to head to a candy shop for something sour, but they were going to the movies so he could get somthing there. Even though it's always over priced...
-
Shinzuu chuckled again, amused that the girls were more interested and pumped for it. "Alright, let's go. We better hurry up. The walk back to the arcade is 5 minutes out, and the movie starts in 10." Shinzuu held onto his one bag with an XBOX 360 game in it and ran out of the mall with the others, wanting to get to the movie before it started. When they got there, he slipped his money into the box office and pulled out 4 tickets. In his heavy breathing, "Come.... on.... let's.... go...."
-
Veronica didn't expect Shinzuu to start running. The arcade was right across from the theater and he had said that it was five minutes from the mall to the arcade and that they had ten minutes until the movie. It seemed to her that there was no need for them to run but she ran after him anyway. He reached the ticket booth before she did and ended up paying for all of their tickets. As she stopped behind him, she shook her head. "I could have paid for my own ticket. You didn't have to." She said to him.
-
Schad took off after Shinzuu, he was a track runner, so there was no way she'd keep up with him. He got there before her, of course, and he bought her ticket, which she didn't expect. As they continued to get their seats in the theater, she replied, "Thanks, man," and dug in her pocket to get a ten to pay him back for her ticket. She was panting. She was an art student, not a track star.
-
As Shinzuu took off Reno hesitated to run at first, but when they were getting a bit ahead of them he shook his head and bolted after them. He was able to catch up to Shinzuu before he had gotten to the theatre and ran along the side of him until they stopped. He was tired from the sprint but hid it by breathing slowly through his nose. He would have paid Shinzuu back for buying the tickets, but he didn't want to seem rude at his kind gesture. "Heh...Thanks, Shinzuu, uh...I'm gonna run ahead and grab something sour from the consession stand. Do you guys want anything? I'll buy."
-
Shinzuu gave a thumbs up. "No problem, guys." He walked in with the others and smirked at Reno's statement. Read my mind. Heh, smart kid. "Get me some Crunch Bunches. I feel like chocolate for this one." Shinzuu went through the rope with the girls, standing on one side of Veronica while Schadenfreude stood on the other side, and waited for Reno. "Hurry up, man! We're going to miss the previews!"
-
"SweetTarts!" Veronica instantly blurted out in response to Reno's question. "Please, I mean." She added softly, her face turning red under her fur. She had been craving those sweets for most of the day. That kind of thing happened a lot. She usually craved something she didn't have on hand. She stood in between Shinzuu and Schadenfreude as they waited for Reno to get the concessions. She wasn't in any hurry to see the previews so she waited patiently while Shinzuu yelled to Reno.
-
"I guess I'll take some sour patch kids, if you don't mind." Schadenfreude said, following Shinzuu. "I'll save you a seat, Reno." she called, heading into the theater. "So do you read any comics or anything?" She asked Shinzuu. She felt stupid asking because with all the basketball he played, she doubted he read them, and she had wondered if he would be avoiding her again. She followed silently, waiting for an answer. She was attempting conversation.
-
Reno went over to the counter, looking at the candy and other stuff they had. He asked for some SweetTarts, then Crunch Bunches, two Sourpatches, extra large popcorn and sodas for everyone. The guy behind the counter got everything for him except a second box of sourpatch. "Sorry, sir, we only had one box of sourpatch left." "Alright then..." Reno knelt down and looked at the candy behind the glass, peering for anything sour. The theatre had seemed to be out of what he had wanted. Reno sighed standing back up, paying the man. "Eh...That's all then." "Meh...I can get something later...I got popcorn!" He gathered all the things, the candy he put in his pockets while he carried the four sodas, which he hoped the others would like his choices, in one hand with a convinient cup holder thing and the large tub of popcorn in the other. Reno hurried over to the others, balancing all the stuff in his hands. After all, he didn't want to miss the previews...
-
Shinzuu looked over at Schadenfreude as she asked her question. "Believe it or not, I used to be hooked on American comics almost as much as manga, when I was little. Believe it or not, I grew up being the fat, little nerd in the back of class. After Primary School, my... something happened, and I took up sports. Anyways, I better help out Reno before he spills everything." Shinzuu ran over to Reno and grabbed the candy and half the sodas, bringing one to Veronica, letting Reno take the other to Schadenfreude. They went in together as the 2nd preview just ended. "Aw, dang it. I wanted to see all of them."
-
Veronica thanked Shinzuu when he brought her her soda and candy then looked over and thanked Reno for buying it. She followed Shinzuu into the theater and chuckled at hearing Shinzuu's disappointment at missing a couple previews. Actually, she almost said "you're so cute" after she chuckled but luckily she caught herself before she inflicted major embarrassment on herself. As they were looking for seats, she wondered if one of the previews would be for Eclipse but she figured probably not.
-
Schadenfreude took her seat in the middle, carrying the drink she got from Reno. "Thanks for getting me a drink, too, heh.. I wasn't expecting that." Nonetheless, she accepted. She didn't like charity, but it's rude to refuse, apparently. She got comfy, making sure there was no one on the row in front of her and propped her feet up on the seat in front of her. She pulled down her cup holder and put her cup in it, waiting on the others.
-
"Not a problem." Reno took a drink of his soda after giving Schad her drink. He followed them in and sat next to her, in between Veronica and her with Shinzuu on the other side of Veronica. He popped his soda in the cup holder to his right, set the popcorn in his lap and took the box of sourpatch out of his shirt pocket and passed it to Schadenfreude who was on his right. After she took them he ate a handful of popcorn, about to put his left arm on the armrest to his left. It was then he noticed he was sitting next to Veronica, he then looked to his right, there was Schadenfreude, two girls...And he was between them. His eyes widened, he gulped looking straight forward with his arms to his side yielding the ladies the armrests. "Between two girls...Don't freak out, Reno, hold your self together, be cool...Be cool!" Reno shakily took a drink of his soda and promptly choked on it. After he was done choking he quickly put the soda back and locked his forward looking position too nervous to see if anyone noticed. "Smooooth...Atleast you didn't get a nosebleed." Reno flashed back to his freshman year, he was sitting down alone at a table in the cafeteria when two girl bunnies approached him. "Hey...Reno, right?" Looking up at the two he saw they were twins. "Y-Yes?" "Wanna take us to the dance?" "Th-The dance? U-Uh..." The two got on both sides of him and moved in closer, pressing their developed chests against either of his shoulders. "Pleeeease?" They both said batting him puppy dog eyes. It was then blood shot from Reno's nose. "Gah!" He stood up holding his nose. "P-Please excuse me!" With that he ran off to the bathroom; the two girls giggling. Reno shook his head, grabbed some more popcorn and watched the movie.
-
By the end of the movie, Shinzuu was feeling a little tired, but it really wasn't anything compared to the pains he had when practicing hard, so he didn't really say anything. He stretched as he got up and headed out with the crowd. "So where do you guys want to eat? I kinda feel like sushi, but what do you guys want?" Unbeknown to the group, the Shinzuu Fan Club had been following them all day, alongside a number of other curious (and obviously bored) students from Feral High.
-
Veronica had put her drink in the cupholder on her right and started eating some of her SweetTarts when Reno choked on his drink. "You okay?" She whispered, glancing over at him then looking forward again. She grabbed her drink and took a sip through the straw before placing it back in the cupholder. She wondered how she always happened to get stuck between the two guys but didn't think about it too much. When the movie ended, she yawned as she stood up and stretched, following Shinzuu out of the theater with her SweetTarts and empty cup in hand and threw the cup in the trashcan. "Sounds fine to me. What about you guys?" She said, glancing back a Reno and Schadenfreude.
-
The possum took her sour patch kids from Reno, thanking him once more before completely destroying both them and the drink she had, she had to pee about halfway through the movie, but held it because the movie was just too awesome to leave from. She kinda giggled when she saw Reno choke on his drink, she noticed he was nervous again and figured he'd get out of that eventually. When the movie was over, she threw her things away and rushed ahead of the bathroom crowd, calling over her shoulder to the others, "Be right back, I don't care where we go as long as there's chicken!"
-
The movie was good, they all left and threw away their trash. Schadenfreude ran off somewhere so Reno waited with the others. "Uhm...How about a buffet? I'm sure everyone will be able to satisfy themselves." He responded to Shinzuu's question with a crooked smile. "Your doing it again, Reno...Stop suggesting things! I'm sure they want something else but are too nice to tell you you're and idiot!" He scratched the back of his head and turned away from them.
-
Shinzuu nodded as Schadenfreude ran past. He thought about Reno's suggestion. "Hmmm... that's not a bad idea, but I don't know of any buffets here that aren't always filled with tourists. I kinda just want to eat in a small place and then head home. My first quiz is tomorrow and I kinda wanted to study a bit before I go to bed. I'm sorry, it's just that I want to stay on the team, so my grades need to be at least decent. Besides, I'm not much for being in very crowded places. I'm almost never in the theaters."
-
Veronica chuckled as Schadenfreude ran past them. "Must need to use the bathroom." She thought to herself. She had actually gone during the middle of the movie at a point where not too much was happening that she couldn't miss. She listened to Reno and Shinzuu silently. She wondered why Shinzuu didn't like crowded places, but she did agree with not going to a buffet because of all the tourists. A quiet little place sounded great to her though, since she hated it when people were loud in restaurants.
-
Schadenfreude went in the bathroom, wanting to get past the crowd, cut in line and took a stall.
After that she washed her hands, and splashed water in her face. She held her hand out, looking at it. It was shaking. Already her anxiety was coming on. She hoped she wouldn't have an anxiety attack. Getting close to people always made her nervous because every time she had, it had ended quite negatively. She didn't bother most the time, and preferred being a loner at heart. At least then she couldn't bother people with her problems. She sighed and dried her hands and her face, taking a deep breath. There was a lot more on her mind other than just not being used to hanging with people. She had just stopped taking her medication this week because it was scaring her, and she felt like she might have been hitting withdrawl. Not only was she slightly starting to shake, but her head was starting to swim, too. She met the group outside the bathroom and looked at them. "We decide on a place now?"
-
Since Shinzuu suggested something else Reno put on a fake smile and insulted himself in his head up until Schadenfreude returned. "I guess we're going somewhere quiet." "I knew it couldn't last forever, now he probably hates you. Good job, Reno!" As he walked ahead of them to the door it doned on him. "How about we go to my restaurant? The Gardinia, I work there so I can get us a discount too. It's probably closing by now, but I can get us in. It'll be quiet and we'll probably be the only ones there." "Another suggestion, Reno? Didn't you learn your lesson?!"
-
Shinzuu pondered this and nodded. "Sounds great, Reno. I hope they have sushi. Even if it doesn't, that's fine. As long as there's no crowds there, I'll be fine. That's out back in Feral City, right? Come on, let's hurry to the train. You lead the way when we get off, man." Shinzuu pushed through the crowd, avoiding women and girls of all kinds while doing so. He led the group down the street to the station and scanned his card to pass through. "Come on, guys!" The doors of the train were just opening up, so it was closing soon. Shinzuu ran through the doors of the closest cabin. Lucky for him, there was no one else there. He sat down and sighed, chuckling at his first time for catching a train in years.
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu through the crowd of people in the theater and onto the street. She looked around as they walked to the station. After Shinzuu scanned his card, she scanned her card as well and rushed through after him and onto the train. She sat down in a seat across from Shinzuu and looked around the cabin of the train. She had never been to the restaurant Reno spoke of so she wondered what it was like there but thinking about it didn't really catch her interest that long because of how she gets bored easily.
-
Schad ran when they got to the train, rushing behind Veronica, hoping to get in the cab before the doors shut. She didn't have a card on her, so she had to rely on one of the others to get on. She hoped where they were going had chicken. She liked chicken, and was beginning to get super hungry for real food and not snacks. She drifted off after taking a seat, looking out the window. Her hands starting shaking again, so she crossed them.
-
Reno was last on the train, swiping his card he got from his wallet. He sat a seat away from Schadenfreude and relaxed with his eyes closed. The train's intercom clicked on and told them they were starting to move. The ride was quiet for the most part. The train came to a stop and the intercom clicked on again anouncing it. "Alright, this is us. Everyone off." Reno got off first followed by the others. He walked ahead of them with his hands in his pockets trying to act casual. He twitched every so often, straining to look normal though it only made him look more akward. The walk was quiet for the most part. Which made Reno very nervous, he figured they were thinking how funny he looked. They eventually got to The Gardinia and walked in, Reno holding the doors for them. They were greeted by another rabbit from behind a counter to their right. "Hello there, welcome to The Gardinia! How many ar-...Oh, Reno, what's up?" "Bringin' my new friends here for dinner." "Alright then, party of four, employee discount." He punched in some numbers on the register, grabbed some menus and signaled them to follow. He lead them to a booth in the corner, once they sat down he passed them their menus. Reno was once again between Schadenfreude and Veronica with Shinzuu on the other side of Veronica. Though it wasn't too bad, the booth was quite spacious so there was some room between them. "I'll be back to take your orders." As he walked off Reno pointed out to Shinzuu where the sushi was on the menu. "Sushi should be on the back." He then flipped himself to the section of chicken looking over to Schadenfreude. "Chicken is on pages two and three." He set his menu down looking it over. "And I'm sure you can find something ya like, Veronica, we got quite a menu."
-
Shinzuu nearly fell asleep from hunger on the train. Feral City was a 20 minute train ride from Tokyo, but Shibuya was the far side of Tokyo from Feral City, so it was another 20 minutes just to be out of Tokyo. As they got off, he just followed Reno to the restaurant. Shinzuu was happy to hear that despite the American look of the place, it still had sushi. When the waiter came back, he told him that he wanted the Mega Platter that had 100 pieces of sushi, 2 of each kind. His mouth watered at the thought, but he still took the time to enjoy the quiet atmosphere and calm himself down.
-
Veronica was silent for the entire train ride back to Feral City. She just looked out the windows the whole time. While they walked to the restaurant, she stayed silent and looked around her as they walked. She found herself in her usual position of the day between Shinzuu and Reno when they were seated at their booth but didn't really think about it. As she looked over the menu, she decided she wanted spaghetti. When the waiter came back to the table she ordered her spaghetti with no sauce, just butter. While waiting for her food, she just looked around the restaurant.
-
The possum scanned over her menu, almost drooling at the thought of chicken alfredo. It was her favorite food. When the waiter returned, she ordered as well with everyone else, "I'll take a chicken alfredo plate and a Dr. Pepper to drink." She almost felt like licking her chops as she handed her menu back to the waiter. She sat back and yawned, somewhat tired from another restless night. She picked up her fork and tapped it on the table boredly as she propped her head in the palm of her other hand.
-
Reno already knew what he wanted but looked at the menu anyway until the waiter came back to get his order. He was still quite nervous considering he was inbetween the girls again. "Uh...Chicken fingers with the side of fries and a coke, please." The waiter nodded after writing the orders on a notepad and walked off. Reno sat there staring around the restaraunt. It was pretty fancy, chandeliers over head, ceiling fans here and there and walls seperating sections with potted plants ontop. He turned nervously towards Schadenfreude and glanced at her before going back to looking around the room. He slid a bottle of ketchup back and forth between his hands trying to be calm.
-
Shinzuu sighed and felt a bit nervous in the awkward silence that they all sat in. But it didn't bother him too much, since he was more just staring down at the table where the waiter had dropped off his drink and stared at it. He almost kind of muttered to himself, "Hard to think such people exist. Never thought I'd be out for sushi again after all these years. But I did say it would be for something special."
-
Veronica was avoiding eye contact with the others. She felt that it would have been sort of awkward to look at them since they all weren't talking. Just then she thought she heard Shinzuu mutter something but hesitated. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to know that he said anything or if she should bring it up and ask what he said if she was supposed to hear it. "Did you say something?" She asked softly so as not to abruptly disturb the silence, giving up on the fight in her head and choosing a question that wasn't really intrusive. She figured that if he didn't want her or the others to know what he said then he would just say no and she was fine with that because he had a right to his privacy.
-
Her arm slid down from under her muzzle to the back of her neck as she continued tapping the fork. She stared down at her lap, and honestly was only tapping the fork because she was getting the shakes again and couldn't get her hand to stop at this point. Her head was swimming again, this time she knew it wasn't from her anxiety, but from not taking her pills. She kept staring at her lap, somewhat dazed, not noticing the others.
-
Reno took a sip of his soda, the silence was a tad unerving. He looked back towards Schadenfreude nervously before asking out of nowhere. "Got a boyfriend?" "WHAT?! WHOA WHOA WHOA! WHAT DID YOU JUST ASK?! Holy crap! Holy crap, holy crap!" He put his hands back over his mouth again, eyes widened, starting to sweat, paralyzed bye a sudden fear. "What now?! That's a definate hint you're interested in her, but she's your friend! What are you doing?! It's normal to ask though if she's your friend though, right? Oh God...What if she doesn't take it like that? What if she hurts you?! She seems annoyed. Dangit, Reno! You should have looked for the signs, she's gonna kill you! Your dead! Say goodbye to your new friends!" He just wanted to grab his fork and impale himself, he was very, very embaressed. The white fur on his face was begining to turn a light pink because he was blushing.
-
Shinzuu chuckled at Reno's little outburst. "Smooth, one. Going after the older girls." But he became solemn upon Veronica's question. "I'm sorry.... oh boy, this is embarrassing. I love sushi, but I haven't had it in years. My father always took me to have sushi growing up, but... those days ended when I was still in primary school. 10 years ago, he got mugged on the way home and was beaten to death by some gang members. Ever since then, I stopped eating sushi because it was something that my father and I shared. Also, because of his death, I took up sports. My dad always was the active type, and I was the fat, nerdy kid. But... I guess that it's worth going back to eating sushi again, since this is a very special event. I don't know if we'll all become friends, but just having a day with people who don't care for my popularity would be great."
-
Veronica chuckled at Reno's outburst and Shinzuu's comment on it. Her look got more serious as Shinzuu began explaining what he had said though. She didn't know that Shinzuu's father had died, but of course, how could she since she didn't even know him. She felt sorry that she had asked him since she didn't want to bring back sad memories. "Sorry...I didn't know..." She said softly, looking down at the table.
-
She only came out of her own little personal fog when she realized that people were talking. It had sounded like muffled muttering until she jerked her head back up, her fork still tapping madly on the table from the shakes. She didn't quite know what they were talking about, so, she just added a somber, "Yeah." to the conversation because she did hear Veronica reply. It was something about sushi and Shinzuu's dad. It almost seemed like a blur to her.
-
"So she has a boyfriend! Now she'll probably get him to beat you up for laughs! Gah...Calm down, Reno..." He started to breathe slowly calming himself, looking over at Shinzuu. "That sucks, I-...Well that sucks, I know how you feel." "Crap, wrong words, lets just hope he doesn't ask." He looked away from Shinzuu to see the food coming, his lucky break. The waiter walked over with all their food on a large tray and began passing it out. He took his chicken fingers and fries and opened the ketchup and put some next to them.
-
Shinzuu snapped out of his funk as the waiter dropped off the food to everyone, and his eyes grew wide and his mouth open-mouthed wide with a smile as the large platter of sushi was placed in front of him. The waiter went away and came back with a small bowl of wasabi. Shinzuu took the soy sauce container from the adjacent table and poured it in the bowl, mixing it all up with his chopsticks. He dug in and happily began to "wolf" it all down.
-
Veronica grabbed the salt and pepper after her spaghetti was placed in front of her. She sprinkled both over the dish, more salt than pepper like she usually did. Stirring the spaghetti around, she made sure the salt and pepper spread over all of the food. After she was done, she cut the spaghetti with the side of her fork to make the strands shorter and easier to eat. Finally she twirled some around her fork and began eating it.
-
Schad dig right into her pasta after stirring it to make sure the alfredo sauce was mixed in and saturating her noodles. She dropped her for a couple of times because of the shakes, but thankfully, it more or less kept dropping into her bowl. She ate the food gratefully at first. She seemed to have a healthy appetite, but after about a third of the serving was gone, she began to slow down.
-
Reno ate his food quietly, lost in thought as he usually was. He took a bite of his chicken fingers, ate a few fries then drank some coke. He followed that pattern until he was done. There wasn't much to eating his food, he didn't exactly stray too far from this type of food either. He looked around at the others who seemed to be enjoying their dishes. "I wonder if their really enjoying it...?" "So...You guys enjoying the food?" Reno scratched the back of his head nervously.
-
Shinzuu answered Reno's question while taking in sushi by 2's (of the same sushi, not different, he never liked mixing different sushi together in 1 bite), "This is great, Reno! The fish is so fresh, and so is the wasabi! It was a great idea coming here!" He continued to go through his meal, but then slowed down as he noticed the two girls with their pastas. "Are you ok, Schadenfre- Schadenfra- Schadu- Schad?"
-
Veronica answered Reno's question with a nod since she had just put a fork full of spaghetti in her mouth. "How is it that people always ask how the food is when you've just put some in your mouth?" She thought to herself as she chewed her food. When Shinzuu asked Schadenfreude if she was okay, she looked over at Schadenfreude as well but then looked back at her food so she didn't feel like everyone was watching her. She actually felt a little jealous that Shinzuu was talking to Schadenfreude and not her.
-
"Ah--" she chewed, trying to swallow. "Uh-- Yeah." She rolled up some of the noodles on her fork and jabbed a piece of chicken as normally as she could. "Yeah, the food is great. I'm fine.. I just, eh.." She rubbed her head with her other hand and ate the bite of pasta that awaited her on her fork. She didn't feel alright, but she was going to try her damnedest to be alright and get home.
-
Reno smiled at the fact the others were enjoying the food and took a drink of his soda, finishing it off. He had already finished his food so he just sat back. He was also worrying about Schadenfreude considering she was acting a little wierd. But she said she was okay so he let it go. While sitting there he suddenly had to go to the bathroom, he looked from side to side and noticed he was blocked in. "Oh crap...I gotta pee...But everyone's in the way...I could ask someone to move. No...I don't want them to have to get up, their eating. I could...Crawl under the table...No. The girls might think I'm trying to take a peek at them...Shouldn't have drank my soda so fast! Gotta take my mind off this...Ask them something. But what? What they do in their spare time? No that was asked...Where they live? No you would sound like a stalker...Uh...Favorite movie? No..That's too cliche. Gah! Uh...Favorite subject? No you'd sound like a geek. GAH! CURSE MY BLADDER!" Reno had a funny look on his face while he sat there trying to take his mind off having to go to the bathroom.
-
Shinzuu finished off his platter and skooched out of the booth after downing the rest of his water and turned to the girls. "I'm going to head off to the little boy's room. I'll be right back, ok?" Shinzuu headed towards the back for the restroom and closed and locked the door behind him. He sighed as he relieved himself and washed his hands after flushing, and went back to the group. "So do you guys want to do something else or should we all head back home?", he asked as he sat back down.
-
Veronica also got up to go to the bathroom since she hadn't gone since the middle of the movie. She washed her hands when she was done and looked at the hand dryer. "What's the point if you have to stand there for ten minutes for them to dry..." She mumbled as she grabbed a couple paper towels. She threw them in the trashcan after she dried her hands and headed back to the table. She got there just as Shinzuu was sitting down and asking his question. Her response was just a simple shrug as she sat right near the edge of the booth seat after Shinzuu slid over.
-
Schad sat there, staring at her plate as the others went on to the bathroom. She had gone at the theater, so she was fine. She did, however get up to go get a to-go box and was in the middle of scooping her food in it when the two returned. She didn't want to waste the food, after all, and it was her favorite plate. She closed the box when she was done, catching the tail end of Shinzuu's question.. Her hands were still shaking, but somehow, she also managed to follow Veronica's lead and at least get a shrug out of herself.
-
Reno still had to go to the bathroom, but refrained to do so. He wanted to, but he never used public restrooms, it was like a phobia of his. When Shinzuu asked the question he didn't answer for a moment. "Uh...I'm out of suggestions. It's getting late as is...We do 'ave school in the morning. Maybe...We should just go 'ome..." He scratched the back of his head nervously like usual. "But uh...I'm fine with anything else you got up yer sleeve." Once he finished talking he sneezed, covering his mouth with his arm.
-
"Well, I've got nothing going on, and I am used to sleeping late, so it really won't matter for me. If you guys want to do anything, just let me know. If we go home, I'll probably end up being bored all night, but it's up to you. I really don't mind either way. This is the first time I've hung out with anyone that really didn't care to be popular, y'know what I mean?"
-
Veronica remained silent as Reno and Shinzuu spoke. She didn't really know what Shinzuu meant because she wasn't actually popular even though she was a cheerleader. She was just the silent tomboy who some people thought was being a poser by being a cheerleader, but a lot of guys thought she was attractive from seeing her in her cheering uniform so she was basically in the in between and thought of as just "normal". No one used her for anything.
-
"I uh.. I think I'm going to... Ah.. Head home if that's alright with you guys." Schad said, closing her eyes, then opening them quickly.. It was a little longer than a blink, but she wasn't sleepy either. She grabbed her box of food, and looked at Reno, hoping he would scoot out for her so that she could go pay her bill. "Uh, where do I... Pay, R-Reno?" She straitened her body out and fumbled in her back pockets for her wallet. It was as if she didn't know where she put it, or as if it just wasn't there, but after a few moments, she pulled it out.
-
As Reno scooted out of the booth he looked back at Schadenfreude and responded. "Uh...Just leave it on the table." Once stand he kinda waited behind Shinzuu. "But uh...I think I'm going to 'ead 'ome too. If you two have nothing better to do...Uh...I have a bunch of video games at my place." "Your place?! (Censored)! Shut your mouth aready!" As he was digging through his wallet he continued. "Soda too, snacks...Uh...Just another suggestion. I do guess it would be a little creepy 'ave we just met and are already going to our places..." As he set some money on the table he looked at Schadenfreude again. "Is she alright...? Maybe I shoul- No! You already asked one creepy question as is! Do not ask if she wants you to take 'er 'ome!"
-
Shinzuu scratched his head and sighed after thinking for a few seconds. "Sorry Reno. As you said, we all just met. I'll head home, too. I'll walk Veronica home. Why don't you go with Schad? I'm sure she'd appreciate the company." Shinzuu turned his head to Veronica and smiled a pathetic attempt of a smile. "It may be home, but night life out here just isn't as safe as it used to be. Mind if I walk you home?"
-
Veronica's eyes widened a little when Shinzuu mentioned walking her home when he spoke to Reno. She wasn't expecting an escort home, but it wasn't like she had anything to be embarrassed of either. Then again, this was a boy walking her home after all and that made her nervous about how she was going to keep things from being awkward and about how she felt herself liking the guy. "N-no." She stammered slightly as she looked back at Shinzuu, her thoughts taking only seconds to finish. "I don't mind. I do get kind of nervous walking around in the dark..." It was true though, in all circumstances. She loved the nighttime and the darkness but she was always paranoid about what could be lurking in the dark.
-
Schad put some money on the table, and scooted out, standing up, leaning on the booth while her other hand had the food. She kinda put her head down at the fact that Reno had to take her home, not because it was Reno, just because she wasn't sure what was going to happen when she got home -- if her mom was there, she had woken her up when she left this morning. Another factor that made her hang her head was that she wasn't exactly proud of her home. It was more or less like a slum, and thirdly, she wasn't sure what was going to happen on the way. She seemed to be getting more and more unsteady at the moment because of withdrawl, and even now, she was leaning on the booth for her balance.
-
Reno looked at Schadenfreude nervously, she seemed un happy at the thought of him walking her home. "Um...Are you okay? You don't look too good." "Maybe you should 'elp 'er walk? No...Unless she asks, no. That's a bit too forward. I mean what if 'er boyfriend is at her place? He's probably some biker thug who shoots small fries like you for sport!" "It's no trouble for me to walk you 'ome, really. I don't mind." He scratched his head nervously and looked over to Shinzuu who seemed to be getting more headway with his lady. "Damn jocks...They always have it so easy."
-
Shinzuu scratched his head nervously at Veronica's response, not having expected her to say yes. He had merely been working off of what he saw on TV. "Well, uh..... I guess we can get going, then. *turns to Reno and Schad* It was really great day I had guys. I hope that we can do this again. Whether you guys like or hate me, I'm just glad you guys would give me the time of day. Take care of her, ok Reno?" Shinzuu dropped off his money and a 10% tip and walked out, motioning for Veronica to follow. "I don't know which side of town you live on, so you're going to have to point me in the right direction."
-
Veronica noticed that Shinzuu seemed slightly surprised by her answer and looked down at the floor. "Guess I was supposed to say no... Maybe he didn't really want to and he was just being nice..." She thought to herself. Pulling her money out of her pocket, she placed the money for her meal and a tip on the table, shoving the rest back into her pocket. She followed after Shinzuu after she turned away from the table. "I live on the east side..." She told him. "And now he's going to think you're a rich, spoiled brat and never want to see you again, probably...or you're just being too self-conscious again..."
-
"Er, that's fine." Schad replied, somewhat wearily. She was thinking on what to do. Maybe he could just drop her off at the park, and she could head home from there, or crash at the park again. She wasn't sure, and she didn't want to irritate the officer if he was there again. When her thoughts caught up to her, she held her head, a stabbing pain shooting from the base of her neck and hitting her in her left eye. She felt dizzy again, but stood there for a moment before heading to the door. She figured Reno would follow, but whether he followed or not was irrelevant at this point, she just wanted fresh air.. Well, as fresh as it could get in a city.
-
Reno saw that Schadenfreude wasn't looking to well, when she went for the door he followed after her. Standing outside with her he was really confused on what to do next, it's not like he did this every day. "Uhm...I guess we can get going? I'll follow you..." "God your lame...Grow a spine already." "Uhm...You cold or anything? Feeling alright?" "Stop prying...She'll probably get her boyfriend on you." Reno continued standing there, watching her, not checking her out exactly, but making sure she didn't keel over.
-
Shinzuu's heart stopped for a good minute when Veronica said she lived on the east side of town. Wow. She lives in a house. Her folks must be pretty loaded. I haven't been out in that part of Feral City since... He composed himself and followed after Veronica, "C-cool. Let's go on out there. I'm sure your folks will be worried about you being out."
-
Veronica headed out of the door after Schad and Reno, starting in the direction of her house. "Nah, I told my mom what I was doing so she knows I'll be late and she probably told Dad when he got home. His only issue will be if she told him that I was going out with people he has never met and that two of them were guys." She chuckled. She knew that her dad wouldn't really over react since he's the joking type but she didn't think about the fact that her saying that would probably make Shinzuu nervous.
-
Schad took a deep breath out in the open, and leaned back on the brick wall on the outside of the restaurant, rubbing her face.. She didn't mean to be rude but she was sure she was coming off as it to Reno. "I uh, don't feel well," she seemed to shake again, "But I think I'll be fine." In truth, she didn't know because the symptoms were getting more and more intense as she tried to shake them off. She forced herself to take a few steps away from the wall, and stand, somewhat steadily.
-
Reno watched as she stumbled about, clearly worried about her. "She is definately not looking too well...What do I do? Should I support her on my shoulder? No...Piggy back? Nooo....Carry her?? No! Gah! All that's way too forward! Uhm...Dangit! What would James Bond do?! He's a ladies man. Hmm...He would probably beat up some bad guys...But there aren't any around...Next he would...Rescue her from the bad guys, but since there is none that's out...Then comes the crazy sex scene that's always not very graphic. Gah! You don't help, Bond! Maybe I should call her a cab?" "Uhm...Schadenfreude...Do you need some help? I could...Help you walk? Or...Call a cab or something?"
-
As he walked with Veronica, Shinzuu couldn't really help but swallow a little hard at the mention of her father, despite her joking tone. He had never been a very social person when it came to anything, really. Despite popularity, Shinzuu never really knew how to be social and was rarely an actual people person. However, he composed himself and just nodded and chuckled and nervous chuckle, in hopes to not show his sudden uneasiness.
-
Veronica looked over at Shinzuu after he chuckled nervously. "You don't have to worry. My dad won't hurt you. He's probably already asleep in the chair in the living room, probably has been for a couple hours." She said with a laugh. After that she fell silent, not knowing why it had just become so easy to talk to him but now that she noticed it, she felt awkward again. She looked around then examined her hands like she always did when she was nervous and had nothing else to do.
-
She held her head. "I'm not sure. I feel like crap; it started after we got out of the movie." The possum suddenly felt stupid for sharing that much alone... Probably because the whole friendship thing was new. She was used to having people look down on her because she got into fights so often. The feeling of wounded animal syndrome washed over her, she didn't want to bother Reno, so, she just kinda stood there, shaking, not knowing what to do.
-
"Oh crap...She's shaking badly...Offer to help carry her again, be her knight in shining armor like in that one game. It's perfect! It's like the Gods themselves set this up, just for me! ow's your time to shine! Go for it!" Reno just stood there trembling like mad, looking at her shaking. "C'mon, body! Move! One foot after the other!" Reno nervously and shakily stepped forward inch by inch. "I-I-I-...uhm...M-Maybe...I-I...Should ca-carry you? If that's okay with you of course!" As he inched his way to her he tripped over his own feet like an idiot and fell right infront of her. "Gah! You idiot! That can't look good! She won't trust you to carry her if you can't carry yourself!" He got up and chuckled nervously trying to play it off, though still on one knee. He turned his back to her, put his hands together behind his back and looked at her over his shoulder. "I-...Uhm...'op on? I'll carry you all the way 'ome. Just point."
-
Shinzuu continued to walk Veronica in awkward silence until they reached the house district and he finally spoke up. "So which one do you live in?" He continued to walk her down the street, waiting for her to point out which one she lived in. Shinzuu's mind began to wander as he remembered when he used to live in this area. It was really nostalgic to remember all the fun days with his dad.........
-
Veronica finally looked up when he spoke, not realizing they were there already, and then she sort of wished she had walked slower. "That one." She said as she pointed at the light blue house on the far corner of the street with the porch lights on. Not that one could actually tell what color it was in the dark. Suddenly her mind started racing. "Is he going to walk me all the way to my door? And if he does, what's going to happen when we reach the door? Is it just going to wind up being one of those awkward moments? Are we going to kiss? No, why would he want to kiss you, you idiot. This wasn't even a date...was it? Oh crap, what am I going to do?" If he was paying attention to her, she would look very out of it like she was preoccupied with something, which she was.
-
Schad just looked at him, somewhat curiously, and chuckled when he fell. "Y-You can't carry me, if you can't carry yourself." She leaned, placing a palm on his shoulder for balance. She was still shaking, "Y-Y-You can just help walk me to the park." It seemed as if speaking was enough to be a labor at this point, and she was gritting her teeth. She wanted to reassure him strangely enough, but she was terrible with showing it. Her focus was getting home, or somewhere soon because she felt as if she were going to pass out.
-
"I knew it! Aah! You ruined it you coward!" Reno slowly stood up, her hand still on his shoulder just standing there puzzled on what to do next. "Should I...Put my arm around her waist? C'mon! You know how to do this! You've carried hundreds of people out of intense battles and firefights, risking your own life to save theirs!.....In games...Regardless!" "A-Alright, fair enough." He shakily moved his hand behind her back then under her far arm, with his other hand pulling her hand over to his far shoulder. With that he started walking her in the direction of the park. "I wonder why she wants to go 'ere..?"
-
Shinzuu stopped short as Veronica pointed to her home... it's where he used to live, his old house. Shinzuu walked her over to the corner across the street from her house and kept his hands in his pockets. "Well, this is as far as I go. I'll see you in school tomorrow." Shinzuu waved and watched her get into her house before he turned and walked away slowly. Tears saturated his fur as he made his way back to his apartment on the west side of town...
-
Veronica couldn't help but feel a little disappointed but she didn't show it while he could see her face. "Oh, um, alright. See ya." She said with a fake smile but didn't return the wave as she turned away from him and crossed the street. A frown crept onto her face as she slowly crossed the street and walked up the front steps to the door. She slipped inside without a second look in his direction and the porch lights shut off after the door was closed. Once inside, she said goodnight to her mother after confirming that she had had a good time and went up to her room. Closing her door, she slipped into her pajamas and looked out the window, just catching Shinzuu disappearing around a corner at the other end of the street. She sighed as she turned away from the window and shut off the light by her bed, climbing into bed and under the covers. "You're so stupid. He was just being nice to you and you thought too much of it. That's what happens when you get your hopes up..." She mumbled to herself as she closed her eyes then she fell asleep quickly after that.
-
Shad was shaking, but it was alright, because Reno was helping her gain distance to the park. The walk was fairly quiet, and sometimes she'd get dizzy, causing her head to loll around until she caught her bearings again. She wasn't feeling well, and she knew it was obvious, but she tried playing it off as best as she could. The streets were getting darker it seemed with the exception of the streetlamps that feel on the sidewalk every few feet.
-
Reno helped Schadenfreude walk all the way to the park. Time flew by while they did so and eventually got there. He sat down with her on a bench then scooched away from her a bit. "Oh man...That was tense...You just helped a girl! High five for not getting a nose bleed!" "So...Do you live near 'ere? I can take you the rest of the way if you want, I don't mind." He played with his fingers while he waited for an answer. He was still quite nervous, and very hot even though it was cool outside. "I 'ope she doesn't plan on stayin' 'ere...I can't just let a lady stay out in the cold alone..."
-
Shinzuu stood in front of his apartment door for a good couple minutes before he was able to compose himself and wipe his tears away. He walked into he house and, sure enough, his mother was still watching TV and eating. "Shin, honey. How was your day with your friends? Did you get laid?" Shinzuu's face grew beet red enough that it would've showed over his black fur, "NO! We're all just friends and it was the first time we ever hung out!" He stormed into his room and shut the door, fighting his insomnia to get to sleep. Shinzuu's mother bawled with laughter in the living room. However, the next day would be very changed for all four of them. Even as they all slept, the students that had been tailing them all that day until the restaurant were already chatting and spreading rumors for the last couple hours.
-
Veronica had some weird dreams that didn't make any sense that night. The next morning she woke up to the sound of a voice on her radio saying the song "Possibility" by Lykke Li was next. She shut off the radio, grabbed her school uniform and quickly went into the bathroom. After starting the water, she turned on the radio in the bathroom to the sound of the opening music of the song. She undressed and hopped in the shower, singing along with the song as she washed.
"There’s a possibility
There’s a possibility
All that I had was all I gon’ get
There’s a possibility
There’s a possibility
All I gon' get is gone with your step
All I gon' get is gone with your step
So tell me when you hear my heart stop,
You’re the only who knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There’s a possibility
I wouldn’t know
Know that when you leave
Know that when you leave
By blood and by mean
You walk like a thieve
By blood and by mean
I'll fall when you leave
So tell me when you hear my heart stop,
You’re the only who knows
Tell me when you hear my silence
There’s a possibility
I wouldn’t know
So tell me when my sigh is over
You’re the reason why I’m close
Tell me when you hear me falling
There's a possibility
It wouldn’t show
By blood and by mean
I fall when you leave
By blood and by mean
I follow your lead."
She finished when the song did and turned off the water. Grabbing her towel as she stepped out of the shower, she dried herself off as she stood on the mat. Commercials had started after the end of the song so she shut off the radio. She brushed her hair out then blow-dried it then re-brushed it. After that was, she got dressed and sprayed on some her Baby Soft perfume. She then tied her hair in the loose pigtails she usually put them in (except when she was cheering because it was in a ponytail then or when she wanted it to be different). She left the bathroom and threw her pajamas in her hamper before heading downstairs. She had a bowl of cereal then, after rinsing the bowl, grabbed her bag and headed out the door. As she walked to school, she softly sang the song she listened to while in the shower since it always got stuck in her head once she heard it or thought of it.
-
"Err, uh." She shook her head. "I think I can get the rest of the way," she lied, rubbing her head, almost toppling off the bench. "And if not there's a policeman who can escort me because he's tired of me stay -- Er, being here." She seemed nervous, and for another time, she teetered, and this time fell off the bench. She just laid there, this time, shaking, feeling pathetic. She wanted Reno to go away, but she knew he wouldn't just leave her the way she was. Her head was swimming, this time violently, and she blacked out.
-
Reno was watching her, when she started to mention the police officer he was looking away until he heard a thump. He turned and saw she had fallen off the bench. He scrambled over to her and knelt down next to her. " 'Ey, you alright?!" It wasn't really any use, she was out cold. "Oooooooh craaaaap!!!! This is not good! She's out like a light!! This did not happen to the knights in shinin' armor! Er...Well...Maybe she fainted from your awesomeness? No, your not awesome, your an idiot! She's probably diabetic or somethin'. Okay...What do you do...Uh..Make sure she's breathin'!" Reno lowered his head to her mouth and listened, she was breathing. "Okay...Breathin' is good...Now what? Call 911 stupid!" He reached for his cell phone but couldn't find it. "Crap!! Where is my phone?! Don't tell me I left it 'ome!! Oh man oh man, she's gonna die and it's all my fault! Why am I so pathetic?! GAAAH!!! What do I do?!" He grabbed his head panicing, confused on what to do. "What do I do?! I don't know where she lives, I can't take 'er to 'er place! There isn't a 'ospital anywhere near here! No payphones for some reason! The Gods must be angry at me! WHAT DID I DO WRONG?!?!?!?!?!" Reno sat there for a bit thinking and looking at Schadefreude. "I got it! I'll get 'er a room at my place! Genius!" He put his hands under her and picked her up in his arms. He carried her all the way to his hotel and was immediatally stoped at the front desk. "Reno?! What happened??" "My friend passed out...I need another room for a night." "Alright...Take the one next to yours, do you need any help?" Reno shook his head "No" and walked to the room nest to his. He got the door open and went inside and set her on the newly made bed. "Oh man...Does this count as taking a girl home with you? I hope she's alright..." He walked out of the room, too nervous to tuck her in or something. Closing the door behind him he leaned against it and slid to the floor. "Man....what a day...." That said, he passed out leaning on the door.
-
Shinzuu awoke the next morning and dressed for school. It was weird to be wearing a uniform, but he was sure it would grow on him. No sooner did he leave home, however, did he get bombarded by a lot of the girls from school. Shinzuu screamed as they all tackled him and he quickly squirmed loose, making a run for it, the hives bursting from every portion of his body. Holy (censored)!! What is going on!?
Back at school, many girls had gotten in early and spray-painted Veronica's locker. Others had even stuck and smeared dog feces onto the surface of the locker door.
-
Veronica got to school about 15 minutes before the bell was supposed to ring. What she saw when she approached her locker completely caught her off guard and she saw two girls running off down the hall. "Well that's cute..." She mumbled and turned towards the direction of the principal's office. She went into Principal Yass' office and told her about her locker. Yass followed her to her locker and looked at in disappointment. "I'll send the janitor to clean it up, dear. You'll just have to go to your first classes without your books unless you have them with you." Yass said and headed back towards her office. "And don't worry, we'll figure this out." She said over her shoulder. Veronica sighed and walked to the end of the hall, leaning against the wall and looking out the window. "Don't know what I did to deserve that... She thought to herself.
-
Schad fluttered her eyes open, her head still swimming from the night before. She could hardly remember what had happened. Her temples stung as she sat up and closed her eyes, rubbing the bridge over her snout between two fingers. She felt the covers under her, and it felt somewhat odd, not like hers at all. Her eyes flew open, focusing on the room around her. She was.. Well, she didn't know where she was. Her heart went up to her throat. The last thing she remembered was being with Reno at the park, and now, she was in some room. There was only one bed, and she was on it. She swung her legs around to the side and went to stand, still not having her bearings and crumpling to the floor. A string of expletives burst from her mouth, tears welling up in the corner of her eyes. She didn't like feeling this way. Lines of sunlight ran across her face from the blinds on the window, as she used the nightstand to get up. When her eyes peered over the ledge, the clock read 10 o' clock, am. "Damnit! I'm late.. And I don't even know where I'm at." She felt somewhat helpless, "I don't even have my uniform." She looked around until her eyes caught the bathroom, where she showered. She got out and wrapped herself up in a towel, enjoying the warmth. It wasn't long until she changed into the clothes she was wearing the night previously. She sat on the bed thinking, then forced herself to go to the door. She figured she might as well see where she was, but when she opened the door, a dead asleep Reno fell inward and onto her feet, scaring her so badly that she accidentally kicked him square in the head.
-
Reno woke up to a sharp kick to the head, it was a shock to him as he scrambled to his feet and turned around. "Ow! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to take you here-...Well, I did, but I-...Uhm, it's not like I meant anything by it. I just didn't want to leave you in the park, I'm sorry!" He rubbed his head in pain looking down trying not to look at Schadenfreude, it was an aqward situation. "We're at the Prestly Hotel...School is just up the hill, 'bout a twenty minute walk..." He continued to rub his head as he went into his room, inside he changed into his uniform and grabbed his bag. Inside his bag was another boys uniform which he took out as he stepped out of the room. He handed it to Schadenfreude, recalling how he got it. He had to talk to Principal Yass and get a new one when he gave his first one to Schad, he got two because she just pegged Reno as someone who would lose it again. "Here...It's my extra. The room is your for the rest of the day...Call roomservice as much as you want, it's all payed for. I'll take you to school if you want, once your dressed ofcourse."
-
The morning had been hell for Shinzuu, and it got worse at lunch. His homeroom flooded with girls crowding around him, trying to get him to go out with them or something of the sort. Almost all of them were talking at the same time, his head hurt almost as much as the hives that were sprouting like wild-fire all over his skin, under his fur. He eyed one of his team members who then made a small block just long enough for Shinzuu to dart out of the door and towards the roof. Once upstairs, he closed the door behind him and laid against it as girls began pushing and pounding on it. Shinzuu looked around and found a pole that was leaning against the wall. He grabbed it and barred the door shut. Shinzuu scratched his back furiously as he walked away from the door. Even with a solid steel door between them, hives still blew out of his back from their proximity. Dammit.
-
During Veronica's first classes she noticed a bunch of girls glaring at her and they only bothered to look away if the teacher of the class looked in their direction. One time she actually got the throat-cutting "you're dead" gesture. Her head moved back slightly from seeing that in a "what-the-hell-is-your-deal" kind of fashion. At lunchtime, she went to the cafeteria only to be greeted by dirty looks and almost dead silence so she turned on her heel and headed outside. Her cell phone vibrated and she pulled it out of her blazer. It was a text from Carmen: "Hey girl, what's goin' on? Saw u flee from caf. & heard some rumor bout u & Shin going out. What's that about?" So she texted back: "I hung out w/ him & TWO OTHER PPL yesterday. Wasn't a date. He walked me home but didn't even cross the st. to my house w/ me. Guess his fan club is in dangerously jealous mode or something. Whatevs." When she was done, she put her phone away and walked further away from the building. She looked around and then up at the sky, taking a slow deep breath and exhaling. This day was going to be tough. She needed this moment and as she stood there she started singing "Possibility" again without really noticing it.
-
Schad took the uniform and rubbed her head.. "I didn't mean to kick you, I just didn't expect anyone to be there." She stepped in her room after and changed, the uniform being a little stiff from being taken out of the bag. She didn't have her books or anything, but she figured she would be fine. At the very least she could just sleep. She usually never paid much attention in class, and it was a mystery even to her how she got the grades she did. Her hands were shaking, but just a little, not near as much as they were yesterday.. "We're really late.. I almost don't want to go." She looked at the ground as she closed the door behind her. "How much do I owe you for the room?"
-
Reno scratched his head nervously, it still hurt a bit from the kick. "Uh...You don't owe me anyhing." "Oh man, that was totally set up for you! You coulda been like "Yea, go out with me." But too bad you don't have a spine." "We should probably get going before we miss the whole day...Unless..." He was starting to get his nervous twitch so he started walking away. "Oh nevermind, c'mon, I'll take you to school." He didn't turn around to see if she would follow him, he hoped she would but even so, it would make him nervous. He went to his class just before lunch. It was strangely quiet, normally people would be asking him for answers on work, or for a buck to get something from the vending machine, but there was nothing. He got to the cafeteria during lunch, he forgot to even get something to eat and just went to his corner he usually went to before he met Schadefreude. He curled in a ball as he sat in the corner like he usually did when Jackson and his two friends walked by. They didn't really pay him any mind as they stood near him talking. "Did you hear? Reno's going out with that chick that beat up that teacher." "Your kidding, right? That coward? Daaaamn, didn't think he had it in'em." He just sat there, evesdropping and pondering. "She'll probably beat up anyone who messes with him."
-
The possum followed Reno for the walk to school, and went to her class before lunch as well. In line to get her food she noticed a couple of boys winking at her... Which, she didn't like. She frowned, getting her usual food and going to her table where Reno sat. "What's a matter, lop ears? Not gonna eat today?" Just as she sat down three boys sat at the table in front of her. She looked to Reno uneasily, then looked back to the boys with a sneer, "Can I help you?" She really didn't like this new interest they had in her.
-
Reno felt someone sit down, he was listening to music so he didn't hear them. He looked up and saw Schadenfreude looking at a group of boys. He didn't hear what she said, so he didn't say anything, he figured she was feeling as weird as he was. He quickly took out the earpieces and looked away from her. He noticed Jackson and his two friends. "I also hear Shinzuu and him a buddies now, anyone gets near him will be just asking for it..." He didn't pay them any mind, not really hearing what they're saying. Looking back to Schad he rubbed the bump on his head. "Uhm...'ey, 'ows that uniform fittin'? Everythin' alright?" If his arms weren't folded you would be able to tell he was shaking. Reno was pretty sore and very tired but tried his best to hide it.
-
As Shinzuu waited out his lunch hour, he heard someone singing behind the school. He walked over and looked down to the back area 3 stories down.There, stood Veronica, singing to herself, but he blushed and hid quickly as he noticed that she was looking up at him. Shinzuu ran against the side of the wall of the entrance to the roof and hoped that she didn't see him. His heart pounded hard, though he didn't really know why he was afraid of her seeing him look down. Probably because it made him look like a pervert trying to look down her shirt, but of any women in the world, Veronica and his mom are the only two he doesn't have to be afraid of.
-
Veronica caught a glimpse of Shinzuu looking down at her before he disappeared. She wondered why he was on the roof. Maybe he had someone up there with him for a make-out session during lunch. She sighed sadly at the thought then got mad at herself for even caring. Turning around after deciding that Shinzuu must have not wanted her to notice him, she took several more steps away from the school as she started humming a song they were doing in chorus. She only sang the actual words when she got to the climax of the song because it just forced out of her.
"And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say there's a way for us." ("On My Own" from Les Miserables)
After that part, she went back to humming it. She didn't even realize that it could sort of be applied to her and Shinzuu and that that was probably why it came to mind. She just thought that she started singing the sad song because she just loved singing it (because she really did). When she was done humming the song, she let out another sigh and slowly sat down Indian-style on the grass.
-
"Hey sweetie, want my digits?" on of the boys asked her.
"Yeah, what a hottie, definitely on my to-do list." the other said.
She arched a brow, still scowling. "Screw off." she growled. She didn't know what this was, but she didn't like it. She never liked attention. The boys looked at her, smiling.
"Oh, come on, hun, don't tell me you don't want me. I love tough guys" The third one chimed in. She wanted to eat her food in peace, but there was no way she'd be able to do so without gagging at this point.
"Look, screw off, or I'll wind up beating up all three of you." She said plainly. "I'll only ask you one more time before I put your face in this table." She tapped the surface of the table. "And if you've heard stories, I'm sure they aren't exaggerated."
-
Reno watched as Schad was trying to get rid of her unwanted attention. Her last threat made the three look at eachother, one looked back opening his mouth to say something. But before he could Reno slammed his fist on the table and pointed at the three. "Oi! She said bugger off! Don't make me hafta tan yer fairy little (Censored)!" Reno seemed very angry as he sat back down from standing up a bit. The boy about to speak shut his mouth, then the three of them looked at him dumbfounded. He almost never got angry, but he was hungry. More often or not that made him hot, when he was hot he got angry and when he got angry headaches would follow. And sure enough one did, it hit him hard too. He put his hand on his head in pain and leaned on it on the table. "He's a she?" The three boys blushed, scratched the back of their heads and went away. Once Reno saw that they had left he shot up out of his seat and stormed off out of the cafeteria to outside to get some air. Once there he sat down against a tree in the dirt, putting his hand to his face with his elbow resting on his knee. He hated getting angry, it sickened him to the core but he couldn't help it. His head was throbbing, he sat there groaning a bit waiting for the time to go to class.
-
The boys left Schad as Cuddles yelled at them. "Jeez, who'd have thought that Shinzuu's new posse boy was gay, too. We better come back later, when he's not around."
Meanwhile, while Veronica was out, the girls who weren't chasing after Shinzuu began scuffling all of Veronica's stuff and drew all over her desk with their make-up and whatnot.
The bell rang, and Shinzuu stayed on the roof, as the pounding on the door didn't stop, as some of the girls haven't given up yet. Shinzuu sighed as he slunked back onto the ground, "Guess I'm skipping class today."
-
Veronica went back to class as the bell rang. When she found her desk in disarray, a growl escaped her lips. Grabbing what few things she had sitting there, she shoved them in her bag and left the classroom, ignoring the teacher who was asking her where she was going. She went out the back door again and headed for the bleachers. Climbing up to the top bleacher, she laid on her back and stared up at the sky. Her phone vibrated. It was Carmen again: "U ok?" Veronica texted back: "Not really. 1st they screwed up my locker & literally put crap on it. Then I came back from lunch & they had messed with my desk & written all over it." A few seconds passed then her phone vibrated again. Carmen: "I'm sorry, that sucks. Did you stay?" Veronica: "Obviously not since u know I don't text in class. I'm outside on the bleachers." Carmen didn't text back...probably because she was reprimanded for texting in class. Veronica watched the clouds drift by over her as she laid there in silence.
-
Schad got up, fuming, and grabbed her burger off her plate as she followed after Reno. Personally, she wanted to beat all three of them with her tray, but she didn't feel like getting suspended. She spotted Reno sitting under a tree and approached him, tossing the wrapped burger into his lap. "You still not gonna eat, Lopears?" She put her hands on her hips waiting on an answer, ignoring someone whistling at her has she did so. "What's wrong?"
-
Reno looked at the burger then up to Schadenfreude. His usual puppy dog, nervous and kind face returned. "I'm sorry you 'ad to see that, I normally don't get angry...It's just that my 'ead 'urts...I get that way sometimes...Thanks for the burger though...Please don't be mad at me." Reno timidly ate the burger, the bell had since then rung but Reno didn't hear it. His head hurt so he wasn't paying attention, he was just hoping Schadenfreude would follow him so he could apologize. He was even going over what he'd say when she got there in his head.
-
Shinzuu sighed at his boredom on the room, hearing nothing but pounding and voices from the door from the girls still chasing him. He crept over to the corner of the fenced in area and pushed on the bottom corner of the fence. Everyone knows that it's loose, but no one actually dares to push past it. But Shinzuu didn't care and pushed past the fence, holding tightly onto the drain pipe on the side of the building. The climb down the 3 stories was fairly intimidating, but he made it after 15 minutes or so. Luckily, Shinzuu didn't get caught climbing down, either. He quickly ran over towards the track and darted under the bleachers, putting his stuff down and began to change into his athletic clothes.
-
Veronica heard some noise over by the school and turned her head towards the school. She spotted Shinzuu climbing down a drain pipe but just looked back up at the sky. "Wonder what the hell he's pulling that stunt for..." She thought as she closed her eyes. She had almost forgotten about him as the 15 minutes passed and she heard the sound of someone rushing in her direction. Then she remembered who she had seen climbing down the drain pipe as she heard the sound stop underneath the bleachers. Opening her eyes, she rolled onto her side. "What are y--" She started to say as she peered over the edge and looked under the bleachers, but stopped short when she saw exactly what Shinzuu was doing. Her head and her body jerked up fast, and she sat up with her knees bent so her feet were still on the top bleacher she was sitting on. As her cheeks turned a shade of red that was easily visible through her fur, she covered her face with her hands. "Oh my god...I'm so sorry! I didn't know you were, oh wow..." She tried to apologize but was too embarrassed to form whole sentences and just shut her mouth while she kept her hands over her face.
-
"It's fine. But not eating won't help you." She scratched her head. "Uh.. The bell rang, we ought to get going," she said, pointing back to the door. "Though, art club is probably going to be annoying as usual unless I get to set up outside." She looked up at the sky, there wasn't a cloud in site. "We should be setting up outside, it is pretty. Oh -- I forgot to ask you.. How much is it to rent at that hotel by the week?" She asked curiously. Even now, her head was reeling with a plot to run away from home. She didn't care if she was going to be in a hotel for a little while.. It was better than sleeping at the park, and she was a little irritated that she had never thought of the idea.
-
Reno finished the burger fairly quickly. "Uh...Bell...Well I don't really want to go to chess club...And swim practice is the same every time..." By the time he was standing up was when Schadefreude asked about the hotel room. He dusted himself off answering. "Uh...20 a night I'm pretty sure...So...140? Like I said before you don't need to worry about paying me back. It's fine, really..." Reno scratched the back of his head nervously as he usually did. "But uh...I probably should go to swim practice...Never know when the next event is...But uh...That gives me some extra time...M-Maybe...We could...'angout?"
-
Shinzuu blushed as Veronica had literally caught him with his pants down. He quickly finished pulling on his shorts and dumped his clothes into his bag before hoisting it up and running past the bleachers and sat at the front row. "I-I'm sorry. I didn't know you were up there. Why aren't you in class? I know it doesn't get out for another 30 minutes, but you'll still get in trouble for this."
-
Veronica peeked through her fingers like a small child who was checking to see if the scary part of a movie was over. When she saw Shinzuu sitting in the front row of the bleachers, she uncovered her face and turned herself so her feet rested on the bleacher below the one she was sitting on. "No, no. I shouldn't have been so nosy." She responded, shaking her head. "Anyways, I'd rather get in trouble then deal with those morons." She grumbled, looking down at her feet then looking over towards the track. "When I got here, my locker had been spray painted and smeared with crap. Literally. I kept getting dirty looks in class and when I went to the cafeteria almost everyone went silent and stared at me. So I came outside for the lunch hour, trying to get my bearings to deal with the rest of the day and singing to keep my self collected. When I went back to the room, my desk was all messed up and written on with make-up. Needless to say, I didn't want to deal with it for the rest of the day." Her eyes stayed trained on the track, not wanting to make eye contact with him since she was embarrassed still and upset from what was done to her today, but if he looked at her he would have been able to see the hurt in her eyes.
-
"Sure." Schad said, somewhat nonchalantly. "I don't much like the girls in art class.. And I don't want to be hit on any more by guys." She kinda hung her head. "I hate being hit on. I'm not good with people." She kinda wandered with her thought process, then snapped back to the room thing. "$140 a week, eh. That sounds good." She scratched her head. "I'm going to have to stop by my house later today and you can show me back to the hotel. I'm bad with direction. Though, you can just.. Put me in the general direction and you can head home, I don't want to keep you too long, you know."
-
Reno was a bit nervous, he too wasn't very much a "People person". It was amazing to even himself why he was even talking to her, or Veronica, or even Shinzuu for that matter. Every fiber of his being wanted to just go sit in a corner and not talk to anyone like he normally did. But deep down he liked being around them, or maybe because he wasn't able to not hang out with them. "Uhm...I-If uhm...You want...I...Could wait here at school. Then...Walk you to my-...er...Your-...Our-...Uhm...The hotel room. Gah! Uhm, the hotel, that you stay at. Are staying at. I'll take you there. If you want. That is." Reno gave a fake chuckle and smile trying to play off his embaressment, scratching his head. "Hrmm...Maybe going to chess club wouldn't be a bad idea after all...Your making yourself look like an idiot."
-
Shinzuu sighed as he sat down next to his bag in the first row, "I'm sorry, then. I don't blame you for not wanting to being inside, then. However, I think it might have been my fault for that. If I didn't suggest all of us to hang out, you probably wouldn't have been picked on. Maybe I'm not meant to have real friends after all, since I can see how it affects you."
-
Veronica continued to look over at the track as she listened to Shinzuu. "No. Don't you go apologizing for their idiocy. It's just not natural for people to be so obsessed with someone. They need to get over you. Seriously..." She responded, probably sounding like she was a little bitter but not actually noticing it herself. She didn't see why he had any reason to apologize. His followers were psycho and that wasn't his fault.
-
"Heh, yeah. You can take me there. Do you live there, too?" She questioned, somewhat curious. She didn't understand why she had been taken there when she had passed out, but it made more sense now. Her hands were trembling some even today, but she shook it off. She had to get over the medicine, and as much as she wanted to rush home and take it to cure her issues now, she restrained herself.
-
Reno suddenly felt his nose start to bleed, so he put his hand over it to cover it up. "Uhm uh...I uh...Need to go. I uh...Bathroom. See ya!" With that he darted back inside and into the bathroom in the cafeteria. He almost ran into the wall, considering he has never set foot into a public bathroom in his life. His nose was infact bleeding as he realized when he looked into a mirror. He began to wash himself off, once done he took out his cell and looked at the time. Last class of the day was about to start. He sighed. "Oh man...I just got a nose bleed in front of 'er! It's not even the end of the day...AND I'm ditchin' class! Why?! Why am I ditchin' with 'er?! It's not like I-...No! She's my friend! Right? Who am I kiddin'?! I don't have friends! I'm no good at this!!" He grabbed his head, slumped against a nearby wall and curled up into a ball.
-
Shinzuu chuckled to himself and sighed again, "I guess you're right. This was kinda why I used to be satisfied with just being the fat, nerdy kid that everyone ignored back in the day. I never did enjoy popularity of real people. For me, fame online and on scoreboards all over the world for games was as close to popularity I've ever wanted. I guess that's what I get for working hard at everything I do. Fate truly is ironic." They both chatted for another 45 minutes before students actually came out of the school. A large crowd of his psycho fan club came running out towards the track and he grabbed his bag and ran out onto the track.
-
Veronica truly liked chatting with Shinzuu. She almost completely forgot about what had happened to her that day, that is, until school was over and some of Shinzuu's facn club came running towards the track and he ran off onto the track. She quickly jumped off the top bleacher with a frown on her face and headed towards the school, going around his fans who looked over at her like a pack of wild animals that was thirsting for blood. "Well at least I know none of those freaks will be in the library..." She thought to herself, hoping that she was actually right.
-
The possum just stood there, confused that Reno had dashed off. She was going to wait for him until she was about run over with Shinzuu's pack of rabid fans. She was taken by surprised and knocked around by them until they had finished their stampede, where she wound up falling on her butt and sitting there for a moment, dazed and releasing a sting of not so nice things to say to the crowd. She stood up, brushing herself off when she noticed a few boys approaching her again. Immediately, she ducked into the building and into the girl's bathroom hoping they wouldn't follow. She was so focused on getting away, she didn't really notice that she had shot right past Veronica on the way.
-
Reno looked up and saw Schadenfreude in the same bathroom he was in. Immediately he sprang up embarrassed. "What are you doin' in the boy's room?!" Just then another girl came out of a stall and looked at Reno. "What are you doing in the girl's room!?" Reno looked around, the bathroom was surprisingly clean and the fact there were two girls in here...His absence of public restrooms made him forget which bathroom was which. The fur on Reno's face was starting to turn a light pink due to his severe embarrassment. "I-I-I uhm, I was just-" "Peeping?!" "No no no! I was, it's just-" "Get out!" Reno said nothing more and backed out of the bathroom slowly. He casually as possible went over to an empty table in the cafeteria and sat down.
-
Shinzuu ran over past the fence on the opposite side of the track. He high-tailed it even further as most of the mob pushed past the fence gate. Holy @#$%&!!! Shinzuu pushed himself harder to run more than he ever has in his life. By the time he got home, he slammed the door shut and passed out onto the floor, breathing really heavily, sweating a small pool onto the floor. Shinzuu's mother walked up to him and poked him with a stick. "Hmm... still breathing. So why are you home so early, honey? I don't think your father would've approved of you playing hooky from track and basketball practice."
-
Veronica was confused as she saw Schad dash past her. Looking behind her, she saw the boys that were tailing Schad. "Huh...she must not enjoy the attention..." She thought with a shrug, not noticing that they were gay boys. She spent the time she had before cheering practice in the library reading a book. When it came time for practice, she went to the bathroom and changed then went into the gym.
-
"Ah crap!" Schad said, pushing past the girl who had jumped down Reno's throat, "There is such thing as an accident, you jerk." she growled, forgetting about the boys and heading to see if Reno was alright. Doing that was a big mistake, though, because as soon as she stepped out of the bathroom, she was surrounded by the gay guys. By the time she looked back to go back into the bathroom, they had already locked in a circle, "Don't you guys have class or something? GEEZE." she yelled.
-
Reno wasn't sitting looking at the bathroom, or Schadenfreude so he didn't notice the gay guys were back. He was too caught up with thinking in his head to hear her yell either. "Oh man...Not only did I get a bloody nose in front of 'er, I was in the girl's bathroom in front of 'er! And then you were accused for peeping. Now everyone's going to think I'm a perv! I've gotten in nothin' but trouble with these "Friends" of mine...Gah! This is so frustratin'! Being alone is so much...Less frustratin'." He put his head on his hand and leaned on the table.
-
Shinzuu yelled at his mom between h heavy breaths as he slowly got up, "SHUT UP, MOM! And stop poking me, I'm not a cadaver! The entire fan club's girls have been harassing me all day and they chased me in a horde right as school ended. I even spent the whole day after lunch on the roof because they wouldn't leave me alone. I only got down by climbing the drain pipe!!" His mother shrugged and went back into the kitchen, "So just knock a few of them up so they'll leave you alone. I don't care if you have more than one baby-momma, it's not like I can spare THAT much protection for you. Condoms are expensive, you know?" At a loss of words, Shinzuiu just screamed as he made his way to his room.
-
Veronica was only in cheering practice for about 20 minutes before she had had enough of some of the girls harassing her. Even with the coach telling the girls to stop, it didn't help anything. The coach let her leave and she changed into her regular clothes in the bathroom. The guys were still trying to get to Schad when she came out of the bathroom. As she headed for the exit, she noticed that they were gay guys. Now she understood what Schad's problem was. "Excuse me, guys." She said as she stepped in front of them, cutting them off in their pursuit and turning on them. "Just leave the girl alone. And yes, I just said 'girl'. Schad is a GIRL. Definitely not your type." She rolled her eyes, turned around and continued her walk to the exit.
-
It wasn't long after Veronica's little outburst before one of the boys called out after her, "Well, if it isn't miss priss who's dating Shinzuu." Schad stood there, confused, until one of the guys grabbed her rear, in which case she turned and met his face with her forearm, pushing out of the swarm, not caring who she was hitting in the process. There were grunts and giggles alike as she pushed out, getting away from them, and bolted down the hallway at full speed.
-
When Veronica came was when Reno noticed that Schadenfreude was being harassed again. As he was getting up Veronica had gone away and while walking over Schadenfreude had ran off. "Wonder what happened to her...? I'm sure she handled it...Oh well, I should get to chess club." Reno sighed as he walked down the halls. Upon reaching the door to chess club he opened the door and instantly he was called for. "Hey, Reno! Wanna play a game?" He froze in place just outside the door, wide eyed and sweating. "Oh man...Someone is...Talking to me...Do I even want to come in here?! I mean...I thought I was going to hang out with Schadenfreude. Can I just blow this guy off? That would be rude...But...I already told Schad I would...Hang out..." Reno closed the door quickly and walked off towards the art room. When he arrived he sat against the wall opposite the door to the art room.
-
They boys called after Schad, "No girl has an (censored) that juicy!" "Yea! And we don't mind if you fight us. It will make it all the more pleasurable." The rest of the boys picked up their fallen friends and then walked away.
Meanwhile, Shinzuu stood idly in the shower as he tried his best to relax. His legs were really killing him from all that running and his mind began to wander to and from his new friends and how he might have accidentally changed their lives. Shinzuu closed his eyes and sighed.
-
Veronica turned and looked at the guy who had spoke to her like she hadn't realized who he was before. "Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize the rumor *** was here. Don't believe everything you hear because it's called being FRIENDS. Just because a girl hangs out with a guy doesn't automatically mean they're dating. Try getting actual facts." She replied and her agitation was obvious. She turned around and headed out the door. "Freakin' morons..." She mumbled. Heading home, she flopped down on the couch after taking her shoes off. Turning on the TV, she watched it with mild interest.
-
Scahd had fled with absolutely no clue where to go.. She was already late for art.. But maybe she'd be fine there. She realized as she was walking down the hall that she had left Reno, and was going to turn and go back, but with all the madness with the boys, she hadn't paid attention to where he'd vanished to. The possum sighed heavily, feeling like a jerk about it until she got to the art room. There was Reno. She pushed the hair out of her face and breathed another sigh, this one of relief and looked him over. "Sorry.."
-
Reno didn't expect to see Schadenfreude not in the art room, so when she walked down the hall to him he looked at her in confusion for a second then to the art room and back to her. " 'ow the...?" "Sorry for what? You didn't do anythin' wrong last time I checked." Reno stood up, looked at the time on his phone and then to Schadenfreude. It was getting late, clubs would almost be over and for him it would be just about time to go to swim practice. He began to walk in Schadenfreude's direction. "It's almost time for my swim practice, I'm goin' to 'ead over there and see if I can't get out of it. Why don't you 'ead to your place and meet back 'ere like we planned? If you don't find me, try the pool. Coach might not let me get out of today's practice." As he was passing her was about half way through his speech. Once he got to the end of the hallway he turned and waved. "See ya in a bit, Schad." Smiling, he turned and headed over to swim practice. Once there the coach and a few early people were already there. He went up to the coach who turned to him. "Coach, can I take today's practice off?" "What for? Sick? I don't see any broken bones. Quitting?" "N-No, coach, it's just..." He finished the rest of his sentence mumbling. "...I'm walking a girl home." "What's that? Can't hear you." "I'm walking a girl home." "Oh ho ho, you sly dog, I didn't think you had it in you." "I-It's not lik-" "Well as much as I'd love to let you, you still owe me a few days. So no, you can't take the day off. Now go dress out." "Aye, coach..." said Reno with a sigh as he walked into the locker room and started to dress out.
-
Shinzuu ended up napping until about 11pm, when his mother normally went to bed. He grabbed his bags and snuck out of the apartment. Shinzuu made his way to the basketball court over at the park. He put down all his school stuff and bag over in the corner and began to practice long into the night. At least his mind can feel at ease while he made shots over and over again.
-
Veronica had been asked how her day was by her parents and she gave them an honest answer (saying that it was "crappy"). She ate supper and watched TV with her parents. She went up to her room at around 10:00 then spent about another hour listening to music and wondering how bad the next day was going to be for her. She finally fell asleep at around 11:00 or so.
-
Schad walked home, without Reno and without really thinking much. When she got home, she barely peeked inside to find that her mother was once again, knocked out on the couch. She smelled like alcohol as she passed, but she was careful not to wake her up this time. When she got into her room, she grabbed as much stuff as she could and crammed it into her bag, then went into the bathroom and grabbed her essentials, cramming them inside as well. She threw that bag over her shoulder and grabbed her art bag... It contained all of her art supplies, which made it hefty, and tossed it over her other shoulder. Searching around for a bit, she found her book bag, and snatched it, then stuffed her laptop in her bag with her clothes. By the time she snuck out, she had three hefty bags: one on each shoulder, and one in her hand. She was sure she looked stupid, but didn't much care as she began to head out the door. As she passed her mother, she accidentally bumped her... Freezing out of fear.. She was sure she was in trouble from being gone as long as she was... Which meant that she would be punished. Last time, she had her head just about slapped off her shoulders. Thankfully, the booze had worked wonders, keeping her still silently sleeping. Schadenfreude closed the door behind her quietly and began to head back to the school. She assumed it already let out because it wasn't long until a few boys began to tag along behind her.
-
When swim practice was let go Reno dressed back out, grabbed his things and headed to the front of the school. Once there he leaned on a light post and waited for Schadenfreude to return. Though it was getting a bit late. "Hmm...I 'ope she isn't going to stand me up..." By this time he started to pace back and forth in front of the light post. "Stand me up? It's not like it's a date...Well it is a date...No wait, well, yeah...Just not that kind of date. What's takin' 'er? God I 'ope she isn't getting mugged or something. Why do you care so much? Well she is my friend...It's natural to care...I wonder where she is...I wonder where Shinzuu is. I 'aven't seen 'im all day. 'e probably ditched us...Likely got bored and went onto his old friends...Oh well, it's not like it was meant to be or anything, right? Why am I thinkin' so much about this?! Bah, what ever..." While Reno was pacing back and forth out of the corner of his eye he saw a group of people approaching. It was dark so he couldn't really tell who it was, so he just continued to pace. But once the figures got closer Reno saw that it was Schadenfreude, followed by some unfamiliar boys. They didn't seem like the gay ones from earlier, they seemed a little tougher. "Oh crap! OOOOH CRAP!!!!! This must be 'er boyfriend! AND his gang of bikers! Oh god....Oh God what do I do?! Ah! I'm going to die! 'e probably wants to know where she was, and she was like "Oh this guy from school kidnapped me and took me to his place." I'm dead! This is it! It was nice knowing me! Kinda! Gah! I can't die here! Think....Think.....THINK! She's got a lot of baggage. Maybe you can help 'er. Maybe it will spare you for awhile from being beaten to death, strung up on the back of a motorcycle and dragged across the city. It's my only option!" By the time he stopped thinking of the worst possible outcomes she was in front of him. "Uhm...Uh...I-...Uhm....'ey. W-Want some 'elp with the bags?" He was trembling badly, very nervous about the guys behind her, who were standing off to the side watching them.
-
Schad nodded, and handed the bag in her hand off to Reno. She didn't know what was up with the guys following her, so she just ignored them. She would stand her ground if she had to, or if they tried something.. She wasn't afraid to get into a fight. The possum looked at Reno as she handed her bag to him, the guys seeming to fall back as she did so. "So, I guess you lead since I have no clue where I'm going."
-
Reno took the bags and saw that the boys were leaving which put him at ease. He sighed in relief without noticing it. "Phew...It worked. I live to...Do stuff another day." "Alright, it's not too long a walk." He started off followed by Schadenfreude down the road. It was about a twenty minute walk for the whole trip. It was quiet but seemed to take no time at all. Reno walked into the hotel lobby and was stopped by Grace behind the front desk. "Hey, Reno. Welcome back. Is see your girlfriend can walk again. Are you letting her stay in your room this time?" she chuckled. Reno blushed and kept going, mumbling under his breath. "She's not my girlfriend...No, she's still going to have her own room." He carried on down the hall and stopped at her room. Setting her bags down he felt around for her room key. He took it from his pocket, unlocked her door and took her bags inside. "Well, we're 'ere...Uhm...Got a bed...Desk...Bathroom with a shower...Uhm...Oh...'ere's your room key." He handed the key to her and walked to the door. "Uhm...You can talk to Grace at the front desk about payment...You can call room service. Number should be on the phone on the desk. If you need me...Uhm...I'm just next door 'ere. I guess...Good night. Sweet dreams, hope you enjoy your stay." With that he walked into the room next door. "Sweet dreams?! Idiot!" He thought, closing his door behind him. He threw his bag at the foot of his bed and started undoing his shirt. He was tired and just wanted to go to bed, but he needed a shower. He went into the bathroom, finished undressing and turned on the shower. After the shower he played a song on his violin before finally going to bed.
-
Schad didn't know that Reno lived right next door.. In a hotel to boot. She went inside and sat down her stuff, plopping face first into the bed. She felt like crap. Her head was spinning again, and she began to realize that she missed her medication, once more. She didn't like what was going on with her life. In fact, she was very displeased with it. Part of her wanted chug the pills, but before she could think anymore, her body jolted. She felt dizzy and as she tried to stand, she fell to the floor with a heavy thud, and vomited. Her body began to shake a lot.. And everything went black.
The next morning, siren wailed shooting to the hotel that Reno lived in. There was frantic knocking on Reno's door. "Reno!" More knocking. "Reno, they are taking your friend to the hospital!" One of the maids called, trying to speak through the door. Everything was bustling as they were clearing Schad's room and taking her off. "They think she's had a seizure!"
-
Reno woke up to the banging on the door, by that time was when he heard that Schadenfreude had a seizure. "What?!" He quickly put on some pants, threw on a shirt without buttoning it and ran out to see her being put into the back of an ambulance. "Schad!" Before he could get to her a police officer stopped him. "Let me go! That's my friend!" But by then it was too late, the ambulance squealed off into the distance. "What 'ospital is she going to?!" No one would answer him, they seemed to just go about there way. The police left, the hotel staff went back inside and Reno just stood there, bare foot and half dressed, not knowing what to do. "Oh man...What did I get 'er into...? What do I do now? Do I go after 'er? Do I tell the others? What do I..."
-
Shinzuu woke up while lying on his back in the basketball court, to the sound of sirens passing him by. "What the hell was that? Uhhh..." He groaned as he got up and looked at the clock in the middle of the park. 7:30AM... Shinzuu grabbed his bags and put his school uniform over his tank-top and shorts and sprayed on a bunch of deodorant before heading out to school. The park's not far, but it's not like he had anything better to do.
-
Veronica slept soundly. She got up the next morning at her usual time. She showered, got dressed, and went downstairs. She ate some cereal for breakfast then grabbed her bag and left the house after rinsing out her dish. She walked to school at her normal pace along her normal route. She hoped that she wouldn't run into any of the jealous fans of Shinzuu on her way to school but knew today would suck.
-
After awhile of standing there Reno finally pulled himself together enough to go get dressed. He got all his stuff and went to school with his head hung low and his ears hanging down behind his head. He walked slower than usual as he went. Eventually he made it to school and went to class. He just sat there leaning his head on his hands thinking. "...I hope Schad's alright...Why did I have to get 'er involved? Now she's in the 'ospital...And it's all my fault...If I 'adn't of sat at that table that day....She'd never 'ave met me and she'd still be okay...Now I'm sure 'er boyfriend is going to kill me nice and slow...I just put his girl in the 'ospital...What a drag..." Reno soon layed his head down on the dead lost in thought.
-
Shinzuu made it to school and was surprised slightly to find a LOT of girls standing in front of the school with pails in hand and signs around their necks. It took Shinzuu until he walked into the building and past the group before he realized from one of the signs that they were all in his fan club. They had all been punished for hazing Veronica and moreso for making him skip practice by chasing him out of the school grounds.
-
Inside Veronica was grinning at all the girls dealing with their punishment. On the outside she was just looking at them blankly as she passed them and headed into the school. "Serves them all right..." She thought to herself as she entered the doors and started walking down the hall. As she headed to her locker she hoped that with them being punished she would be left alone all day, but she expected that they would be right back at it again the next day. Opening her locker, she put her bag in and grabbed her stuff for her first classes.
-
Reno's classes were dull as usual, but he didn't really notice. He couldn't stop thinking how Schadenfreude was in the hospital because of him. He didn't eat when lunch came around, he just sat in his corner of the cafeteria and waited for his next class. He rested his head on his knees as his arms were wrapped around his legs. His long ears hung over the side of his head sadly as he sat there curled in a ball. He sighed, thinking. "I can't believe this...My first gir-...Lady friend...And I end up getting her in the hospital..."
-
Shinzuu stayed in homeroom all day, especially during lunch, sending one of his teammates to grab curry bread for him. He knew that anyone on all-day punishments get only one chance to go inside, and that's in the cafeteria for lunch. The day had been very dull, but he noticed Reno wandering around the halls, moping, near half-way through lunch break. Shinzuu ran out and stopped him, "Hey, kiddo. Don't you usually spend lunch with Schad in the cafeteria?"
-
Veronica had been smart enough to bring something for lunch with her since she had figured she would have had to escape outside again. She ate her lunch in silence then decided she would walk around the halls while she waited for lunch to be over. She ended up finding Shinzuu and Reno in one hallway and heard Shinzuu's question. She actually found it weird too that Reno wasn't with Schad. Slowly she walked over to the other two while Shinzuu was waiting for Reno's response.
-
Reno looked up at Shinzuu in despair as he asked, he was having trouble saying it. Then Veronica walked over. "Schad's...In the 'ospital..." he finally choked out. "I think it's all my fault..." His ears were still drooping behind his head and he looked back down at the floor. "I-...She...Stayed at my-...The hotel I stay at and...I don't know...I went to bed...And then this morning...She 'ad a seizure..." With that he rubbed his nose with his sleeve, he wasn't crying and he didn't have a runny nose or anything. He just did it.
-
Shinzuu patted Reno and sighed, "It's okay, kiddo. It's not your fault. She's been having health issues since before we even met her. THAT much was certain that night we were at the restaurant. I remember she had been shaking violently when Veronica and I were leaving. How about this? We'll go visit her after school, but you're going to have to stop beating yourself up, okay? We'll even go find Veronica to come with us if you want."
-
Veronica nodded in agreement to Shinzuu's proposal of going to the hospital. When Shinzuu talked like she wasn't even there, she felt very disappointed that he hadn't noticed her. "Um...I'm right here..." She said softly, looking down at the floor. "I'll go..." She examined her fingers for something to do since she felt kind of awkward for not being noticed by Shinzuu when she was standing right there, though she had walked over quietly.
-
Reno looked up when Shinzuu patted him on the shoulder. As he spoke a slight smile came on his face. Like a small child who just had to tell the neighbor he just broke their with a baseball he replied. "A-Alright..." He looked over to Veronica who had agreed to go as well. He was glad that he met such nice people, he was starting to even think it beat sitting alone all the time. "Thanks guys...Uhm...I...Guess see you after school then." Reno sounded happier as he walked off waving over his shoulder.
-
Shinzuu was surprised at Veronica's voice just popping up next to him. His first instinct was to shrink back about 10 feet before he remembered that she doesn't give him hives when she's near. Shinzuu never really was good at noticing his surroundings outside of basketball. Every time he did anything, he'd be completely oblivious to everything else around him, save for his hives when girls get dangerously close to him. The rest of the day went on forever, and he didn't like it one bit. However, Shinzuu's day brightened at the end after both his coaches excused him for the day to visit Schad in the hospital with the others. He waited at the gate for the others, amusingly watching all the punished girls from his fan club finally carry their pails of water to dump in the garden before going in to get all the schoolwork they missed throughout the day.
-
Veronica didn't have to go to cheering practice because at least 3/4 of the cheerleaders were part of the punished group of girls and they weren't allowed to attend their activities for the day so practice had been canceled. She grabbed her bag out of her locker and headed outside. When she exited the building, she ended up passing the punished girls as they headed in. She just kept her head up as she passed them and headed for the gate. She saw Shinzuu standing at the gate waiting and nervousness crept up on her as she approached him. "Hi..." She said shyly.
-
As the school day drew to an end Reno decided not to go to chess club that day. Instead he went to swim practice and got the coach to let him slide for the day. As he was leaving he saw Veronica and Shinzuu already waiting. He approached them nervously. "Uhm...'ey guys." After that he just stood there nervously, not really sure if he should remind them what they were doing or something. Also he didn't really know where the hospital was.
-
Shinzuu shuffled nervously as Veronica approached him, but he did his best to keep his cool. He grinned wide as he saw Reno. Reno had ended up being kind of like the pet he always wanted. "Come on, you guys, let's go. I'm sure Schad'll appreciate it, even if she never says it." Shinzuu led the group on a long, 40-minute walk to the far side of town to the only hospital in town.
-
Veronica felt slightly hurt that she got no greeting from Shinzuu. She gave a slight wave as a response to Reno showing up and greeting them. When Shinzuu said to go, she followed him. She was silent for the walk to the hospital. All she did was look around as they walked. She was never one who was good at conversation so she didn't bother trying to get one going with Shinzuu and Reno.
-
Reno was quiet for the walk, he was too lost in thought to do much else that wasn't involuntary. He was happy that he made these new friends. They weren't using him, picking on him, taking his money, hurting him just under the legal limit or calling him by his ridiculous nickname. Shinzuu reminded him a lot of his best friend Nero. Reno met Nero in fourth grade, they were assigned to be partners for a science project; the rest was history. Unfortunately he moved back home a month before his parents died. It's a surprise to Reno himself he didn't slip into a massive fit of depression and kill himself. As they got to the hospital Reno looked at it nervously. He wasn't really sure what to do or what to say when he saw Schadenfreude.
-
As they walked in, the hospital was barely a buzz as they walked up to the reception desk. "Hi. We're here to see a friend who got admitted this morning. Her name is Schadenfreude, she's a possum and she's a student at Feral High." The fat canary lady behind the desk just looked at Shinzuu like he wasn't worth her time, but she then decided to hunch over and look at the logs from the morning. "You'll find your friend in room 2150. Second floor, right wing." Shinzuu thanked her and went straight for the elevator past reception. As they went into the elevator, Shinzuu couldn't hold it in, anymore. "Is it just me, or is that receptionist a total (censored)?"
-
Veronica was easily irritated by the lack of personality in the reception lady. When Shinzuu asked his question about the receptionist, she wasn't surprised by it. "It's not just you..." She responded as she pushed the elevator button for 'up'. "People like that shouldn't be working with the public." She hated it when people acted the way the receptionist did.
-
Reno answered with "Maybe she 'ad a bad day?" at Shinzuu's question as they got on the elevator. He also thought Veronica seemed a bit angry for some reason. As they got closer to where they were going Reno grew more and more nervous. Nervous but anxious. He still had no idea what to say, if he could even say anything. Maybe she was asleep, or in a coma, or dead. A worried face plastered itself to Reno's face as he thought of all the terrible things that might have happened to Schadenfreude.
-
They got out of the elevator and walked out towards Schad's room. Shinzuu began counting the rooms as they walked down the hall. He was the first to the door and opened it, walking in. Inside, Schad laid there snoring away on her hospital bed, hooked up to an IV. Shinzuu snickered to himself a little at it, but did his best to keep a straight face. "Why don't you guys wait here? I'm going to go find a nurse and see what's up with her.
-
Veronica felt completely awkward as she entered the room after Shinzuu left. She didn't even know Schad well at all and now she was visiting her in the hospital. It just felt very weird to her. Walking over to a chair that was against the wall opposite from the bed, she sat down in it. She stared down at the floor at the foot of the bed. Looking at Schad in her condition just didn't seem right to Veronica.
-
Reno looked at Schadenfreude as she slept. "She's sleepin', that's a good sign. I think....I 'ope that's a good sign. Well at least now I don't have to say that long drawn out speech about 'ow she's going to be okay and I'll be there for her. Which would make it sound like she was my lover dying in front of me like in one of those dramatic endings in games. I 'ope she's not really in a coma or something...Or internally bleeding and just dying slowly but 'er tough, never die attitude made 'er take it like a small fever and not show 'er pain even while sleeping! Oh man...This is so awkward..."
-
Shinzuu came back in the room after a couple of minutes. "Hey guys, Schad's not in any kind of danger. They got her on sedatives mainly because she's too rowdy. Apparently, she has a rare disease that she needs medication for. I think it was called Feral Syndrome or something like that. If she doesn't take her meds, she'll go into a state of extreme pain, which is probably what happened the other night. They said that she'll have to be here for a couple more nights." Shinzuu motioned for Veronica to leave the room with him, and to let Reno have some alone time with Schad. When they were both out, he whispered to her, "You think that he's gonna be alright? I'm a little worried about him."
-
"Oh great...more awkwardness." Veronica thought as she followed Shinzuu's signal and got out of the chair and left the room. "I think he just needs to stop overreacting and thinking that he did this to her when it's obvious that it has nothing to do with him." She whispered her reply. "But he's probably all panicky because he really likes her or something..." She glanced towards the door to the room then looked back at Shinzuu.
-
Reno was relieved to here she was going to be alright, but when Shinzuu motioned for Veronica to come out of the room he was even more nervous. He also heard faint whispering but couldn't make anything out. "Oh man...Are they talking about me? This is weird...Well...At least Schad's alright...What should I do now? Talk to 'er? That would be weird..." Reno walked over to the chair next to her bed and sat down with his hands in his lap nervously. "Uhm...'ey there." "See? Weird...It's not like she can hear you." "I 'ear your alright. T-That's uhm...Good." "Stop it, what if the others 'ear me. They'll think I'm crazy." "So...Uhm..." Reno started twiddling his thumbs. "Now what? Ask 'er 'ow she's been? It's not like you'll get an answer...This is so weird..."
-
After about 10 minutes, Shinzuu opened the door on Reno, "Hey buddy, let's go. We don't want to stay too long. Besides, visiting hours are almost over, anyways. I'm sure she'll be fine here. Let's just come back tomorrow and see if she awakens then." When Reno came out, he led the little rat pack out of the hospital. "I'm gonna be heading back home. I'll see you guys tomorrow at school, okay?"
-
Veronica didn't say anything when Shinzuu opened and told Reno that they should all leave and stayed silent as they left the hospital. "Uh huh..." She responded as she turned in the direction of her house. She slowly walked off by herself, shoving her hands in her pockets and staring down at the ground in front of her. She was in such a low mood today which she shouldn't have been since she had seen those girls at school get punished, but she still felt...blah.
-
Reno nodded when Shinzuu called him out. He left with them as they exited the hospital. He replied "Alright." to Shinzuu before looking at Veronica walk off. "She seems depressed...Maybe I should talk to 'er? I don't know...Shinzuu seems to like 'er...But then again he seems to like me too...I wonder if those rumors about 'im bein' gay are true." Reno walked off towards work with a sigh as he got far enough away. "What ever, that doesn't matter right now. I gotta get to work...The only way I've been able to get out of work these past few days was get graveyard...And that meant I got to clean the kitchen...Oh joy...Well, I can always sleep in class...And use swim practice as a bath. And eat at work."
-
Shinzuu got home and grabbed some food off of the table that was set aside for him. "Heya! Welcome home, oh wayward son. ;)" Shinzuu growled as he chomped into his food at the table while his mother still sat on the couch in front of the TV. "Shut up, mom. One of my new friends was in the hospital and-" His mother, Shiori, jumped from the couch and looked at him excitedly, sitting on the couch now on her feet. "So you really knocked her up!? I'm going to be a grandmother!?" Shinzuu just about choked on his food and nearly roared at her. "NO! It's the other girl that I made friends with. She had a seizure this morning. She has something called Feral Syndrome or something like that, and she hasn't taken her meds recently." Shiori slunk back into the couch and sighed. "And I was so excited, too..........."
-
Veronica made herself some supper when she got home. When she was finished making it, she sat in front of the TV with her parents and watched it as she ate. At 10:00 she finally went up to her room. She changed into her pajamas then turned on a movie and crawled into bed. It didn't take her very long to fall asleep because for some reason she felt pretty tired that night, which happened to her sometimes.
-
Reno got to work eventually, everyone was leaving as he came in. He went to work cleaning the kitchen. First he washed the dishes, counters and stoves then swept and mopped the floor. The whole process took several hours to get done. Reno was extremely tired, too tired to even move. He slumped against the counter on the floor next to the mop bucket. But he didn't fall asleep yet. He took out his phone to see what time it was but it fell from his hands before he could see it and he just passed out.
-
After dinner, Shinzuu sat by his mother and watched some weird American show called CSI. He wasn't too interested in it, but the only thing that kept his interest was merely the humor. Shinzuu watched TV with his mother for another couple hours before she fell asleep. Like the night before, he grabbed his things and went out to the park, at their little basketball court and practiced all night. Despite his practicing, though, this time, he couldn't get his mind off of Veronica.
-
Veronica's dreams were completely random and didn't make sense. What didn't make sense to her the most though was that Shinzuu was in all of them in some way. He wasn't always physically there but he would be there somehow even if it was just his name being mentioned. The next morning she awoke at her usual time, the dreams running through her head. She got dressed and went downstairs, eating her breakfast and rinsing out her dish when she was down. Slipping on her shoes, she grabbed her bag and headed out the door.
-
"Reno!" Shouted his boss, a pudgy Bengal Tiger. Reno quickly woke up startled, making the water in the mop bucket splash about. "Y-Yes, sir!" "Wake up, go home. I don't need people to think I'm a slave driver." Reno stood up groggily and stretched. "Alright, boss." Reno looked at his phone again, it was about an hour until school started. Reno went into the locker room and got changed and headed to school. Once there he got some breakfast and ate it before heading to class.
-
Shinzuu woke up laying flat on the court again. He looked up at the clock, 9:00AM........... After the time of day sunk into Shinzuu's brain, he shot straight up to his feet, "HOLY (censored)!" Shinzuu quickly sprayed on deodorant and threw on his uniform over his athletics again. He ran full speed over towards school. The gates were already closed as Shinzuu expected, but that's never stopped him before. He jumped up and got a foothold on one of the horizontal bars of the gate and launched himself up and got hold of the second bar and used his momentum to swing over the top. Shinzuu landed onto his feet on the other side, but he forgot to balance himself upon landing and kept moving and face-planted right into the ground.
-
Veronica got to school on time and hung around the halls until it was actually time for class. As she sat in her class, she only half-listened to her teacher. While taking notes, she randomly doodled on the edges of her notebook paper as well. She also used the back pages of her notebook to write some her favorite lyrics of songs in fancy lettering, occasionally drawing an image that went along with the line.
-
Reno completed his work in class as usual and went to sleep at his desk. Though for the first time in this position he was dreaming. He was with his best friend Nero and his girlfriend Jessica. They were walking to the mall to get a new game to play. As they walked they were talking, seeming to have a great time. Suddenly a car drove up, rolled down it's window and stuck out the barrel of a gun. The gun was pointed at Reno, he froze in place from fear when Nero shoved him out of the way and was shot in his place. As Nero fell to the floor the car peeled off into nothingness. People just went on as if nothing happened while Reno sat there holding Nero up, telling him it would be okay. But he soon did die, with Reno sitting there crying over his body.
-
The day was really boring, no one even hazed Veronica or chased him around or anything. The day went by like nothing. Shinzuu couldn't even recall if they had lunch or not. After school was over. However, his mind had been on Veronica again, and wondered what she was doing most of the day, Shinzuu ticked off his coaches again by calling off to visit Schad in the hospital. He promised that he had been practicing on his own and that he'd be ready for the first meet of the semester that coming Sunday. Again, he waited at the gate for Veronica and Reno.
-
Veronica went through the day like normal. It all seemed the same to her since she wasn't being hazed so everything was how it always was. She actually had her lunch in the cafeteria for the first time in a while. When school was over, she went to the cheering coach and asked if she could get out of practice to visit Schad in the hospital. Her coach said it was okay since they wouldn't be doing anything new in practice. She left the school and headed for the gate where Shinzuu was once again waiting for her and Reno. She just gave a small wave as a hello as she walked up to him since she hadn't got a response the day before when she had greeted him verbally.
-
Reno had the same dream during every class he had through out the day, finally at the end of the day he could stop sleeping and avoid it. He knew he would have to skip both Chess club and Swim practice again to go see Schadenfreude. When he asked to take another day from Chess the head of the club just asked if he wanted to even stay in the club. Reno just said "Not really". So that was his last time needed to go to the club. Next was Swim practice. The coach was not thrilled. Reno offered to do triple the amount of practice for a month for this day off, but he felt it was worth it. He went to where he was to meet the others and got there. " 'ey guys." His ears were hung low like before, but it was also due to getting triple practice time as well as worrying about Schadenfreude.
-
Shinzuu returned the wave and stood in awkward silence with Veronica for a couple minutes before Reno came by. Like the day before, they were met by the fat lady behind the reception with her usual crappy attitude as they signed it. As they entered Schadenfreude's room, Shinzuu was surprised to see her up. He had actually expected her to be completely sedated again, since she's kinda really rowdy all the time. "Good to see you up."
-
Veronica stood there in awkwardness with Shinzuu until Reno showed up. She didn't understand why they couldn't have conversations. She greeted Reno when he showed up then followed Shinzuu to the hospital. She tried to just ignore the receptionist's attitude this time. She wasn't exactly surprised that Schad was up when they got to her room. "Hey." She said and that was all she could think of to say as she stood there in the room.
-
Schad had been hauled away to the hospital and treated for a few days where she had been sedated. Everything went by like a blur, one long, never ending dream that swirled and seemed to interfere with reality from time to time. This time she just kinda laid there rubbing her head until the others showed up. She shook her head, somewhat surprised to see that she had visitors in the first place. She didn't expect to have any, but one thing she knew was that she wanted to get out of the hospital. She couldn't stand it.
Shinzuu and Veronica were there. She waved ans smirked, still somewhat dazed and out of it. "Hey guys."
-
Reno had stopped before going into the room to scratch his foot. When he finished, just before stepping in he heard Schadenfreude was up, which made him press himself up against the wall outside the door. "She's up! Oh man, what if she did hear me yesterday?! I sounded like an idiot!What do I say now that she's awake? What if she blames me too?! She probably doesn't even want to talk to me! I'm such an idiot! Why didn't I do something?! Didn't Shinzuu say something about 'er 'avin' meds?! Why didn't I pick up on it! I could 'ave done somethin'! She definitely doesn't want to talk to me...I should just go. Wait, what if she does want to talk to me?! And if I'm not 'ere she'll probably get 'er biker boyfriend to kill me! Oh man! I forgot about them! They're probably at my place trashing it out of revenge! Then they'll wait for me outside and run me over! Oh man what did I get myself in to?!"
-
Shinzuu was surprised, at first, when he heard a loud "thud" on the wall. He stepped back and stuck his head out to see the frightened Reno haunched up against the wall. Shinzuu chuckled and reached a hand out and dragged Reno into the room by his arm. "Hey Schad, this one damn near had a heartattack on ya. He was really worried about you. Right, Veronica?"
-
Veronica wasn't expecting Shinzuu to speak to her so she sort of froze up for a second when he did speak to her. "Oh, yeah. And it seems that he thinks that it's his fault that you're here. His mind probably hasn't been on anything else but you and your condition for the past couple days, I bet." She said when her second-long freeze was over, nudging Reno in the side with her elbow.
-
After those two had finished what she was saying, she got a real serious look on her face and sat up, crossing her arms. "That's right, Reno. Why did you put me in the hospital, I mean, geeze, I was going to pay for my room this morning, what's your problem?" She immediately saw the fear etched on his face when she finished, then grinned, and said, "I'm just kidding." She still felt a little woozy, but she wanted to get out. "So you guys come to bust me out?"
-
Reno was too scared to go in the room, then Shinzuu pulled him inside and said how worried he was about Schadenfreude. "Oh man, he didn't have to say all that!" Then Veronica joined it, which embarrassed him. "Oh come on!" And when Schadenfreude blamed him he almost fainted. "I-I-I uhm, I-" Then she said she was just messing with him. "Oh man...That was scary. These guys are mean." He didn't really say anything, he kinda just stood there shaking nervously.
-
Shinzuu sighed at the rabbits' nervousness. "I'm gonna head out to the front desk and check you out of here. Why don't you come with me, Veronica? I think there's been a huge misunderstanding between these two." He walked out, holding the door for a second before walking on. Shinzuu didn't like dealing with that woman at the desk, but he had to. As they took care of the paperwork a group of boys began to eye Veronica and whistle at her.
-
Veronica followed after Shinzuu, closing the door behind herself. She had no intention of dealing with the woman at the desk so she let Shinzuu do the talking. She helped him fill out the paperwork though because she didn't think that he should have to do it all himself, which meant that she had to bend over the desk some to fill it out. When she heard the boys whistling, she didn't pay attention because she didn't think that anyone would be whistling at her. But when they kept on whistling she finally turned her head to see who they were whistling at only to find their eyes on her. She set down the pen as she stood up straight and turned around to face the boys. "Can I help you with something?" She snapped slightly. She realized it wasn't the best thing to say though because she figured they'd come up with some dirty comment, but she couldn't think of anything else to say in response to their whistling.
-
When Shinzuu and Veronica left, Schad stood up, shakily and pulled the IV out of her arm. She walked over to the closet, holding the hospital gown closed and began to rummage through it to find her clothes. She wasn't joking when she she said wanted out.
-
Reno kept standing there, when Schadenfreude got up he looked away, because the hospital gowns can be revealing. "Uhm...Glad your up 'n' about..." "I was worried that you might die..." "But uh...I'm sure the others are on their way back to let us know you can leave. So uh...Are you sure your alright?" Reno did his best not to peek over to her, but he caught himself doing just that for splits seconds every so often. It's not that he wanted to get a look under her gown, just making sure she wasn't going to sneak up on him and do something.
-
The second of the three boys, the one with a cast on his leg,"Yea! You can come home and... service me! If you get my drift." He made a vulgar, sexual hand motion to Veronica and laughed with the others.
Shinzuu sighed and put down the clipboard and walked over to the boys, particularly in front of the one with the cast. "What do YOU want, pretty boy? You wanna kiss me?" Shinzuu reached down and grabbed the foot of the cast. He slowly clenched onto it harder and harder. "You know, basketballs are expanded by air, and their bodies are also designed to be able to withstand high amounts of pressure. If someone is able to crush and pop a basketball... *the cast begins to crack under Shinzuu's fingers, his thumb pressing right through* ...imagine what they can do to a papermache cast that's barely a day old, or even an already broken leg." The boy panicked and almost made a whine. "OKAY OKAY!! I'M SORRY, ALRIGHT!? I'M SORRY!! JUST STOP!!" Shinzuu released the cast and walked back over to the desk.
While he was finishing up, Shinzuu turned to Veronica, "Can you go up and get Schad and Reno?"
-
Veronica made a face that clearly showed that she was disgusted after the boy told her exactly what she could help him with and her hands had actually balled up into fists. That was when Shinzuu walked over and took care of her problem, standing up for her. She stood there glaring at the boys as they left out the front doors until Shinzuu asked if she could go get Schad and Reno. "Yeah, sure." She said as she turned and headed for the elevators. "And Shinzuu..." She stopped short and turned her head to look back at him. "Thanks." She smiled at him before turning her head to look forward and continued her walk to the elevators, going up to Schad's floor and walking to her room. She peeked her head in the door, finding Schad up looking for clothes and Reno trying very hard not to look at her in her hospital gown. "You're all checked out, Schad. Time to go when you're ready." She said then gently grabbed a hold of Reno's arm and pulled him out of the room. "It's easier to not look if you're not there to look." She whispered to him after closing the door. "We can just wait out here while she finds clothes and changes." She gave him a reassuring smile to show him that she believed that he wasn't trying to sneak a peek.
-
One of the nurses pushed past the few in order to remove Schad's IV and get her clothes for her, but her jaw about hit the floor when she saw the possum out of bed, the IV ripped from her arm, "Dear lord, you're not supposed to do that!" she growled, "you should know better that to pull out your IV!" The nurse shook her head.
Schad looked over her shoulder, "Yeah, well.. You can't stop me from walking out now, you wench." She really didn't care for hospitals or nurses, and she was sure to make it quite clear as she rummaged for her clothes. "Are you going to tell me where you hid my clothes or am I going to walk outta here naked?" Schad returned as bitterly as she could, throwing stuff out of the closet and into the floor. The nurse simply stood there, appalled.
-
Reno was standing there still nervous when Veronica came in. When she said something it startled him. Then she pulled him out of the room. "Uhm...Thanks...I guess." A moment later a nurse went in and then a lot of commotion came from inside. Reno listened in and there was a lot of hub bub over an IV, and then Schadenfreude said something about leaving naked. Reno's eyes widened a bit shocked and even more nervous. He held his hand to his nose expecting a nose bleed but thank the lord he didn't have one. But if she did leave naked he would probably have a nosebleed and a heart attack.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he continued with the paperwork. Hurry up, you guys. I can't fudge this and stall this fatty for much longer. Shinzuu pretended to be in shock of missing something and erased half the page that he was filling out and began to rewrite it, but a lot slower this time, hoping the others would come down very soon. Come on. I don't have many pages left...
-
"Hurry up, Schad!" Veronica said after the commotion inside was over. "I'm going back downstairs." She turned and headed for the elevators. She paced around in the elevator as she waited for it to reach the main floor. Shinzuu had saved her from harassment before and now she had no idea what to say to him when she reached him again. "I knew I should have saved the 'thank you' for when I came back down..." She whispered to herself as the doors opened. She exited the elevator and walked back to the reception desk where Shinzuu was still working on the paperwork. "They'll be right down." She said softly as she walked up next to Shinzuu.
-
"I'd be faster if this wench got out of the room!" she yelled, shoving the nurse out. She changed into her clothes, thankful that she hadn't vomited on them the night she was admitted and grabbed her medicine that they had refreshed her with, bolting out the door past Reno. It wasn't until she got to the stairs that she realized how long she had been in that bed and how weak she was because about halfway down her legs wouldn't listen to her, and she tumbled down them.
-
Reno watched as Schadenfreude darted passed him. He saw her get to the stairs and fall which prompted him to dash over to see if she was alright. Sure enough she fell down the stairs. "Shad! Are you alright?!" Reno ran down the stairs and knelt down beside her. "Hey, you okay?" "Oh man...If she keeps up with this she'll drive me into an early grave..." Reno sighed and helped Schadenfreude to her feet and then down the rest of the stairs into the lobby. "Okay, I got 'er, let's go before they readmit 'er..."
-
Shinzuu nodded to Veronica as she came back down and told him they would be down soon. As Reno carried Schad out, he "finished" the paperwork and placed it down before leaving, pulling Veronica to go with him. "Okay guys, let's jet before they figure out I BS'd that whole thing to get her out." Shinzuu hailed a cab over and paid the small fare to get the two back to the hotel. After the cab left, he turned to Veronica. "Well, there's no tests tomorrow. You want me to walk you back home?"
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu out of the hospital when he pulled her along and stood beside him while he hailed the cab. She sort of chuckled when he mentioned that he had BS'd the paperwork. When he turned to her after the cab left, she had just expected a goodbye and not the him asking her if she wanted him to walk her home that she got. "Uh, yeah, sure. I'd enjoy the company." She replied as she looked at him and smiled, feeling nervous but trying not to show it.
-
Schad managed to stabilize long enough to get in the cab, where she waved to Shinzuu. She felt slightly stupid for trying to run off, knowing she was still somewhat weak. She began to feel like she might have deserved falling down the stairs. She rubbed her head. "We are going to the hotel right?" she asked. She had been so caught up in leaving that she didn't exactly know where she was going.
-
Reno sat in the back seat with Schadenfreude for the trip home. When she asked where they were going he replied. "Uhm...Yeah, the 'otel." After awhile they got there. Reno hopped out and ran around the cab to get Schadenfreude's door for her. She stepped out and the cab drove off. He just stood there nervously for a minute before checking the time with his phone, it was getting late. "Uhm...Well, we're back. but uhm...I need to get ready for work. I'll see ya around..." He waved and headed inside and into his room. He refrained from immediately going to the shower. Instead he took in the sights of his room again, he hadn't seen it in a couple days. Though soon enough he started to undress, taking in the sights along the way.
-
Shinzuu was surprised that Veronica was willing to allow him to walk her home. His entire left arm was still itching, so he furiously scratched it while walking Veronica home. Shinzuu knew the way to her place all too well, so he walked nice and slow with her. "So what made you move all the way out here to Feral City? And... what made you decide to join me the other day?"
-
Veronica liked the fact that they were walking slow. She wanted to spend some time with him alone without his fans watching their every move. She glanced over at him when he asked her a couple questions. "Oh, we always lived around here but we moved into the house we're in now when I was eight years old." She replied to the first question. Her cheeks turned pink underneath her fur at the second question and the thought of what her truthful answer would be and how it would be very embarrassing if she actually told him the truth. "Well, it sounded like fun and it wasn't like it was going to be just you and I getting to know each other." She said then realized it sounded like she was sort of insulting him. "Not that I wouldn't have liked if it was just us." She added quickly, her cheeks getting darker underneath her fur, so she decided to change the subject. "So...why did you ask me of all people to join you? And is something wrong?" She asked, looking over at his hand scratching his other arm.
-
A little lost and dazed, Schadenfreude went into her room, after patting herself down and finding the key in her pocket. Thankfully it was left there by the nurses where she left it. She closed the door behind her and took off her shirt and bra, walking into the bathroom in just her pants and brushed her teeth. She was thankful also to see that the vomit had been cleaned up and that her things had not been touched. She rinsed her mouth and spit, stripping down her remaining clothes to shower. She turned the water to the hottest setting, and just slid down the side of the shower until she was sitting in the floor enjoying the warm water pouring on her. She looked over the hospital band, warm beads of water running off of it, unable to tamper with the paper underneath that had her name and information. She sighed, almost falling asleep there.
When she pulled herself out of the shower, she put on just a pair of her favorite halloween panties with candy corn all over it and grabbed her laptop. Maybe there'd be something interesting on the internet before she dozed off.
-
Reno undressed the rest of the way and showered. Getting out he brushed his teeth as usual and headed over to his laptop. He opened it, pulled up some music and grabbed his violin. He sat on his bed in his towel and started playing along to Illumination by Secret garden. When the song finished he looked to the clock and saw he should get ready for work. Reno put his violin away, got dressed, turned off his laptop, got his bag for school and headed off to work.
-
Shinzuu chuckled nervously as Veronica asked about his arm, "Eh... well, you see... this is embarrassing. Okay. Ahem. The thing is, my body actually has an allergic reaction whenever I'm near any girl. Because we were so close to Schad earlier, I got hives all over my entire left arm because that was the closest part of me. Inadvertently, that's also the reason you stood out to me. You're the only other female besides my mother that I can get near to without getting hives. That's why I ran away from you when we first met, and why everyone seems to think I'm gay. People, including my family, believe I'm gay because I run away from girls and women when the truth is that I just have a severe allergic reaction to them." Shinzuu blushed hard under his black fur, having revealed his secret to someone whom he had only known for such a short time.
-
"Oh, well, I guess that makes sense." Veronica said as she looked ahead of them. "So that's it...he only has an interest in me because his allergy doesn't apply to me...so he basically has no other options and I'm a last resort..." She thought with a sigh. She tried to not show the disappointment on her face but she was sure it probably still showed a little. Now she had no idea what to say to him as they walked along and it wasn't like she wanted to stop talking to him, even if he only thought of her as a last resort.
-
Schadenfreude had doodled some, but nothing had been satisfactory, and so it was lost the the vicious emptiness of her computer's recycle bin. She had also browsed her favorite art sites, reading piles of messages from while she was away. She sometimes hated art sites just because if you didn't check it every day, there would be ungodly amounts of submissions to check. She then caught up on her favorite web comics, and chatted some before shutting down her laptop. After that, she just plopped over on her bed, staring at the ceiling.
-
Reno got to work, walking in the front one of the other workers stopped him. "Hey, Reno. Good new." "What?" "You don't have to work tonight, you can just go home." "Serious?" "Yep." "Alright...Tell the boss that I can come off graveyard." "He was taking you off it anyway, doesn't need you falling asleep on the job." "Right...Well, later then." Reno left with a smirk. He got back on his bike and rode home. As he walked towards his room he stopped before opening the door. "Schad's right next door...Let's check and see if she's alright..." He went over to Schadenfreude's room and knocked on the door. " 'Ey, Schad, you alive in there? Say nothin' if your unconscious and need 'elp."
-
Shinzuu scratched the back of his head, noticing Veronica's disappointment, "I'm sorry. I didn't want to make you feel bad. It's just that you really intrigued me. I mean, come on, we even had Schad with us... I mean... it's not that I would choose her over you... oh boy, this is really awkward..." You frickin' idiot! Look what you did to her! Now she thinks you're only talking with her because she's a last resort girl. Oh god, you are stupid!
-
Veronica glanced over at him. Now she felt bad for making him feel bad. "Tell me about it..." She mumbled, then spoke up after that. "Don't worry about explaining. It's okay, I understand." She still wasn't sure about his true feelings and confusion swarmed through her head, but she didn't want him to feel bad either. Fear also swarmed in her head. She was afraid of possibly being rejected if she actually told him how she felt about him. She ran her fingers through her hair in frustration which ended up messing it up since it was tied in her usual pigtails, so she pulled the hair-ties off and shook her head slightly to have her hair fall around her shoulders evenly, putting the hair-ties on her wrist.
-
Schad rolled over onto her stomach and huffed, pushing her face into the bed until there was a knock at the door and Reno asking her if she was alright. "Uh.. Yeah, I'm fine." She scrambled off of her bed and about fell trying to slip into some pajama shorts that had skulls on them and a T-shirt. She thudded against the door after losing her balance while putting the shorts on. "Eh, just a second." When she finally clother herself to where she wasn't just in her underwear, she opened the door. "Heh, sorry."
-
Reno couldn't help but to check Schadenfreude out after she opened the door. "Oh, uhm...uh...You must 'ave been in bed. I'm sorry." Reno turned to look away nervously. "I was just uhm...Seein' if you were alright. Or if you needed anythin'...Or uhm...Well I see that your alright, sorry if I woke you. I guess I'll just be goin' then. See you in the mornin'." With that said Reno went into his room next door, closing it behind him. "Phew...that was close...I felt a nosebleed comin'..." He pushed himself off the door and walked over to his bed. He wasn't tired, so he wouldn't be able to get any sleep. He looked at his violin case that sat on the bed next to him. "Hmm..." He got up and headed to one of his nightstands, opening the drawer he looked through some books finally pulling one out. It was a book entitled "Violin Sheet music". "Ah...I 'aven't done this in awhile." Reno grabbed his violin case off his bed and headed back out of his room. Instead of heading out the front exit he went out the back, which was passed Schadenfreude's room. Once out he stepped out into some a patio, there were a few benches around a large tree in the middle. Reno climbed up into the tree and sat on a branch. He set the book open on some over head branches, took out his violin and started flipping through the pages of the book. He found a long song, the title was worn and not legible but Reno knew it was the one he wanted. Under the moonlight and stars he started playing a sad sounding song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIuotFZnBtk). The song was heard through the hotel, people were used to Reno playing and no one ever minded because the songs he usually played were soft and somewhat soothing. Dorris was talking to Alexia at the front counter when they heard Reno playing. They went out back to get a better listen to Reno playing, sitting quietly on a bench listening.
-
As they got into the housing district, Shinzuu felt more and more uneasy. Not only is he with the only girl who's ever captured his heart, he's also reliving his past, bringing in many suppressed emotions, and made sure that he didn't show it. However, the silence they walked in was broken as an old raccoon came out of her house and spotted the couple. "Oh, little Shinny! How are you? I haven't seen you in years. My, how you've grown. I also see you've found yourself a nice woman to complement you."
-
Veronica hated the silence. She felt like she was suffocating in it as they walked along. She wanted to say something, to get him to talk to her again so she could hear his voice. The problem was that her brain just wouldn't come up with words to make a conversation. When the old raccoon came out of her house and started speaking to Shinzuu, she slowed down to a stop. Her cheeks turned a very deep shade of red at what the woman said. She wondered how the woman knew Shinzuu but figured that he must have lived in the area before and just ended up moving to a different area since she had no idea where he even lived. She glanced over at Shinzuu wondering if he was going to deny them being together or even knowing her. She hoped he wouldn't.
-
"No, it's fine, I wasn't really doing anything." She said, but before he could hear her, he had already vanished. She stood there, propped up against the door frame, somewhat confused, but shrugged. She guessed he was just tired or something. The possum stepped inside and closed the door, leaning against it for a moment before she heard Reno's door open. Her ears perked somewhat, and she looked to the crack under the door to see a shadow pass in front of it. She yawned, not really thinking anything about it until notes from a violin drifted into the hotel. This time, she was curious.
Opening her door, she saw a couple of the maids going down the hallway, the same direction as Reno. So she followed. When the two found a bench to sit at Schad kind of hung back, so as to not disturb what was already going on. While she did like face paced, sometimes hectic music, mainly all types of rock and techno, she also liked it when anyone took it upon themselves to make music. In truth, she had a soft spot for watching street performers. She scanned the area, looking for Reno, assuming he came to watch, too.
-
As Reno sat on his branch he heard the others come out to listen to him, he just figured it was the usual late night smokers along with Alexia and Dorris. He didn't think Schadenfreude would be there too, listening. If he did look he probably would have noticed, but he just finished the song and started to flip through his book for another. Dorris sat on a bench near the door next to Alexia, they whispered back and forth with one another. "I love when Reno does this, it's so nice." said Dorris to Alexia. "I agree, he's pretty good. Can really set the atmosphere..." As the two kept whispering Reno had started his next song. Illumination by Secret Garden. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XB97k312nDw&NR=1) Alexia looked and saw Schadenfreude out there too. "Hey, you must be Schadenfreude. Reno's little girlfriend. I'm glad to see you're back. Reno's been really bummed out when you were in the hospital. He also payed for your room in your absence. Such a nice kid." "Yeah, it's a real shame his parents weren't around to see what a man he's grown into."
-
Shinzuu smiled uneasily as he waved to the elderly woman. "Hey, Mrs. Peeman. You're as lively as ever. And yes, I guess she complements me, because I sure don't complement her." He chuckled nervously. "Nonsense! You're such a handsome boy! She's very lucky. If your father were here today, he would be beside himself to see you become so athletic. Young lady, you know that this boy used to be the most unpopular and overweight child in all of Feral City?" She cackled happily as she went back into her house. Shinzuu cleared his throat nervously as they walked on, "Mrs. Peeman, is a shut-in for the most part, but she's really nice. She used to bake me a lot of cookies and snacks. My mother taught her how to bake after her husband died of old age. Nowadays, she is pretty much slowly slipping into senility." Shinzuu stopped as he remembered how Mrs. Peeman called them a couple and clearred his throat again and walked on, turning very red that it's just barely visible under his stripes.
-
Veronica scoffed in her mind when Shinzuu said he didn't complement her. He was a good looking guy and the fact that he had so many girls, and guys, fawning over him should have been enough to prove that to him. Her cheeks remained a deep red at the thought of how he had agreed that her looks were a complement to him, which was basically him saying that she was pretty. He also hadn't denied them being a couple, so that was even more reason for her blush to remain. Veronica barely heard what Shinzuu said after Mrs. Peeman went back into her house though because her thoughts were still lingering on the fact that the woman had said that his father wasn't around, knowing that the woman had meant that he had died. "It's hard to believe that you were ever chubby and unpopular." She said with a chuckle but it faded off quickly. She was silent for a minute before she spoke again, but this time in a soft tone. "I didn't know your dad died..." She looked over at him, spotting the barely visible redness on his cheeks, then looked down at the ground as she walked, hoping she wasn't making him feel uncomfortable by saying something. "Probably not the best subject, you moron. Now he's probably going to get upset and hate you for bringing it up..."
-
"Ah, yeah, well, I mean, I am a girl, and I am his friend." She rubbed her head and perched behind the bench between the two. She didn't sit with them because she didn't want to feel like she was intruding, but she continued to listen, somewhat picking up on what the other two was saying. She hadn't even bothered to change, so she probably looked ridiculous in Skull pajama shorts and a baggy T-shirt.
-
Reno still played to the end of the song, he wasn't really tired so there wasn't really a point to not keep playing. But he didn't feel he should play through the night either. Finished with the song he started putting his violin away. Grabbing his case and book he hopped out of the tree. He started to walk back to the door when he saw Schadenfreude there. He didn't even notice Dorris and Alexia, even though they were in front of her. The two stood up smiling. "Great job, Reno." "Night, Reno." They headed inside and Reno just stood there looking at Schadenfreude. "Uhm...'ey, Shad. What're you doin' out 'ere? And..." He couldn't help but to look at what she was wearing. "In your pajamas..." He looked away feeling a bit embarrassed since she was in her PJ's, and outside..."So...Uhm...Wanna 'ead inside? It's a little cold out tonight. Don't want you to go back to the 'ospital any time soon now." Reno headed to the door and held it open, waiting for Schadenfreude to go in. "Ladies first."
-
Shinzuu choked a little at the mention of his father, but he kept to himself. He walked Veronica up to the gate of her house this time, but stopped short. "Well, uh... I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow." This was the first time that Shinzuu had actually noticed Veronica's body. Her eyes shimmered with her fur in the moonlight, and the curvatures of her body just seemed to pop into his eyes. She was truly beautiful indeed.
-
Veronica took the hint that his father wasn't a subject he was comfortable talking about. She turned to him when they stopped at the gate and noticed how much he blended into the night. She loved the way his black and silver fur shimmered in the moonlight and the way his eyes seemed like they went on forever in the darkness. "Yeah, see ya tomorrow." She responded with a smile and pretended not to notice that he was taking all of her in. She went through the gate, closed it, then went up the walk and up the stairs, opening the door and stepping inside. She turned around as she closed the door and gave Shinzuu a small wave with her fingers and smiled again, then she gently shut the door and locked it, looking through the peep hole in the door at Shinzuu to see what he would do.
-
"Listening to that weird street performer that likes to be in trees more than the street." she said, playfully shoving him, while following behind. When he held the door for her, she replied with a "Thank ya sir," and then continued. "You know, you worry too much. If I were going to be in the hospital again, I'd make sure it was damned well worth it with whatever I did. I wouldn't go back for a cold."
-
Reno smirked as she explained why she was out there. After she said not to worry as they walked down the hallway he scratched the back of his head nervously. "Uhm...Sorry. I just don't want you to be hurt. I like you." His eyes widened realizing what he said. "As a friend, I like you as a friend. Not like like you! But it's not like I wouldn't like like you! I just- It's just-......Sorry...I'm no good at talking to girls...Expecia-" "Open mouth insert foot! Real smooth." Reno stood by the wall opposite Schadenfreude's door paw to face and nervous as ever. "Uhm...Well uhmm....Yeah...I should probably stop pesterin' you...I'm sure your tired."
-
Shinzuu began to walk back home, but turned just his head to look at the house again. A tear slowly made its way from the corner of his eye and down his fur before hitting the ground. Shinzuu made his way home and stopped at the convenience store. He bought a bottled green tea and a 200 Yen lotto ticket. Shinzuu sighed as he walked in through the door of his apartment. It was late, so his mother was already asleep. For once, Shinzuu didn't feel like practicing and went straight to bed, the feelings of his past still weighing heavy on his heart.
-
Veronica saw the glimmer of the tear on Shinzuu's face as he turned his head back towards the house and immediately wished she hadn't looked through the peep hole. She sighed, feeling bad for bringing up the past but the old raccoon had mentioned it so she just felt the need to say something at the time. She quietly when up to her room, hoping that Shinzuu would make it home okay but with the display he made when he had stood up for her in the hospital she was pretty sure he'd have no trouble. She went into the bathroom next to her room and brushed her teeth, then went to her room and closed the door before changing into her pajamas. She removed the hair-ties from her wrist and set them on her bureau then walked over to the window and looked out into the direction that Shinzuu had gone, knowing she wouldn't see him. "I'm sorry." It was barely a whisper, then she turned away from the window. She crawled under her covers and quickly fell asleep, dreams about Shinzuu flooding her mind, but they weren't all happy.
-
Schad didn't really know what to think, but she kinda stumbled over her thoughts as she stood there. She was a little uneasy. She didn't like relationships at all, so she just clasped her hands together and took a deep breath, patting his shoulder. "Ah, see you worry too much, you just need to chill." she said, somewhat rushed. After that she started down the hall, somewhat unnerved until she got to her door, where she realized she had locked herself out. Reno was nice, but.. She just wasn't used to this kind of stuff. Being around the others made her nervous, but she shrugged it off most the time. As she stood there at her locked door, she thudded her head against the door, feeling stupid for running off on PJ's and not taking her key.
-
Reno saw Schadenfreude pounding her head on her door, he figured she locked her door. "Oh boy...Two ways this can go down...Offer her your room...Or...Use THIS!" Reno took out a spare key to her room and unlocked her door for her. "Tha's enough of tha' now...I got a spare key after your incident...Just incase somethin' else 'appened. Not like I wanted to sneak into your room or anythin'! Just you know, if you needed 'elp an' your door was locked. Anyway, you take it. I don't need to worry, right?" Reno smiled, put the key in her hand and went into his room. But just before entering he turned to her. "Night, Schad. Sleep well."
-
Shinzuu woke up the next morning to his mother's racket for the first time since the first day of school. Shiori pestered him throughout the morning, "So, dear. Where did YOU go last night? Your coach told me that you ditched out on practice for the second day in a row." Shinzuu growled at her between his breakfast, "We went to the hospital again today and we busted our friend out. I BS'd the documents before we ran out, since my friend's mother is a drunkard, and she's staying with my other friend who lives at the Feral Hotel." Shiori made a pouting face, "See, Shinny? Everyone's getting laid but you! You're the school's star basketball player and you're the only one not getting some! And you can't expect me to believe you didn't do anything to that other girl! It's only a two hour back to the old neighborhood..." Flustered, Shinzuu just about jumped out of his chair in anger, "WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING! We just walked slower than usual and we got caught in a talk with Mrs. Peeman. And furthermore, Schad and Reno aren't even staying in the same room. We're all just friends, nothing more! I'm going to school." Shinzuu stormed off and grabbed his things and left for school. He hated his mother's jesting and would rather show up at school an hour early rather than listen to her rattle off.
-
When Veronica woke up the next morning, she went through her normal routine. She took a shower, blow-dried her hair, changed her clothes, had breakfast, and brushed her teeth. Her parents were already gone so she wasn't asked about why she had been out so late the night before. She couldn't help but wonder how Shinzuu was doing the whole time she was getting ready. Finally, she put on her shoes, grabbed her bag, and headed out the door. She was actually eager to get to school so she could see Shinzuu though she didn't know when she'd see him since they were in different grades.
-
"Ah, thanks." Schad said, returning his goodnight. She went in her room and laid on her bed for a while, staring at the ceiling reviewing things that had happened to her recently. She wondered when the hospital would come looking for her, and she also wondered how much she had missed at school. It wasn't long until she drifted off.
----
The next morning, she took another shower and dug through her stuff in order to find a new change of clothes. When she did, she looked into her wallet at her bank card. When her dad had passed away, he had left a good bit of money. She wondered if she should tap into a little of it to get some essentials for her living space. She brushed her teeth before she stepped outside her room, wondering if she should wait for Reno.
-
Reno had woken up fairly early, not really all that tired. He changed clothes, brushed his teeth and headed to go play some games for awhile until it was time to head off to school. In the mean time he was wondering if he should ask Schadenfreude if they wanted to walk together. But he was too nervous to end up doing it. When the time came he grabbed his things and headed for the door. Opening it he saw Schadenfreude outside. "Oh, uhm...'ey, Schad." He looked around nervously. "So..Uhm...Wanna....Walk to school together? It's fine if you don't, I'll go by myself. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable or anything." Down the hall at the front desk Dorris and Alexia were listening in on them. "Poor Reno, he's not good at talking to ladies..." "Yeah..."
-
Shinzuu yawned as he sat in his homeroom, not really rested, since his dreams were constantly plagued by his memories of his father. He stared out the window most of the time, and was surprised to see someone else who had come before school started. It was Veronica. His face turned red beneath his fur and he just laid his head down, embarrassed at the memory of him sounding like he chose her to be his friend because she was the only girl he could get close to without breaking out into hives.
-
Veronica sighed as she walked through the front doors of the school. She sang softly to herself as she walked through the halls and got into her locker. She put her bag in her locker and grabbed her books and binders for the first half of her classes. She continued to sing softly to herself as she took her time walking through the halls to her homeroom. She walked into the room and took her usual seat in the back closest to the door.
-
"Well, I wasn't just standing here to admire the wallpaper," she replied to Reno with a wide toothy grin, "Plus, if I made you go alone, that would mean I'd have to follow you and throw rocks at from behind." She waited for a response, thinking she might make him somewhat nervous because it seemed he never really got her humor, which was okay, because no one ever really did.
-
Reno chuckled nervously and walked with Schadenfreude to school, not really saying anything. It was really his first time walking with anyone to school, especially a girl. When they got to school he say his goodbye and went off to class. Early like normal he tried to sleep but still couldn't, so instead he listened to some music on his iPod. He had recently taken a liking to a song which he played often. Blood Sugar by Pendulum. He played the song and sat back listening to it until class started. Really the only thing he was looking forward to was lunch, partly because he liked eating and he enjoyed being around Schadenfreude and the others.
-
The day was really boring. Shinzuu only had one enjoyable time, and that was Gym Class because it was the last day of soccer, meaning the girls' last day of swimming and also means that tomorrow was basketball, and the guys will concentrate more. The boys were especially more distracted, trying to get their last peeks of the girls in their swim uniforms before they're forced to go inside.
-
Veronica's day went on like any other day. When it came time for gym class, she decided she was going to enjoy it while it lasted since she loved it when they could swim and today was the last day of swimming. As she stood by the pool with some of the other girls, she could feel guys' eyes on them. "Don't you have some soccer to play!" She turned her head and snapped at them. She tucked her hair underneath her swim-cap and climbed up on one of the platform, preparing to dive off into the water with four other swimmers.
-
Schad didn't like her day. She had to explain where she was several times, and in the end, it left her irritated. She took her irritation out on painting, and managed to get several expressive pieces done before it was time to go back in again. They weren't particularly good in her own eyes, but her teacher liked them save for the subject matter. A lot of them were just random scattered organs and gore. She didn't really want to particularly be in class. After a short while, she was called to the office. Apparently, her mom had found out about her hospital escapade and wasn't very happy about it. She would be picking her up from school today, there were no ifs ands or buts about it.
-
Reno's day went by, dull as ever. Swim practice at the end was very tiring having to put forth triple the effort. The coach was hounding him the entire time. But he offered, so he couldn't really do anything about it. Besides, he was able to help Schadenfreude out of the hospital. At least he didn't have chess club anymore, which also worked out towards the hard swim practice. When that was all over he started heading for work. As he walked to work the boys from before returned. They were still too far off to see who they were. Reno walked a bit faster, still thinking they were the biker gang that Schadenfreude's boyfriend was apart of. "Oh man...They're followin' me! Stay calm...Be cool...They probably just want to beat me, mug me and drag me through the city chained to their bikes. That's all, nothin' to worry about. Just...Keep...Walkin'...Almost to work...Aaaalmost to-(Censored) it! Running now!" Reno took off running the last of the way to the safety of his workplace.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he ran through the rest of the day. Track practice was his least favorite since the coach made him run miles until it was time for basketball because of skipping the last two days. He grumbled up until he was allowed to leave. However, it wasn't any easier at basketball practice. It was the exact same thing. For the first time ever, Shinzuu couldn't wait for practice to be over.
-
Veronica spent her time before cheering practice on the bleachers outside reading a book from the library. About ten minutes before practice started, she headed inside and changed into her practice clothes. As she walked into the gym, she switched her hair from being tied in pigtails to being tied in a ponytail, putting the extra hair-tie on her right wrist. Practice was all about working on their cheering routine for the regional competition.
-
After her day, she headed outside to wait for her mom. She wasn't too thrilled about it, and honestly wanted to avoid it, but the principal had made it clear that she would be walked outside if she didn't go on her own accord. Though, she wouldn't go with her mom if she smelled alcohol on her, she decided. She sat on the curb, holding her head, lost in thought waiting for her dismal fate. She was sure her mother was furious.
-
Reno was pretty bored at work, really the only thing he enjoyed was his break. He ordered himself a plate of chicken fingers. He ate in silence in the corner booth where him and the others sat before. He was curious what Schadenfreude was up to, hopefully she got home okay. Once his break was over he worked double time to eventually be let off a bit early. So he got out of his work clothes and headed home. No sight of those boys on the way luckily. He got to his room and decided to knock on Schadenfreude's door, but no answer. He then went into his room and went onto his laptop to play some games until it was time to get ready for bed.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he dragged his legs out of practice. He hated running more than anything in the world. If it was playing basketball, he was fine, but running sucked in his mind. Shinzuu caught Veronica's eyes and motioned that he would wait for her at the gate. He walked over towards the gate by himself and sat against the end of the wall, where the gate opens at. Something didn't feel right, but he couldn't put his finger on it.
-
Veronica responded to Shinzuu's motion with a nod and turned her attention back to what she was doing. Her practice concluded and she headed out of the gym. She walked through the halls and went out the front door. Walking towards the gate, she saw Shinzuu sitting by the end of the wall and moved towards him. "Did you want to talk to me or something?" She asked, looking down at him as she stood in front of him.
-
It wasn't long until her mother showed up in a car that had seen better days. Schad kept her head down, she didn't want to go back home and even so, it's not like she could fight it. Her arms started shaking again, anxiety building as the car came to a stop at the curb; if she hadn't rolled backward, she'd have gotten hit by it. She looked behind it to see if anyone else had seen it, but apparently, no one had. For the most part, it seemed most the kids had dispersed to their way home. As she got to her feet, the door flung open, her mother calling out. "YOU LITTLE BRAT! Where have you been?!"
Schad got into the car without answering closing the door behind her. If anyone had been watching they would have seen her mother yelling, Schad ignoring her for the most part through the windows until her mom smacked her across the face. Once she had done that, Schad grabbed her backpack, infuriated, and kicked the door of the car open, stepping out, walking in one direction, her mother yelling out behind her, threatening to throw out what things she had left where they live out into the streets.
---
Schad began to walk to the park. She didn't care for anything at the moment, she couldn't believe her mom had acted that way at the school, nonetheless, but the putrid smell of alcohol had filled her nostrils when she sat in the car, and once she had gotten out, she hadn't planned to get back in. If her mother wanted to drive drunk and act in such a way, she didn't much care if something happened to her. Once she got to the park, she took a bench and sprawled out on it, digging in her pack for a sketchbook. She planned to stay until dark or later.
-
Reno closed his laptop and stood up. "Gah....So bored..." He walked over to his mini fridge and took out a can of Cola. Opening it he took a big drink, undressed and went to go take his shower. Though this time he took a bath rather than a shower, he just relaxed, drinking his soda and thinking. "Hmm...Wonder what the others are up to? Wonder where Schad went...I 'ope she's alright...Maybe I should've offered to walk 'er 'ome too...I'm an idiot..." Reno took another drink of his Cola and held it to his forehead to cool him a bit. "Hmm...Wonder if they 'ave cell phones...Speakin' of cell phones...Need to charge mine." Reno downed the last of his Cola and finished up with his bath. It took about 30 minutes, once he was done he wandered over to his pants. He grabbed them and took out his phone, sure enough, it was dead. "Figures...well lets leave it on the charger..." Reno went over to his bag, which was where he last remember his charger being. Looking around in it he couldn't find it. "Damnit...Where'd I put tha' thing?" He sighed and set his phone on the table next to his laptop. " 'ope no one feels like callin' me...Bah, who am I kiddin'? Who would call me?"
-
Shinzuu (having faced the school the entire time) gave a nervous smile, "I actually was wondering if you could help me with my English. I was never really good at it, and my grades are slipping in it. Would you mind if I came over? Unless you want to put up with my mother's foolishness." Shinzuu blushed underneath his fur. He had never asked for help before, let alone spend time with a girl in a place such as an apartment or house. It almost sounded like he was perverted and just wanted to do her like any other typical jock would try.
-
Veronica wasn't too worried when Shinzuu asked if she could help him or the fact that the helping would happen at her house. The only thing that made her nervous was the fact that it was him and she liked him, so the idea of spending more time with him made her happy and nervous at the same time. "Sure, I can help you out. I mean, you're a year ahead of me but it's not like there will be much of a difference." She responded with a slight shrug. "And I don't mind you coming over, but let me just call my dad so he doesn't have a fit because I didn't tell him. He trusts me and all that, but he doesn't like not knowing things." She rolled her eyes and took out her cell phone. "...Hey, is it okay if Shinzuu comes over? He needs my help with some of his homework...Yes, Dad, I know...Alright...Okay, thanks...Love you...Bye." The phone conversation wasn't that long and she flipped her phone closed before putting it away. "He said that it's fine if you come over." She said with a smile, wondering if he was going to worry about what her dad had been saying at the other end of the conversation.
-
Schad layed on the bench for a while, sketching different things, but nothing good, so she wound up building a pile of paper balls at her head. After a while, she gave up and tossed her sketchbook into the grass behind her, sighing. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her iPod, and placed them in her ears, putting it on a song she often listened to to comfort her, Modest Mouse - Float On. She hummed it and closed her eyes, drifting off.
-
Reno was pacing back and forth in his room scratching his head in thought. "Where could Schad be?! She 'asn't come 'ome yet. Maybe something 'appened to 'er! Oh man...It's all my fault. Gwuah! Okay...think...Think...Where would she be? 'ospit- No, don't jinx it! Okay...maybe she's still at school? No...I doubt that...Maybe she's just sleeping in 'er room. I'm just over thinking on this. Yeah that's it...Too bad I gave 'er the spare key...She would have come to the door if I was there right? Bah! I can't stop thinkin' about 'er! Why?! Maybe I should Google it...Yes, Google knows all. Lets do that!" Reno plopped down in his chair and opened his laptop. He brought up a browser and went to Google. "What to type in...Hmm..." He typed in "can't stop thinking about her". It brought up something about a relationship discussion website. "Relationship discussion...? Am I...In love?! No, I can't be! She's my friend! I can't think about 'er like that!" He smacked his head into his desk and sat there for several minutes. "I need something to drink..." Reno closed his laptop, still on the website and went to his fridge. He knelt down to see what was in it, nothing. "Guess I'm goin' out..." He got back up, and went to go get dressed. When he was done dressing he grabbed his keys, iPod and went out the door. he put in his earpieces and started to walk to the store. He decided to take a shortcut through the park. All the while listening to some Rise Against. As he was passing some benches, not even noticing Schadenfreude was on one of them he started talking to himself without even realizing it. "So I like 'er...Is that bad? What if she doesn't like me? Well that'd be awkward...Oi...Love is weird...Is that what it really is? You don't hang out with girls, so 'ow would you even know? Maybe I should 'ave Googled the symptoms..." In his confused and unobservant state of mind he passed right by Schadenfreude, even tripping over her bag. He just said "Sorry" and kept on walking towards the store.
-
Shinzuu chuckled nervously and looked off to the side as he got up. "Actually, I'm taking primary school English. I may be a year older, but I'm in the G class. I'm just barely scraping by on minimum standards. To be honest, the only English I know is only from basketball terms. Everything beyond that, I don't know anything..." He blushed in embarrassment as he just spilled another one of his weaknesses.
-
Veronica could tell that Shinzuu was embarrassed and she felt bad that he was. "I get really nervous when it comes to making speeches." She blurted out the weakness like it might help him feel better, but it mainly made her feel embarrassed as well. She walked out of the gate with Shinzuu and started in the direction of her house. She looked at the ground as she walked, trying to think of something to say to strike up a conversation.
-
Oh it would have been, could have been, worse than you would ever know~
Oh the dashboard melted but we still have the radio~
She had left it on repeat and hadn't moved. She had accidentally dozed off, and somehow it had gotten tangled within her dreams. She was in the hospital again, this time, the music was playing in the halls, and it had seemed like a twilight zone episode she had seen before for some reason, though there was no episode like the situation she was in. They were rolling her down the hallway, a doctor putting a mask over her face to put her down, as soon as the bed hit the double doors, she jerked awake. Her pack had apparently been hooked around her foot and it jerked her awake when someone tripped over it. Looking up to see the offender with her teeth grit, she saw Reno. She took her headphones off, wondering what his problem was. She only managed to hear him say, "Maybe I should 'ave googled the symptoms."
Without thinking, she crammed everything she jerked out of her bag back into it, leaving her sketchbook behind in the grass as she tried to catch up with him. She had an armful of paper balls that she had planned to dump in the trash can at the entrance of the park.
-
Reno was still completely oblivious to the fact Schadenfreude was behind him. He was still listening to his music. He kept walking on until he reached the stop light, waiting for it to change. He pushed the button for it to go faster but he was still having to stand there. He put his paw to his face and slid it down to his chin. "Too bad I didn't 'ave my phone...Could 'ave used it to Google-" As he talked to himself he pulled his earphones out and heard someone coming up behind him so he stopped short. He turned and saw Schadenfreude then looked back across the street thinking nothing of it. "Wait...Was that..." He looked back again and sure enough it was her. "Schad! Uhm...Uh...What're you doin' out 'ere? I mean uhm...'ow ya doin'?" "Oh man...Was she behind me the whole time? Was I talkin' outloud when I said those things?! More important, did she 'ear me?! Oh man...'ow am I goin' to explain it?! Should I just come out with it? No! She has a boyfriend! She's off limits! Gah! This is so 'ard...Love is confusing...."
-
Shinzuu followed Veronica in silence. It made him feel a little better that she also had issues with her English, but it kind of shook his confidence in her helping him in the long run. However, it didn't really matter since he was at least 3 years behind her in English anyways, and that he was just doing bare minimums. However, what really made him sweat and worry was returning to that old house...
-
Veronica felt the silence fall between herself and Shinzuu again. Try as she may, she couldn't think of anything to say to break the silence. Whenever she glanced over at Shinzuu, it looked as though something were troubling him and she had a feeling that it wasn't his trouble with English. As they walked and she looked down at the ground, she got to the point where she forgot that she wasn't alone and started to sing softly to herself like she did a lot when she needed something occupy her mind.
"You're on the phone with your girlfriend, she's upset
She's going off about something that you said
She doesn't get your humor like I do
I'm in the room, it's a typical Tuesday night
I'm listening to the kind of music she doesn't like
And she'll never know your story like I do
But she wears short skirts, I wear t-shirts
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming 'bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're lookin' for has been here the whole time
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
You belong with me
Walkin' the streets with you in your worn out jeans
I can't help thinking this is how it ought to be
Laughing on the park bench thinkin' to myself
Hey isn't this easy?
And you've got a smile that could light up this whole town
I haven't seen it in awhile, since she brought you down
You say you find I know you better than that
Hey, whatcha doing with a girl like that?
She wears high heels, I wear sneakers
She's cheer captain and I'm on the bleachers
Dreaming bout the day when you wake up and find
That what you're looking for has been here the whole time
If you could see that I'm the one who understands you
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
Standin' by, waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that?
You belong with me
You belong with me
Oh I remember you driving to my house in the middle of the night
I'm the one who makes you laugh when you know you're about to cry
I know your favorite songs and you tell me about your dreams
I think I know where you belong. I think I know it's with me.
Can't you see that I'm the one who understands you?
Been here all along so why can't you see?
You belong with me
Standing by, waiting at your back door
All this time how could you not know that
You belong with me
You belong with me
Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me
You belong with me."
-
"I'm at the park, too?" she laughed, the continued, throwing the paper balls away, "And some jerk tripped over my backpack, but eh, I could be better, but I'm here. Where are you headed to?" She asked curiously. Among the many things she wanted to do when she got back to the apartment, maybe they could play some videogames or something. She didn't really know what he was into.
-
Reno chuckled nervously when she responded. "Oh, uhm...Right...I was just 'eadin' to the store to get a few things..." The light changed and he started walking across the street, hoping she would follow. He walked into the store, grabbed a basket and zipped through the aisles kind of quickly. He got in a short line, so it went pretty fast. He exited the store with his bag of groceries, mostly soda and junk food. "So uhm...Goin' my way?" Reno asked with a slight chuckle and smile looking at Schadenfreude.
-
Shinzuu's ears perked as Veronica began to sing. It was a wonderful voice and he didn't want to disturb her until she finished. "That was very nice. Is it that American song from Kerry Clark? I've heard a lot of the other girls in my class talk about her quite often. What is that song about? I don't recognize the words since my English is so bad, but I do remember the tune."
-
Veronica blushed instantly as Shinzuu's voice reminded her again that she wasn't alone. "Oh great, you just sang in front of him! Well...at least he said it was nice and now we're talking again..." She thought hurriedly to herself. "Oh, um, thanks." She said in a nervous tone. "Actually, it's a different singer. Her name's Taylor Swift. I think the one you're thinking of is Kelly Clarkson, but I like her too. The song is basically about how this boy the singer likes has a girlfriend, but the singer feels that the boy belongs with her and not the girl he's with. Basically she's saying that she knows him better than the other girl and that she has more in common with him than the other girl does too." She hoped he wouldn't think that she was singing it as a hint to him with the description she gave him.
-
Schad had followed Reno into the store, but she didn't take as long as he did given that the two things she wanted were near the door. She had bought a chocolate milk and some gummy worms because since they had moved here, she hadn't really had them. She was only lucky to occasionally get them at americanized stores. She was often disappointed with the lack of her favorite candy: Pop Rocks. Sometimes her friends on the net would mail them to her, which she was thankful for. As she stood outside reminiscing with her bag in hand, it wasn't long before Reno joined her. When he asked if she was heading his way, she nodded, "I think I should given that all my stuff is at the hotel and I need to pay for it." Upon using the card in the store, she had gotten some cash back; enough to pay for a few nights until she could get to the bank.
-
Reno walked with Schadenfreude back to the hotel. Along the way to his room he spotted something in the hallway. He bent down and picked it up. "My charger, wonder 'ow it got out 'ere...?" he shrugged and went into his room, set the bags on his bed and plugged in his phone. For laughs he checked his missed calls, there was three over the passed couple days. All from Jessica. He called her back, when she picked up her voice sounded sad. "Jessica? You called? What's up?" "Reno it's bad! Something happened!" "Woah woah, calm down, tell me what happened." "It's Nero, he-..." There was a pause on the Jessica's end. "What happened to Nero...?" "...He was shot..." Reno lost his ability to hold himself up and he just fell onto the floor at the foot of his bed, barely grabbing onto the bed. "Is he-" "He's dead!" "I-...Wh-...'ow did it 'appen?!" "He was shot in a driveby!" Reno flashed back to the dream he had been having, it filled his head until Jessica spoke again. "Reno...Are-" "I'll be fine...I'll fly out as soon as I can to attend the funeral..." "Thanks, Reno..." Reno hung up and tossed the phone. He sat there for a moment. He shook his head. "I can't believe this..." He stood up and looked at his door which he left open. He went over and slammed it closed. He didn't notice if Schadenfreude was inside, outside, or where ever. He was too caught up in the news. "Why!?" he shouted kicking over his chair. He shoved the stuff on his desk onto the floor and started punching it, screaming "No" every time he did. Soon tears ran from his eyes and he collapsed on his bed.
The next day...
Reno woke up early and went to school, straight to the Principal's office. He explained his situation to Ms. Yass. She understood and decided to give him a few excused days to go to his best friend's funeral. She was going to express her condolences but he left before she could. He went home to arrange a flight for the next day. If anyone had seen Reno he looked very angry but depressed and sad. He was also unresponsive to anyone the whole day.
-
Shinzuu felt a little stupid for the mix-up, but it didn't show. He didn't really listen to American music anyways, so it didn't much bother him for more than 1 second. He was always more of a Hiroshi Aoyagi fan and, of course, Satou Akemi. But he feigned a smile and chuckled, "Yea, I guess you're right. I'm not really up with the whole American music fad. However, it still sounds beautiful." Of course, Shinzuu was completely oblivious to Veronica's hints, being so tired from all the running he's done today. By the time they reached Veronica's gate, he was hesitant to pass at first, but forced himself inside.
-
Veronica didn't really think of it as a fad, she just really liked American music. Of course, she also liked the Beatles and they were British. She didn't say anything after Shinzuu spoke though. She walked through the gate in silence then closed it after he walked through. Then she walked up the walkway to the steps and then up to the front door. She opened the door and stepped inside, leaving the door open for him as she dropped her bag on the floor and bent down to take her shoes off.
-
Schad was in utter awe as it seemed like Reno dashed off and completely ditched her slamming the door in her face. She really didn't know what to say at it, so she just made her way in her room where she put her chocolate milk in the mini fridge and the gummy worms on the bed. She decided she'd go pay rent on where she was living, so she made her way to the front desk, laying what she had to pay for her night there and then silently returned to her room. She popped in Fatal Frame in her PS2 and played.
-
Shinzuu followed Veronica after they had entered the house and taken their shoes off. Memories of his past in this house flooded his mind, and made him kind of fade into the past. However, he snapped out of his daze as he remembered why he was here in the first place. Shinzuu knew this house too well, despite the redecoration, but he let Veronica tell him where to go.
-
Veronica walked into the kitchen and poured herself a glass of chocolate milk then grabbed a box of Triscuits. "Do you want a drink or something?" She asked him and then walked out of the kitchen. "You can help yourself if you do. Drinks are in the fridge, obviously. Glasses are in the cupboard to the left of the microwave. Snacks are in the cupboard to the right of the fridge." She said, pointing out each spot as she mentioned it. She tucked the box of Triscuits under her right arm and kept holding the glass in her right hand as she picked up her bag from the floor by the shoes with her left hand. "So where do you want to study? At the dining room table *gestures toward the dining room* or in the living room *gestures toward the living room*?" She took a drink of her chocolate milk while looking at him and waiting for him to reply.
-
She sat there, a little bored and unentertained.. She was playing through parts of the game she had already beaten because she had accidentally saved over her more senior game. It wasn't really as tense the second time around, which was a relief to her. She stuffed a few gummy worms in her mouth as she continued on through the haunted house, taking a few minutes to stare at her phone as if to expect a call. She was bored stiff and she didn't really have very many friends.. She knew she shouldn't expect calls.
-
The rest of the study session went well. Shinzuu was now able to identify and pronounce 5 words in English, poorly, and was able to work on his penmanship. At the end of the night, at around 10pm, he had met both of Veronica's parents and was sweating as he suffered her father's stares the entire evening since his return. Shinzuu yawned and stretched as he packed his things to go and had done well to play dumb about his surroundings. Before he put his shoes on, he felt the urge to use the bathroom. "Oh, excuse me, I gotta go to the bathroom first." Without thinking, Shinzuu went up the stairs right next to the entrance and went in the bathroom on the first door on the left. He relieved himself and washed his hands after flushing and went back down the stairs, bending over to put his shoes on.
-
Veronica assisted Shinzuu as best she could but she had never thought she was any good at explaining/teaching things to people. She could tell that Shinzuu had become uncomfortable when her father got home but she didn't really see any reasoning for it. When Shinzuu went to leave, she stood there so she could say goodbye when he left and close the door behind him. When he mentioned that he needed to use the bathroom, she opened her mouth to tell him where it was but was caught off-guard by him heading in the right direction. "Did I tell him where it was already? No...I never even said what was upstairs... How'd he know?" She thought with a confused look on her face. The confused look was still on her face when Shinzuu came back downstairs and started to put his shoes on. "Uh...how did you know where the bathroom was? I know I didn't tell you." She asked as she looked at him.
-
After she got too bored to play any further into the game, she got her laptop and checked her messages. She wondered what was wrong with Reno, not only had he acted funny when he got a phone call, he also blew her off, which was unlike him. She wondered if it had anything to do with "googling the symptoms" that he had talked about earlier before he knew she was behind him. She read through messages and messages, until she was tired, then she curled up in her bed to go to sleep.
-
Shinzuu hastened putting on his shoes and slung his bags over his right shoulder. "I just... had a hunch, y'know? Plus, I had to go really bad. Well, I'll see you at school tomorrow. Thanks for helping me out and having me over." Shinzuu rushed right out the door and waved to Veronica before disappearing into the darkness. Oh, ******. That was close. Shinzuu you idiot. It was extremely late by the time he got home, so he just left his bags at the door with his shoes and went straight to bed.
-
Veronica knew he wasn't telling the truth. No one had hunches about where people's bathrooms were the first time they went to their houses, they always asked. She went back to her mom in the living room. "Mom...who did we buy this house from anyway?" She asked, looking at her mom. Her mom turned her attention away from the TV. "Hmm...I believe it was the Katame family. Why?" Her mom responded. "Just wondering. Night." Veronica went upstairs, brushed her teeth and used the bathroom, then went to her room and changed into her pajamas. "So that's why he has been acting strange when it comes to this house... Well, I'll just see if he tells me on his own sometime." She crawled into her bed, set her alarm, and went to sleep.
-
The next day seemed harder than usual for Schad to get out of bed. She felt unusually depressed, and didn't really care to see herself in the mirror that morning as she took her medication and her shower. After getting dress in her uniform, she sighed and pushed the door open. She was running a few minutes late as she started on her morning walk to school without Reno. When she got to class, it seemed as if things were running as if they were at the bottom of the ocean, she wound up falling back asleep on her desk.
-
The next morning was full of grief from Shiori again, and Shinzuu started to consider going back to practices every night again. He couldn't believe that the week has been going by so fast. Sunday is going to be the first track meet of the season, and the coach was really mad at him, still. However, Shinzuu was confident he'd still be allowed to compete. He made it to the school early and laid his head onto his desk. The previous night still plagued Shinzuu and his heart raced at the thought of Veronica finding out about his past.
-
Veronica groaned when her radio alarm clock went off and woke her up. After lying there for about five more minutes, she finally got up. She grabbed her uniform and went into the bathroom, taking a quick shower before changing into her uniform. She went downstairs and had a bowl of cereal, then went back upstairs and brushed her teeth. Finally, she went downstairs, grabbed her bag, and put her shoes on before heading out the door. She walked to school at her normal pace and realized as she entered the gate that she hadn't tied her hair like she usually did. She noticed her hair-ties were still on her wrist so she removed them and tied her hair in their usual loose pigtails. She walked inside the school and made a stop at her locker then headed to her homeroom.
-
Schad wasn't too thrilled about the rest of the day. She wasn't trilled actually until it was lunch time. It was the only time when the teachers weren't going on and on, and when there was no work. She felt starved by the time she got to the cafeteria, and headed to get her usual seat after getting her food, ignoring a few whistles from gay guys along the way. She wondered where Reno was when she saw he wasn't there. Boredly, she played with her food. She didn't have much of an appetite.
-
At lunch, Shinzuu sighed and did like he normally does and waited for all the females to exit the room. After they did, he went straight up to the roof and laid up there for a long while. Shinzuu closed his eyes and let the small breeze brush through what little fur he had exposed in combination with the mild sun that they were getting. Hopefully, this would be enough to clear his mind, as if he could be as lucky. Not even a minute went by when the sun was suddenly blocked. Shinzuu opened his eyes to find a few boys standing over him. "And what the hell do you guys want?" The boys were in a group, all behind what can be assumed as their leader, a white fox who had his hair died red and made into a small pompadour, and was chewing on a toothpick. "I heard you gave my cousin a hard time at the hospital earlier this week." Shinzuu sighed as he stood up, "Oh, that little sleeze rat was your cousin? No wonder he was such an (censored). Tell him that the next time he disrespects a girl, that it only be his mother." The fox spat out the toothpick and took one hand out of his pockets and made the hand signal for "get him". The six boys behind him rushed Shinzuu, trying to grab his arms and hit him. Shinzuu backed up, avoiding all the grapples and swings. He ended up backing into the fence on the border of the roof and put his hands up similar to a boxer's, though he really only copied what he saw on TV. Shinzuu feinted to the right to dodge another swing and struck back with as strong as a punch as he could make, not knowing how it would turn out. It connected with the first boy in the cheek and knocked him out cold. Shinzuu was completely surprised, but his hand hurt right away. Taking advantage of his surprise, the others grabbed Shinzuu and held him fast while the other three punched at his gut and face. Shinzuu reacted instinctively and jumped, using the grapplers' grip to swing up and kicked two of the guys away. He turned and then bit down on the other boy's hands, drawing blood and forcing him to let go. Once Shinzuu's right hand was free, he brought the arm around and punched the other grappler out. He took the same position as before and went in with the other 3. Shinzuu took a couple shots, but he knew he only needed to get in one hit. Within a minute or two, all 6 boys were down and out, leaving their leader standing there in front of him. The fox was holding a cleaning mop that had a rectangular, metal head. He rushed up to Shinzuu and took a hard swing while Shinzuu was still a little dazed and hit square on his head. Shinzuu's head went down from the impact and began to bleed profusely. He grunted and quickly grabbed the fox's swinging arm at the shoulder before he could recoil back. "You know what, Kagatou? You're just as despicable as he is, it must run in your family. Basketballs can take a lot of pressure so as not to pop. If I can pop them, i wonder what it does to your arm?" Shinzuu tightened his grip on Kagatou's shoulder and dug his thumb into the socket joint just above the armpit. Kagatou release the mop almost immediately and tried really hard to get Shinzuu's hand off as he panicked and winced in pain. With a quick jerk, Shinzuu swung the arm to one side, popping the arm out of the socket. Kagatou yelled in pain before he was punched and knocked out. Shinzuu's hands tremored furiously as the adrenaline continued to force his heart to race, coupled with just being shaken up by the fact that he had just been jumped. He checked his hands, and they were all bruised up, probably from throwing such strong improper punches. Shinzuu staggered over to the stairs from the roof and closed the door behind him, sitting against the railing. He sat there dazed, the blood still streaming down his face and onto his uniform from his head.
-
Veronica left her homeroom at lunchtime, putting her things in her locker and then heading to the cafeteria. She didn't feel hungry so she just looked around to see if she could find Shinzuu. All she saw that she actually noticed though was Schad sitting by herself. It made her wonder where Reno was but her mind was more focused on where Shinzuu was. She started walking back through the halls when she remembered the day where she had seen him on the roof when she was outside. "The roof...of course..." She walked to the door that opened to the stairs to the roof. She climbed the stairs and when she got near the top she spotted Shinzuu. She had started to smile until she saw the blood running down his face, causing her to run up the rest of the stairs that separated him. "Shinzuu! What happened to you?!" She exclaimed as she ran up the stairs. When she reached him, she examined his head and grimaced. "Come on, we've got to get you to the nurse." She made him stand up and put his left arm around her shoulders and put her right arm around his waist, just in case he had trouble standing and walking since he was losing blood, and started down the stairs.
-
Shinzuu groaned in his daze as Veronica helped him down to the second floor and to the nurse's office. He was laid down onto one of the two beds in the office and had his head covered by a towel by the nurse. "grrr.... dammit..." The nurse sighed as she walked over and turned the towel off of Shinzuu for a second and inspected his scalp. "What the hell did you get yourself into this time, Mr. Katame? It isn't practice time yet, and you've never been brought in for a head injury. *sighs* and it looks like you're not going to tell me, either. Miss Smith, you want to tell me what happened to him?"
-
The worry was quite obvious on Veronica's face as she watched the nurse deal with Shinzuu. When the nurse addressed her, she snapped out of her zoned out state. "I...I don't know. He didn't tell me what happened when I asked him either..." She said as she glanced at the nurse's face. "All I know is that I was wondering where he was and I remembered seeing him on the roof one day when I was outside, so I took a chance and went up the stairs to the roof to see if I could find him. He was sitting against the railing at the top of the stairs by the door when I found him. I didn't bother to look to see what was on the other side of the door... I was too worried about him..." She would face-palmed herself because of the last thing she said if the nurse hadn't been looking at her. She felt stupid and embarrassed that she had just confessed her worry when Shinzuu would obviously be able to hear her.
-
Her day continued to be uneventful as went through the motions of her normal day. She seemed to be more bored because Reno wasn't around... In art class, she couldn't even muster the mental prowess to sketch something. She had seemed to be like a rock until school let out and she found herself sitting on the sidewalk, staring off aimlessly. She wasn't quite ready to walk yet. She didn't quite feel up to walking home alone yet.
-
Reno's plane landed late in the night. He took a cab back to the hotel, it was such short notice he didn't even pack anything. He paid the cab and sighed walking back to his room. Walking in Alexia called over to him. "Hey, Reno. How was your flight?" Reno put on his usual happy face to try and hide his sorrow. "Oh, it was fine." "You never told me what you were doing, what was it?" "I went to see a friend...'e was...Sick. That's all. Anyway, it was a rough flight, I'm gonna turn in. Talk to ya later, Alexia." With that he waved and walked off. "Night, Reno." Reno walked into his room and closed the door behind him. His room was clean, even though he left it trashed out of anger. He went over to his nightstand and pulled a picture from a drawer. It was a picture of him and Nero, with Reno putting bunny ears behind him. Reno looked at the picture with a soft smile as he thought back on the good times he had with Nero. But the smile faded and he fell onto his bed crying.
-
The nurse sighed and waved Veronica away. "It's fine, child. You're free to head back to your homeroom. Lunch is almost over, I'll keep him hear and watch over him." Shinzuu spent the rest of the day in the nurses office and was then moved to the hospital at the end of the day. With the news, the track coach visited him before the end of the day, notifying Shinzuu that he had missed too many days and was kicked off the track team. The basketball coach did the same and Shinzuu became very depressed as he was loaded into the ambulance.
-
Veronica didn't want to leave Shinzuu there by himself and she didn't like being called 'child' but she did as the nurse told her. She glanced back at Shinzuu as she went out the door then got her stuff from her locker and went to her homeroom. She had to force herself to focus during her classes the rest of the day. She went to the nurse's office after her last class, expecting Shinzuu to be there, but when she got there the nurse told her that he was just sent off to the hospital in an ambulance. She left the nurse's office and sighed. She went through her normal routine of reading and then going to practice. She had already decided when she talked to the nurse that she was going to visit Shinzuu at the hospital so when practice was over she got her things from her locker and headed to the hospital. She lucked out when she got there because there was a different woman at the reception desk. She asked what room Shinzuu was in and headed to the room the receptionist told her that he was in. When she approached the door to the room, she took a deep breath before she entered slowly. "Hey Shinzuu. How are you doing?" She said softly with a kind smile on her face.
-
After a while of sitting, she gathered herself and walked home by herself noticing that Reno's room was still empty, or so it seemed. She plopped down on her bed and pulled out her laptop, browsing the net a little while before she got bored. After that, she just layed on her bed... Until she fell asleep. Her dreams were odd that night... It seemed like all the bad things in her past had chased her down and berated her in dreamland.
-
After awhile of lying there Reno got up and took a shower. It wasn't a long cry, he couldn't even get many tears. He was never good at crying, even for major things like this. Reno couldn't help but to think of times with Nero. After he got out of the shower he had a thought. "Nothin is goin' my way...I...What if I end up getting my new friends killed? I'm no good with people...I can't 'ave friends...Or family...Or anythin' nice...I 'ave to be alone...Anyone who gets close to me dies...I like them, so I should stay away...I 'ope they're not dead already. Maybe it's too late...? I can't go to school...I'll end up seein'em there. But I 'ave to...And...Schad's right next door. Maybe she still thinks I'm gone and won't try to knock on my door to walk to school. What if she does? Just leave early...I better get some sleep then..." While thinking he brushed his teeth, dried off, put on his boxers and then fell into bed. Shortly he fell asleep.
-
Shinzuu groaned as he still laid on the hospital bed. Lucky for him, because of his head injury, the bed had to remain propped up so he could turn to see Veronica without straining himself. Shinzuu's depression was written all over his face and he merely turned back over to looking up and closed his eyes. "I'll be fine in a couple days. I'll be out by tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I'd like to be alone. I'm just not feeling right, right now." The sedatives, mixed with his depression, started to really kick in and he started to slowly doze off.
-
Veronica frowned when Shinzuu said he wanted to be alone. She had made the effort to walk to the hospital and visit him just to end up being rejected when she got there. She had noticed how depressed he looked but she didn't know why he felt that way, but she just thought that maybe he was thinking about his father. "Maybe he hates me now because I live in his old house...maybe he feels like I'm taking over his old life..." She thought and as she was thinking she noticed the change in Shinzuu's breathing. She slowly and quietly walked over to the bed. "I'm sorry...for everything. Maybe it is best if I just leave you alone...being around me seems to just cause you pain. I like you, but I can see what all this is doing to you..." She said softly, not really thinking he would hear it anyway. She raised her hand and was going to take his hand and squeeze it but she just laid her hand on top of his gently for a second before pulling it away. She turned away from the bed and sniffled slightly. As she left the room, she started singing "On My Own" like she had the day she had spent lunch outside because of the fan girls, her voice was barely audible. She went home, had supper, and watched TV with her parents in silence. She then went to her room, changed into her pajamas, went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, then crawled into bed. She fell into sleep quickly where none of her dreams were happy. Most of them consisted of her sitting in the dark by herself.
-
In her dreams, music began to blare all around her... The song Shot you Down by the Audio Bullys to be precise, and everything seemed to surreal. Things had an old black and white look to them, but the landscape was colorful, and everything good in her life surrounded her... Her mother was there before her drunken stupor, her dad before he had killed himself.. And as each "Bang Bang" line came to pass, they fell over dead, their heads exploding from a bullet. Her friends from her old schools, everything seemed to go to hell at "Bang Bang" and she was helpless just to sit and watch. Finally a figure, a familiar one at that came from behind her and wrapped his arms around her as if it were a lover... Then she woke up. Schad was in a cold sweat as she took a deep breath and looked around her, the only light illuminating the room was the soft green numbers from the clock... It was 3am.
-
Reno woke up early the next morning, he dressed and got ready as quiet as possible. It was almost 6 when he set off to school, opening and closing his door quietly. Once clear he silently stalked to school, looking over his shoulder from time to time to make sure no one he knew was around. Reno finally made it to school and sat decided to have breakfast there for once in a long while. Mainly because it was so early, almost no one was around.
-
Shinzuu awoke at 7am by the nurse and took a painstaking 30 minutes to get dressed for school. He was still a little dizzy from the blood-loss, making it all the more frustrating. After having dressed, Shiori walked in and picked up Shinzuu's things. "Come, dear. It's time to get you back to school. I hear you got into a little rumble. It's about time you were like boys your age. As for track and basketball, I'm sure you'll find another team or club that'll take you in. Now come, we'll get you some food." Shiori gave the warm, gentle, motherly smile that always made Shinzuu feel better despite being down in the dumps. They got into Shiori's car and drove out to the only breakfast diner in town and ate slowly. There, Shinzuu told his mother everything that had happened that he could remember. When he got to the part about getting loaded into the ambulance, he stopped, not recalling anything after that, having been shot with sedatives at that point in time. Shiori dropped Shinzuu off at school by 10am...
-
Veronica woke up at the same time as always. She went through her same morning routine as always. She felt pretty gloomy all morning as she got ready and walked to school. Her head was swarming with bad thoughts and the memory of her dreams from the night before. She was so lost in her thoughts that she almost walked out in front of a car when she started to cross the street to the gate of the school, but the horn brought her out of her stupor and she jumped back up onto the curb. "Stay out of the road, you stupid kid!" The driver yelled as they past, the main part she caught being the 'stupid kid' part. "Tell me about it..." She mumbled before looking both ways and crossing the street to the gate of the school. Her first half of classes seemed to drag on forever as she sat there taking notes and doodling in her notebooks.
-
Schad slept restlessly, getting up and down and not really being able to sleep soundly after she woke up at three. When she got out of bed, she felt so crappy that she didn't bother seeing if Reno was back or awake or done doing whatever the heck he was doing to begin with. At this point, she honestly didn't care, and only focused on getting through the day. The walk to school was as uneventful and as quiet as it had been the day before. She looked around for Shinzuu or Veronica.. Maybe they'd want to do something.. She didn't know.
-
Reno finished his breakfast and headed to class, so far he didn't see any of the others which he felt was a good thing. He got his work done quicky and fell asleep as usual, waiting for lunch. "Lunch...Huh...I'll likely run into Shinzuu and Veronica if I sit in my corner...And I'll run into Schad if I sit at my usual table. Schad..." He sighed a deep almost love struck sounding sigh into his arms as he rested his head on them on the desk. "Maybe I should just go outside to eat...Yeah, that's what I'll do. Go outside, enjoy the short while I'm able to ditch my friends. Because once they find me maybe a meteor will hit them all..." When lunch finally did come around he grabbed his food and headed outside under a tree lying down in the grass to enjoy his lunch.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he just laid his head on his desk all morning in class. At lunchtime, he merely sulked at his desk and barely ate. The thought of gym after lunch made him almost just as depressed as he already was. This next couple weeks of gym was basketball, and he had already been looking forward to it, but he wasn't allowed to participate now because of his head and hand injuries.
-
Veronica had brought a lunch with her today, so when lunch time rolled around she stayed in her homeroom. She didn't feel like being around other people. She nibbled on her food slowly and sipped her drink. The only bad thing about her being alone in the room was that she thought of her dream. Pretty soon it would be time for gym and she hoped that playing basketball would keep her mind off of other things.
-
Schad finished up some of her schoolwork, then headed to lunch. In all, she was quite irritated. Usually, she didn't mind being alone, but the manner in which she was left made her angry. She didn't like being ignored, she'd rather someone just tell them that they hated her than ignore her. It was complicated, but she could deal with it better that way. She didn't see anyone she knew around, so unlike her usual, she decided to sit at a crowded table. Why not? No one else was talking to her. She had a feeling she'd regret it, but oh well, it was worth a try.
-
Reno finished his lunch and just laid back on the grass using his arms behind his head as a pillow. He didn't notice anyone around so he kinda talked to himself as he did so. "Hmm...I feel kinda bad leaving everyone...I mean...Schad said she was lonely when I was gone a while back...I don't want 'er to feel lonely...I wonder if I should tell'er 'ow I feel?" Unknown to him Jackson and his two goons had snuck up on him and began eavesdropping about halfway through what Reno was saying. "If you love'er let'er go, right? Hrmm...I shou-" "Heeeey, Garf! Talkin' to yourself again?" Laughed Jackson. His two goons followed suit with the laughter. "I-Uhm...No!" "So you like that ugly girl Schaden-somethin'er-other?" "What?! I-Uhm...She's not ugly!" "So you do like her." "No no no!" "So have you broke the news to her yet?" "No..." "I guess I'll do it for you then, because we're such good friends." "What?! No! You can't!" Reno started getting up but Jackson's goons shoved him back down allowing him a head start as he ran off towards the cafeteria. Reno managed to get up finally when the goons ran off with Jackson. He chased after them, but once again the goons staled him by holding the doors shut while Jackson scanned the crowd looking for Schadenfreude. He found her and made his way through the tables towards her. About half way the goons let Reno in and he took off after Jackson. But he got there way before Reno. "Hey, Schaden-whatever, your pal Reno is in love with ya, he just doesn't wanna tell ya. I feel sorry for you, he ain't exactly man of the year material." Reno skidded to a stop bumping into Jackson in the process. "He's lying! What ever 'e said!"
-
Shinzuu's heart skipped a beat in surprise as he heard someone shout out that Reno was in love with Schad. He stumbled a little into the gym a bit before thinking to himself. I don't think he needs YOU to tell her that. It's very blantantly obvious. Shinzuu sat miserably in the stands of the gym as all the boys and girls began the basketball class a few minutes later. However, he wasn't the only one. The boys from the other day were also sitting in the stands, but unlike Shinzuu, they were in casts, mainly around the neck and the leader with an additional arm cast. Shinzuu's head pounded as he watched the boys' side of the court practicing, but he found himself shifting over to the girls' side, looking at Veronica.
-
Veronica had changed into shorts and a tank top for gym class. Her hair was now tied into a ponytail. While they were going through a three-on-two practice play, she had stopped and was dribbling with her right hand. When she passed the ball to one of the girls on her "team", she glanced around and caught Shinzuu looking at her. From his point of view, her face would show that she was hurting. She knew that he wouldn't understand why. She quickly brought her attention back to the practice just in time to catch the ball coming at her. She dribbled around and moved behind the three-point line. When she had an opening, she took it and released the ball. The net made a swoosh as the ball went through. She shifted to be one of the two defenders for the next three girls who came up and it only took her about 10 seconds to steal the ball. The next time she ended up being on offense, she was the one who scored the basket again, but with a lay-up. She was actually quite good at basketball but she never played on the school team because she didn't like playing competitively.
-
Upon hearing the guy blurting out the news, it had definitely caught her by surprise.. Being at the crowded table didn't help at all because it made her feel ridiculous for blushing as hard as she did under her fur.. It practically stood on end.. She wasn't used to, nor did she want a relationship.. Relationships were like walking in a minefield and more often than not, it blew a big hole in having a good friendship. Before she could think any further on the matter, she did what she felt was necessary. It didn't make sense at the moment, but after she had done it, she realized why she had -- These goons had been the same guys who had hassled Reno before, and she wasn't too fond of them. As an end result, she wound up pushing the guy over and knocking him in the face with her tray a couple of times, all the while, a crowd circled them demanding a fight that was already happening, she was sure as soon as his goons realizes she was pummeling their boss.
-
Reno was very embarrassed at the whole situation...He was blushing pretty badly. Then Schadenfreude started pounding Jackson. A crowd of people quickly circled the two, so tightly not even Jackson's goons couldn't get in. Reno was very confused at what to do about this whole thing. "Oh man...I should 'ave just stayed 'ome...Schad probably won't want to talk to me again. Not to mention her boyfriend already...This time it's certain, she'll have me beat up, humiliated and then killed. Oh well...I 'ave no more family, my best friend who I knew almost my entire life was murdered and now the girl I like is probably going to kill me." He facepawed and just waited hoping this ordeal would get over with quickly. Anymore, death would be better for him.
-
Shinzuu felt sad at the sight of Veronica's hurting expression, and he felt the need to make her feel better, but he had no idea what was making her feel so hurt nor what he could do. As class ended, he was stopped by a group of students that he had never met before. "What? You all a part of that (censored)'s posse, too?" One of the girls, a cat named Tabby walked up and smiled innocently, "Actually, we're not, but we heard about what happened. We even heard about you getting kicked off the track and basketball team. I'm Tabby, president of the MMA club here at Feral High, and Aaron's ex-girlfriend. I was the one who treated him yesterday after you took him and his little buddies down. You have a lot of power, but you can't really control it or apply aside for sports... *twitches a little, blushing through her face's fur*... what I want to say is... I'd like to invite you to join our club. We may be just a club, but we still do tournaments and stuff. So what do you say?" Shinzuu looked at her extended hand and then at the girl and then at the rest of the club that was with her. Without saying a word, he brushed past her and walked out of the gym. Unfortunately for Shinzuu, all the other members began to pester him to talk to them for the rest of the day. After school, Shinzuu waited at Veronica's locker, not really comfortably, since so many girls passed by and caused his hives to go crazy.
-
Veronica saw the girl talking to Shinzuu at the end of class. Her sadness was replaced with anger and jealousy, but it only took a few seconds for it to go back to sadness as she slowly left the gym while the girl was still talking to him. "It's for the best...he seems to only hurt around you, you bring back to much of his past..." She thought as she went to the bathroom to change back into her uniform. She went through the last half of the day the same way she had gone through the first half. When the school day ended, she gathered her things and headed for her locker. When she rounded the corner and saw Shinzuu standing by her locker, she hesitated and almost retreated back around the corner but she figured he had probably already seen her so she continued toward her locker. "I don't understand why he's waiting for me..." She thought as she walked to her locker. When she reached her locker, she began putting in the combination without a word. Finally when she opened the door, she glanced at him standing there. "Is there something you need?" She said softly, almost in a whisper. She took her bag out and started putting the books and notebooks in it that she needed to take home to do homework with.
-
When the principal wound up pushing through and breaking them both up, it had been for the best. While Schad came out of the ordeal with a busted lip and a swolen eye, Jackson got the worst of it, having a broken nose, a tooth knocked out, and a couple to stitches to boot. The principal yanked up Schad by the arm and insisted on Reno helping Jackson to the nurse's office. As she drug Schad herself, you could hear her trailing off, "If you want to keep yourself from expulsion, you need to clean up your act! I don't understand how your mother deals with you being put in so many different schools."
In which Shad snapped back, "She doesn't. But what would you know? All you do is sit in the office on your ---!"
Unfortunately, this wound up putting Schad between the nurse and the office for the rest of the day. It was obvious from her smartalic attitude and the fight that there was going to be something done about her behavior.
-
Reno was going to help Jackson to the nurse's office, but his goons did it before him. So Reno was just standing there as clueless as ever. The kids went back to their previous tasks and left the whole thing alone for the time being.Reno just went back to class, depressed, worried, confused and a bit embarrassed still. A few people were staring at him as he returned, a few giggles too from a couple girls. He just went about the rest of his day, when school was out he wanted to wait for Schad where they all did before. He paced back and forth, contemplating on whether or not he should just go home.
-
Shinzuu scratched the back of his neck nervously, "I... uh... wanted to know if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. It's just that you seem to be a little down today, so I thought you might like a little dinner on me." Shinzuu averted his eyes down and to the corner, a bit embarrassed and nervous on how she would respond. His heart raced very quickly, and he couldn't control it.
-
Veronica looked up at Shinzuu again with confusion written all over her face. Of course she wanted to say yes to his question. She wanted to say it so bad, she bit her bottom lip lightly to stop herself from saying it. It slipped out still though but in a different way. "I want to say yes..." She began, still in a soft voice as she shut the door to her locker. "But it's probably best if I say no." She turned and started to walk off toward the library to go read to take up the time before practice.
-
When school was over, she was finally released from the office. Though her lip had been cleaned up, it was still really red around the area, and there was still blood on her uniform. As she walked through the halls, she directed herself with her one good eye because at this point her other eye had bruised so badly, it was swollen shut. She made it outside finally, after almost bumping into several people where she saw Reno waiting. She hesitated, but greeted him, nonetheless. "Well, I don't think you have to worry about that idiot bothering you anymore. Maybe he'll stop lying to try and embarrass you."
-
Reno jumped when Schadenfreude came up to him he was so lost in thought. He looked at her and saw that she was beat up. "I'm so sorry...You're hurt because of me...I..." He probably would have gave her a hug but he wanted to keep letting her think Jackson was lying. And a hug might ruin it. "Are you alright? Can I get you anything? Please, just say it. I'll do anything, you're hurt because of me." After that Reno gave her his best warm smile he could put on at the moment.
-
Shinzuu watched Veronica as she walked away towards the library. He felt a pain in his chest at her words and just stood there. Not too long after, Shinzuu felt an extreme breakout on his back and turned around to see Principal Yass. "Mr. Katame. You need to join a school club either today or tomorrow, or else we will assign one to you, in which you must join tomorrow. Here is a sheet with all the clubs and where they're meeting. I suggest you see them all. I'm sure basketball club would like to have you with them. They meet before the basketball team does, but I think you already know that." Shinzuu took the sheet and took a step back, lessening the itching in his fur. "Why don't I just join another sports team?" "None of the other sports teams are going to accept you. Especially since you got removed from basketball and track. The other coaches talked with your priors and they said that they don't need a player who isn't committed to the team." Shinzuu let out a low growl, "I committed myself to them for all except 2 days in my two years here. My friend was in the hospital and we had an emergency, too. I won them all the tournaments, meets, exhibitions, every single game. We have never lost a single game in basketball, and I've gotten gold for every track event. Not committed? Don't spit out all that (censored)." Principal Yass was about to scold him for cursing, but Shinzuu stormed off. He didn't like the thought of not being on a sports team. Shinzuu wasn't about to join a sports club, either. For years, he always looked down at sports clubs, and he wasn't about to be a part of them. However, Shinzuu wasn't looking where he was going, either and ended up running right into Reno, and falling over.
-
Veronica hated herself for saying no to Shinzuu and had to force herself to hold back her emotions as she entered the library. She still felt it was for the best at the moment though because she still felt that being around her brought up too many painful memories for him. Using the library catalog on the computer, she found a book that looked interesting and pulled it off the shelves. She sat down in a chair and started to read. When it came time for her to get ready for practice, she put the book back in its place on the shelves and headed to the bathroom. She changed into her normal practice clothes and then headed to the gym, not needing to adjust her hair since it was still in a ponytail from gym class. She was the first one to arrive for practice so she helped the coach drag out the mats and then sat on one while she waited for the others to arrive. When all the other cheerleaders arrived they stared practicing their routine.
-
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not hurt because of you." Shad gave a lopsided grin. "You didn't tell me to beat him up. You didn't make me knock the crap out of him with a tray for the good first half of the fight." She chuckled at that last part. In truth, her eye did hurt, but it was mild and not enough to bother her. Before she could say anything else Shinzuu cam storming out of the building, bumping into Reno. She was sure it was Shinzuu anyway, she could only really see with one eye. He seemed angry to her, and as he came out, she half way wondered where Veronica was since those two hung around each other a lot. When Veronica didn't show, she shrugged it off, watching the preceding events.
-
Reno was about to insist on doing something when Shinzuu ran into him knocking them both over with Shinzuu on top of him. " 'Ey, what's th-...Oh, Shinzuu. Where's the fire?" He didn't want to seem rude and just shove him off so he was just going to wait until he got off on his own. "Uhm...If you want...You could uh...ya know...Get off me?" "Quite the embarrassing situation...I guess it could've been worse...He could have accidentally kissed me."
-
Shinzuu staggered up to his feet and helped Reno up before brushing himself off. "Sorry, man. I just was in a hurry to go home. My coaches kicked me off the teams and stupid Principal Yass says I have to find a club to join tomorrow, or else she'll stick me in one of her choice. So anyways, what are you guys doing after your clubs? Veronica said that she isn't able to do anything. What about you guys?"
-
Veronica had only been in practice for about ten minutes before she felt sick in a very weird way. It wasn't your average kind of "sick-to-your-stomach" feeling, just weird sick-ish kind of feeling. She asked the coach if it was okay if she left because of how she felt and swore that she would practice the routine on her own time to make up for it. She grabbed her bag and put it on her shoulders then slowly left the gym. As she walked down the hall towards the doors her feet picked up speed so she was walking very fast once she reached the doors. She pushed the doors open and started running towards the gate, not noticing anything around her. She didn't understand what was wrong with her but she just felt something nagging at her in the pit of her stomach and it didn't feel good at all. She figured she had started running in hopes that the adrenaline would help her forget what was happening in her stomach. She just felt like she needed to escape.
-
"Well.. Uh.. I wasn't doing anything.. And I'm fairly certain Yass wants me to go home.." She said pointing to her swollen eye and her bloodied uniform. "I suppose I'm up for something afterwards.. I'd just have to meet you guys back here. I should probably clean up." She rubbed her eye despite the numerous times the nurse had told her not to.. "Tomorrow I have to spend the day in front of the school." she added, growling.
-
Once Reno was helped up he dusted himself off. He listened to Shinzuu and when Schadenfreude pointed to her injuries and said that she got in trouble it made him feel even worse, even though his ears lowered he still tried to hide the fact that he was feeling bad with a smile. "Uhm...Yeah, sounds like fun. Maybe we could go to the arcade? Either way I need to call my boss and tell 'im to put me on graveyard tonight. Uhm...I'll just be a second." With that Reno gave a nervous chuckled and walked away a bit taking out his cellphone. He dialed a number and put the phone up to his ear, facing away from the others as he talked. " 'Ey, boss...Yeah it's me...I was wondering...Would it be okay if you put me on graveyard tonight?...No I won't fall asleep again...Well I slept in class...I know I shouldn't, but it's not like I'm fallin' behind on my work...O' course I get good grades...Okay...Okay...Alright...Got it, thanks, boss..." He turned off his phone, standing there for a bit looking at the missed message from Jessica about Nero.
-
Shinzuu nodded as the two spoke and sighed as he began to walk home. "Alright, I'll see you guys here at the gates in 2 hours. I'll go back home and get changed." As he got home, Shinzuu tossed his stuff onto the floor in his room and got changed. He looked at his watch and noticed he had a little over an hour left before he had to head back to the school gates. Shinzuu went through his bag and took out his homework. "Might as well."
-
Veronica ran all the way home without stopping once. People looked at her funny a couple times and when she ran past a guy on the street she heard him call after her, "Hey sweet thing, whatcha runnin' from? Need some protectin'?" She had just ignored him and continued on. When she got home she immediately went upstairs to the bathroom and took a shower since she felt gross. She switched into jeans and a t-shirt with some random design on it when she finished with her shower, dried off, and blow-dried her hair. She tied her hair in its usual pigtails. She was wondering what she was going to do with all the time she had now because now that she had made the feeling in her stomach simmer down she didn't want to be alone when her cell phone rang. "Hey Veronica! I didn't think you'd pick up since you're usually in practice..." It was Carmen. "Yeah, I would have been if I hadn't felt sick to my stomach." "Oh...well...I was going to ask if you wanted to go to the movies with Liz and I, but..." "Actually, I'd love to go. I felt somewhat better after I got home and took a shower." "Well, since you're out early, we can go to the next showing...meaning we'd have to meet up and leave like, now." "Alright, I'll see you two soon." After she hung up, she went downstairs and wrote a note for her parents so they'd know where she was when they got home. She left the house and headed for Carmen's house to meet up with her and Liz.
-
Schad nodded and began to walk home after waving to Reno. She didn't know what they'd do or really why she was being included again, but she needed to get out more, she supposed. She had a bad habit of staying in when ever she could that had recently been broken with going to this new school and she found herself almost wanting to stay in those old ways. She rubbed her eye again as she was lost in thought, eventually realizing that she had made it to the hotel to change.
-
"Two hours then...Might as well go get changed..." Reno turned and headed home, a little ways behind Schadenfreude. Once there he changed out of his uniform and into his normal clothes. Two hours was still a ways away, so he figured he might as well play some music, he hadn't done it in awhile. He turned on his laptop and played along with various songs that were in the play list. He sat on the bed while playing, really seeming to enjoy it when he remembered Schadenfreude was hurt. "Oh man...It slipped my mind...I should do something for 'er..."
-
Shinzuu finished his homework quickly, whether the answers were right or wrong, he didn't care at this point, he just wanted to get out and not think about why Veronica was so upset or why she would not want to hang out with him anymore. Maybe it's just that time of the month, and she's just probably just having mood swings. With nothing much else to do and not in the mood to play his small collection of video games, he left for the school again, and waited at the gates a bit earlier than the meeting time. Shinzuu sat next to the gates against the outer wall and closed his eyes.
-
Veronica was at Carmen's house after a five-minute walk. When she got there Carmen and Liz were waiting on the front steps for her. They started to walk together, telling each other what they had been up to lately since they hadn't hung out in a while. She also told them what had happened with Shinzuu and why she wasn't with him instead. "I think you're overreacting a little, Vee. The guy obviously wants to be around you. He just wanted to be alone at the hospital because he was upset. He did get kicked off track and the basketball team..." That surprised Veronica since she hadn't heard about it and Shinzuu hadn't told her. "Really? I didn't know that. Why'd they kick him off?" "Because of those two days that he had missed of practices. I wouldn't doubt him getting hurt having something to do with it too, but they only said it was because he missed too many practices." Liz answered her questions. "Well then they're morons. We won't win without him. Apparently they've forgotten that." "Apparently..." Carmen and Liz said in unison.
-
When she got into her room she got changed and she showered. At this point she seemed to be compulsively rubbing her eye despite the twinge of pain she felt in doing so. She had no clue why she did it... She just.. Did. She looked around her hotel room, noticing it was dirty, so she scooped up her dirty clothes and plopped it in the corner. Looking to the clock, the green numbers alerted her that she had about 30 minutes before she had to be at the gate... So she walked to the door, somewhat hesitant to open it.. She didn't know why.
-
Lola sat in her room glancing around at the piles of cardboard boxes. .. She hated being the new girl. Getting off of her bed she picked up a hair brush and combed the knots out of her long red hair. “I guess today is just another day.” She promised her reflection.
-
The time passed while Reno just sitting there, not really feeling like playing at the moment. He was contemplating on going next door to see Schadenfreude but decided to just leave it alone. Maybe he could win her that Croagunk she was eying the last time they all went. Eventually he got up and headed out the door, heading over to get Schadenfreude as well. "'Ey, Schad, you ready?"
-
With a loud blast of classical music to keep her company Lola walks up to the gate of the school and wanders inside a cool breeze whipping around her. She glances at her map of the campus occasionally for reference in search of a Spanish class room. Not paying attention she runs into a plump rabbit, “ Excuse me miss where do you think you’re going “ the rabbit replies. Lola mutters” I’m new” while picking her stuff up off of the ground and taking the headphones out of her ears “who are you supposed to be exactly?”.
-
She was startled by Reno's voice despite having seen his shadow under the door. "Er -- Yeah, I'm ready." She replied, stumbling over her words again. She felt funny, she had no clue why once again. She carefully opened the door and shoved the key and her wallet into her pockets before closing the door behind her. She had a lopsided grin on her face as she stood in front of the door, stupidly waiting for Reno to lead the way.
-
Reno's ears lowered when he saw Schadenfreude's face, he still blamed himself for what happened. "Alright then, let's go. Don't want to keep Shinzuu waiting." He gave a fake smile, hoping she wouldn't think he was still beating himself up about what happened. But he couldn't help to think about how Schadenfreude thought Jackson was lying about how he felt. He was still trying to decide if it was a good or bad thing. While he thought on that he lead Schadenfreude on a quiet walk to meet Shinzuu, though he looked as if he had something on his mind as they walked, side-by-side.
-
As they proceeded to walk, she noticed him being lost in thought.. It didn't really seem like a good thing, so she jabbed him in the side with her elbow. In all honesty, she felt just as somber, but she ignored it knowing she had his attention. "Lighten up long ears, I told you it wasn't your fault. You can't keep dwelling on these things, it's not healthy considering you're about to hang out with one of the most popular kids in school. Geeze."
-
When Schadenfreude poked Reno he rubbed the spot she poked and looked at her. When she said what she said he responded. "I know...'e is pretty popular..." He scratched the top of his head, trying to think of something else to say. They were alone walking with each other, in any normal situation it could have been seen as romantic, but they were just friends. Reno started taking in a deep breath when he thought of Schadenfreude's biker boyfriend. Involuntarily he said "Oh no-!" and choked on air, stopping to grab his own neck as if he were really choking. His mind filled itself with what her boyfriend would do to him when he found out that he hurt her.
-
The possum stopped for a moment, surprised, and grabbed up Reno, smacking his back. "Gah, man, whatcha choking on?" She shouted, trying to help him not choke if she could. "What's wrong?" She was extremely confused at this point.. She didn't really know what was the matter with Reno; sometimes she wondered just what on earth he was thinking about when he acted like this or just really nervous in general.
-
Reno composed himself and took a deep breath, this time without choking on air. "Oh...Phew...Sorry 'bout tha'...I was just thinkin'...Your boyfriend is gonna kill me for gettin' you hurt...And like...Drag me around on his motorcycle in chains...But that's only if you tell'im...You're not gonna...Are you?...I know I 'aven't 'ad the best life but I don't wanna die." He face palmed for actually saying that, it was pretty embarrassing for him.
-
"I don't know what you're talking about," she said raising her brow on her good eye. "I don't have a boyfriend." She had to keep from giggling, just because she didn't know where he could have gotten such an idea.. It was amusing. "You should know I don't know anyone here but you guys that I've gone out with.. I'm a complete shut in most the time." She smirked. She didn't really want to, but it felt appropriate.
-
Reno scratched his head nervously and chuckled. "Well, I asked if you had a boyfriend when we were all having dinner. You said "Yeah"...So yeah...And well...I figured you would go for a guy in a biker gang. I honestly didn't peg you for someone who stays in doors all too much...Not trying to insult you or anything. But anyway...We should get back to walking. Don't want to keep the most popular kid in school waiting." He started off again down the way. "So she's single..."
-
"I don't remember saying yeah.." She said thinking aloud.. "Hell, I don't know. She continued to walk until they came to the school. Sure enough, Shinzuu was waiting there at the gate like he said he would be. She hoped she hadn't kept him waiting too long. She hated waiting, and so, she didn't like holding up others.. It was one of the few impulsive things she did. She waved at Shinzuu from the distance. She didn't know if he had spotted Reno and her yet.
-
Reno was certain she said it, but he didn't say anything about it, or anything for that matter for the rest of the walk. He tended to remember things about people important to him. He wasn't one for showing much emotion, aside from being nervous around new people. He showed his emotion more through actions, if he liked you, more often than not he'll talk to you or try to be around you in general. If he didn't think highly of you, he'd never tell you, but rather smile and nod at you when you interacted with him. He was never one to express his feelings towards others, he was always afraid of their actions. Nor was he one to tell you if he was feeling uncomfortable, maybe hungry or tired, or bored or even in pain; he never wanted people to worry about him. It's something he tries to avoid having to happen. He also rarely sounds enthusiastic about saying "Thank you", the best way to gauge how much he enjoys something, say a gift, is how much he uses it. When Reno and Schadenfreude got to where Shinzuu was waiting he greeted him. " 'ey, 'ope we didn't keep ya."
-
Shinzuu opened his eyes and yawned a bit before checking his watch, "No, you're right on time. It's still a little early, so you guys want to hang out at the arcade first? I heard that old man Briggs just got that new Street Fighter game installed next to the Angel Heart machines. You guys up for it? As for dinner, it'd be nice if we go back to your workplace, Reno. I love their food." Just the mention of the food put a wide grin across his face as he got up. Even in his darkest time, food always made Shinzuu feel better.
-
Schad just nodded her head. She was fine for anything.. And she loved street fighter, but she really wanted to go again because of the zombie games. She couldn't get enough of them even if she did know them front from back. She looked back to Reno, waiting for an answer.
-
"Uhm...Yeah, sure. I can use my employee discount again. And Street Fighter is alright, though I haven't played in aaages..." Reno grabbed onto his shoulder and kinda looked around. He didn't want to tell them to start going or anything, considering he suggested the arcade in the first place. Not to mention he did it the first time they all met, even though it was a bit of a nervous break down...Either way, he was enjoying his time with them. Even though he figured they were going to die by being around him.
-
Shinzuu couldn't help but notice Reno's strewn face as he was thinking. "You okay, Reno? You got that worried look on your face again. Seriously, man. It's not the first time you've hung out with us. Now come on, I want to get those (censored) before they go home. I want them to go home to cry about defeat." Shinzuu walked with Reno and Schad to the arcade, deciding not to take the train this time.
-
Schad followed behind the two quietly, just listening and taking things in.. She didn't really have anything to say or anything in particular on her mind.. Well, almost nothing until she was reminded that her mom still wanted her home. She wondered how she was able to stay away since she got picked up in the car, but she figured her mom was probably drunk and forgot. She sighed.
-
When Shinzuu asked if something was wrong with Reno he turned his head to him putting on a smile. "I'm fine, just...Thinkin' 'bout stuff." He went back to looking forward again as they walked. "But uh...I think I'm goin' to 'afta sit out your fun with Street Fighter...I've got somethin' else in mind." He tried his best to keep his fake smile on for a few more moments in case one of them looked at him in that time. What was on Reno's mind was getting enough tickets to get that Croagunk doll for Schadenfreude. He would have to start from scratch considering he didn't have his collection of tickets on him. He thought his best bet would be some SkiBall, he was pretty good at it. But after a while of walking the arcade was in sight.
-
Shinzuu opened the door for the others before walking in himself. Before heading in, though, he couldn've sworn that he saw a glint of some familiar blue fur off the corner of his eye, but just dismissed it as nothing. No, Shinzuu, you're just thinking of her too much. Now you're thinking you see her everywhere now. Yea, this arcade should help you forget some of the pain.
-
Veronica, Carmen, and Liz had continued chatting on their way to the theater. When they reached the theater Veronica was the first to get her ticket and then she had moved off to the side to wait for Carmen and Liz to get their tickets. As Carmen and Liz were walking over to her, Veronica looked across the street to spot Shinzuu walking into the arcade with Reno and Schad behind him. She looked like a deer caught in the headlights when Carmen and Liz got to her. Carmen snapped her fingers in front of Veronica's face to get her to snap out of it. "Vee? What's your problem?" Carmen asked, following Veronica's gaze across the street but not seeing what she had because Shinzuu had already gone inside and out of sight. "I just saw Shinzuu. I think he might have seen me..." Veronica replied while still looking at the arcade but not in a trance-like state anymore. "And that worries you because..." Carmen said and received a look from Veronica that gave her the answer. "Oh right, because you said you shouldn't say yes to his dinner offer and now you're out with us..." "You don't want him to think that you don't like him." Liz finished for her. "Exactly..." Veronica said and frowned, turning towards the entrance to the theater and heading inside. "Don't worry, Vee. If he sees you, he'll probably just think that you didn't want to tell him you had other plans with us."
-
Schad immediately made a b-line for the first zombie game she saw, she was going to join Shinzuu over on Street Fighter if he asked her, but for now, she was fine shooting zombies. She tried to focus on the game more than anything else so that it might clear her mind somewhat. She was notorious for trying to keep herself busy when she was upset... Which tended to be a lot of the time.
-
When Schadenfreude took off to play some games he watched her go with a seemingly love struck look. If you didn't know better you might tink he was checking her out. When she disappeared from view he shook his head and went off to some SkiBall. Once there he popped in some quarters he already had before going to get some change. He decided to try his trick with the game, he had practiced it back in the day and had gotten to be an expert. He took two of the balls, one in each hand. While holding them in his palms he spun them around while he consentrated. He then took both his hands back and at the same time he rolled the balls down the lane from the edges. They rolled down the lane fast, creeing closer to eachother. Once in the air they ricocheted off one another into the 100 point holes on both sides of the board in the back. Reno smirked, satisfied with what he did. After that he finished the game and headed to get some change. As he walked to the change machine he saw the prize booth and saw that the Croagunk was still there which made him get a relieved grin.
-
Shinzuu got really immersed into the Super Street Fighter 4 arcade, as player after player challenged him on the machine behind his and was defeated. A small crowd had gathered around the two machines and watched in fascination. Those who were sore losers sneered at Shinzuu for being a Cammy and Akuma spammer. Shinzuu merely ignored them. The reason he used Cammy was only because it reminded him of Veronica... Why did she have to turn me down?
-
The movie that Veronica, Carmen, and Liz saw was only an hour and 45 minutes long since it was a comedic animated movie. When they exited the theater, Veronica turned to other two. "So...do you guys want to do something else?" She asked them. "I think we should go to the arcade." Carmen said with a smirk and Liz grinned at the notion. "But what if he's still there?" Veronica asked with a worried expression. "Then you'll just have to explain that there was a misunderstanding. He'll understand." "But..." Veronica started but Carmen and Liz wouldn't take no for an answer as they linked arms with Veronica on either side of her then hurried across the street when there were no cars coming. They entered the arcade and then released Veronica, gently pushing her ahead of them so they could make sure she didn't try to leave. Veronica looked around nervously, hoping that Shinzuu had already left so she wouldn't be spotted but she didn't think she would luck out.
-
Schad had been zoned out on playing the zombie games for so long, she hadn't quite kept track of the time. She didn't really notice how long she'd been playing them until she ran out of quarters, in which case, she sat down on the DDR game since no one was playing it at the moment. Her fur had become a little moist around her brow from where she had been sweating a little. It was as if it were a physical effort to get her mind off things.
-
Reno had been playing SkiBall the entire time they were there, just getting a pile of tickets on the floor. He decided he had gotten enough tickets he stopped and just looked at the pile. "Oh boy..." He picked them all up needing both hands for the task. Once he had a secure grip on them he headed towards the prize booth and set them down on the counter. The dog behind the counter counted up all the tickets, it was barely enough for the Croagunk doll. And a Dumdum. He started eating the Dumdum and went over to a zombie game that had it's own little dome you could sit in. He went inside, set the doll down and popped in a few quarters. He then took the shotgun controller and got ready to play.
-
The second Super Street Fighter 4 machine eventually became empty due to lack of anyone having the guts to play Shinzuu or they had to go home. Shinzuu then got up and stretched, walking towards the food counter near the entrance. The crowd opened up the way for him and then swarmed the new machines now that he was gone. Shinzuu licked his fingers as he counted the money he won from various bets that people made with him. He pulled out a couple hundred yen and put it onto the counter, "Boba milk tea and a sushi platter."
-
Veronica spotted Shinzuu at the food counter nearby and tried to scurry off to hide amongst the games and people. Carmen grabbed her by the arm to stop her while Liz walked over to Shinzuu and tapped him on the shoulder. "Veronica would like to talk to you. It seems she was confused." Liz said quietly as Carmen brought Veronica over. Liz moved out of the way and Carmen placed Veronica so she was standing next to Shinzuu. "We'll see you later, Vee." Carmen said as the two of them backed away. Veronica gave them a look that said 'don't leave me here alone' but the two of them just turned around and headed out the doors of the arcade. Veronica looked at Shinzuu nervously and ran a hand over her hair. "Uh...hi..."
-
She got up after a while and wandered aimlessly looking for a place to get a drink. She was thirsty, and actually really hungry, but she forced herself not to show it lest she be rude since she knew later they were going to go eat. After a while, she got bored, catching a glance of Shinzuu with Veronica. Honestly, she wasn't surprised, so she wandered to the back of the Arcade and sat down again, this time by the CarnEvil machine. She always hated that game because it was so lame. It never got played, she almost wondered why they even kept the machine or why they hadn't sold it yet.
-
By the time Reno had finished his Dumdum he was done with his game. He got out of the machine, threw away his stick and scratched his head while holding the Croagunk doll by a small tag on the back of it's neck. "Hmm...Wonder where the others are...? Maybe I should get somethin' to eat. Well, no...We're goin' somewhere for tha'...Hmm...Wher-" Just then he saw Schadenfreude sitting alone by the CarnEvil machine. He looked at the doll then to her. "Oh man...'ow do I give someone a gift? I got you this, I thought you might like it...No...Here, I like you so I got this. No!...Uhm...I 'ope she didn't see me...Oh man, she's Right there! No way she 'asn't seen me! MOVE LEGS! SHE'S GONNA SEE YOU!" Reno just stood there like a deer caught in headlights, just a few yards away from Schadenfreude, staring at her with an almost scared look on his face. He was even trembling a little. No one else was really around, mostly sore at losing against Shinzuu at Street Fighter, or they were starting to leave because of the time.
-
Shinzuu was surprised at Liz's statement and even more so at seeing Veronica next to him. He grabbed his drink as it was placed on the counter and looked off to the side as he took a quick sip, "Oh... hey..." It kind of hurt Shinzuu's feelings that she turned him down just to come to the same place with her other friends instead of him, Schad and Reno, but he didn't let that show. "So what did you want to talk to me about?"
-
Veronica felt like Shinzuu wasn't happy to see her there so that made it even harder to say what she had intended to. "Um...well, I...uh..." She stammered. "Just spit it out! You sound stupid!" Clearing her throat, she tried again. "Well, I wanted to tell you that I was confused about things when you had asked me to have dinner with you, but things were cleared up by Carmen and Liz. You see, on that day where you got hurt and sent to the hospital I was worried about you, so when I was done with practice I came to visit you. You didn't seem to thrilled that I was there and asked to be left alone, so I had figured that you didn't want me around you. I figured that I was causing you to be in a sad state all the time, so I said that I would leave you alone. Of course, you were falling asleep at the time and probably medicated pretty well... But anyways, Carmen and Liz clarified things and told me that you were kicked of the track and basketball teams so you were upset about that. And so, here I am..." She looked down at the counter. "...looking like an idiot..." She muttered.
-
She saw Reno standing over a few yards away and got up. She figured he would have been at the ski-ball machines, but when she passed, she hadn't seen him. She got up again, a wolfish smile spread across her face and headed toward him. Schad wanted to know how his ski-balling had been, she was completely oblivious to the croagunk doll at his side. "Ah, I could eat a freakin' horse." she said, trying to get Reno's attention. "I can't believe we've been here for going on two hours," she laughed. "BUT WHAT CAN I SAY? KILLING ZOMBIES IS HARD WORK."
-
When Schadenfreude got up and came over he could barely keep from fainting, almost dropping to his knees. "I-I uhm...I-...We...You...I mean uhm..." Reno couldn't stop shaking or staring in the same position. "Uhm...We could uh...Go find Shinzuu and I-...Uhm..." He had planned on checking to see if his nose was bleeding, but he was too scared to really move. But he managed to do it, with the hand not holding up the Croagunk. Amazingly he wasn't. "I-I-I...Uhm..." "WHY IS THIS SO 'ARD TO DO?!" "We should go get Shinzuu and go eat! Yes! That's it...Let's go eat, I'm sure we're all hungry right now." He jerked himself to turn around and walked off to try to find Shinzuu.
-
Shinzuu sighed, Though it hardly seems to have actually made a difference on you avoiding me. He took another sip and grabbed one of the sushi from the little platter. The platter only had 4, so he covered it all with wasabi and soy sauce instead of dipping them. Shinzuu looked at Veronica for a bit and then looked away, eating another piece, not knowing what to say to her. Just then, he spotted Reno and Schad looking for him. Shinzuu turned to Veronica, "It looks like it's time for us to head out. I'll see you back at school..."
-
During the silence Veronica felt extremely uncomfortable and was regretting what she had done. "Yeah...they told me about everything today on the way to the movies..." She said in the middle of all the silence then went silent again. The rest of the time next to him seemed to drag on forever even though it was really only another minute before Shinzuu actually spoke. She looked around and spotted Schad & Reno, giving them a wave and then looking back at Shinzuu. Her face showed her disappointment for a short moment before she spoke. "Oh...right...can't keep them waiting. You guys have fun." She faked a smile after she finished speaking. After all, that was one thing she was very good at, faking cheerfulness. Her face relaxed back into a plain look as she made a gesture to get the person behind the counter's attention. "Can I have some water, please?" She asked in an emotionless tone.
-
Schad tagged along, not really paying much attention to anything but following Reno. She thought it was a bit strange how he always acted nervous and sometimes she felt like she could slap him for it, but everyone has their problems, she supposed. Well, she knew. She vaguely caught a glimpse of Veronica with Shinzuu, but was somewhat surprised when he broke from her to join them.
-
Reno pretty much kept walking out of the arcade, he saw Veronica out of the corner of his eye but didn't really look. He also saw Shinzuu starting in their direction so that was another reason he didn't stop. The main reason he wasn't stopping was Schadenfreude. He was still nervous about giving her the Croagunk doll. "How am I goin' to do this? Maybe after dinner...Oh man, what if she notices it? I can't exactly hide it...She'll notice soon enough if I don't just give it to 'er! I'm too scared to do it, what if she wasn't really interested in it?? You'll look like an idiot! What if she doesn't like it?! What if- Why do I think so much!?" Reno clearly had something on his mind, if it wasn't obvious enough he almost ran into the door on the way out. He might have called a cab to take them all there, but he was too preoccupied with thinking about Schadenfreude and the Croagunk doll.
-
Shinzuu ran over and held Reno back a bit before he could face-plant into the door. He surveyed Reno's face and then finally noticed the doll in his hands. Shinzuu grabbed the doll from Reno quickly and held it behind his back as he went up to Schad, "Hey, Schad. Guess what? Reno has something really important to say to you." Shinzuu made a quick glance back at the rabbit with a smirk crawling up the corner of his muzzle, waving the Croagunk doll, as if to signal he is about to show it to Schad.
-
Asking for the water was only Veronica's way of doing something to seem nonchalant about the whole thing. It seemed that the guy behind the counter knew that too since when he came over to stand in front of her with the glass in hand, he didn't bother to set it down on the counter. "You okay?" The tiger said in a soft tone. The look on her face must have given her away and caused his concern. She glanced up at him then looked back down quickly before shaking her head vigorously, trying very hard to hold back everything. She couldn't cry here. Not in this public place in front of all these people. She quickly moved away from the counter and headed out the doors, leaving the tiger standing there with a look of worry on his face before going back to his duties. When Veronica exited the arcade, she forced herself through the three of them standing on the sidewalk and hastily walked across the street without looking, causing a car to slam on its brakes but she didn't pay attention. Carmen and Liz were actually standing across the street waiting to see if they could leave or not. They immediately rushed to her side when she got to the other side of the street. "What's the matter? What happened?" Carmen asked, sounding very concerned. Veronica shook her head, not looking up. "I should have never went in there. I should have just left him alone like I said I would." She said on the verge of crying. Before Carmen or Liz could say anything, Veronica took off down the street with her head down, weaving through people on the sidewalk. "We've got to follow her!" Liz said as she watched her run off. "Well duh!" Carmen responded, sending a look that could kill at Shinzuu which he probably wouldn't see because she saw that he was preoccupied, before running after Veronica with Liz.
-
Schad looked fairly confused as she looked to Reno, then back to Shinzuu. "Is it that you beat my zombie killing high score? Because I'll have to beat those long ears off you if you did." She said, laughing it off. For some reason she felt she knew what he had to say, as if events from him being picked on today was going to replay again and someone burst out with the secret that Reno liked her.. She didn't know.
-
Reno was at a total loss at what to do when Shinzuu swiped the doll and said what he did. He just looked back and forth at both him and Schadenfreude. "What do I do? This is just like today at school...This is why Schad got hurt...And it's all my fault...I can't stay 'ere...I need to run." Reno was about to run when Schadenfreude took a guess. It stopped him from actually turning and taking off. "Y-Yeah, that's it...You got me..." He said, giving a nervous smirk scratching the back of his head. He then turned to Shinzuu, with almost puppy dog eyes that screamed "Don't do it." "...Right, Shinzuu?"
-
Shinzuu was surprised with Veronica running past them, Now what's her problem? He turned back to Reno as he was asked to confirm the lie. Shinzuu gave an even more devious smile back at Reno before turning back to Schad, "No... actually, that was me. Reno just wanted to say he wants to take a cab instead of the train. And..." Shinzuu waved the Croagunk doll behind him at Reno, telling him that if he doesn't say it himself, Shinzuu will.
-
Veronica had gotten three blocks away before Carmen and Liz had caught up with her. They both grabbed a hold of her to stop her from running further. Veronica still had tears streaming down her face. Carmen and Liz eyed her, obviously feeling bad. "Come on, let's all walk home together and you can tell us exactly what happened when you're up to talking about it. Okay?" Carmen gave her a kind smile and Veronica nodded. It took about 15 minutes of walking for her to calm down enough to where she was ready to talk. She told them exactly what happened and what was said word-for-word. She made sure that she mentioned every little detail, even the part where Shinzuu had sighed and what his face had looked like while she had spoken. "Well, at least the guy behind the counter cared about how crappy I felt...maybe I'd have a better chance with him..." Veronica smiled slightly and chuckled a little while Carmen shook her head at the statement. "He's a little old for you, like late 20's." Liz rolled her eyes. "Achem! Back on topic...Shinzuu's probably still hurting from the rejection. Believe it or not, some guys don't get over things as quickly as others." "But that doesn't give him any right not to acknowledge her apology." Carmen looked at Veronica. "You did apologize, right?" Veronica rubbed the back of her neck. "Well...I explained everything...I kind of figured that it should be obvious that an apology was tied in there." Carmen and Liz both gave her a look. "Well anyways, there's no reason for him to be a jerk and not say anything in response." Carmen looked back in the direction of the now-far-off arcade. "In fact, I should go back there and give him a good ***-whooping." She started to turn on her heel back towards the direction they came from but Veronica and Liz grabbed her and spun her back around. "As upset about this whole thing that I am, I still don't want you to beat the crap out of him." Veronica said as they walked on. "I just ruined all my chances with him and that's something I'm going to have to deal with..."
-
Reno looked back at Shinzuu from looking at Schadenfreude, he was not happy. He also knew he wasn't going to make this easy so he might as well come out and say it. He took a big gulp and then deep breath. "Schad, I...Li-" Just then Schadenfreude stumbled forward and supported herself on his shoulder which made him help hold her up. "Hey..., Long ears, I'm not feeling too hot...I think a cab would be great." "Are you...A-Alright?" "I think I should head home...Don't mean to ruin your plans with Shinzuu, you guys go on ahead, I'll make it home alright...Really, I can do it." "And have you end up in the park again? No, I'll take you 'ome...It's no trouble, really. I'll just get you in bed and then meet up with Shinzuu at the restaurant." He paused though, realizing what he had said. "I-Er, not like get you in bed kinda get you in bed! Not like that, just lay you down a-" "I know what you meant, chill..." "Sorry..." Reno helped Schadenfreude up getting ready to walk, but before leaving he swiped the doll and gave Shinzuu a look that read "I'll handle it." "Uhm...Shinzuu, up to you now, you can head off to the restaurant, come with us or head off somewhere. I'll still be goin' to the restaurant because I gotta work tonight anyway." He then called a cab and went outside to wait, see what Shinzuu would do.
-
Shinzuu sighed and waved him off, "No, you guys chill out together. I'm gonna head out, there's some things I need to take care of. See ya in class tomorrow." Shinzuu turned and headed back into the arcade and went up to the counter, "Give me the full mixer." The guy behind the counter nodded and began making a ton of sushi. Shinzuu spotted some thug-looking kids at the SSF4 machine picking on a bunch of kids and just gloating their "wins". He smirked and walked over, "Mind if I play?" The "thugs" scoffed at him, "We don't play with little sissy pretty boys. Unless you want to throw down some cash." The smirk on Shinzuu face only grew as he pulled out a roll of bills. "How about a 5 round quickie for, say 5,000 yen?" The thugs cackled and threw down. These guys needed a lesson, so Shinzuu, for the first time, selected Dan for his character. In a matter of a couple minutes, Shinzuu had systematically tore open those guys with 3 perfect victories in a row. He grabbed the winnings and walked off as the on-lookers began pointing and laughing at the thugs for the humiliation. As he did, one of the guys grabbed his arm. "I believe you owe us some money, bub." Shinzuu grabbed the guy's wrist and it already cracked from the initial grip. The other pulled a knife and charged at Shinzuu. (Censored)!! Before the knife struck Shinzuu, the swinging arm was grabbed by someone else and was brought around behind the guy's back and he was pinned in the same motion. It was Tabby. "So, what do you say? Join our club?" Shinzuu shook his head with an "I give up" smile and tossed the other guy who's broken wrist was still in his hand and walked off to get his food. "I'll see you at club tomorrow, then."
-
Veronica knew she wasn't going to "just deal with" ruining her chances as well as she made it sound, but her saying it made Carmen and Liz feel better and that's what she wanted. The three of them talked the rest of their walk home. Carmen and Liz lived right next door to each other so when they reached their houses Veronica said goodbye to them and continued to walk to her house a couple blocks away. All the thoughts running through her head kind of made her dizzy, so she walked to her house rather briskly so she'd be able to sit down. When she got home, she worked on her homework in the living room for a little bit after using the standard answer of "fine" when her parents asked how her day went. It didn't take long before she couldn't stand to do anymore work and she finally headed up to her room, saying goodnight to her parents. She changed into her pajamas and brushed her teeth then went to her room and laid on her bed, sticking her earbuds into her ears and turning on her iPod. She sang along with the songs that played until she fell asleep, not even noticing that she had gone to bed without having anything to eat.
-
With Reno's help, Schad managed to stumble to the cab without falling when it got there. She seemed to be breathing heavy. "Man, I thought I had taken my medicine this morning, but I guess I didn't.. Got busy an' all with today's excitement." She rubbed her eye again plopping into the seat of the cab, ignoring any looks she may have received from the cab driver and then scooted over to make room for Reno. "My head's a bit fuzzy, ya may wanna tell him where he's going." Reno nodded and told him where the hotel was and within a few short moments, the cab jerked into motion and they were on their way. Schad stared out the window, her eyes seemingly glazing over with little interest for what was outside.
-
Reno was a bit bummed at hearing the plans were ruined. But the cab got there and he just went on with what was at hand. Helping Schadenfreude into the cab. Once he did he got in, told the driver where to go and they set off. Once in motion Reno made sure the Croagunk doll was out of Schadenfreude's sight. He was also quite far from her in the cab, practically hugging the door. The ride was quiet, though he almost said something a few times. He did want to say something but couldn't. Eventually the cab came to a stop, Reno payed the fair and helped Schadenfreude out. Once out of the car he gave her a piggy back ride all the way to her door. "Hey, Reno, Schad, have a nice day?" asked Alexia from behind the counter before the went into the hallway. "It's been fine." he replied continuing on down the hall. Once at her door he leaned her forward over his head. "Go on, unlock it, heh." Reno seemed pretty cheery for having her on his back, almost as if he was enjoying himself.
-
She leaned forward and swiped her card, almost making them lose their balance, but quickly regaining it. She looked down at Reno who seemed to be enjoying himself and pressed down on his head to mess up his hair. It was weak because she was starting to get tired, but she managed to say, "Don't get used to it Reno, I don't take charity... But I'll let it slide this time."
-
"Just don't kick me again." Reno joked taking her over to the side of her bed, turned and knelt down to where she was sitting on the bed. He then turned around and fell on his behind fairly tired. "Well, your majesty...You're 'ome...And I'm tired..." "Go on...Tell'er..." Reno looked around the room nervously again, he was back to having stage fright again and not being able to speak. "I- uhm...." He stopped without saying anything else. He was clearly hiding something behind his back, you could tell because he was holding the doll behind him.
-
Schad arched a brow, sneaking a peek at something blue behind his back. "Issat what the big deal's about?" She inquired, pointing to what he was holding, "Because I told you, this black eye, it's not your fault. It's because I didn't keep my guard up and he knocked one across my face. But it's okay, I counted with a tray to his face." She was grinning as she recalled beating the crap out of Jackson. "And tomorrow, you can join in with the people that are either going to be making fun of him because he got beat up by a girl or because he got beat up by a gay guy, either way it'll be embarrassing for him."
-
Reno was a bit surprised she noticed, though it helped him really because now he had no choice but to show it to her. So he did. He took it from behind his back and held it up to her. "I-I-...Got it for you from the arcade...I saw you lookin' at it...And...Thought it'd make you feel better...And I-..." "Woah...Don't ruin it...Don't go that far...She still doesn't know I like'er." He looked down at the floor. "-I...Did still blame myself...I'm sorry..." Looking up at her he saw his extended hand beginning to tremble, he tried his best to stop it though. "S-So...Uhm...Do you...Ya know...Like it?"
-
Schad took the Croagunk doll when Reno extended it to her, she smiled and thanked him. "Croagunk is my favorite, actually. Aside from Cubone.. But they don't make plushes of him. I was going to save up my tickets, but I never have the patience to. Thank you." She sat it down beside of her and her look turned stern. As stern as it could be as tired as she was. "Look, Reno, seriously. You gotta lighten up, you can't keep blaming yourself for things that happen, they're just things, yanno?" She shrugged. "If you keep worrying, you'll be dead before you're twenty."
-
"I know...I just....Don't like seeing you get hurt...and..." "That would be too leading to say...Damnit..." "I don't know...I'm glad you liked the Croagunk." He said with a smile. He then stood up once again looking around nervously. "Uhm...Maybe I should go? I don't want to keep you up...Unless you like...Want to hang out...I mean...I-I still 'ave time before I go to work...And Uhm..." Reno started to blush, which was pretty visible through his white fur.
-
"Whatever you want, though, I.." She slid off the side of her bed shakily making it to the bathroom where you could hear her fumbling with a pill bottle. She took her medicine, then the sink ran as she took a few sips from it. Schad carefully made her way back to the edge of the bed using various nightstands and counters to keep her balance. "I mean, we can play some video games, but all I have currently is Fatal Frame."
-
Reno was looking off into space when Schadenfreude went to take her medicine, he felt kinda embarrassed and didn't want to be rude for staring. "Uhm...Do you like Resident Evil? I've uhm...Got number five on the 360 at my place...If you...Want to come over...Or I could bring it over if you like...What ever makes you feel better...Ya know...If you're sure you want to hang out..." he grabbed his shoulder as he usually did nervously. The thought of having a girl at his place made him extremely nervous. Just hanging out with her made him nervous. Just the two of them...In a hotel room of all places....
-
"I guess we can head over to your place." She said, scooping up the croagunk doll. "I've not been to your place, unfortunately, you've only been to mine.. And under the worst circumstances. Might as well salvage the situation since I screwed it up on account of my meds. Though, I may be a little out of it." She scratched her head, she didn't know what else to say, really. She was really passive about what happened, she didn't mind either way.
-
"Okay, it's a date then." He said with a smile, then he realized what he said. "ER...Plan! It's a plan! A good one! I-Er-..." He face pawed and walked out of her place and into his next door. He was really embarrassed so he didn't wait to see if she would follow or not. He wanted her to so he left his door open if she decided to still come. Either way, he went grabbed his computer chair and wheeled it into a corner of the room, near where his Violin was. He put it in front of the TV, popped in RE5 into the 360 on the night stand next to it and took out another controller from the drawer. Reno then sat down on his bed yielding his comfy computer chair to Schadenfreude if she were to come in.
-
Schad followed almost rolling her eyes. At this point she was somewhat picking up on the distinct possibility that Reno might like her, but she ignored it. She wasn't one for dating.. In fact, she'd only been in one relationship in her life and it had turned severely sour. When Reno exited, she changed into a pair of pajama pants, they were orange with yellow dogs on them, her favorites because they were so comfortable. Then, she entered his room silently, watching him play his game with the croagunk in hand.
-
Reno looked over at Schadenfreude when she entered the room, noting she was in her pajamas yet he was still fully dressed. But it's not like he had pajamas...Generally he just took a shower, laid on bed, passed out. And most of the times he was naked if not in boxers or a towel. He felt a bit awkward though it's not like he could slip into his PJ's. "Hey, uhm...It's two players...C'mon. It's easy, I'll teach you." He said with a smile, holding up the second controller. He also patted the chair signaling for her to sit in it and play.
-
Schad accepted the offer, hopping into the chair with a little help and took the controller. She had no idea how to play Rez on the x-box because it was one of the few systems she didn't really play on, so the controller itself was alien to her. She positioned the croagunk in the crook of her arm as she watched Reno play. She had always loved the visuals on this game. She asked, "Hey, have you ever beaten it?"
-
"Yeah, a couple times. But the game is awesome...I like playing The Mercenaries, and playing the DLC they come out with every so often. You even get to use Barry in one of the packs, it's awesome." Reno seemed to be much less nervous now that he was playing games. He was really much more comfortable playing them, he loved playing them, especially with friends. And to find a girl that likes them too is a God send in itself. "I hope she doesn't mind my geekin' out too much."
-
They played Rez together for a little while, what seemed like forever. It wasn't long and drawn out, it was fun. She liked playing video games almost as much as she liked to draw and make art. She was really crappy at playing it due to only having one eye, but she wasn't too horrible at it. Just.. Decent. She was also still adjusting to the x-box controller. A yawn escaped her mouth, but she continued to play, occasionally glancing over her shoulder to see what time it was.
-
Reno enjoyed his time with Schadenfreude, but he could tell they were both getting tired and he still had to go to work. "Mmm...Well...I 'ad a great time, but uh...I still 'ave work. And you look tired as it is...I 'ope you 'ad some fun too, you were pretty good for the first time." "God that sounds wrooooong..." "Heh...Well...I guess I'll see ya at school tomorrow." He turned off the game and got up to head Schadenfreude to the door, he left with her with his school stuff because he was going to have to go from work to school this time.
-
The next day, Shinzuu woke up a bit groggy, but somewhat refreshed at the same time. He made his usual route towards school and went through his usual day. Like before, during gym, he sat there on the bleachers watching everyone play basketball, still not allowed to play. Shinzuu sighed as his mind wandered back to his younger days not long after his father's death. He had been just like those kids down there, but back then he actually tried really hard to become good. From ball-handling to learning to shoot. Then came the long months of weight lifting, when he learned how people liked 3-point shots sometimes. Finally, came his last year of primary school before high school, when he hit his growth spurt, when in the course of one year, grew well over a foot taller, particularly after summer, when he hit 6'11". When gym class ended, he was snapped out of his daydreaming as his boils raised his attention as Tabby sat beside him.
-
Veronica went through her normal morning routine, minus the breakfast, and took her normal route to school. She went through classes like usual, listening to the teacher and taking notes. At lunch, she spent her time outside on the bleachers, alone. She laid there and stared up at the sky until the bell rang telling her it was time for gym class. During gym class, she wasn't as intense when she played basketball. She probably only took five shots during the whole time they were doing warm-ups and actually playing. As she went to leave the gym at the end of class, she glanced over at the bleachers just for something to look at only to spot Tabby just sitting down next to Shinzuu. She got a horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach and her face tightened up from some sort of pain. She quickly looked back down at the floor as she passed by the front of the bleachers and hurried out of the gym.
-
Schad went to school as per usual after a restless night of sleep. She brought Reno's things with her and figured that he couldn't miss her as she stood outside holding buckets like the girls before with a sign around her neck that read "fighting." She honestly didn't care if this was supposed to be humiliating.. She didn't care what anyone thought of her unless they were her friend. She was somewhat irritated that Jackson didn't get put out there for the same reason she was.
-
Reno went to school from work that morning dead tired. He dressed out for it before leaving. When he got there he saw Schadenfreude out front holding up buckets with the sign that read "Fighting.". With his ears hung low behind his head he approached her, along the way making sure none of the staff was watching him. "Uhm...'ey." He said nervously with a small wave. "I-...Well...Sucks that your out 'ere...And I don't see Jackson...He's likely just skippin'." He grabbed his shoulder nervously as usual and looked around trying to avoid eye contact. "Uhm...How's the eye? It's a bit lonely out 'ere...Don't ya think?" Reno kinda wanted to stay with her and hang out, even if it meant skipping some classes. Even though he would likely fall asleep under the nearby tree if he did, he looked tired.
-
Shinzuu saw Veronica walk off and not even look at him. So she really doesn't want anything more to do with me, eh? Fine. He looked at Tabby, "What's up? Where's your posse?" Tabby just smiled, "They were just other members who were fans of yours. I'm here on my own accord. I just wanted to thank you personally for deciding to join us. I'm sure you'll be happy being with us. I know I will..." She blushed as she finished those words and ran off like any other giddy little school girl who just confessed to the guy she liked. Shinzuu sighed as she ran off and began to rub the remaining boils on his arm. Damn, are all girls like that or something? Jeez... The rest of the day went without a hitch, and was as boring as ever. Time dragged on until the bell finally rang for the end of classes. Shinzuu then went upstairs to the senior wing and entered the MMA Club's room. Tabby was the only inside at the time and he walked in on her topless and getting changed. "Woops! Sorry!" He only took one step when she stopped him. "It's ok, you can turn around now." Shinzuu turned and all of a sudden, she was in full gi and hakama all tied and pristine, but her face was still red with blush through her fur. "I'm... sorry. I should have knocked first." Tabby shook her head, "No, it's fine. It's just that no one ever shows up on time, so I usually just change in here instead of the gear room."
-
When school ended, Veronica headed outside (behind the school) and sat on the grass near a corner of the building. She hadn't even gone to the library to grab a book to read. Unknown to her, Carmen followed her outside, moving to stand beside her after she had sat down. "You look like hell..." Carmen said as she eyed her. "Oh really? 'Cause I feel like ***." Veronica mumbled in response without looking up. Carmen sat down beside her and remained quiet for about five minutes. "Liar." Carmen finally said, looking over at Veronica. "What?" Veronica said, her expression becoming a confused one as she side-glanced at Carmen. "You're a liar. You said you'd deal with this whole thing. Is this what you call dealing with it?" Carmen questioned, gesturing to Veronica, obviously bringing up the point of her looking horrible. "Of course this isn't me dealing with it. I just didn't get much sleep last night is all..." Veronica muttered, looking back down at the grass in front of her. Carmen eyed her warily, not sure if she should believe her or not. "You sure you're gonna be alright?" Carmen asked softly as she got up. "I'll live..." Veronica mumbled, as she didn't look up once again. Carmen nodded then walked off since she needed to go to her club. "I'm obviously easily replaced anyway..." She said after she heard the door close behind Carmen. She let out a sigh and leaned her head back against the wall, closing her eyes.
-
"Eh, crap happens," she muttered. "Though I don't much mind being alone, I don't have to deal with the teachers today." She chuckled holding the buckets. "Honestly, this is only humiliating if you have a social life and actually care about however many people that go here think of you. It doesn't bother me of some empty headed blonde haired idiot thinks I'm funny for being in trouble. And as for my eye, it's still swollen." She still couldn't open it, and it looked worse than yesterday.
-
"Hmm...What do I do now...? Do I stay even though she said she doesn't mind being alone...? Maybe I should give'er time...I did just give 'er a present...That was a dead give away...Well, I think she took it as an apology more than a way to say I like 'er...Thinkin' on it...It was a good thing I 'ad somethin' to apologize for. I don't know...I'd probably just fall asleep in class...What would be the difference if I did it out 'ere? With Schad..." " 'Ey...I'm gonna go take a nap over 'ere...Wake me if a teacher comes?" Reno said walking over to the nearby tree. He dropped his bag and sat down leaning against the tree. He sat with his legs bent, knees pointing up while he had his elbows on his kness with his hands hanging between his legs. He was trying to stay awake just in case Schadenfreude wanted to say anything.
-
The two stood in silence for a couple minutes before everyone else began filing in through the door. The practice already started once half the people were there. Many were sparring or helping new people learn martial arts of their choice. A good majority of the girls wanted to be Shinzuu's teacher and a majority of the boys wanted to spar with him to test their strength to verify the rumors about Shinzuu's two skirmishes. Tabby jumped in each time, "Sorry, ladies/guys, he's out of commission for another week. As for basic form... he's mine."
-
Veronica continued to sit outside with her head leaned back against the wall and her eyes closed while she waited for time to pass. She kept drifting in and out of consciousness. One minute she was hearing the sound of birds chirping and the track team practicing, and the next minute she would be in a dream state.
Carmen headed to her club which was actually the MMA Club, having changed after talking to Veronica. She filed in with everyone else and noticed that Shinzuu was there standing by Tabby. Her expression became an unhappy one as she looked at the two of them before being chosen by one of the biggest guys in the club as his sparring partner. She rolled her eyes. The guys always wanted to spar with her and it was for two reasons: 1) To see if the would get a chance to touch things they shouldn't and 2) to see if they'd actually be the first to beat her in a sparring match. So she sparred with the guy, not having to work that hard to block him. As she listened to Tabby stopping others from working with Shinzuu, she became irritated. "Seriously Tabby, he's not an item. You don't own him. IF he wants to work with others, just let the guy." She said as she continued her sparring with the big guy. "Of course, it's not like I should even defend him. So don't mind me..." And she systematically flipped the guy twice her size over her shoulder. "...just continue flirting with him when you're supposed to be PRACTICING." Carmen then looked around at the others and smirked devilishly. "So who's next?"
-
After a while, Schad sat down the buckets and sat herself, keeping a sharp watch for teachers once she sat down herself. "This blows.." she muttered, "I have the right mind to just, leave these buckets here and skip, myself. It's pointless when there's no one out here." She sat, thinking hard for a moment, weighing out her options. She looked over to Reno who was leaning against the tree and took the sign off from around her neck. "Think we should go somewhere? I mean, you're obviously not going to class, we can at least make something of it rather than just sitting here and me holding buckets."
-
Reno looked up almost passing out when she asked him something. "Uhm...I-" "Oh man...Is she asking me out? What does being asked out sound like? Think...Well...The other person would ask you to go somewhere...And she just did...Oh man! What do I say?! This is so-" "Sure, whatcha 'ave in mind?" he said getting himself to his feet. Little did the two know the Principal and Reno's Psychology teacher, Mr. Avery, a black panther. "It looks like she's going to skip your punishment...And she's taking little Mister O' Malley with her." "I'm going to go double her punishment right now, making such a nice boy start being such a delinquent." She was about to open the door when Mr. Avery stopped her. "Please, I've been watching Mister O' Malley for awhile now...His behavior has become much different recently...When his parents died he seemed to shut himself from the outside world, clinging to any small thing he could to remember his parents. Honestly I think that is the only reason he is still on the swim team. He has been surprisingly...Relaxed around Mister Katame, Miss Uzima and Miss Snide...They have had a positive effect on his attitude and behavior, particularly Miss Snide..." "That's no reason to let him fall in with the wrong crowd, Shinzuu and Vee are good for him, I'm not sure about Schadenfreude." "On the contrary, I believe she is doing him much good. Whether it is easy to see or not...Mister O' Malley seems to enjoy Miss Snide's company, even if they are breaking rules. As long as he is with her he finds himself safe...Anyway...I think I will have a talk with those three and let them in on Mister O' Malley's secret. It is not healthy to bottle up those kind of emotions..." "You're not going to tell them his parents are dead are you? Do you know how upset that will make him?" "Indeed...But it is all for the better...If he has found a good enough group of friends it will not matter. They will support him and help him get over it. Anyway...I should get back to my students...They have been waiting far too long." "Wait, you were playing hookey?!" "Yep! AHAHAHAHAH!" Mr. Avery laughed as he bolted down the hallway out of sight.
-
Tabby smirked and waved Carmen off. "Or else what, Carmen? You want to challenge me again? I'll be happy to show you up again in front of everyone, if you want. I AM the club prez for a reason." Carmen sighed and tossed the next guy over like a ragdoll, "Next!" Tabby walked up to Shinzuu and hugged his arm, and he just as smoothly slicked out and put some distance between them. "Please don't, I have some severe skin irritation right now." "Oh, ok..." said Tabby, smiling. It's ok, I prefer the hard to get. Shinzuu spent the rest of the club time sitting off in the corner by himself, watching every fight and sparring very intently. Every time Tabby tried to make an advance or even walk over to him, Shinzuu would either say he had to go to the bathroom or walk up closer to one of the guys who were sparring as if he needed a better view of the match, so that she would go away from him. At the end of the club, Shinzuu was the first to leave and went straight to the principal's office. Principal Yass called Tabby over from the intercom to verify that Shinzuu had actually joined, and not just gonna ditch everyday after school. Tabby came in and stood uncomfortably close to Shinzuu while she answered Principal Yass' questions. After Principal Yass stamped it onto Shinzuu's record, he left, Tabby following close. As they reached the gate, Tabby ran up in front of Shinzuu, "Just wanted to thank you again for joining. It means a lot to us." Shinzuu was uneasy and chuckled nervously, "Yea, well... I really didn't have much a selection, so... yea. See ya!" Shinzuu circled around her and ran straight home. Tabby just stared blankly for a second before giggling to herself, And he's shy, I like, I like...
-
Carmen scoffed at Tabby's comments as she threw the next guy over her shoulder before calling out, "Next!" She started sparring the next person. "Such a large ego for someone who is only the club president because she's the one who started the club..." She thought as she knocked her partner to the ground. "I could take her if I had to, and I will if it comes to that." As the club meeting continued, she kept an eye on Tabby and Shinzuu. She noticed that Shinzuu kept avoiding Tabby, but it didn't make her feel any better because she knew how determined Tabby always was when it came to getting what she wanted. When club ended, she left to change into her regular clothes. As she headed out of the school she noticed Shinzuu and Tabby ahead of her, she didn't get too close and just walked at a leisurely pace, keeping the long distance between them. She watched what passed between the two when they reached the gate ahead of her and saw Shinzuu run off. "Well, at least he keeps resisting... but I probably shouldn't tell Vee about all this because she's already taking everything else so hard..." She thought as she walked the rest of the way to the gate and out. "Poor girl. She finally starts to like a guy and let her walls down only to have a simple misunderstanding make it all go to hell."
Veronica's eyes snapped open when her inner-clock told her it was time to get ready for cheer practice. She slowly got up from her spot, feeling slightly dizzy for a moment. She headed inside and into the bathroom. Once inside she changed into her normal practice clothes and switched her hair into a ponytail. She was in there the whole while that Carmen, Shinzuu, and Tabby were in the hallway and didn't finish until they had already left the building. She headed into the gym and began stretching while waiting for the others after she had dragged the mats out with the coach. There were several times during their practice that she had to be told to smile when she was usually the only one who never needed to hear that command. When practice was over, she headed home. She received some wolf whistles and some comments but didn't even bother to snap at the guys. She wasn't in the mood. Once home, she grabbed a glass of chocolate milk and did her homework while sitting in the living room with her parents.
-
Schad shrugged and left the sign and buckets where she was standing. "I don't know but you comin'?" she asked, starting to take off down the sidewalk. "I know at some of the old schools if you skipped you had to get to a certain distance away from the school or you could get picked up by law enforcement and taken back. Is it like that here?" she asked, curiously, at this point walking backwards to look at Reno. "If you don't hurry, I'll leave you," she laughed.
-
Reno quickly hopped up, grabbed his things and hurried off after Schadenfreude. "Uhm...I'm not sure about the law enforcement picking you up..." he said after having caught up. He put his bag over his shoulder and walked on her left. "So...Where we goin'? Got any ideas? I'm up for anythin'." Both his ears were up as he walked, he seemed pretty happy. "Hmm...I wonder where she'll take me? I've never been on a date before...Maybe I'm just over thinkin' this whole thing..."
-
Shinzuu sighed as he got home, his mother just getting home as well. "It's going to be quite hard to adjust to you coming home at the same time as me, dear. But I guess I at least won't be eating dinner alone anymore, and you can help with the dishes!" Shinzuu sighed as Shiori went to her room and began humming when she came out, heading to the kitchen to fix dinner. "So how's that girlfriend of yours?" Shinzuu sighed and just plopped onto the couch and turned on his PS3, playing Metal Gear Solid 4 while downloading the demo for Metal Gear Solid Rising.
-
Veronica wasn't very smart when she was doing her homework though as she allowed herself to think about things. She thought about Shinzuu telling her he wanted to be alone at the hospital, about how hard it had been for her to say no when he asked her if she wanted to go to dinner with him, how much it hurt her to see him disappointed by her answer, how it crushed her that he didn't have anything to say to her when she apologized for her idiocy, how many emotions she felt all at once at the times when she had seen Tabby with Shinzuu (jealousy, anger, sadness, rejected), and how much it upset her that she would probably never be with him now. All these thoughts ended up just making her more depressed so when she had finished her homework she went upstairs and grabbed her pajamas., heading into the bathroom. She started the water then turned on CD player, putting in the RENT soundtrack and pressing play, then put some bubble bath in the water in the tub. After undressing, she sunk into the hot, bubble-filled water and closed her eyes.
-
"I don't know, you think too much, let's just go." She grabbed his wrist and jerked him, running at breakneck speed to put as much distance between the school and them as she could. Honestly, she didn't know much about this place having been a transfer student, so she just took off, trying to read some of the signs and looking for interesting buildings. She stopped when they got to the train. Somehow she'd remembered how to get there since they went there once. She looked at Reno panting. "Well, I forgot, don't we have to swipe a card or something to get on this thing?"
-
Reno ran along with her whilst being dragged along by the wrist. When they got to the train station he caught his breath. "Yeah...Don't worry...I 'ave an idea..." He fumbled around for his wallet, took it out and then his card. He swiped it once and looked to Schadenfreude. "Ladies first." Once she went through he swiped it again for himself and went through. "Now what?" he asked putting his card and wallet away. Reno looked around the area, just taking in the view because he wasn't down here all that much.
-
She sat on the train and chuckled, "I don't know, what do you want to do? I don't even know where I am, honestly." She nudged Reno. "I guess you get to choose now." She grinned. The train ride was somewhat rough, and Schad sometimes was caught off guard by someone looking at her funny since she was still in her uniform, in which she shot back another equally odd look.
-
Reno sat a seat away from Schadenfreude, pretty nervous of the whole thing. When she said it was up to him on what they would do made him freak out a little. "Oh crap...It's up to me?! Uhm...Arcade? No...We did that...I don't want to be generic...Um...What about lunch at the restaurant? Oh God no...That would really seem like a date. Maybe invite 'er over for some games? NO! O-M-G, this is freakin' hard!" Just then his stomach growled. "Heh...I guess my stomach has decided on lunch...Hungry?"
-
Reno seemed quiet on the way to.. Where ever they were going. She herself wasn't sure where they were going as she stood up and decided that this, where ever this was, was where they were going. She tugged on the string to notify the train that they were getting off at the next stop. "Welp, we're getting off next, I hope you have a plan, because I sure have no idea where I'm at." She laughed. She was so bored with the everyday thing, she wanted to do something else, even if it meant getting lost.
-
Reno got off the train with Schadenfreude, he too had no clue where they actually were. "Uh...Hmm...Well, I guess we could explore. See what we could find. To be honest...I'm not really sure where we are...Though I think we should find a place to eat...I'm kinda hungry. Are you?" "I thought I asked...Was it in my 'ead? Ugh...I can't remember..." He scratched his head in thought while he stood there with a puzzled look on his face.
-
Schad nodded, she really was hungry. "I hope you can remember how to get to the train station." Before Reno could respond, she bolted again, not looking over her shoulder to see if he was following. She was determined to find a place to eat, and as she dashed down the street, she found just that, a noodle shack where you actually sat and ate at the bar on the street and the cook prepared the food, right in front of you. She plopped down on one of the empty stools and looked around, waiting for Reno to find her. The statement she had made was actually pretty true. She wouldn't remember how to get back to the train station.
-
Reno took off after her, only noticing when she just about left the station. He lost sight of her around a corner, rounding it he ran down the street until he saw her sitting at what appeared to be a ramen joint. He sat down next to her, rejoicing to himself that they were getting food. And it was ramen of all things, who didn't like ramen? He set his bag down to his right and looked to Schadenfreude who was on his left. He was going to wait until she had said her order before he said his. while he waited, he looked over the menu quietly.
-
She looked at Reno as he sat down. "WELL. I'm getting Ramen, how about you?" She asked, giving him a somewhat stern, but at the same time playful look. "Seems good." She said, tapping her menu on the bar as if to adjust a newspaper and look fancy. "So, do you know how to get back to the train? I was being serious when I said I had no clue where I was." She ordered her food, her eyes still fixated on Reno, awaiting a response.
-
"Uhm...I'll have ramen too. And yeah, I remember the way back." The two ordered their ramen and ate it. Mostly in silence, aside from a bit of random chatting. When they finished Reno payed for both of them, trying to be the gentleman. When he turned to grab his bag when he noticed someone grabbing it. The man took off with Reno's bag and instantly ran after him with Schadenfreude behind him. A few corners and long stretches later the man just dropped the bag and ran off as Reno took it back. The two caught their breath and realized they were now lost. After a little while of walking they found a small park and just relaxed for awhile. After relaxing they took off to find a way home. It ended up taking them a few hours, but somehow they managed to get to the hotel. Reno didn't go with her inside and said his goodbyes at the door before explaining he had to get to work, which he was way late for. But after a late night at work Reno finally stumbled into his room exhausted. He managed to shower and then reach his bed before passing out.
-
Shinzuu did not enjoy the rest of his evening. It was homemade ramen (which was the only good part) for dinner and then it was constant nagging from his mother about why he wasn't out with Veronica right now, and him just ignoring her until it was time for their American shows. Shinzuu only watched about 15 minutes of it before giving up and just heading to bed. He didn't bother turning on his laptop or anything. He just laid in bed and stared at the ceiling. It's finally the weekend, and it's probably the first one I'll ever feel like I don't want to do anything.
-
Veronica stayed in her bubble bath for the whole length of her RENT soundtrack then finally got out and drained the tub. As she dried off, she switched the CD player so it was on the radio setting. She had finished drying off and had changed into her pajamas when the song "Teardrops On My Guitar" by Taylor Swift (http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/taylorswift/teardropsonmyguitar.html) came on the radio. She felt the pain building up in her chest as the song progressed to the chorus so she quickly shut the CD player off before the chorus could start the first time. From there she went to her room and crawled into bed, hoping to get a good night's sleep but knowing it most likely wouldn't happen.
-
The possum came home after a fun day of getting lost. She seemed to enjoy the fact that Reno hadn't seemed as nervous as he usually was, but she couldn't help let her mind wander back to what would happen once she returned to school since she hadn't been there to turn in the signs and buckets. There was no way they were oblivious to her absence. She stripped down as soon as she got home literally as soon as she closed the door with Reno and jumped in the shower after turning on her radio to blast Pendulum. She leaned against the wall in the shower, singing to herself. Today had been good.
"Something's tearing me down.. And down, can't help but feel like it's coming from yoooou~"
She slid down the wall sitting in the floor of the shower, closing her eyes and relaxing. After a while she dressed in pajamas and fell into her bed, falling asleep quickly with the music still blaring.
-
Reno woke up just an hour before school the next morning. He was still tired but he was used to waking up at this time. He got out of bed, put his uniform on and plopped down in his computer chair. He was about to fall asleep so he kicked off his desk which made him fall back onto the floor in an attempt to wake him up. It didn't really work, it just made a loud noise. For some reason he thought about if he had locked his door or not last night, he didn't. It wasn't often that he really did anyway. Reno looked as if he might be dead or injured the way he was lying asleep next to his chair. He mumbled "Just five more minutes..." and fell back asleep.
-
Shinzuu groaned as he got up. Saturday.... finally, one more day of class to put up with before he gets his day off, though he still doesn't feel that he'll be in the mood to leave the house when tomorrow comes. He made his way to school, but was bombarded by his usual crowd of girls and gay guys, but not as many gays this time, since quite a few know about what happened with him and Veronica. He ran right through the crowd and into his classroom. Shinzuu scratched his boils like crazy until the itching stopped. He sighed as he relaxed, and noticed some other girls congregating in the school yard. "Hey guys. Look who's finally back. Those little music peps are done with their competition. And look who's taking lead. Luca." The other guys began laughing, "Yea, he was the only person as popular as you, except I think the gay guys takes you over him with ease. Hahaha!" Shinzuu scoffed, "You guys know damn right why they all flock to me. But then again, you look at his spectrum, he gets all the nerdy girls who are suckers for music over sports." Karo laughed as he patted Shinzuu's back, "Well, at least no girl is left without a heart-break."
-
Veronica went through her normal morning routine after waking up, skipping breakfast again but not really realizing it. When she got to school she noticed the crowd of people but didn't care what they were hanging around for. She headed straight through the crowd with her eyes focused on the ground in front of her. Even though she had thoroughly gotten ready, she still looked like a wreck. Her hair looked messed up even though she had brushed it & put it in pigtails and her eyes were bloodshot. After getting inside, she put her stuff in her locker then headed to her classroom. She plopped down in her normal seat then rested her head against her arms on the desk.
-
Schad dragged herself out of bed, staggering into the bathroom in a drunken daze. The sleep made her more tired than anything, her body was so used to going without that it didn't know how to react when she had the right amount. She eventually convinced herself to get dressed after staring at herself in the mirror for a bit, and washing her face. She didn't eat, either, looking at the clock, she plopped back in bed fully dressed and made sure her alarm was to go off. She stared at the celing, lost in thought until the alarm went off again. This time, she got up with an extra energy boost and grabbed her book bag, knocking on Reno's door loudly since he wasn't already out there. If there wasn't an answer, she'd just move on assuming he left her.
-
Reno woke up when Schadenfreude knocked on his door, he knew it was her because it was getting to be a familiar sound around this time. He rolled off the tipped over chair and got to his feet. He then grabbed his bag and zipped out the door and almost ran into Schadenfreude. "Mornin'." he said with a smile. He closed the door behind him and locked it this time. "So uhm....Ready? 'ow'd ya sleep? Erm....Yeah...." "Why'd I ask that...Do friends ask that kind of stuff? They do, right...?"
-
Shinzuu scoffed again as he sat back onto his desk chair. "Those damned Americanized kids. Seeing them around makes me think of those goth girls parading around Shinjuku lately. At least they're not as depressing." He sighed as he sat up straight a bit as the teacher entered the classroom. Shinzuu was almost zoned out the entire time, only partially interested in the lessons. He was so out of it, he didn't even show up for gym, even though he didn't even have to participate, but he just went up to the roof and stayed there the rest of the day. Dammit, as if it wasn't a pain enough that I'm out of the teams, but now Mr. I-think-I'm-perfect has to be back. This is gonna be one hell of a year.
-
Veronica lifted her head when the teacher came in her classroom. She went through her classes as usual, taking notes and whatever else, but she didn't participate in discussions at all. At lunch she sat outside by herself, not even thinking about eating since it hasn't been on her mind in the slightest lately. During gym class, she never took a shot while playing. She passed the ball off every time it was thrown to her. Her last classes went the same as the ones at the beginning of day. When the bell rang at the end of the day, she was the first to get out of her seat and leave the classroom. She headed out behind the school and sat underneath a tree with her back against the trunk of the tree.
-
The walk to school was like the usual, she chatted with Reno some about the night before until she got to her class. Then they broke off and she went inside the classroom, doing the usual routines of the day. It was exceptionally boring until lunch. She couldn't get out of the classroom fast enough. She took her seat at the usual spot, sketching furiously, not much concerned for actually getting food. She figured she'd wait on Reno if he was coming, if not, oh well.
-
When Reno went to class he was hammered with questions about where he was and why he wasn't there yesterday by the teacher. He also had some work to make up which was a pain. He did most of it and slept until lunch. When that time did come around he went, got his food and sat down across from Schadenfreude like he usually did. He took a drink of his milk looking at her draw, seemingly rough or something. He then noticed she didn't have any food either. "Hmm...Did she eat? Maybe...I don't think I should pry..." "...Whatcha...Drawin' there, Schad?" He did seem a little nervous but not as much as he normally did.
-
As the final bell rang for the end of classes and time for clubs/teams, Shinzuu got up from laying on the roof and headed down to the third floor. This time, when he got to the door, he knocked. Tabby's voice came from the other side, "Come in, I'm decent." Shinzuu opened the door and found Tabby already doing her warm-ups. She merely smiled almost happily at him as she continued to stretch and warm-up. "I know you're not allowed to be active yet, but at least do some stretches, it'll help with..... *sputters and laughs* ...ah, who the hell am I talking to? Of course you know all about it. Track/Field and Basketball all-star. Yea, you would know about maintaining body health and exercises while healing. Anyways, I..." Tabby stopped short, surprised that a lot of club members came in dressed or mostly dress and began warm-ups and stretches. She stood up and shook her head with a smile, "Well, now. This is the first time these slobs actually show up on time. See? Adding you to the club has already made a positive influence on the others." Shinzuu took his normal seat and watched as intently as people stretched and warmed up as much as he did when they were actually sparring and/or giving lessons.
-
After sitting underneath the tree for a while, Veronica finally made herself get up. She sluggishly walked over to the school and then went inside. Deciding that she was going to roam the school, she headed for the stairs. She wandered around the second floor then headed up to the third floor and wandered around up there for a few minutes before she decided on something to do. All of a sudden she jogged down a hall and went into a cartwheel and then did a back-flip. She continued to do flips, cartwheels, and rolls through the 3rd floor hallways so she was basically practicing her tumbling. If anyone saw her face though at anytime she paused they would have seen that her expression was an empty-looking one and she still looked horrible.
Carmen was in her club doing her warm-up stretches. While she was sparring with someone she heard a 'thump' outside the room so she held up a hand to tell the person to wait. She looked through the tall, narrow window beside the door and saw Veronica standing there looking down the hallway. She looked around the room and glanced at Shinzuu before she opened the door partway. "Hey. What're you doing out here?" She asked as she looked down the hallway then back at Veronica. "Tumbling..." Veronica mumbled her response as she looked back at Carmen with the same empty gaze. "Well...Shinzuu's in here..." Carmen whispered so only Veronica could hear after raising her eyebrow at Veronica's response. "Oh really..." Veronica said sounding uninterested as she looked around Carmen to see into the room then went back to her normal stance and looked at Carmen again. "Good for him...maybe he'll find somebody else who can hold his interest for longer than a couple weeks..." Carmen shook her head. "Don't be talking like that. He's been rejecting Tabby's adva--" Carmen's eyes quickly widened and she covered her mouth because of her slip-up. There was a flash of emotion across Veronica's face: jealously, sadness, and anger all at once. But as quick as it had appeared, it was gone. Veronica shrugged and started to walk away. "Veronica, wait..." Carmen said but Veronica was already flipping along down the hallway.
-
She almost didn't catch what he said, as if she were in a trance of sketching. Sometimes she seemed absent-minded while sketching because she had a pencil in her hand working and a pencil hanging out of her mouth. "Eh, I dunno yet." she replied after stopping to actually look. It was a figure, a form of someone, but there weren't really any features to distinguish it. Just ovals overlapping to form the anatomy. She dropped her pencil on the table and tucked the other behind her ear, and scurried of to go get food.
-
Reno watched as she went off to get her food and when she did he looked over to her sketch to get a look at it. He saw it didn't really look finished so he went back to eating his food. He ate it slower, waiting on Schadenfreude to return with hers so it would be like they were eating together. But it wasn't working as well as he had planned, most of it was gone by the time she had returned. He was just no good at not sucking down his favorite dishes. Just out of nowhere he thought about the date, which he forgot, curious what it was but not wanting to ask to seem idiotic for not knowing something so easy.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he watched and seemed to analyze every motion that everyone made for sparring and stretches. He did his best to try to find out what muscles are being used and how, and tried to think about it using what he knew from basketball and track. Shinzuu groaned half-way through club and just sat against the wall, his brain 100% fried from thinking, something he's never really done since his father died. Laziness was definitely not the contributing factor of him being in Class G.
-
Veronica had stopped her tumbling before reaching the stairs. She walked halfway down the flight of stairs before she stopped and sat down on one of the steps. She sighed and put her head in her hands while her elbows were on her knees. That was probably how she was going to spend the rest of her time waiting for it to be time for her to change for practice since she had slipped into a state where she didn't want to do anything.
Carmen was frowning when she turned away from the door after closing it and went back to her sparring. She felt bad for Veronica, she really did, but she didn't know what to do to help her out. It seemed to her like things weren't going to change unless Veronica and Shinzuu got over themselves and really talked to each other, but she doubted that she could get that to happen.
-
This is for Rigor, since she can't get past the 403:
Schad scampered off to get her lunch, only to be harassed by the gay boys once again. Apparently, they liked the fact that she could beat up a boy and take a punch, it seemed to rile them up even more when she came around, and when one of them touched her bruised eye, she crammed her sandwich in his face as she made her way back to Reno. She shuttered at the thought of what they gay boys were getting at, hoping that lunch would go by quick because of it. She began eating everything else on her plate since her sandwich was now far gone, smashed into a random guy's face. It only perturbed her more when the thought that the guy probably enjoyed it crossed her mind.
-
Reno was just about done eating when Schadenfreude returned with her food. He didn't notice what had happened with the gay musketeers(Because there's three of them, heh.) because he was too concerned with the date. He remembered it was Saturday, which meant no work today and no school tomorrow. It put a smile on his face while he thought of it, he could just kick back and relax being able to go home rather than work. He also needed to get swim practice out of the way, which reminded him he had to work even harder than the extra hard for a swim meet coming up. It took his smile off his face as he finished his lunch. Reno got up and threw away his trash before turning back to say goodbye to Schadenfreude.
-
Shinzuu heard Carmen talking with someone outside the door, but he couldn't hear the conversation. It was probably Veronica, and Shinzuu was about to say something, but decided against it. Probably spying on me for Veronica or something. I swear, that woman needs a new hobby. Isn't it enough that she hurt me as much as she already did? He sighed and got up from the wall and approached Tabby, making sure that Carmen was watching. Shinzuu's body reacted to being close to Tabby and began breaking out in boils, but he held it in. "I may not be allowed to be active, but can you show me proper form? I think I got it down, but I'd like to learn some basic universal form from someone who's done it for a long time."
-
Veronica continued to sit on the stairs for a while. Finally her legs got restless and she got tired of sitting so motionless. She removed her head from her hands and stood up, immediately getting a rush of dizziness and losing her balance. She almost fell down the stairs but managed to steady herself using the railing. Standing there for a moment, she let her head settle before she continued down the stairs. She grabbed her clothes for practice from her locker then went to the bathroom and changed. She knew it wasn't time for practice yet but she headed into the gym. Grabbing a basketball, she started to shoot hoops to keep herself busy though she did it at a slow pace.
Carmen was watching, of course, out of the corner of her eye as she was sparring. She rolled her eyes as she directed her attention back to her partner just in time to block a kick. "Done it for a long time? That's an understatement..." She thought to herself, basically calling Tabby "easy". She had seen Shinzuu looking at her when he approached Tabby though so she could tell that he most likely wanted her to see what he was doing. "He must've seen me talking to Veronica. Maybe he thinks...no, that's stupid..." She glanced over at Shinzuu and examined him slightly before giving off a look that said 'you're wrong', though she wasn't sure he would see it. She hoped he would. She wouldn't be able to stand it if he thought that way about Veronica, but since she knew she wouldn't be able to stand it she also knew that there was a better chance of him not seeing the look.
-
After she finished eating, she threw away her trash and grabbed her sketchbook, heading to Art Club. There, they discussed the proposition of painting a mural in Feral to make it more appealing to the students. She sighed and raised her hand when the teacher asked for volunteers. Why not? It would get her out of class, but then again, she'd also have to stay after and maybe on the weekend. Though the idea of painting the insignia of Feral and other things related to school spirit almost made her want to barf. It seemed like a bad idea, but she was somewhat willing because maybe she would make friends.. Who knows?
-
Reno made it to swim practice, dressed out and listened to his coach's constant drilling before diving into the water. He swam his laps back and forth as he usually did, he was the up there with the fastest swimmer on the team. He wasn't better, but not worse at the same time. He didn't care to get better than him, he was a more popular kid so out of the two they would choose him to praise over Reno. It didn't bother him, he would get too much attention anyway which he didn't really like. While Reno practiced he thought of how he was going to spend his day off. "I wonder if Schad is going to ask me to hang out? Hmm...Maybe I should ask'er? No...You're not good at things like that. You'll likely just choke and look like an idiot. Well, It's not like she lives far from me...I'm sure if she want's to hang out she'll let me know. I wonder how Shinzuu and Veronica are doing...?"
-
Tabby gave a smile, "Of course. Just do what i do and follow my instructions." She showed Shinzuu basic stances that were universal from feet position to basic technique and finesse. Tabby giggled to herself in her head, Alright, I just reeled in the hottest sensation in the school. My popularity's gonna be off the roof. On top of that, if I play my cards right, I might even be able to score." The rest of club went on as usual, save Tabby scrutinizing everyone and teaching Shinzuu, instead. Shinzuu seemed very determined to learn to any on-lookers, but he wasn't. In fact, the look on his face is not from concentration on learning, but rather to ignoring the pain and itching coming from the ever growing boil population under his fur.
-
Carmen continued her sparring as the club meeting went on. During the rest of the time she never looked at Shinzuu again and only kept her eyes on whoever she was sparring with. Though with the mood she was in and with the look on her face, she was looking pretty scary and like she might kill anyone who made a wrong move to anyone who dared to spar with her.
Veronica continued to shoot hoops at her slow pace. She seemed to slow down even more as it got closer to the time for her practice. Finally the world started to spin and even though she stopped moving the spinning wouldn't stop. Her vision was darkening and she slowly sunk to the ground before passing out. The coach showed up in the gym early as usual to get ready for practice and saw Veronica lying on the floor. She rushed over to her to check if Veronica was breathing then pulled out her cell phone and called for an ambulance. She ended up being able to get Veronica back to consciousness but Veronica didn't have the strength to sit up, let alone stand. "Have you had anything to eat today?" The coach asked. Veronica thought about it for a moment then shook her head. "When was the last time you ate?" Veronica closed her eyes and tried to remember. "I don't know..." The coach snapped her fingers, causing Veronica to open her eyes again. "I need to keep you awake until the ambulance gets here. Why haven't you been eating? You've never been this way." The coach inquired. "Just haven't felt hungry..." The coach sighed and then the sound of an ambulance siren could be heard outside the school. It was loud enough that anyone in the school could hear it. The EMTs came into the gym and tended to Veronica. They asked her the same questions the coach had just asked and she gave them the same answers. They told her that they needed to take her to the hospital and at least keep her overnight. "I'll call your parents and tell them." The coach said as the EMTs carried Veronica out of the gym on a stretcher. The cheerleaders that were heading into the gym looked at Veronica with confusion as they wondered what was going on and Veronica just put her hands over her face.
-
After she finished fervently sketching through the entirety of art club, she grabbed her things and made her way to the entrance for Feral High, leaning against the fence and sliding down it until she was in a sitting / squatting position. She yawned, somewhat tired, not really keeping an eye out like she usually did for Reno. She crammed her sketchbook into the dangerous paper swallowing monster that was her book bag and stared upward somewhat dazed. Tomorrow she had to come meet for Art Club to start on the mural. She was assigned to sketch it out, and so far, she was not getting too far.
-
Reno stopped doing laps to catch his breath, he pulled himself out of the pool and sat on the side. While he sat he watched Dennis, an otter, swim. Dennis was the star swimmer of the team, the person Reno was a shadow of. But it was all the better, Reno didn't like the attention. After a moment of sitting a whistle blew, signaling practice was over. Reno stood up and went to towel off and change back into his normal clothes. After that he left to go home. He was about leave through the entrance when he saw Schadenfreude through the doors, making him stop. He took a breath, headed out them and stopped in front of her. He wasn't looking at her, but rather ahead. "He-" "Mr. O' Malley, greetings." said Mr. Avery coming up behind Reno. "Oh, uhm, Mr. Avery, uhm, hello." "How are you today?" "I'm uh...Fine." "Excuse me, Miss Snide, I have to steal Mr. O' Malley for a moment." Mr. Avery guided Reno a few steps away, facing away from Schadenfreude. "So, Mr. O' Malley, do you like Miss Snide?" "...Why do you call me by my last name? It's weird..." "Hmm, you are dodging the question. But tell me...Why do you call me by my last name?" "I-...Well It's just what we do to teachers...It's just polite I guess..." "There it is there, now will you answer my question?" "...Yes, I do...We're friends." "I see...How are your parents doing?" Reno was shocked to hear the question, you could tell it took him by surprise if you looked at his face. "W-Why do you-" "Why do I ask? No reason, just making small talk. So...How are they?" "I- there fine. My dad is on-" "A business trip, right? And your mother, same?" "Ye-" "It is rude to lie to a teacher, you know?" "I-..." "It is quite alright, I know what happened...And I am sorry it happened to-" "Shut up! I don't need yer damned pity alright?! Just leave me hell alone!" Reno shouted before taking off. Mr. Avery watched as he ran off down the road, almost getting hit by a car as he ran across the street. "My my...A tough nut that one, it is rather hard to express one's condolences..." He scratched the back of his head with a sigh.
-
Shinzuu perked up his ears near the end of club upon hearing the ambulance showing up at the school. He quickly ran to the windows like everyone else. Shinzuu was shocked to see Veronica being wheeled over to the familiar white vehicle, hie face almost smacking against the window. He felt bad, but he wasn't about to let it show just yet.
-
Carmen hurried over to the windows along with everyone else in the club and looked out. Once she saw that it was Veronica being taken out to the ambulance, she turned on her heel and ran out of the room and down the hall. She descended the stairs quickly and ran to the front doors of the school, exiting the building. She had sprinted the whole way so she got outside right when they were loading Veronica into the ambulance. She started to climb into the back of the ambulance but one of the EMTs blocked her. "Sorry, miss. You'll have to find your own way to the hospital if you want to be with your friend." Carmen glared angrily at him but he ignored her look and closed the doors to the back of the ambulance. Carmen looked worriedly at Veronica through the back windows and Veronica looked at her embarrassed.
Veronica didn't enjoy the ride in the ambulance and she definitely didn't enjoy being in the hospital because she hated hospitals. When her parents showed up, they were very disappointed in her but their worry overshadowed that, especially when she explained that she wasn't doing it on purpose and that she just hadn't felt hungry. She assured them that she would be okay if they went home and she was left alone for the night. Carmen showed up when her parents left but she didn't stay long. She mainly questioned her about what happened and was disappointed that she let herself go without eating for so long. Once she was sure Veronica was going to be okay, she left. Veronica laid there in her hospital bed with vitamins and the like running into her system with the TV on but she wasn't paying attention to what was playing. Her attention was focused on staring at the ceiling.
-
Schad had stood up to say hey to Reno until the teacher pulled him aside. Not too long after Reno took off running and it looked like he was crying. She shot the teacher a dirty look and growled, "What'd you do that for? Why?" She didn't know what more to say than that, and she knew her futile attempts at chasing down Reno wouldn't work, so she figured she'd get the scoop on the guy that did it. She couldn't beat him up, but you could tell she wanted to, even with her swollen eye.
-
Mr. Avery turned to look at Schadenfreude when she spoke. He shrugged, with his arms out to the sides. "If you did not hear, I was merely expressing my condolences to Mr. O' Malley. Along with getting a few answers I desired. He is a nice young man, but troubled. It is not healthy to bottle up your emotions, especially as long as Mr. O' Malley has. But it seems he would rather not open up to me. Not even Miss Yass, he was quite furious with her. Not even our counselors can get him to open up. Since the incident he has been quite distant from most people. That is until he met you, Miss Snide. Along with Miss Smith and Mr. Katame, you have managed to make him speak again. He seems more relaxed around you three, it may not seem it to you but he is much more...Social...So, Miss Snide, are you satisfied with my answers?" With that said he looked at his watch, then back to Schadenfreude. "If you have no further questions...I must be going."
Reno had stopped running a few blocks from the hotel. As he walked along the sidewalk he wiped his face with his sleeve. "...I 'ope Schad didn't hear any of tha'...Or see me cry. I'm already enough of a sissy as is, I don't need to add to it. I don't even think it was crying, my eyes were just watery, yes, that's it. Something was in my eyes. I don't cry...Crying gets you nothing...Nothing but pity...I don't know how to deal with crying anyway......" As he thought that he managed to make it home. He had plenty of free time before night fell, so he decided to play some games on his laptop to pass the time.
-
Shinzuu went home after club and just dropped off his stuff. Shiori asked him about dinner, but he just told her to throw his share into the refrigerator. Shinzuu made his way to the hospital and was relieved that no one was at the desk at the time and just leaned over to read the check-in logs. He found Veronica's parents sign-in and the room number next to it. Shinzuu made his way to the room. However, he stopped short of knocking as he heard Carmen talking with Veronica, so he just stood outside listening. Shinzuu sighed and left just before Carmen did.
-
Veronica let out a sigh and then her stomach growled. "Now you tell me..." She mumbled and rang for the nurse. When the nurse came in Veronica told her that she was hungry so the nurse left and came back with some food. "Don't rush it or else you'll agitate your system and you won't keep it down." The nurse advised as she set the tray on the table and rolled the table over to Veronica. Veronica nodded and the nurse exited the room. "Traitor..." She mumbled as she looked down at her stomach. She ate the food slowly even though she was very hungry and just wanted to scarf it down. After she was done she pushed the table away. Laying her head back against the pillow, she closed her eyes and sighed again, thinking about how Monday was going to suck for her since the news would have spread around by then and everyone would think she had an eating disorder, which she didn't really.
-
"No, I think you're a jerk. Weren't you ever taught to keep your nose in your own business, you overpaid clown?" She practically yelled at him before gathering her things and stomping off in the direction Reno had run. "Seriously, who does that guy think he is?" she mumbled to herself as she walked home alone. She decided that if she had ever had him that she would be sure to give him hell. As she entered the hotel room, she went straight to her room, fumbling to find the key before she actually got inside. Inside, she plopped on her bed and grabbed her laptop and cut it on, staring at the screen blankly.
-
Reno was unable to concentrate on games that he played, he was too wound up in thinking of his parents. It eventually angered him to the point he slammed his laptop closed. He had noticed it was getting hot in his room, he never sat well with heat, it often made him irritable. He turned on the AC full blast and stood in front of it for a moment, in an attempt to cool down. It didn't work. He decided to head out and play some music, so he did. Reno grabbed his music, violin and then headed out the door. He slammed the door closed behind him, it wasn't intentional, he wasn't good at controlling his strength when he was angry. He walked hastily down the hall passed Schadenfreude's door and out the back. No one was out there this time, neither Dorris or Alexia wandered out. Reno was alone, in a tree, under the night sky. At first he sat on a branch, trying desperately to play one of his usual softer songs he enjoyed. But he was too frustrated to concentrate and messed up time after time. So he stood up on the branch to play, he set his book on another branch eye level and flipped hastily through some pages. He stopped on a song and looked at it carefully before starting to play it. It was a more quick paced and violent sounding song than he normally played. It was Storm by Vanessa Mae. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tc8n-sHsuk&feature=related)
-
Shinzuu awoke early the next morning, well before dawn, completely groggy and slummed. It was Sunday, but he just couldn't go back to sleep. Shinzuu got out of bed and got on his PS3 and played Metal Gear Solid 4 on extreme for a few minutes before giving up. He then went to the refrigerator and ate the food from the night before. He was so slummed, he didn't even bother to heat it, just ate it out of the refrigerator. Shinzuu grabbed some of his remaining food and left his apartment. In the early morning, cool air, he was able to relax a little. On his walk, he noticed someone sitting against a tree in the park. It was Zane from the writing club. Oh my god... does that kid ever learn to just write at home so he doesn't fall asleep in the park? As he made his way over, he bumped into and fell over another person. Shinzuu groaned as he rubbed his head. He looked over and was surprised to see the Mohawk-wearing, leather-studded person. "Sam? What the hell are you doing up this early?"
-
Veronica had fallen asleep quickly after she had closed her eyes. She woke up the next morning at around 7:00 and couldn't go back to sleep though she wanted to sleep longer. She watched the TV for an hour before the nurse brought in her breakfast. "Am I going to be able to go home today?" She asked the nurse. "I believe so." The nurse responded, looking at the monitors. "You look stable and it's obvious that you've got your appetite back..." Veronica had started to dig into the food when the nurse was answering then stopped short at the last comment and glanced up at the nurse. The nurse smiled and chuckled. "You should be just fine." The nurse left the room and Veronica continued to eat her food.
-
Schad had heard Reno's door slam, but was in the stage of unconsciousness consciousness where everything seemed surreal, so she didn't move. She wasn't sure if she had been dreaming or not, but somehow she could hear the troubled violin as she seemed to be drifting in and out of sleep until finally, she knocked out, still clothed. The next morning, she woke up with her laptop on the floor, dead, but thankfully undamaged from the fall. She felt like she had her butt kicked because she had slept the wrong way, but thankfully, she didn't have school today. She yawned and stood up, making her way into the bathroom where she unclothed herself and showered.
-
It was a couple hours until Reno had stopped playing his violin and went inside. When he did he showered, ate something and went to bed. He woke up the next morning and before even getting up he turned to look at the picture of his parents on his nightstand. Sighing he forced himself up. He got dressed in his usual attire and headed out the door. He was about to go knock on Schadenfreude's door but decided against it. He felt like being alone anyway. Reno left the building and decided to go relax in the park to clear his head. Once at the park he plopped down under a large oak tree for some shade and laid down. He didn't notice Shinzuu off in the distance either. He took out his iPod and listen to some music as he thought about things.
-
Sam rubbed his head and looked at Shinzuu. "Oh sorry, Shinzuu. I was on my way home to go to bed. I had a really long night." He smiled sheepishly, sliding his swollen and torn up knuckles back into the pockets of his jeans. The heavy bags under his eyes emphasized how tired he was. His jaw was aching and he seemed somewhat dellusional. He couldn't stand to keep the smile up any longer and it disappeared from his face. "I should be asking you the same thing though...Why are you out so early? We don't have school today...or atleast I don't think we do..." A puzzled look crossed his face. "Uhh...What day is it?" He looked around the park as if looking for some clue to alerting him as to what the date was but it actually looked like he was looking for someone in particular...someone who owed him money.
-
Zane woke with a light start at the voices, glancing over to see to figures in conversation. He squinted, trying focus past the blurriness his sleep deprived eyes were plagued with. But it was no use. Sighing, he sat up from his comfortable spot against the tree and collected his bag, hesitating only to check to make sure the contents of his bag were still there: his laptop and his notebook. Once he made was sufficiently ready, he pushed up off the tree into a standing position, popping his back in the process. "I really should stop this..." he sighed, pulling his headphones over his ears and flipping his Ipod off hold, letting The Fray become the soundtrack of the morning as he walked out of the park, trying his hardest to get rid of the blurry tinges to his vision.
-
Shinzuu nailed Sam in the back of the head, "It's Sunday, you idiot. You haven't been to school in 3 days. I just can't sleep. How many times I gotta tell you to come to me if you're having money issues. Come on, man. Let's get outta here. I only walked over this way because I saw Zane sleeping in the park again. I swear to god, you two are gonna get arrested someday." He helped Sam back up and shouldered him up. Shinzuu walked him over to where Zane was at the other end of the park. "Zane, if you're gonna spend your time writing at least go indoors. Come on, I'll take you guys to Shiratori's diner. Breakfast is on me." Shinzuu took Sam and led Zane out of the park and down 3 blocks to the only place that's open before 7am.
-
The possum enjoyed her shower. It was as relieving as the fact that she didn't have school. She didn't look at the clock, so she had no clue what time it was. As she got out, she grabbed a pair of baggy black pants and a white T-shirt that had two circles for eyes, a skull nose, and black lines at the bottom of it, thus making the shirt look like a skull. She slipped on a bracelet she had recently gotten. It was one of those rubber bands that they had in America like the Livestrong bracelets for Lance Armstrong, however it was green, and in large serif letters, it said, "Excelsior!" She loved it, not only because it was Stan Lee's catchphrase, but the foundation it went to supported elderly comic book artists that could find work anymore. She began to wonder if Japan had a place where they sold American comics, and after getting dressed, she wandered into the hallway to knock on Reno's door. After she didn't get a response, she realized she had forgotten her book bag and went back inside where she scooped up her art bag. It was like a carbon copy of her school bag but instead of books, it was filled with art supplies. She also grabbed her headphones in all their oversized glory, smirking at the fact that they were much bigger than her actual MP3 player. She hung them over her ears, letting the strap that usually rested on the head, fall back behind hers and closed the door behind her, wandering outside the hotel where she stretched one last time. She hit play on her iPod then slipped it into her pocket allowing OK Go to lighten her mood. Even though their songs were depressing, they were often up beat, so she began to walk, singing to herself, "Crash or burn, crash or burn, crash or burn, Patience is the hallmark of the old and the infirm, Lived and learned, lived and learned, lived and learned~" She had no clue what she was doing today, but she kind of enjoyed the fact that her day held that slight hint of mystery.
-
Reno sat up and stretched to look around the park. He was pretty bored, but at least it was his day off so he was happy. His headphones fell off and landed in his lap but he payed it no mind. Just then a small bird flew down and landed on his shoulder. He looked at it and put his paw up to it so it would hop on so he could hold it in front of him. It chirped a few times as he looked at it, it too seemed happy. "Where'd you come from little one? Don't ya think you would be better off in a Cinderella movie or somthin'?" Reno examined the bird more, noticing it had a black spot over it's left eye. It chirped a couple more times and flew up to land on Reno's head in between his ears. "Hey, what do ya think yer doin'?" he said standing up. The bird chirped some more as if in response to Reno's question. "Uh...I don't understand bird...Anyway...I guess you can hang out for a bit..." Reno walked on whistling "What shall I do today."
-
Sam chuckled at the idea of getting arrested, only his idea would be from drunk and disordly conduct of indecent exposure somewhere out in the park but he frowned that he was robbed of his sleep to go to breakfast. At the same time, he never passed up a meal. He opened the door to Shiratori's diner followed by Shinzuu and Zane. He took a seat at a table next to the window. He hadn't been to a diner in a while and if this was anything like America, he was going for the biggest stack of flapjacks available. He put his face in his paws and just thought about passing out on the table. The thought sounded delightful and he closed his eyes for a brief moment. He looked at Shinzuu and then at Zane before smiling and chuckling lightly to himself. "I don't know how you guys do it." He was talking about school. It just wasn't the life cut out for Sam Crowe. He was certain the lacrosse club missed him. All his teammates loved him but he'd been slipping in attendance lately. He looked up at the waitress across the diner. "Uhhh could I get a coffee please?!" She nodded and walked away quickly. Sam pulled out a pack of his favorite cigarettes and pulled one out with his lips. He raised his lighter but then quickly looked up. "You guys want one? He asked, holding out his pack.
-
Zane followed the two, sort of on automatic until he saw the diner, pulling his headphones down to rest around his neck so he could hear the others better. He hadn't been out much since he had moved here, so he was unsure exactly how everything worked, especially the food system since he had been living off water and cereal back in his room. Zane hung his bag on a chair on the other side of the table, sinking into the chair without any other thought. His story's progress was going slow again, so the all-nighter at the park had been perfect for bringing back his inspiration. "No thanks," He replied tiredly to the Sam, finally recognizing their faces once he had woken up. He appreciated the gesture, but his father had picked up smoking when Zane was younger, which had lead to him developing a slight aversion to the smell. He could tolerate it as long as he wasn't surrounded by it, so he distracted himself with toying with his Ipod until he glimpsed the waitress returning. "Erm...could I get a glass of orange juice?" His question came out tentatively, but he couldn't help it, it was just his nature. Plus he needed the acidic flavor to give his brain a kick start. He glanced over at Shinzuu and Sam before looking back outside before the fact hit him: It was Sunday. Which meant he had all day to work on his other priorities since his story was now completed and saved on his flash drive. The thought gave him the encouragement to relax a little and try to involve himself in the conversation instead of zoning out.
-
Shinzuu sighed, "Maybe 'cus we give a damn about our future, man. As someone who used to be in my posse before you started ditching, you really are clueless, man. And just don't go overboard with the orders, ok? One meal, that's it. American diners are hard to find, and this one's expensive. Anyways, why the hell did you go and fall asleep outside again, Zane? Now you gotta wash that uniform again. You know how hard it is to clean those things? Jeez...." He covered his face and sat back, but was even more annoyed when he heard an all-too familiar voice, "Heya, Shinzuu!" Shinzuu groaned, Kill me. Tabby rushed over to the table and gave him a hug, send boils up and down his arms and face under his fur. She let go and held up the notepad. "How'd you know I worked early this morning?" Shinzuu groaned as he scratched all the itches around his body, "I didn't it's just that these two were being idiots again, so I'm treating them to some breakfast. And before you start, just give me the Slam meal and make it quick. And give me water, no coffee. Zane, order your food."
-
Veronica had completely zoned out while she had supposedly been watching TV. The next thing she knew her parents had arrived in her room at 9 o' clock on the dot. "We took care of all the paperwork..." Her mother said as she approached the bed with a shopping bag. "And I brought you a change of clothes. How're you feeling?" Veronica took the bag and looked inside. Well, at least her mother had chose clothes that actually went together. "Much better than I was. I had supper last night and breakfast this morning. Apparently my stomach was just on strike." She chuckled at her bad joke and got out of the bed, heading to the bathroom. While in the bathroom, she changed and fixed her hair that had been sticking up in every direction. "Ready to go?" Her father asked as she came out of the bathroom. She nodded and they left the room and the hospital together. "We were going to take you out to breakfast but since you already ate, I guess that's out of the question." Her mother said once they were out of the hospital and getting into their car. "Yeah, but you guys can go to breakfast and I'll just sit there while you eat. I don't mind." Veronica responded as she buckled her seat belt. "Well...as long as you don't mind..." Her father said and Veronica reassured him that she didn't, so they drove to Shiratori's diner.
-
She wandered down the streets by herself, seeming to meld into the crowd, not particularly interested in anything. She wasn't in a very good mood, having other thoughts nag at her as she walked. She tended to just walk when she was upset, or bored even. She just hoped by the time she hoped by the time she stopped, she'd be able to find her way home. Part of what was bothering her was that her cellphone had been recently deactivated, probably because she had officially "ran away" from her mother.
-
Reno walked on, not really sure what to do. He had went to the park to collect his thoughts but didn't get much done. Normally he'd never go out and just walk but he was never feeling like himself lately. The death of his parents, his childhood friend, his first crush and even new friends. All of it in such a short amount of time is taxing on his mind. He was surprised he hasn't just killed himself. The bird that was sitting on Reno's head hopped over to the front of his head and chirped at him. "Oh...You're still up there? Heh..." As he was walking he thought he saw Schadenfreude in the crowd. He would have been easy to spot since he stuck out like a sore thumb in the darker crowd of people. Reno walked with his head down low and his hands in his pockets not really looking where he was going. He decided to look again to see if he could see Schadenfreude and did across the street. He decided against calling out to her, if she saw him and wanted to hang out it'd be fine but he didn't really feel like talking. He continued walking until the crowds had long since vanished, he was now in a more neighborhood which was all too familiar to him. After some walking he came to a house with a forclosed sign in the lawn. "I guess that's what happens when there isn't anyone around to pay the bills..." he said as he walked up the walkway to the door. He then peered through the window, nothing but dusty furniture. He went to the front door, sat down against it and slid down to the ground. "Mom...Dad...I'm home..." he said softly as he rested his head on his arms over his knees. The bird flew off when he did this. He was also near Veronica's house without knowing it. It was right across the street from where he was actually.
-
Sam lit up his cigarette and slid the pack back into his pocket as Zane declined. He looked between Tabby and Shinzuu. He could never get why Shinzuu got those boils in the first place. It was like he really was allergic to her but Sam shook it off and went back to the menu playing around with the smoke in his mouth. He only smiled at Shinzuu's words. He wasn't clueless, he knew exactly what he was doing but caring about it was something entirely different. He stared out the window with Zane. "What the hell is the guy looking at?" Sam thought to himself as he peeked over at Zane while taking another drag. He looked over at Tabby with a huge grin on his face. "I'll have whatever Shinzuu's having."
-
Zane smiled sheepishly at Shinzuu's remarks about his uniform. It seemed like he was always taking some sort of criticism, but it never really changed the way he acted anyway. "I'll...have scrambled eggs and toast," finally relenting to his favorite breakfast meal, glancing over at Tabby to make sure she got the order. Zane recognized her face from around, but he honestly never had that much conversation with her. Part of it mostly stemming from the fact that they were in completely different social levels. It never bothered him much, as being the 'creative writer' kid kind of set you apart from most of the social labels anyway. After a few more moments watching the window, Zane turned around to face the other two, fighting the urge to laugh at the interaction between his breakfast-buying benefactor and the waitress.
-
Shinzuu sighed and just ate his food when it came in, though they had to reorder Zane's a couple times before Tabby remembered to enter his order into the kitchen. By the time Zane got his food, Shinzuu was tired of sitting and got up. "It's already 8 o'clock, man. I'll take care of the bill and get out of here. Keep out of trouble, guys." He paid the bill and left before Tabby could stop him. Shinzuu sighed as he looked down the street back at the park. Screw this. I just can't stand it. He ran back down the block and got into the park. Shinzuu took off his sweats and shirt, leaving his sweat pants on. He set them at the end of the cage door in the basketball court and began to warm up with a light jog from basket to basket. He then sped up into trots and then into a run and finally into dead sprints. Come on, man. Dead sprints were nothing to you before. This is nothing. However, it already began to take its toll on Shinzuu's brain. His head already began to throb against his skull, making him lopsided and he crashed and rolled into the basketball pole, the impact reverberated up the pole. Dammit...
-
Veronica's parents didn't take that long to eat and they were out of the diner in half an hour. Afterward her parents wanted to go for a ride but she didn't want to go because she didn't like random rides to nowhere so she had them drop her off at home. After they pulled away, she glanced across the street at the house that had had no one living in it for quite some time and spotted Reno sitting against the door. She was curious as to what he was doing there so she crossed the street and went up the walk to the door. It also seemed like a good way to keep her mind off of other things. "Hey Reno. What are you doing here? I would think you would be with Schad or something." She said softly as to not startle him if he had zoned out and not noticed her approach him.
-
Schad's mind began to drift in and out of her music, and she seemed to be on autopilot as she walked on, not paying attention to her surroundings. Her mind was wavering between things in her home life and things that were going on now. She missed when she was back in America. They seemed to move a lot on account of her mother and her jobs, and really, truthfully, it's why they landed here, but when her dad wouldn't move with them and they had divorced, her mother had picked up the bad habit of drinking. Shad rubbed her face as she walked, drawing back when she hit her swollen eye. It seemed extra sensitive today. That sharp pain, however, was enough to bring her back to earth and get her to look at where she was. She realized at this point, she wasn't sure where she was because she didn't recognize anything.
-
Reno looked up to see Veronica after hearing her. He got up quickly and dusted himself off. "Oh, uhm, Veronica, hi. Long time no see. I'm uhm-...I used to live here." he finally choked out, scratching the back of his head. "I was just trying to see if it was unlocked, but uhm...It isn't...And-" Just then the bird came back and moved the false rock hiding a hidden key underneath. "Oh hey...I had forgot this was hidden here..." he said as he bent over to grab the key. Reno examined it then looked at the lock. "Wonder if it even works..." He went over to the door and unlocked it, as he did the bird flew and landed on his shoulder. Opening the door he looked over his shoulder to Veronica. "Care to see inside?"
-
Sam watched as Shinzuu got up and walked out of the diner. He noticed that the guy pretty much ran out. "...See ya later." Sam said as the door closed behind Shinzuu. Sam didn't even get the chance to thank him. Figuring he'd get the chance later, he got Tabby to refill his mug with more coffee. Sam lit up another cigarette and looked at Zane across the table who'd just gotten his food. Sam had pretty much finished eating by the time Shinzuu had. For some reason, their plates seemed to come before Zane's, even giving them time to finish eating. Sam wasn't about to bail out on Zane. He wasn't like that to leave a man behind...especially at breakfast. Sam gingerly touched his mohawk that passed between his ears and took another drag followed by another sip of the coffee that tasted like motor oil. Sam's left leg was propped up on the seat beside him while he leaned up in the corner of the booth.
"So, Zane..." He took another drag. "...What's new?"
-
Zane glanced up as Shinzuu left, giving a partial wave before starting in on his long-awaited food. He was glad he hadn't ordered much, considering the time, and finished the toast with mechanical efficiency. "Working a story for writing club. As much as I like it, I really hate deadlines..." He managed to mutter in-between bites of egg. It wasn't the best tasting food, but it was warm, and Zane was hungry. He had skipped dinner in his fanatical drive to channel inspiration onto the pages in his notebook. "What about you? Gonna make the most of the day off?" Zane honestly wasn't too bothered that Shinzuu had left, due to the fact that only saw him occasionally at lunch or after school. The same for Sam, but either way, he wouldn't turn down the free food or the company, even if it was short. As soon as breakfast was over, Zane knew he needed to head over to the library and use the internet to communicate with his editor. His internet at home was always slow due to his mother and father using it, so anything faster was a godsend.
-
Shinzuu grunted as he got up and clutched on to his side. He sat there for a few minutes and got back up. Shinzuu did the same thing all over again, determined to not listen to the doctor and just go back to being active. Years ago, before his father's death, Shinzuu would have had no problem sitting around all day at home playing on his computer or his gaming systems, but now he can't even stand taking a break from sports or any kind of activity. As Shinzuu broke gradually into wind sprints, he did his best to hold it again, but ended up dizzying up and crashed and burned again and slammed into the side fence this time. This time, he didn't even have the strength to get up, so he just ended up staying there on his back, staring up at the sky. Shinzuu was bleeding in various places from cuts that he got from tumbling those two times, but he was barely even aware of his surroundings due to the headache from exerting himself. Damn...........
-
When Reno mentioned that he used to live there, Veronica looked up at the house as she wondered why he didn't anymore. She also wondered why she had never noticed that he lived across the street from her at one point but it was probably because they had never hung out so she had no interest. "Hmm...I never knew you lived across the street from me before..." She said, looking back at him to see him grabbing the hidden key. When he asked her if she wanted to see the inside, she wondered if it was illegal to go into the house...but they did use a key so they weren't breaking in and it wasn't like anybody lived there now... "Uh...sure, why not." She answered, following him inside.
-
Schad looked up at the sky, then took in her surroundings. She felt a sudden rush of excitement even though she didn't know where she was. She remembered back when she used to live in the US. She'd wander along the highway that wound into the desert until she was lost, then hitchhike back. She wondered if people hitchhiked in Japan... She seemed to be on the outskirts of the city they were in, and she felt the temptation to go further, but decided to turn around and head back. Well, back in the opposite direction. She wasn't entirely sure she could make it back to the hotel, but if she was going to be lost, she might as well explore.
-
Reno went into the the house and stood on the dusty white tiled floor in the doorway. To his left was a mahogany staircase, farther left an archway leading to the dining room. He went right, into the living room. He walked over to the couch that was facing a blank wall where a TV had once been. The carpet was a dirty white, similar to the walls now from dust and time. There was also a few pictures on the walls, just of random landscaping. "This is the living room...Where we watched TV and stuff." he said putting his hands on the back of the couch. Reno looked to the left where there was a fireplace, pointing at it he said "Christmas tree went there." As he walked over to the fireplace he saw a decorated Christmas tree. Next to it an older male rabbit with white fur and black spots, one spot on his left eye, holding a younger male rabbit with white fur on his shoulders. An older female rabbit with white fur and brown spots, one on her left eye, was nearby watching the younger rabbit put a star in top of the tree. Reno was looking at as if something was there, but there really wasn't anything. He got to the fireplace and looked at the pictures in the frames on the mantle. They were dusty beyond recognition so he picked one up and rubbed the dust off. The picture was of a younger Reno, being held up by the two older rabbits in between them. They were all smiling. Reno turned to see if Veronica was looking, figuring she wasn't he put it back but facing the wall.
-
Sam took a final drag from his cigarette before pressing it out in the tray. He looked at Zane and then looked down. "Probably not. I'll end up sleeping it away at home." He pulled a coin from his pocket and dropped it down on the table as tip. He rubbed his tired eyes in his paws as he held his head up. "Maybe...maybe I'll head on over to the field to see the lacross guys...If there's time." He picked up his mug and looked at the nasty black liquid inside, swirling it around in the cup before taking a sip. "Your story...Whats it about?" He grimaced at the rate Zane was eating and made a face. "Slow down, dude. I don't want to have to save you when you swallow the fork."
-
"Its mainly about a character who offers his normal life to be an undercover in the government to find out about his past," Zane mumbled in between bites, knowing all too well how cliche his story sounded. But it was alright, he had found a sort of mysticism to working with that type of action-like character. But as he finished that sentence, he realized just how full he was. Pushing the half-eaten plate of eggs toward the center, leaving a bit of change beside the plate as his contribution to the tip. With the way Shinzuu acted around her, he was sure Tabby was going to need all the support she could get. "Go get some sleep, man. You look like you're gonna hit the table any minute now," Zane said as he stood up, shrugging his bag over his shoulder. "And thanks for the conversation." He waited for a minute to see what Sam was going to do as he finished his drink, before sitting it on the table, giving a quick wave before heading out the door to find his way to the library.
-
Shinzuu breathed heavily for a long while, lying there on the ground in pain. He slowly got up in defeat and just picked up his sweats and his shirt, not even bothering to put them back on. Blood was visible on his fur, but it wasn't dripping since a lot of the cuts clogged fairly quickly to stop the bleeding. Shinzuu passed by the abandoned house and couldn't help but stop and stare at it for a while. Though he had never really been near it, it reminded him of how the house felt after his father had died all those years ago, and Shinzuu just stood out front, staring at it.
-
Veronica followed Reno into the living room so she was standing just inside the doorway. As she listened to him speak, she looked around the room. She watched him walk over to the fireplace and spotted the picture, noticing who was in the picture. She looked away before he could see her looking though and moved back into the entryway, passing in front of the door to admire the staircase. "You could take it with you, you know..." She said softly, talking about the picture that Reno had been looking at before putting it back facing the opposite direction. As she said that, she brushed dust off the railing to see the full beauty of the wood, acting nonchalant.
-
Reno looked at the picture for a moment after Veronica spoke. "...I've got one at my place..." he said turning towards the kitchen. As he did that the bird that was still perched on his shoulder took flight and went towards Veronica. It then went up the stairs and took a left down the hallway. The stairs led up to the hallway, intersecting it. Hallways going left and right with a door at the top of the staircase that led to a bathroom. "Oi...Crazy bird!" Reno turned and went after it. Halfway up the stairs he slowed down, seeing the same young rabbit at the top looking down. The boy had a slinky in his hands and was crouched down ready to send it down the steps. He did so and the slinky made it's way to the bottom. Reno watched as it went step by step, turning around to watch it get to the bottom. At the bottom the two older rabbits stood, seeming just as exited as the boy at the top. They were standing right next to Veronica, so as he looked at them it might have seemed odd to anyone else. snapping out of his hallucination he turned and went the rest of the way up the stairs. At the top he looked both ways and scratched his head. "Where'd he get off too? Little bugger..." he kind of mumbled.
-
Sam gave a small smirk as Zane ran out the door. He sat at the table alone surrounded by their dishes. Tabby offered to fill his mug for a final time with the black oil. Sam declined. He lit up another cigarette and scratched his nose. He stared down at the change on the table while Tabby made her rounds picking up after the boys. Sam sighed, picked up his pack of smokes of the table and stood up, the long chain hanging off his jeans clanged against the seat as he got up. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and locked the cigarette between his lips as he made his way out the door towards home. He figured he'd cut through the park to save half an hour of walking.
He finally made it to his dumoy house at the end of the street. The old beater sat on the drive way indicating only one thing; dad was home. He shook his head as he made his way up to the door. He fiddled with his keys as he struggled to find the one belonging to his house. He pressed out the cigarette on the step under his boot and opened the door. The sound of the TV in the next room was the only sound in the house. He walked into the room, the old fox was passed out on the couch while empty liquor bottles littered the floor. "Old man's got the right idea..." Sam muttered to himself as he stepped around the bottles to get to his room. He opened his punk poster covered door and fell down on his bed, moaning in comfort.
-
Zane wandered as he left the diner, taking a longer way around due to his good mood. He slipped his headphones up from around his neck to drown out the sounds of people moving about. He crossed the street to slip into the library, waving at the information receptionist on his way to up to the reference section. It was almost funny, the fact that the library workers saw more of him than his classmates. But that was perfectly fine with him, as he synced his laptop with the wireless internet and pulled up his email to send the story to his editor. "And Then You" by Greg Laswell began playing on his Ipod as the "Message Sent!" flashed on his computer screen, causing Zane to smile and lean back his seat and quietly sing along. "How my thoughts, they spin me 'round. And how my thoughts, they let me down..."
-
Shinzuu saw Veronica appear and was about to say something when he saw Reno run past the door and up the stairs. He clenched a fist tight and bit his lower lip, So that's how it is, huh? You just hung out with me to get to her... Not that it seems she has any problem with it... Shinzuu ran off, not knowing where he was going. Before he knew it, he was on the far side of town and turned a corner, running head first into Schad. The two tumbled onto the ground, and Shinzuu groaned as he opened his eyes, finding his face in Schad's chest. He felt the boils build up under his fur and quickly scrambled away. "I...I'm sorry. I didn't see you..."
-
Veronica watched the bird fly past her, up the stairs, and down the hall to the left. After that she watched Reno scramble up the stairs after the bird. When Reno looked back down the stairs at the area beside her, she looked to the side as well, wondering if there was something or someone next to her and she had missed it. When she didn't see anything or anyone there, it confused her but she shrugged it off. As she started up the stairs, she thought she heard footfalls on the pavement but when she looked behind her out the open door she saw no one. "I think it went left..." She said in response to Reno's question as she continued up the stairs though it seemed as though it was directed more to himself than to her.
-
"It's fine, I, uh, just hope you're not enjoying the view." The possum said awkwardly as she scooted herself out from underneath him, not wasting any time to allow him to enjoy it, even if he wanted to. She had seemed to have been in a daze until she had run into him, as if her mind was elsewhere. She stood up, brushing herself off, halfway wondering where Veronica was again. She found it odd that they didn't seem to be around each other as much as she remembered, but shrugged, figuring it wasn't any of her business. She offered her hand to help him up, noticing some of the cuts on him. "You alright man? Get too close to a cat fight?" She smirked, figuring he wouldn't like her dry sense of humor since he was often being followed by several girls at school.
-
Reno heard left so he went left, coincidentally towards his room. He saw his door open at the end of the hall and went to investigate. Upon entering he looked around his room for the bird. His bed was against the far right wall when you step in. A window directly in front of the door in the center of the wall to the left of the bed. A small nightstand next to his bed to the left as well. The cover on his bed was orange, though it was much darker from the dust. On the other side of the room were some dressers and a mirror in the middle of it. He eventually found the bird on the window sill, outside the closed window was another bird of the same size. This one with a noticeable brown spot on it's left eye. "What is this? A bird house? Heh..." he joked as he opened the window. The second bird flew in and around the room, quickly joined by the first one. They eventually tipped something over which started a bit of a domino effect that opened his closet door. Once it opened a wrapped up object fell from it and landed before Reno; It looked like a violin case. Reno dropped to his, he knew what it was. It was the violin he had wanted on his birthday. His parent's death made him forget all about it, he didn't even think he got it anyway. It made him think about how great his parents were and how much he missed them all of a sudden. He couldn't hold his tears back this time, luckily his back was facing the door so if Veronica did come in she didn't see him in such a state. He tried not to make any noise and hide his sniffling so she didn't hear. The two birds landed on his shoulder, both carrying a letter in their beaks together. They dropped it on the present, getting his attention. He picked it up to investigate it, he guessed it was a letter from his parents on the gift. Reno couldn't bare to open it, he might do it later when he was alone.
-
Sam opened his eyes when his stereo began to blast a loud dose of The Exploited. He looked at his watch and saw that he had only been at his house for a little over half an hour. He wasn't asleep to begin with really. He heard some pounding at his bedroom door. "Will you turn that down, Sam!?" He could hear his dad yell. Sam didn't move from the bed, he just lay there in a tired delirium while staring up at the ceiling. He learned that if he let his dad go on for long enough, he would eventually go away. He turned his head and looked across his room at his lacross gear that littered the corner of his small room. He missed the guys he used to play with. He lay there a moment in thought while his dad continued to pound at his door and his speakers boomed.
Sam made up his mind. He got up, picked up all his gear and chucked it into his bag. He pried open his window and climbed out with his stuff. He was glad the house wasn't two floors because he only had to "fall" four feet to ground before sprinting out of his backyard towards school.
-
Zane sat for a bit, singing along until the information receptionist came over to sit at the other end of the table, which silenced him almost instantly. "I take it you finished your story on time," Melinda laughed, turning the computer around to read the story, titled "A Midnight's Evanescence". "Mmhmm. And it even came out the way I had hoped. Though I don't like the fact I had to end it so abruptly..." Zane replied as he once again pulled his headphones to rest around his neck, the Ipod now playing "Right Where It Belongs" by Nine Inch Nails. "Slow day around here, I take it?" Always is. Its why I'm always able to wander on Sundays. Everyone uses the day to go out with friends, or rest. Not many people see it as a day to go to the library." She mused as she continued staring at the computer screen, leaving Zane to smile. Melinda was the mold-breaker of the nerd stereotype, choosing to accentuate her tiger stripes with extravagant colored clothing whenever she had the chance. But that wasn't often considering she was a junior at Feral High, just like Zane. The tiger was the first person he had made a quick friendship with, meeting when Zane first moved here from New Zealand as a freshmen one year ago. Their friendship had developed into a brother-sister type relationship, and Zane himself never wanted that to change.
He spun the computer around, ignoring her annoyed expression as he quickly navigated the keyboard until finally a ding issued from the speakers and "Message Sent!" once more flashed on the screen. "Check your phone." Zane smirked, watching Melinda slowly reaching into her pocket to pull out her phone, "New Message" glaring on the screen. "You can send full-length text documents to someone's phone?" She asked with a somewhat impressed tone, which was rare for the tiger to let someone hear. "Yours. And any other smart-phone. But everyone else, including me, that have 'outdated' phones are pretty much out of luck." She pressed on the touch-screen to pull up the story, once again starting to read where she left off. "Showoff."
-
Shinzuu scratched his muzzle and his neck furiously as Schad got up, "Trust me, there's nothing even remotely pleasant about it. You probably don't know this, but I'm literally allergic to females. My skin breaks into boils like crazy when I get even near a female. So far, only my mom and Veronica don't affect me. Anyways, that's kinda why everyone thinks I'm gay, is because I stay far away from women. No one knows about this, so could you please keep this under wraps?" Shinzuu backed a little ways from the hand as it made his nose twitch a bit, and stumbled his way up, using the wall of the building. "But yea, I'm fine. If you're talking about the blood, it's nothing. Just a few scrapes from the park. I thought that I was strong enough to at least do some warm-up exercises, but as you can see, I'm still not. Lucky for me, you can't see the boils or bruises on me because my fur's so thick and dark. Anyways, sorry again." He ran straight around her and darted around an incoming bike and started to run home on the opposite side of town.
-
Veronica followed Reno to the room and stood in the doorway. She looked around until the present was knocked over to land in front of Reno and he fell to his knees. After seeing this, she moved out of the room and leaned against the wall to the side of the doorway. She felt like she was intruding a private moment. "I'll be outside..." She said in a quiet tone. She walked down the hall then down the stairs. When she got to the bottom, she went out the door and sat on the steps with her chin in her hands, watching cars go by and birds fly around.
-
Schad didn't manage to get a word in edgewise before Shinzuu darted off. She thought it was pretty awkward. After wandering somewhat further, she noticed a library. She didn't know there was a library close by.. If she was close by. She wondered if they carried American comic books like the libraries in America carried manga. She looked it over, debating, then walked inside, browsing the shelves for anything good.
-
Reno faintly heard Veronica, he was glad that she left. He didn't want anyone to see him like this, especially a girl. He slowly opened the present, wiping a few tears as he did so. It was what he figured it was, a brand new violin and case. It was in pristine condition due to the wrapping paper so it made it all the more a gem in the dirty place he was in. The two birds flew over to the open window and perched on it looking back at Reno. He got up, walked over to them with his violin case in hand and pet them on their heads. "Thanks, you two-...." The light from the window allowed Reno to see the color design of the two birds more clearly making him freeze for a moment. One bird had black spots with one on it's left eye while the other had brown spots with one on it's left eye as well. "...Can...This really be them?" "Mom...? Dad...?" As he said that the two birds chirped and flew off, prompting Reno to try and take chase. He did so through the window, getting him on top of the garage. He ran along it screaming "Come back!" as he neared the edge. A gust of wind kept him from going over the edge with concrete at the bottom and made him stumble back and fall off the side with the bushes which broke his fall.
-
Sam ran his way down the street toward the school. He knew the guys would be there since it was the only day that the field wasn't infested with rejects and nerds looking for a quiet place to congregate and discuss math. His lungs started to burn. Gotta quit the smokes. He decided to slow it down a bit. He had no idea why he was running in the first place. His lungs gave out when he reached the outside of the library. He took a double take when he could swear he saw Zane sitting in the window. Figuring he might as well take a break from his sprint, he pushed open the doors and walked inside.
By the time he walked into the area where he saw Kane, he was already gone. He bumped into a familiar face in the isle he was walking through. It was one of the kids from school. He hadn't seen her much, maybe once or twice in the halls. Fguring he'd catch up with Zane later, he decided he might as well talk to her. "Hey what's your name?"
-
Zane glanced over at Sam, noting Melinda's irritated glare in the process. He guessed it was her overexposure to the library that had given her sensitized her to disturbances, but she hadn't made a move to stop him, instead leaving it to the real librarian should she feel it appropriate. "I'ma go, Mel. I'll see ya' in class tomorrow," Zane said as he collected his computer, stuffing it into his bag before patting her shoulder. Melinda merely nodded, heading back to her station as he headed out of the library. He noticed the familiar opposum gave a quick wave to Schad, who seemed a bit unnerved at whatever had occured behind the bookshelf between her and Sam. So he stopped at the entrance of the library to pay his late fee he had been neglecting before going out to sit on the steps.
-
Shinzuu panted heavily as he got in the door. Shiori gasped for a second when she saw her son staggering into the house without a shirt on and bloodied all over his fur. "What happened to you?!" Shinzuu gasped for air, but pushed his words through, "I guess I shoulda listened to the doctor and stayed off my feet for a few days." He walked into the bathroom without skipping a beat and turned on the shower. Shinzuu sat down and started soaping up and began to scrub the blood from his fur. Shiori began running through the kitchen, grabbing all the first aid that she could. She dashed to the bathroom with everything in hand, starting the bath. "Mom, you don't need to start the bath, I barely sweated this morning. I just a quick rinse down will do." "Ok, then come out when you're finished. I'll wrap you up. Need me to help you with your back?" Shinzuu thought for a second as he tried to reach over his back. "Yea, ma. That'd be good, thanks."
-
After Veronica had been sitting on the outside steps for a few minutes, she heard Reno screaming and figured it was directed at the birds though she didn't understand why he would act that way with wild birds. She looked over her shoulder to see him running along the roof of the garage and then she gasped when she saw him fall. She quickly got to her feet and ran over to the side of the garage to find Reno had landed in the bushes. "Oh my God, are you alright?" She asked in a worried tone. "Here, let me help you..." She reached for his arm to assist him in getting out of the bushes.
-
Schad had been skimming through a book to see if it was something worth reading when she heard a "Hey what's your name?" Her ears perked and she turned to see punk looking fox looking at her. Her face pulled back into a sort of scowl with being interrupted, but it held a tinge of confusion. She looked behind her to make sure he wasn't looking at anyone that was behind her, then looked at him again, stupidly whispering, "Me?" as she pointed to herself.
-
Reno took Veronica's help out of the bushes. Once out he thanked her as he took various leaves and twigs from his fur and clothing. When finished he looked off in the distance at the two birds flying away. He began to raise his free hand to wave but remembered Veronica was next to him and went to scratch behind his head to seem normal. In his other hand was his violin case and the letter he didn't want to open. It slipped out of his hand from the lousy grip which got his attention. As Reno knelt down he decided to inspect the violin for damage so he took it out of the case.
-
Sam smiled and tilted his head to one side. He looked both ways for anyone else down the isle then looked back at the confused opossum. "Yeah...you." He extended his paw in greeting. I'm Sam Crowe. We go to the same school. I seen you a couple times before I think but we never really talked...figured I might as well introduce myself. There was a sudden and low hissing coming from all directions. People in the library didn't seem to like the idea of the talk. Sam was unphased. "...What's your name?" He repeated again with the same smile.
-
Zane played with the cord of his headphones for a bit as he sat on the stairs of the library. Honestly, he didn't have much else planned for the day, and didn't want to go home just yet to face his parents. His habit of staying out all night always earned him a free-for-all yelling fit about his irresponsible behavior and lack of self-discipline. So instead, he started singing along with the track playing on his Ipod, his voice low so it wouldn't attract too much attention. "Am I bright enough to shine in your spaces? Between the noise you hear, and the sound you like, are we just sinking in the ocean of faces? It can't be possible, that rain can fall, only when its over our heads..." He stopped finally, choosing instead to lay back on the stairs in a nonchalant manner and finish the song in silence. Even though he loved to sing, sometimes the song was better left alone, especially when it was "All the Right Moves" by OneRepublic. Zane mused about how he would respond to the argument his parents brought up yet again, but his thoughts trailed off and back to the library, where they wondered about finding somewhere else to go. Conflict just wasn't in the cards right now.
-
Shinzuu finally got all the blood out of his fur, and his mother patched him up well in the living room after he had dried up and gotten pants on. He sighed as he still felt quite a bit of disappointment for not being able to do as much as he was able to before the fight. Shiori, as if reading her son's mind, spoke up, "I know you changed a lot after your father's passing, but you got to learn to relax, sometimes. I'm not saying to become a lazy couch-potato like you used to be, but you've worked yourself non-stop for all these years, you need to take a break from it all. I'm sure your father would have said the same thing. I know he used to gripe to me about it when I went all crazy trying to lose the fat I had leftover from having you."
-
When Reno looked at the birds flying away, Veronica did too. She wondered why he felt so connected to them but didn't think about it too long. She automatically looked to the ground when she heard the case drop. When Reno opened the case to inspect the violin within, Veronica looked it over. "That's a nice violin. Looks new." She said as she looked at it. "I didn't know you played an instrument." She didn't really know much about Reno at all, but she figured she'd try to keep conversation going with the instrument subject so there wasn't an awkward silence.
-
Schad looked at his paw for a moment, then reached out and grabbed it, shaking it. "Name's Schad. Maybe we ought to go outside to talk." She stepped around him and headed for the doorway, not checking to see if Sam was following or not. When she got outside, she turned to look as she was going down the stairs tripping over something before rolling down them. She sat up, somewhat in a daze as she smacked the bottom of the stairs hard and rubbed her head. "Jesus, what is it with me and stairs?" she asked herself as she recalled the time at the hospital. "You figured I'd have learned by now."
-
He saw that the violin was fine when he took it out. Even inside it was in great condition. "Y-Yeah...I play the violin." "Duh! That's clear! Idiot." "I'm...Alright...I'm not that great..." He was getting back to his nervous self again, he wasn't as used to being around Veronica as he was Schadenfreude. He was only so relaxed before because he was in his old house. He nervously stayed knelt down, trying not to look up either, feeling it might be awkward to look at another girl. He probably would play something if he was asked, cause he would want to be nice. Though he'd still be nervous.
-
Sam walked outside the library and paused to lite up a cigarette from his pocket the moment he stepped out the doors. He looked around and found Schad sitting at the bottom of the steps. Exhaling a cloud of smoke, he spoke. "Why are you sitting?" He asked, failing to realize that Schad had falled down the steps. Instead of waiting for a response from her, he threw down his bag of lacrosse gear and plopped himself down next to her on the steps. He looked out into the street while taking another drag. "You come here often?" He asked before turning his head to look at her and billowing smoke from his nostrils.
-
Zane hardly had time to react before the person tripped over him, causing her to fall down and him to gain a new bruise or two. However, despite his faint annoyance, he opened his eyes and descended the stairs to check on their condition, completely oblivious to Sam's presence. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry." He stammered, holding out his paw with an apologetic half-smile. "I guess my resting is more hazardous for everyone's health than my own."
-
Shinzuu left the apartment not too much longer after that and went to the arcade. He had left wearing a read t-shirt and some blue-jeans, not really caring what he wore today. It was just around lunch time when Shinzuu arrived at the arcade. It was around the time that it was really starting to fill up. As usual, a large crowd was at the new machine, people boasting how good they are after they beat a bunch of people who've never played before. Shinzuu smirked as he approached the machine and took out his leftover money, "Care to wager?"
-
Veronica smirked and decided she would lighten the mood. "I think I'll be the judge of that..." She said, grinning at Reno. "Come on, take that pretty little violin out and show me the magic. I think you're being modest." She crossed her arms and waited for him to take the violin. "Doesn't matter what you play..." She said casually as she looked around the area while she waited.
-
She rubbed the back of her head, fairly certain she bumped it, somewhat embarrassed that she had fallen. She went to answer Spike, but as she did, so, a wolf hybrid apologized. She assumed that is what she had to have tripped over, and took his hand to get up. "It's okay. The stairs and I had to have it out anyway." She brushed herself off feeling the new injuries she got, looking down to see the right knee in her pants torn and a scrape under it. She smiled broadly despite being somewhat irritated that she had ripped her pants, throwing a pose and two thumbs up, "I'm hip." It was obviously sarcastic.. She didn't really care if they got it or not, she was pretty entertained.
-
Reno hid a nervous smile as he looked down still, it looked as if he literally wiped the smile from his face as he brought his sleeve to his face. He was actually checking for a bloody nose, he made it a regular thing to do in these types of situations. His nose wasn't bleeding so he slowly stood up, still not looking at Veronica because he was nervous. "A-Alright...Don't laugh if I mess up, I warned you that I'm not that great." He readied the violin to play but paused, trying to think of a song to play. A few moments of silence passed and Reno smirked, knowing what to play. He closed his eyes and began to play Belonging (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMt2VYWy4RU&feature=fvw) by Secret Garden. He closed his eyes like he would normally do, so as he played the music he could somewhat escape to his own little reality. Another reason so he could not concentrate on Veronica being there because it made him nervous. (No hate <3) Reno seemed to be really into the music, almost dancing though standing still. Normally he was sitting down, or standing in a tree so he couldn't exactly move much.
-
Sam narrowed his eyes as he took another drag from his cancer stick. He didn't get her sense of humor. He began to think that this girl was obviously awkward when it came to these sort of things. He forced a smiled at her gesture and ran his fingers through his spikes on his head. He accepted the fact that his question was ignored. It was stupid afterall. Sam really never was one for small talk. He stood up and looked down at the cut on Schad's knee. He bent down and took a closer look at it. It got to the point where he was sticking his entire face into her cut. He stood back up and exhaled his smoke before tossing the butt away. "Your jeans took a bigger hit than you did so you're ok." He looked at her. "You need something for that?
-
Zane sat back down on the stairs after noting she was okay, finally taking notice of Sam's presence. Instead of once again interrupting him, he decided to pull out his notebook and start filtering through his free-write ideas for his next story. They weren't the most amazing, but neither were they completely unworkable either. So he continued alternating between reading through, scratching out, and adding new ideas while he tried to remain semi-aware. It was fantastic that his Ipod was still playing, but now the Kingdom Hearts soundtrack and the original version of Scherzo di Notte causing Zane to play with his Heartless necklace remained partially hidden underneath his shirt.
-
Like the previous week, Shinzuu wiped the floor with all people who had the gajones to wager a bet of the game with him. He kept it up for a couple hours before people stopped showing up to challenge him for cash. Some kids had even asked Shinzuu to teach them how to play, but he didn't like teaching anyone anything. It's not because he hated people, it's just that he's horrible at even attempting to teach anything.
-
Veronica just smirked and shook her head at Reno's warning. She waited patiently while he thought of what to play, just looking at the ground. When Reno finally started to play, she closed her eyes and listened, blocking everything else out so there was no interference. She didn't know the song that he was playing but it sounded very well played even though she didn't know how it actually went. She could sense that he was moving around and a smile crept onto her face even though she couldn't see exactly what he was doing.
-
Schad settled and sat back down knowing they didn't really get that she was referring to holy jeans like they had back home where she was from. She looked down at her knee then scratched the back of her head. "No I should be fine, really." She leaned over somewhat to see if she could catch a glimpse at what Zane was doing. She knew she hated it when everyone else did it to her, but she couldn't help but do it herself. She snapped back up as if remembering Sam's question, then answered as if she had never fallen down the stairs. "Honestly I didn't know they had a library. Shows how much I come to it, I'm usually loitering at the park. I meant to check to see if they had any american comics."
-
Reno kept moving to the song until he had finished playing it, bringing his violin down to his side to scratch the back of his head. After that he turned to Veronica with a bit of a smirk. "Be honest, was I bad? Heh..." He looked around the area after that, up and down the streets at the houses. He was starting to wonder why Veronica had shown up as she did. He seemed curious as he looked around, as if he was thinking. But he also looked more relaxed after the song, not as nervous as he was previously.
-
Sam chuckled. "I take it you're from America too?" He took a seat on the step and looked at Schad. Sam's eyes switched from Schad to Zane. "Hello Zane." Sam said while still staring at him. "Thought you could disappear on me in there, eh!?" He said with a crazed look in his eyes. "I've been lookin for ya in there ya know..." He slipped another cigarette in between his lips without breaking his cold stare...or even blinking. His gaze immediately went back to normal when he switched it back to Schad. "You know that kid?" He asked nodding in Zane's direction.
-
Zane glanced up in time to catch Sam's staring, which caused him to be lightly unnerved. But by the time it had an effect, he had slipped back into his silent reverie reviewing his story topics, finally narrowing it down between the science fiction topic and the mystery topic. They both revolved around his main character, John Carlisle, who was once again thrown into a scenario where everything he had was going to be tested. He was about to start developing both, when he heard his name in the conversation. He maintained his position, only allowing his eyes to flicker up between his bangs to view Sam and the possum female, before they returned to his notebook. He swore he knew her name from somewhere, but due to his uncertainty, he remained mute. The smell of smoke however was starting to irritate him, so he shoved his things in his bag while giving a hasty, silent wave, and stared walking down the street toward his home.
-
Veronica chuckled and opened her eyes when Reno spoke then looked at him. "I knew you were being modest. You played very, very well. I don't even know the song and it still sounded good and like it was played correctly to me." She responded to his question. She noticed him looking around the area as if he was trying to figure something and it made her grin. "I live over there." She stated as if she had read his mind and pointed to the house across the street. "I'm surprised you're not hanging out with Schad..."
-
"Yeah. Guilty as charged." She said in response to where she came from, when he nodded in hybrid's direction, she shook her head. "I've seen him at school, but that's it." Before she could really say anything further, the canine got up and left. "Well, fine leave, then." She shouted, not really mad, more or less in a playful manner. She had the urge to follow after, but didn't do it because of Sam. She stepped to the side making sure she was out of the smoke's way when he exhaled.
-
Reno blushed a bit at Veronica's compliment. When she told him she lived around here the mystery in his head was solved. When Schadenfreude was mentioned he blushed further and looked away scratching the back of his head. "I-...She-...I thought I've been in'er hair enough. I had just planned to relax in the park to think about-...Things...Then my-...erm...That bird...Made me come here...It seemed to want me here...It was...weird." So many things flooded his head at once, giving him a slight headache making him grab his forehead with his free hand. "Hey...Have you...Ever told someone how you feel about them?"
-
Sam narrowed his eyes when Zane got up and left. He hated it when he did that but at this point he couldn't care less. He took one long and final drag from the newly lit cigarette before flicking it away. "This guy..." He said shaking his head. "I'll never understand him. It's like he can just...make his own reality from his own writing." He said, referring to Zane once he was gone. His eyes turned to Schad. "Look's like you and I are in the same boat." He stood up and took hold of his lacrosse bag. "Listen, I guess I should get going...It was nice meeting you. I'll see ya around." He said with a smile slinging his bag over his shoulder and turning to walk away.
-
"All this feels strange and untrue...and I won't waste a minute, without you" Zane quietly sang along with the song playing on his Ipod. He couldn't shake the feeling he was being followed, but ignored it as a useless paranoia from his interaction with Sam. The chain-smoker was definitely unusual to say the least. And he didn't know if he would hang around him for a while...or at all. Anti-social was quickly becoming his new fashion, as was a derivative apathetic outlook. Neither were very appealing, and Zane hoped he would be able to change that, and shake the feeling of not being alone.
-
Now it was Veronica's turn to turn pink under her fur. "Um...no...I've never done that..." She responded to Reno's question, rubbing the back of her neck. "I've never actually liked someone..." "Until now..." She finished in her head. She slowly lowered her hand to her side and her expression turned into a slight frown at the thought of Shinzuu. It had all been blocked from her thoughts since she had been distracted from it during the time she was here with Reno. Now it was starting to come back to her thoughts with a vengeance but all she let show emotion-wise was that slight frown.
-
After Sam plodded off, Schad sprinted in the direction the other went, still having him in sight. When she finally caught up to him, she stopped not really knowing what to do, but managing to utter a "Hey." She wondered what on earth she was doing, but it seemed better than being bored out of her mind at her hotel room. "What's your name?" she asked, not really paying attention to if he had responded to her initial greeting.
-
Reno noticed a frown on Veronica's face and figured it was because of what he said. "Hey, it's okay, it's not a big deal if you don't know. Don't be sad, I don't mind, really." he said with a bit of a smile, trying to make her feel a little better. He was oblivious to what it was that was really bugging her. He felt bad himself for making her feel bad and didn't really know what else to do at this point. "Wanna go somewhere and do somethin'? Take your mind off things? How 'bout a movie?" He almost froze after that, he realized what he let slip out. He practically asked her on a date. "Idiot, idiot, idiot, stupid idiot...I hope she says no...This'll be awkward is she doesn't..." Their actions would likely be taken the wrong way on many levels, he only thought about what if Schadenfreude saw them going to the movies together. Not to mention the secretive group of rumor starters from school that always seemed to be following all of them. He kept a fake smile on as he waited for his possible doom.
-
A couple hours later, Sam was at the lacrosse field. It took some time to get there because he stopped to grab a coffee and more smokes. He looked out at the field. The guys were out doing their usual drills and socializing. One of them looked up and saw the fox with the mohawk. "SAM!!! Where you been!?" It was one of Sam's buddies who ran over and tackled him to the floor in a hug. The rest of the team had noticed he finally showed up each smiling that he came. "Yeah bro, I'm here...Now get off me." Sam said as he lay on the floor with the hulking wolf on top of him.
-
"Erm...hey." Zane replied, before turning around, cursing himself for reacting before thinking. "My name's Zane." The hybrid pulled his headphones around his neck again, noting they'd spent more time there today than they had over his ears. Except this time, to save his battery, he reach into his pocket to switch his Ipod onto dormant and hold. He had roughly half a battery thanks to his day or two without charging it, and would need it once he finally got home for the day. The hybrid glanced around to see if Sam was around, noting with a silent sigh of relief he wasn't. ""Forgot to ask your name earlier...guess being your indirect assailant kind of excuses that though" He laughed sheepishly, winding and unwinding the cord of his headphones around his paw while he spoke.
-
Veronica sighed. "It's not because I've done that, it's just...never mind." She said and shook her head to get the thoughts out. She watched him as he asked her if she wanted to do something and saw something like worry in his eyes after he finished. "I think I'll pass. I'm going to just go over to my house and watch some movies and pig out or something." She responded and started to turn to go across the street but looked back at him for a second. "And Reno..." She waited for him to look at her before finishing. "Stop worrying so much about everything." She gave him a smile and waved before crossing the street. When she got inside her house, she found something to snack on and put in The Little Mermaid because she felt like watching a Disney movie. When it got to the part where Sebastian was singing "Kiss the Girl", she sighed to herself and hugged a pillow to her chest. "Like that'll ever happen now..."
-
"Ah, it's alright, Zane, I told you the stairs have it out for me." She rubbed the back of her head. "The name's Schadenfreude." She realized past answering his question and her answering his that she hadn't quite thought the whole thing out when she had run up to him, but she thought it was rude not to say something after Sam had gone. She had noticed the tension between the two.
-
Reno was glad that Veronica had turned him down. He smiled a bit and waved as she went home. When she told him not to worry so much he turned away blushing and chuckled before packing away his violin. After that he got up and started to walk away. "Heh...I feel like I've been told that before..." He decided to walk home and just relax for the day before he did something stupid again.
-
Sam was on the bench sifting through his bag and throwing on his lacrosse gear. He gagged at the smell of his equippment. It almost smelled like it hadn't been washed since he got it. Jeeez. Sam said, taking a whiff of the gloves. He grimaced but didn't seem to care too much. Every guy loved his own brand. He slipped on the helmet which he modified to accomdate his mohawk and grabbed his stick before rushing out to join the other guys.
-
"Schadenfreude, eh? That's an interesting name" Zane commented, again without thought. Today was just going to be one of those days. "Erm...wanna go do something? To be honest, I'd rather not go home right now." The hybrid shifted his bag's weight on his shoulder, trying to diffuse his light nervousness at asking a stranger to hang out with him. But to be honest, no one but Melinda would hang out with him because he pretty much avoided everyone. That's why this morning's events were so odd.
-
After eating a bit, Shinzuu left the arcade and decided to head home. It was unusual for him to head home before sundown on a Sunday, but he just wasn't in the mood. On the way, Shinzuu saw Reno heading in the opposite direction towards where he lived. His blood boiled as he walked up to Reno. Shinzuu stopped in front of Reno and pretended to have a more friendly tone, "Hey Reno, what have you been doing? And where's Schad?"
-
Veronica snacked on some chips as she continued to watch The Little Mermaid as it went on from the "Kiss The Girl" part. The way that this was going she might end being fat after a while but at the moment she didn't care if she did. If Shinzuu was going to not like her, she figured she might as well give him something not to like. She wasn't really going to make herself fat though, she had no intention of doing that. She took a drink of her chocolate milk because her mouth was getting dry from the chips then continued to eat as she watched the movie.
-
"Uh, sure." She seemed somewhat caught off guard by the question because she didn't think things entirely through when she came running up, but what else could she expect? She looked around, not exactly knowing what to do at this point, then she mentioned, "But I still hardly have any bearings on this place, so you get to pick what to do. I don't know the entirety of it's splendor. Usually I find places through other people taking me there."
-
Reno didn't expect to see Shinzuu of all people, if anyone he wanted to see Schadenfreude. When he talked to him, he seemed a little off, but he hadn't seen him in awhile so didn't think anything of it. "Oh, uhm...H-Hey, Shinzuu. I uhm...Was just out for a walk, thinkin' on good memories of the past." At that moment he didn't think what he said could have been twisted easily into an entirely different meaning but he kept going. "As for Schad...I haven't seen 'er since yesterday. Why did you and Veronica ask that? It seems weird..." after that he blushed a little and looked away.
-
Sam and the rest of the team had finished their game. He sat with some of them on the bleachers while they changed. "So Sam, the guys and I were thinking about heading out to a movie or something later on. Wanna come? The wolf who'd tackled him earlier looked at him for an answer. Sam was caught with the question while lighting up a cigarette. He looked at him and took a drag. "Sure thing, dude. I just got to drop my stuff off at home and I'll catch up with you guys later." Sam stood up and picked up his bag. "Sounds good, bro." Sam nodded and walked off. He left the field and made his way down the street. He turned the corner to see Shinzuu along with someone else across the street. He couldn't make out who it was since their back was turned. Sam kept to himself though and kept walking up the street towards them on the opposite side of the road, while his eyes occaisonally glanced over at them.
-
Shinzuu let out a smile as the sound of Veronica's name made his blood boil. So you were with her... "Really? That is weird..." Without warning, Shinzuu let out a punch right into Reno's face, knocking the kid onto his rear. Without another word, he walked on. Shinzuu was furious as he stormed off, muttering to himself the whole way home, "(censored) little (censored). To think that I (censored) gave a (censored) about your (censored) (censored)............"
-
When the movie ended, Veronica got off her lazy bum and took the movie out. She scanned the shelves of DVDs for something else that she would be interested in watching. It took her a few minutes before she found something since she was very indecisive. She finally pulled Mulan off the shelf and put the DVD in the DVD player. She took her glass to the kitchen to refill it while the ads started. When she sat back down, she skipped to the menu and selected play. As the opening credits started, she started to dig into the chips again.
-
Reno didn't expect to get punched in the face, especially by Shinzuu. It hurt more since he thought they were friends. Before he could say anything he had stormed off. "What...The hell was that for?" He thought slowly getting to his feet. He then rubbed the spot where he was hit still confused. He picked his violin case back up and continued walking home. Reno was shaking a bit as he walked, just filled with confusion, pain and sadness. He eventually made it home without further incident luckily. He just fell on his bed rubbing the spot. "...Was it somethin' I said...? I hope this doesn't escalate further..."
-
Sam froze in his tracks as he watched as Shinzuu sucker punch the kid he was talking to. Sam later realized it was Reno. His jaw clenched as his eyes followed Shinzuu's hasty getaway. Sam's clenched his fist, crushing his cigarette in his grip. Once he was gone, his glance switched back over to Reno. He didn't say anything to him from across the street. This wasn't his fight and it wasn't his place. The last thing he needed was drama. Sam narrowed his eyes. He was getting tired of Shinzuu's bitterness...and fast. He watched Reno pick himself off the pavement and recollect himself before going on his way. Sam could see that Reno was shaken up by the ordeal.
Instead of going home, Sam followed after Reno, quietly chain smoking and walking after him until he reached home. The fox stood outside the residence for sometime, making somewhat of a sketch scene and catching glimpses from passer-bys. He was in thought and he knew Reno was upset about it. Although he barely knew the kid, it never hurt to check up on someone. Sam flicked away the butt of his smoke and took his steps toward the door. He knocked three times and took a step back, waiting for a response.
-
It wasn't until he got home, that Shinzuu realized how much his hand hurts. He growled as he walked into the apartment home and dove into the refrigerator. Shiori sniffled as she was awoken by the sound and in a dazed state, stared at her son who was now icing his hand, but it didn't register in her mind that it was anything until he was walking over to the other couch. "Oh! Are you alright? You must be out to kill yourself today, aren't you? Come, let me take a look at it." Shinzuu refused at first, but thought the wiser when Shiori eyed him angrily. She removed the ice and examined Shinzuu's hand. Shiori moved his fur aside and examined the hand more thoroughly, "You were fighting, weren't you? Your knuckles on your ring finger pinky are swollen. Most people get these when they don't know what they're doing. I used to drag your father out of the bar after he gets knocked out there. Of course, this was way before you were born, but I know fighting scars/bruises when I see them. It looks like you didn't use this hand a lot so you should be fine. It could have been worse, you could have potentially broken your finger joints. Please stay away from fighting, sweetie. I'm pretty sure Kugutsune would be upset to see his son turn out like him, even if it's from the other side." Shinzuu sighed and wrenched his hand away, slouching back onto the other couch and slowly falling asleep in it. He had no idea that the next day would turn his entire world upside down for both himself and his friends.
-
The snacking had made it so Veronica didn't need to have supper since she had filled up on chips and chocolate milk. As she was watching Mulan, her parents had come home. Her mom sat in the chair after changing into pajamas while her father was in the bathroom taking a shower. It was halfway into the movie at this point and her eyes kept falling closed repeatedly and then would snap open again. "Why don't you go to bed, sweetheart?" Her mother asked as she witnessed Veronica dozing off. "Don't want to go upstairs..." Veronica mumbled. "Well then I guess you can sleep on the couch for the night. Just don't get up late tomorrow." Her mom responded as she got out of the chair when her husband came out of the bathroom. They both said goodnight to Veronica then went to bed themselves. It didn't take Veronica very long after closing the chip bag and curling up under the throw blanket to fall asleep with Mulan still playing on the TV.
-
Shad had found herself easily lost when she had tagged along behind Zane. She couldn't seem to keep up and he didn't seem to hear her when she called his name. "If he'd take that damned iPod out of his ears for once," she mumbled, finally giving up on trying to follow him. At least he had left her in a familiar place. She finally walked alone to the hotel, the lights being her only guide when the sun disappeared. Once inside, she made her way to her door, ignoring the fox knocking at Reno's door. She quickly closed the door behind her. She didn't really have anything against the guy, but her day had been less than desirable, and it left her not wanting to talk to him. She flopped over onto her bed and sighed, face down in her pillow.
-
Reno heard the knock at his door and got up to answer it. He thought it might have been Schadenfreude so he was quick about it. He opened it and was surprised to see someone other than her and it was obvious by the look on his face and how it changed when he opened the door. He recognized him from school. "Uhm...Hey...Uhm..." "Ugh...What was his name? I've heard it before...Lem...Tim?...Uh...Sam? I think that's it..." "...Sam, right...?" He said lightly point at him and scratching the back of his head. His cheek had began to swell without him noticing and his nose started bleeding. Both of which were noticeable.
-
Sam didn't say anything at first. His face was blank of expression in the doorway while smoke lightly billowed off the cigarette that barely hung between his lips. He stared at Reno and what Shinzuu had done to him. The fox watched as blood began to drip from the guy's nose. A feeling came over Sam like a warm blanket. Literally. He was heating up. That feeling was nothing but pure rage, anger, and hate mixed into one small package that was waiting to explode in Sam's head. That **** ******* ************. Sam took a deep breath to collect himself, looked Reno in the eyes and spoke. "Look, I saw what happened. I wanted to see if you were okay so I followed you home. Looking at you now, I can see that you're a goddamn mess. Your nose is bleeding and your half of your face is about the size of a friggin' baseball. What the hell happened? Why did Shinzuu do this to you?"
-
Reno wiped his nose on his sleeve noticing it was bleeding and his face became sore. He felt his face with a saddened and hurt expression on his face. "I-...I don't know why...I thought...We were friends..." He almost seemed as if he were about to cry just by the look of his eyes. He was really shaken up and hurt in more ways than one about the whole thing. "But I'm okay...Really, It's nothing a bag of ice and tissue won't fix...I'd invite you in but...I think I want to be alone right now...I'm sorry...Thanks for checking up on me though..." He sounded really glum and depressed, not like he was going to cry though, that's just what his eyes said. He wanted to wait until Sam had left before he closed the door, he was ready to just go to bed and sleep off some of this pain.
-
Sam put a hand on Reno's shoulder. "It's fine, man. Take all the time you need...You'll be alright." He patted Reno on the shoulder twice before walking away. He took the stairs and walked home. He took the long way to his house that night. He was thinking the entire way. He'd called his buddies ealier to let them know that he had to bail on them. The enire way to his house, he couldn't get the thought of fighting Shinzuu out of his head. He wanted to give that kid a taste of what it was like to be on the losing end.
When he got home, he ignored his father's cries and went straight to his room. He lay on his bed and stared up at the ceiling, his stereo was on low and he was filling up his ashtray. He wasn't sleeping that night. He was preparing.
-
Shinzuu awoke the next morning all groggy and his hand still a bit sore. He dressed and ate before leaving for school. As Shinzuu went down the street, along his usual route, something just felt off. Next thing he knew, he was surrounded by a bunch of other kids dressed in uniform loosely like thugs, and some that dressed fully as thugs. "To what do I owe to the future and current drop-outs? You're Sam's boys, right?"
Meanwhile, at the hotel complex, a couple thug-boys in loose school uniforms, knocked on Reno's door. "Reno! Hurry up, man. We're walking you to school, today. Sam wants you to see something."
-
Veronica woke up the next morning to hear the main menu of the Mulan DVD playing and tiredly rubbed her eyes. She stopped the DVD and shut of the TV then got up off the couch. When she looked at the clock she saw that she had gotten up ten minutes late and let out a sigh. That was nothing that couldn't be fixed by skipping breakfast though. She went upstairs, changed into her uniform and brushed her teeth. She then went back downstairs, put on her shoes and grabbed her bag, heading out the door. She proceeded to walk along her normal route to school.
-
Schad again, didn't sleep too well. She tossed and turned, thinking about various thing until she eventually tired up. When the alarm blared, she jumped, about falling out of bed, realizing that she hadn't quite bothered to change into PJ's. She grabbed a clean boy's uniform and showered, changing into it and gathering her things before walking out the door. As usual, she flung the door open, smacking a few guys with it. She didn't really care that she had done so either, but she couldn't help but wonder why they were there. They were obviously students from school. "Is there a reason why you're taking up space here?" she shot, her hand taking its place on her hip. If there was one thing that helped distinguish that she was female, it was her body language. "Seriously, can't stand somewhere else with your mouth open and that dead cow look?" The possum was not a morning person, nor was she happy since she hadn't gotten much sleep, and it seemed these people were at the right place at the right time to hear an ear full.
-
Reno woke up when he heard voices call for him outside his door. He stammered over to open it. He hadn't showered or changed his clothes the previous night, so he was still a mess. The white fur under his nose was stained with blood, the side of his face was still swollen and his clothes were all wrinkled. He didn't even want to go to school, and still probably wasn't going to. "...What? Hrmm..." he groaned. He was clearly tired with the bags under his eyes. He wasn't even in his uniform. He yawned and held up his hand and said "Just a second" which was barely audible since he was yawning. He went and grabbed his duffel bag, not bothering to check if his things were in it. He was fairly certain they were but was too tired to care. He went back to the door, went out then closed and locked it behind him. "So what's so important...?" As he said that he noticed Schadenfreude. He looked at her for a moment, she seemed a little angry. Reno quickly looked away hoping she didn't notice him in his current state.
-
Sam walked out of his house the next morning. He'd been up all morning organizing and discussing with his fellow goons. He was tired. He stopped at the sidewalk to wipe his face in his hands. At the same time, he felt alive and better than he had in a long time. He wore his uniform for the first time in a while that day. He figured it went well with his hair and that today was the first day he'd be heading off to class in a nearly a week...but not before taking care of business first.
He carried his bag as he walked along the road. He was to meet with his friends on the way to school, hopefully as he'd planned.
-
The thugs sighed as some of them really didn't care to be there, "Heard you been picking on young-bloods that Sam likes, so we're here to teach you a lesson. And I'm sure the kid you picked on wanted a piece of you, too. Our job right now is to just hold you here until the party comes, but we're allowed ta' rough you up if we need ta'." Shinzuu snorted and sighed, eying some of the thugs who were wearing his school's uniform, "You guys in the suits should know me. I'm not that kind of guy..." "Yea, but weez also know dat youz been kicked off da teams, too, and joined dat stupid MMA club. Howda we know you hasn't been changed by being kicked, Mr. I-Think-I'm-Perfect?"
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Schad was about to experience a life-changing experience as well, which would inadvertently affect Veronica, too. As Schad walked down the sidewalk, a car not too far behind her immediately lost control and began to swerve right at her.
-
As Veronica walked along toward school, she hummed to herself. In the back of her mind though, she was wondering about what was going to happen at school. She knew that it was highly likely that the news of her not eating had gotten around and that everyone was going to think she had an eating disorder. She figured she was going to get some looks but she was going to try to make it through the whole day.
-
Before the guys could answer, she stormed off. Seems the bad mood had carried over into the next day. She figured Reno could to walk to school with his other friends, so she walked alone with her hands in her pockets. She jammed her ear buds in and turned her iPod up blaring her music, looking for something calming on her playlists. She had gotten a good way down the sidewalk when she heard something loud over her music, by the time she had turned there was a car careening out of control at her, the best she could do was try to jump out of the way, but she wasn't sure if she would make it because it was so close...
-
Reno was confused as where it was he was being taken to. It was unusual for this sort of thing to happen, it made him really nervous. Surrounded by strangers, who looked to be thugs. The thought of Schadenfreude's biker boyfriend who she claimed didn't exist came to mind. He started piecing clues together, strange people knocking on his door, angry looking Schadenfreude and him being taken somewhere. He began to worry more, thinking maybe she had planned it all from the beginning, and that she really didn't like him. Shinzuu's sudden behavior reinforced that thought, maybe all his so called friends were plotting against him.
-
Sam turned the corner where he saw his crowd of goons surrounding a familiar face. Shinzuu was right on time; now the only one missing was Reno. Sam approached the crowd with a welcoming smile. He flicked away his cigarette and walked over to one of his friends and whispered into his ear. "Where the hell are the others?" He asked. He only response was a light shrug. Sam winced in frustration and walked over to Shinzuu who was now the center of attention. "Hey, friend. How are you today? I hope you don't mind that we hold you up for a little while, I know how important your day must be with all your academics. We're just waiting on a few others..." He lit up another cigarette. "Shouldn't be long now."
-
Shinzuu scoffed at Sam, "I see you still hide behind numbers, Sam." He was not the least bit happy that he was going to be late for the first time since day 1 of the school year.
As Schad jumped out of the way, the car hit her legs while she was in mid-air, breaking her right leg in the process, while spinning her around and landing on her face. The car then abruptly went straight through the corner of the home and fell down a drop just past the house and its fence right towards the park, Shinzuu and the crowd just below its drop zone.
-
Schad tumbled to the side. She heard something snap, she was sure of that. She laid on the ground for a bit, not saying anything, just trying to take in what just happened until the pain began shooting upward from her legs up to her spine. Pain seemed to be coming in from all directions. Tears welled up in her eyes as a string of expletives escaped her mouth. She forced herself to roll over and sit up, noticing the awkward position of her leg. "Goddamn it, it's broken for sure." She managed to get out, but even that hurt. She flopped backwards, waiting for the adrenalin to kick in as she held her face to hide the tears. It was more scary than anything.
-
Sam heard the loud crash and looked up. His eyes bulged. A car, seemingly from out of nowhere, was about to kill him and his crew. He could see the faces of his crew, they seemed as shocked as he was. It was all happening in slow motion for Sam. He quickly dove out of the way, away from his boys who were also in the midst of scattering.
At the same moment, Reno and the rest of Sam's gang had arrived from around the corner, only to witness the horror that was about to unfold.
-
Shinzuu ran off to the side as the car landed onto the floor, only slightly dipped. The head of the car bent upward, but it skid forward, dragging dirt and parts of pavement alongside it. Shinzuu had dived out of the way, just barely, as did a lot of the other guys. He brushed himself off as he got up and turned towards the car as the dust settled. "Hey! Are you okay in there?" Shinzuu coughed up a lung, almost, as he neared the car. When the dust did settle, he was able to see who was inside, and it brought a shock to his face. Oh god... it's Veronica's parents... As if on reflex, Shinzuu yelled at everyone for a cell phone. No one responded at first, but a couple people managed to fumble their phones from their pockets and threw them at Shinzuu. He caught one while the others hit him, some in the face, and quickly dialed the emergency number, barely able to get the words out to tell what happened. Shinzuu closed the phone and dropped it. Meanwhile, the thugs left the scene quickly when they came to their senses, not wanting to be associated with such a horrific sight, or be accused of causing it. It wasn't long before the ambulance and police showed up, and Shinzuu went with the ambulance, surprised to see Schad inside as well, but she appeared a bit out of it, probably hopped up on morphine. He couldn't get himself to say anything as the paramedics pried open the car wreck and quickly transported Veronica's mother into this ambulance, and her father into the other.
-
Veronica arrived at school on time and went to her locker. She put some of her things in her locker and took the things she needed for the first half of her classes out. After she had her things, she shut the locker door and went to her classroom. Setting her stuff on the desk, she sat in her usual seat and waited for the school day to begin. She had no idea about what had happened.
-
Schad layed there in a daze, hearing the car skid to a hault, panic fill the air, and eventually an ambulance wailing in the distance. "Damn my luck if this isn't the second time," she whispered to herself, still holding her head. She felt herself being picked up by a few men, she was in too much pain to struggle against them. She knew where she was going, and didn't want to go, but she was going to have to. She knew it when she looked at her leg. As they loaded her up, they asked her several questions, none of which she could coherently answer. She grabbed her chest, not only was she in a daze, but her anxiety levels were shooting through the roof and it made her feel like the world was spinning and as if someone was stabbing her in her chest.
-
When Reno arrived the car flew from the sky and crashed almost hitting the group below. He was shocked about the whole thing. His thuggish escort scattered at the sound of sirens, he saw Shinzuu then. He was more curious as to why he was there. When Shinzuu hopped into the ambulance he was about to go after him to question him about the whole thing. That's when he saw Schadenfreude in there as well. But a police officer stopped him short to question him. Reno didn't care to answer him, or any of them, he wanted to get to Schadenfreude. But the ambulance wheeled off before he could. All the while he called to her. He shoved an officer out of the way and chased after the ambulance. But he was taken to the ground quickly by another officer. He tried to explain his self as they arrested him, one of the female officers sympathized and released him. But she did it in the form of putting him in the back of her squad car and explaining it to him. After wards she drove him to the hospital. She went in with him and helped him talked to the people behind the desk since he was too worried and shaken up to form a sentence at this point. But it was too soon to get much information.
-
Sam tried to stop Reno and tell him what happened, but he too was arrested for questioning, as a witness, though. Shinzuu followed along to the hospital and was restricted from going into the Operation Area where Schad and Veronica's parents were taken. He completely freaked out, not being able to sit still or even stand still. The police came not too long later and picked him up for questioning. Before being pulled away, Shinzuu turned his head to the fat nurse who had been trying to subdue him from causing a commotion, "The couple that was brought in are the Smith family. Their daughter goes to Feral High. She's a freshman named Veronica. You might want to tell her what happened." Later, on the way to the station, he had no idea why he had told the nurse that.
-
Class hadn't been going on for long before a voice came over the intercom in the classroom. "Could you send Veronica to the office please?" The secretary asked. The teacher said they would and sent Veronica on her way. She collected her things from the desk and left the room. As she headed down the hall, she wondered why she was being called to the office but figured it couldn't be anything too pressing even though she got this nagging bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. When she got to the main office, Principal Yass led her into her office. As she looked over her shoulder at the secretary, she saw a frown on the woman's face. After the principal sat her down in a chair in her office, she proceeded to calmly and gently explain what happened to Veronica's parents. Veronica sat there with a look of shock and disbelief on her face as she was being told the story then broke down into tears after it was finished. Yass tried to console her but she shrugged her hands off her shoulders. "I want to see them..." She said through her crying. "Dear, I don't think that's--" Yass started, but was cut off. "I don't care what you think, I want to see them!" She practically screamed. "Okay...okay...there's a police officer outside who will take you to the hospital..." Yass barely got the words out before Veronica was running out of her office through the main office and down the hall for the entry doors, leaving her stuff in Yass' office. The officer held the front passenger door open for her and she quickly climbed in. The officer tried to chat with her to calm her down since he knew how bad she must have been feeling, but Veronica just stared out the window and didn't utter a word as tears continued to stream down her face.
-
Things had started to get fuzzy as the ambulance unloaded her and rushed her into the hospital... She was sure it was probably the drugs kicking in, but she still felt anxious and things were still swirling. She felt as if she were at the bottom of the ocean, and everything was slow and surreal. She couldn't quite tell where she was, but she knew good and well, she laid her head back instead of trying to struggle to look. She heard something about Veronica, but she couldn't make out what as they wheeled her by a dark figure struggling against several white ones. It looked like Shinzuu, but she wasn't too sure.
-
Reno was pacing back and forth in front of the operating room doors Schadenfreude was in. The police officer had long since left, having gotten all she could from Reno. He managed to thank her for not taking him to jail, even in his shaken state. He remember seeing Shinzuu being taken out and saying something about Veronica's parents being in the car that crashed. He looked at the doors of their operating rooms with a deep concern. "Bloody hell...I hope everyone is goin' to be alright...Poor Veronica...I hope to God she won't suffer what I have to...It's not fair...Why did this all have to happen?!" He was getting a bit angry, making his face hurt again. He went over to an ice machine and got a cup of it and put it against his face. There was still blood dried to his fur, along with a thin layer of dust from the crash and a few scrapes from being tackled by police.
-
Shinzuu sat in the little interrogation room, explaining what had happened. "So let me get this straight, a bunch of those thug kids had held you there against your will, and the car just started careening over the edge towards you all? None of you had anything to do with the car going out of control? Because I have an account from all of them that you were the one to pick a fight with them and had been the one who pushed the one kid into the car's path." Shinzuu sighed, frustrated, "Comon, Mr. Yamamoto. You know me. I never start a fight with anyone. I..." Officer Yamamoto held up a hand to silence him and began to explain that Shinzuu was facing juvi and a lot of other troubles as well.
-
Veronica wiped her eyes and her cheeks as she followed the officer into the hospital and they approached the desk. "This young lady is the daughter of the man and woman who were in the car accident." The officer said to the nurse behind the desk. "Ah, yes, they're in surgery right now. The best we can do for her is let her wait in the waiting room by the operating rooms." The nurse responded and the officer turned to Veronica. "Okay. The people here will take care of you now. Are you going to be alright under the circumstances?" The officer asked and Veronica nodded. The officer smiled at her then left the building. Afterward, the nurse called another nurse to lead Veronica to the waiting room. When the nurse left her in the waiting room, she told her to call for her if she needed anything. After the nurse left, Veronica sat down in one of the chairs but felt restless so she ended up getting up and pacing in the room. She had been pacing for a minute before she realized there was somebody else in the room then she stopped instantly. It was Reno, standing there with a cup against his face. "Reno?" She said, a confused look on her face. "What are you doing here?"
-
Reno was startled when he heard Veronica's voice. He jolted causing him to shoot his cup of ice into the air. He instinctively tried to catch the ice again. He stood up to try and do so, failing and slipping on the ice. Luckily the seat was behind him and he didn't have a painful fall. "Phew..." "I-Uhm...Schad's..." He stopped there and put his forehead to his hands, probably making it sound worse than it actually was. He then shot up, looking at Veronica. "I-....Heard about your parents...I hope....They're alright...I mean...I know how-" "No...that's too revealing." "...You-...I don't think...You deserve...What I-..." "I'm sure she knows anyway..." "I-..." "I might as well..." "I know how you feel...I-...you're nice...You don't deserve to go through...What I did...what I...Keep going through..." His face hurt again, making him grab it. He looked like a mess, it was surprising he wasn't admitted himself. He looked to the left, Veronica being on his right. His left hand held his face, with his right on the bench shaking. The combination of rubbing himself with ice and his emotions made him shake uncontrollably, even though he tried to fight it.
-
Sam sat down in the interrogation room. He was alone and stared at the mirrored glass window that faced him. He smoked as he waited in there for someone, anyone, to walk through the door. He'd been questioned already. He didn't say much, in fact, he didn't say anything at all. He remained quiet the whole time. He wasn't going to lie...but he wasn't about to rat anyone out either for what'd happened. He counted the minutes that slowly ticked away on the clock above the window. He wondered if his dad knew where he was. He wondered if he even cared. Sam had been arrested before once for assualt with a deadly weapon. This time seemed more like a joke. He didn't belong there, he didn't see anything. All he was his life flash before his eyes before he jumped out of the way of almost certain death. He pressed out a half finished cigarette in the tray and sat quietly in the plastic chair.
-
Shiori showed up at the station to pick up Shinzuu, and pushed right through into the interrogation room. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE, DAISUKE!? WHY THE HELL ARE YOU STICKING MY SON IN THE INTERROGATION ROOM!?" For the first time for anyone, Officer Yamamoto actually looked nervous. "B-b-but I have more than 23 accounts of him starting an all-out fight and possibly having pushed a few of the bystanders in the way of the car..." Shiori grabbed Officer Yamamoto by the front collar and pulled him off his seat and his face up to her's, "You've known our family since Shingo and I were kids, and you are Shinzuu's godfather for crying out loud! You know him better than anyone, and you would take the word of 23 wannabe thugs who have more than 7 priors apiece over your own godson who has no priors or even history of fighting!? How $%^&* dense are you!?" She threw him back onto his seat as a couple other police came into the room. Shiori turned and eyed them, stopping them in their tracks. "If you have the balls to defend your captain over justice, you can all kiss your jobs goodbye. DON'T MESS WITH ME!"
-
Veronica listened to Reno and saw how shaken he was. She got the gist of what he was saying, that he lost his parents and that he didn't want her to go through the same thing. Now she just wanted him to calm down since it seemed like he was always worked up about one thing or another. "Thanks." She said, rubbing her eyes. "Umm...so why is Schad here again?" She asked, trying to take his mind off of his parents somehow with the only thing she knew to say.
-
When the possum came to, she was lying in a hospital bed, a little shaken up, her heart still in her throat. She hadn't looked down at her leg, she didn't want to, even if the doctors had fixed it. She breathed out, looking at the ceiling trying to calm down. She attempted to count the tiles to get her mind off things, but she wondered how Veronica and Shinzuu had been involved with what was going on, if Shinzuu had even been involved. The thing she hated the most was how chaotic everything was; they rushed her off into everything without hardly telling her anything. Then her thoughts returned to Reno. She was sure he'd be freaking out like he always did... Her hands returned to her face. She had a bad habit of covering her face when she was upset or nervous regardless to if there were actual tears or not. This time there wasn't, and again, she let out a labored sigh.
-
"I-...I don't know...I just saw her when I was escorted somewhere by some thug lookin' people...I think they were goin' to do somethin' to Shinzuu...Then this all happened...I think it's all my fault, I did somethin'...Somethin'...To make him angry enough to-..." He stood up suddenly. "I hope she's alright...I don't know what happened to her...I...Hope she's alright..." He began to pace again. "It's all my fault...If I didn't do what I did...If I didn't make him so angry...I should have walked her to school...It would have been me! Why...Why?! Why wasn't it me?!" As he was pacing he walked by the ice machine, punching it out of anger. He punched it again then slammed his head into it. He fell to his knees pounding on the machine angrily shouting "Why?!" through his clenched teeth. Reno eventually turned around with his back to the machine and put his forehead to his palms again. "I'm...Sorry, Veronica...It's all my fault..."
-
"Okay, Crowe. You're free to go." The cop said in the doorway. Sam looked at him and slid out his chair before getting up and walking towards the door. The cop stopped him before he left. "...Whatever you guys did...Whatever you guys were about to do...Just know that a lot of people are hurt because of it." Sam wanted to explode. He didn't say anything, he swallowed his words and walked past the cop and out into the hallway. He could hear screaming from down the hall. Someone sounded like they were in some trouble. Sam didn't care much to find out who it was but he was eager to get out of there and find out what really happened. He needed to find the guys and Reno to figure things out.
-
All the police and Officer Yamamoto left the room, closing the door and leaving Shinzuu in the interrogation room all by himself. After about 10 minutes, Officer Yamamoto came in with some keys, obviously flushed in embarrassment and frustration. He then walked over and uncuffed Shinzuu before putting them away, "I'm sorry, Shinzuu. I guess the shifts have been really working me a little too hard. I'm sorry." Shinzuu rubbed his wrists as he walked out, "Yea, whatever, Uncle Daisuke." He was upset, but he didn't care enough as he just walked out and got in his mother's car. Shiori sighed as he sat down almost apathetically, "Look, honey. I'm sorry that you had to go that. Your godfather means well, he just gets too into his job sometimes, especially when he's sleep-deprived. Anyways, do you want to go visit your girlfriend's parents? I'm sure she's there, too." Shinzuu shook his head, "No thanks, ma. I just want to get some food and go home. And she's not my girlfriend. Apparently that Reno kid I was being nice to only pretended to be my friend to get to her." Shiori frowned, but just started the car and sighed, "Then I guess the next stop is Kurosaki's Sushi Parlor."
-
Veronica watched and listened to Reno with surprise, which then turned to irritation. "As upset as I may be about what has happened, you seriously need to stop saying that everything is your fault. Nothing you did or didn't do caused any of this." She responded when he finished what he was doing then realized something he said. "Wait...what'd Shinzuu do to you?" The conversation was definitely distracting her from what was going on with her parents.
-
Reno looked up to Veronica when she began talking. When she asked her question he looked to the room Schadenfreude was supposed to be in. "...He hit me in the face...I...Don't know why...I made him angry enough to hit me...If...I didn't make him angry...I would have came home normally...I wouldn't have been escorted by thugs to see Shinzuu...I would have been with her...I would be in there instead of her...It's all my fault...I-...If I didn't get hit...They wouldn't have taken Shinzuu...I don't know what they wanted...They took me to him...That's when-" As he was speaking the door to Schadenfreude's operating room opened up and a female doctor came out. "Is there a Reno out here?" Reno looked up to her. "Uhm...I'm Reno." The doctor chuckled. "Schadenfreude wants to speak to you, she told me you would be out here. She's got you pegged." "I-..Uhm..Alright..." Reno stood up and followed the doctor in to see her. "Are you alright? you look like a mess." "I'm fine." He looked as Schadenfreude was being transferred from operating table to bed to be wheeled off to a room. He also saw she was in a hospital gown and quickly looked away not wanting to risk seeing anything. When she was on the bed she had started getting pushed out of the room. He was still in the process of looking away when she began to be pushed passed him, as it happened she reached up and grabbed onto his tie and pulled him down to her. "Ack! H-Hey, what's up? Don't hurt me." he choked out. He couldn't do anything but walk along side the bed following her to what ever room they put her in.
-
"If I wanted to hurt you, I already would have." She stated in a matter of factly tone. When she turned to see his face, she jerked him down closer to inspect it. "What happened to your face?" She asked, her face suddenly concerned. "Car didn't hit you did it?" She chuckled despite still being nervous and upset about her leg being broken, but she didn't want him to know that. "If so it must have done a number on you..." She smirked, "Oh wait, you've always looked like that." She hoped kidding would at least allow him to relax some given that he was already on edge she could tell.
-
Sam saw one of his guys sitting outside the station having a smoke. He walked over. "What the hell happened back there? Where's Reno and Shinzuu?" He asked. His thug looked up at him. "Dunno man, I just got out of questioning. I heard a few of the boys said Shinzuu pushed you in front of the car." Sam's eyes bulged. "WTF!? We're not trying to friggn' get the kid thrown in jail! Where's Reno!?" The thug took another drag. "Hospital with Schad probably. Saw him jump in a car with a cop. Mentioned somethin' about the hospital." Sam shook his head and paced back and fourth. His thug creased his eye brows. "Dude, don't get so worked up. We'll deal with this."
-
Shinzuu drowned himself in sushi for lunch and ignored all of Shiori's questions that pertained to the accident and to Veronica. She sighed as she watched him eat, "Honey, I haven't seen you eat like this in years, since your father was still..." Shiori had to hold in tears at the mere mention of her late husband, coupled with the sight of her only son gorging himself like when he was growing up. "Sweetheart, just... stop eating already. You've already eaten 2 platters." Shinzuu swallowed the last of the food and sighed, "Take me back to school. I'm just gonna finish the day there. Don't want to fall behind."
-
Veronica listened to Reno intently as he spoke. When the doctor came to tell him that Schad wished to see him and he left, she sat down in one of the chairs. As she sat there she tried to figure things out. "No wonder his face is so swollen... But why would Shinzuu punch Reno?" She said out loud to herself in a quiet voice since she was alone in the waiting room, racking her brain. "Reno never did anything that would constitute such action. Hmm... what do guys get in fights about?" She looked around the room as she thought about what the answer to her question. "Friends being dissed? Reno's never done that, that I know of, and he doesn't seem like the type. Sports? Reno doesn't seem to be the sporty type. What else do they fight about...?" She went on thinking for another minute or so. "Well, there's the issue of girls, but even if Shinzuu does still like me, Reno never made a move on me. The only time we have ever been alone together was when I saw him at that house across the street... Wait...didn't I hear footsteps like someone running away when I was standing inside the open door after Reno ran up the stairs? That couldn't have been...could it?" She rose from the chair she had been sitting in and started to pace around the room. "If it was, then he probably thought...oh no..." She stopped pacing and put her face in her hands. After a minute or two, her hands dropped from her face where there was now a look of sudden realization. "Wait, I shouldn't feel bad about this, except for the Reno-getting-punched part of course. I seem to remember Carmen saying something about Shinzuu making sure that she was watching when he decided that he was going to work with Tabby in their club, and Carmen thought it was an act that he was putting on for her so she'd tell me so that I would be jealous..." Her expression changed to show a slight hint of anger and an even smaller hint, of course, of the jealousy that was intended that she hadn't cared to feel when it was mentioned to her before. "Well I'll give him a piece of my mind, but first..." She said and looked out of the windows that made up two walls of the waiting room like she had just remembered that she was in a hospital for a very important reason. "I have more important issues to deal with." And with that, she sat back down in one of the chairs, pulling her legs up into the seat to her chest and hugging them, and stared towards the doorway of the waiting room.
-
"I-I uhm..." "Do I tell her the truth? I don't know...It would probably just cause more trouble...Why should I even care? HE hit ME! For God knows what reason...Ugh...No..." "Uhm...Yes. The car hit me...Well, a piece of it..." "Oh wait! Crap! Didn't she see me before the accident?! She would have saw me face. Bollocks. Gotta change the subject..." "What about you? I'm fine. Are you? I mean are you in pain? Can I get you anything? Do something?" All that while still being held by his tie in her vice like grip as she was wheeled into a room. The nurses left the two alone in the room after they put Schadenfreude into place. As one of them left she turned to the two. "Don't worry, kid, your girlfriend is going to be fine." she said with a girly chuckle and walked out of the room. "G-girlfriend!? I- She- Uhm- uh-" Just now Reno was realizing how close to her he actually was. "Ho boy...I can practically kiss her, and- OH MAN!" at the point he shut his eyes tight and tried to look away. "I'm like right next to her chest too! And she's in this thin gown! I feel like a pervert!"
-
"Well, I did just break my leg and all." She sighed. "It doesn't hurt, I just feel a bit out of it because of the meds." She rubbed her head, the events once again taking a toll on her, but she tried to bounce back for Reno's sake. "I guess I get to miss school and stuff. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be in class right now?" She has ignored just about everything up until this point. "I'm going to be so behind on my work... Augh. Reno, you could do me a big favor and get my school work for me couldn't you?"
-
Sam had given up on the original plan to get Shinzuu back. He'd figured that since he'd already been dressed in uniform, he'd might as well get to school and sit in on a class for a bit. He walked down the streets to the school alone. He didn't have a backpack or any text books. He wasn't even planning on taking a single note down. He took a drag of his cigarette before tossing it away only feet from the front door and walking inside, exhaling the cloud of smoke on his way in.
-
Shiori dropped Shinzuu off at school, still a bit upset at what was happening to Shinzuu today, but thought otherwise that school might help him cool off or at least keep his mind off of the morning's events. Shinzuu walked into class and sat at his desk. He didn't really pay attention to class, but at least his mind was blank, so to speak. At the end of the day, Shinzuu felt the itching of his boils and sighed, "Aren't you supposed to be the first one at club instead of visiting me, Tabby?"
-
"Yeah, sure. Not a problem. Uhm...I'll go get it for you." With that Reno broke free from her gripped and walked out of the room. He left the building and called a cab to head to school. After awhile of waiting for the cab he took the ride to school. Once there he realized he didn't know Schadenfreude's classes. After a short while of thinking he went to the principal's office to ask. Luckily Miss Yass was in. He filled her in on what happened to Schadenfreude and asked what classes she had. She told him and he went on his way to the class. But there were people inside so he decided to wait outside until the teacher left.
-
Sam had gotten bored in his class. He'd fallen asleep several times. He asked to go to the bathroom and was excused. Everyone knew he wasn't coming back from his trip. He was wandering the hallways, dragging his fingers along lockers as he walked. Strangely, he noticed Reno standing about in the hallway on his own. He wondered why he wasn't in his class. He walked up to him. "Reno, I need to talk to you." He said looking back and fourth down the hall.
-
Tabby giggled as she walked over to Shinzuu and clasped her hands on his shoulders, causing his boils to really flare up. "Silly, all clubs are cancelled today. We're all going to go to Seishi High's match with our school's Kendo Team. Yass already rented 3 buses for us all to go. I just came to see if you wanted to sit next to me on the way there~." Shinzuu sighed as he brushed her hands off of him so that he could get out. "I'm not going. After what happened this morning, I'm just going to go home and spend some time with my mother."
-
Veronica finally called the nurse after staring at the door for what felt like forever and really was hours. "Yes, dear?" The nurse said as she entered the waiting room. "What's happening? Why haven't they come out yet?" Veronica asked, worry flowing through her voice and showing in her eyes. "I'm sorry but your parents were in really bad shape when they got here. It's going to take the surgeons quite some time to take care of them." The nurse responded in a soft tone and Veronica sighed. "Okay, that's all I wanted..." Veronica responded and the nurse nodded and left the waiting room. She laid down on a grouping of chairs that didn't have arms on them and closed her eyes, tears slowly rolling down the fur on her cheeks.
-
Schad lay in her bed, boredly watching TV and floating in and out of her own consciousness. The truth was, she wanted to know what was up with her leg. She didn't know how bad it was because she was doped up on medication for the most part and in and out of sleep. She flipped through the channels until she came to the news. The story was on the car wreck. It mentioned that the drivers had been hospitalized, with no word on them. Impatiently, she pressed the nurse's button. She thought she would never in a million years do something like that given how snotty she was to nurses, but she honestly wanted to know and was curious.
-
Reno looked at Sam when he came up to him. After he spoke he did too. "Yeah..." "Right after you showed up things got worse...What more could he do?" He still blamed himself for the incident but there were so many thoughts swimming in his head. He was surprised it didn't explode. "...What about?" "Too bad Schad's in the hospital...I kinda wanted to ask her out or somethin'...Who am I kiddin'? She probably doesn't want to see me! Ugh..." Reno seemed to have a lot on his mind, you could tell by looking at him. He didn't seem very shy as usual, too much was going on for him to be normal.
-
Sam huffed and looked down. "This morning. I don't know what the hell all that was." He looked back up at him. "All I wanted to do was show Shinzuu what he was doing to you, to me, everyone. I never meant for any of this to happen." Sam was trying to comprehend what was going on in Reno's head. "...I guess...I guess I'm sorry for getting you into this mess. My beef with Shinzuu and all." His eyes glanced over at a few freshman kids staring at him from across the hall. Their head quickly turned the other way. He looked back at Reno. "You alright?"
-
Shinzuu sighed in frustration as he got home and threw his bag to the side, along with the jacket of his uniform. "Don't get too used to it, Shinny. We're going to the hospital." Shinzuu just gave Shiori a look, "Why? There's nothing wrong." Shiori sighed as she put her jacket on, "Actually, yes there is. Veronica's parents didn't survive the surgery. I'm going to go there to take care of the legal issues. Now clean up your stuff, I already cleaned out the guest room. She'll be staying with us. I'm going to sign as her legal guardian. She has no other family."
Meanwhile, two police officers entered Schad's room, alongside with the hotel owner. "Yes, that is her. She stays at my establishment alongside my other child. She will be under my care. I cannot let children suffer through irresponsible parents, or go homeless. So please, just leave." He walked up to her bedside, though she might not be fully conscious for it, "I'm sorry, child, but you're going to have to live in Reno's room from now on. For legal purposes, I can only allow one room to be reserved for my family, so I'll be your legal guardian from now on. I've taken the liberty of having the missus bring your belongings into Reno's room. He should be here in a few minutes, from what I heard."
-
She seemed rather confused when she was confronted with the hotel owner. She hadn't exactly recognized him, nor had she gotten that she would be moving in with Reno, but she had heard his name mentioned. She found herself frustrated because she had wanted to know what was going on a moment ago, and now that some of it was being explained, she couldn't keep herself focused or clear. On the one hand, she was a little dopey because of the medicine, but she managed to ask about the drivers after she stumbled over her words a few times. "So what happened with the people who hit my leg?" She doubted she would be able to retain the information they gave, but she was going to at least try.
-
"Yeah I'm fine...Schad was hit by that car...She's the one I-...Hrm...You probably don't even know'er...But I heard it was Veronica's parents in the car...I hope they're okay...I'd...Hate to see that happen to her...She doesn't deserve it..." As he was talking the teacher came out of the room. Reno stopped her and after a bit of explaining he got Schadenfreude's work for the day. "Well I have to go..." With a sigh he walked off. "What else can go wrong today...?" He made his way back to the hospital via another cab, he was quite out of it and not paying attention to what was really going on. He got to the hospital and started heading to Schadenfreude's room, not expecting anyone else to be there.
-
It was well after school and Sam, had for the first time, reamained behind in the cafeteria with the other kids who were forgotten about by their parents to be picked up. He sat at one of the tables covered in scratches and graffitti. His mohawk and drooped and so had Sam's face. He was utterbly miserable. Suddenly, he heard a chair pull out from beside him. Someone he'd never seen before took a seat next to him and stared contently into his face. "Uhhh...Can I help you?" He asked. The freshman raccoon just stared at him. Sam looked past the coon's head to the table behind him. He noticed a group of other kids staring back, some giggling, others with complete shock and awe. He got it. Sam rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair and put his head down.
-
The owner turned as Reno walked in, "Reno, I need to talk to you. Follow me back outside. We need to talk." He placed an arm around Reno as they exited. Outside, he sat Reno down and explained everything that was going to happen.
Shinzuu and Shiori made it to the hospital and found Veronica sleeping outside of the emergency area. Shiori gently woke her up as they walked over, while Shinzuu just stepped to the side a bit, not looking at Veronica, looking at the ground.
-
Veronica sharply inhaled when she was woken up and rubbed her eyes. When she opened her eyes, they looked red and sort of puffy as she spotted Shiori standing over her. "Who--?" She started to ask who she was as she slowly sat up but stopped her question short when she saw Shinzuu, realizing it was his mother. "What are you doing here?" She asked, sounding slightly irritated which was mainly due to the combination of being woken up and her being unhappy with Shinzuu. Something didn't feel right as she sat there looking at the two of them. Her nerves were really working on her and she felt a strong fear in the pit of her stomach.
-
They walked off without answering, and she found herself swimming in her own thoughts as she fell back onto the hospital bed. She really hated not knowing what was going on, so she closed her eyes and sighed, stretching as best as she could without hurting herself. She finally decided that maybe it was time to take a look at her leg. She pulled the covers back and inspected the cast on her leg, and it was then that the tears she had been holding back finally rolled down the fur on her cheeks. She didn't want to be helped around, and the lack of information made her scared that she may not be using it again.
-
Reno didn't expect to see the owner of the hotel in Schadenfreude's room. When he took him outside and explained everything to him he was quite shocked. "S-She's goin' to be stayin' in my room?!" He blushed, which caused his face to hurt so he put his hand on it. "Oh man...This is...Oh man...A girl...In my bed...HER...In MY bed....Oh man....What could possibly happen next...This day is full of surprises." Still freaking out a little Reno looked at the papers he was holding then to the owner. "Oh...Uh...I need to get these to Schad. It's her school work. So uh...Yeah." Reno walked off not really knowing what else to do. He didn't know what to think, or how to feel, there was just so much happening. He walked back to Schadenfreude's room, looking flustered. As he walked he saw Shinzuu and Veronica. As he passed Shinzuu he held his head low and walked by. Eventually he got to Schadenfreude's room. He walked in and saw the tears in her eyes. But he looked away a bit making like he didn't see anything. "Uhm...Hey...I'm uhm...Back...I got your school work for today." He seemed more nervous than he had normally been around her, he was nervous about the fact she would be staying in his room now.
-
"NEXT TIME I ROB YOU HAVE MONEY!!! Sam walked by the alley between the comic book store and the diner. He stopped in front of what appeared to be a mugging. The fur in the ground was badly bleeding while a somewhat familar fur was over top, giving him kicks to the gut and face with a size 11 combat boot. The victim, a young rabbit, was in tears, huddling in the fetal position doing his best to protect himself. Sam was tired and his mohawk now hung down to the side of his head. He was not in the mood. "EH!" Sam yelled to get the mugger's attention. Sam already knew it was one of his crew. The punk wolf looked up at Sam. "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT!?" He snarled before realizing who it was. "Leave the guy alone, Styx." Sam said, taking a drag. There was a moment of silence between the two. All that was heard was the low sniffling of the bloody victim on the floor.
Styx looked down at his victim and up at Sam. Styx was a lot older than Sam but he knew his place. He smiled and chuckled. "You got it, buddy." Styx was already backing off. "I never took you as a vigilante kind of guy." Sam narrowed his eyes but didn't say anything. Styx laughed and walked off down the alley. The rabbit lay on the wet ground, battered and bruised, sobbing and shaking. Sam walked up. The rabbit immediately flinched. "I'm not going to hurt you. C'mon, let's get you cleaned up." He helped the rabbit onto his feet. The amount of damage done to the rabbit was immense. Sam groaned. He just wanted to go home."...I'm taking you to the hospital. Let's go."
-
Shinzuu turned away, hands still in his pockets, when Veronica asked what was going on. Shiori placed her hands on Veronica's shoulders and sighed in a calming voice, "I'm sorry, dear, but your parents didn't make it. The nurses wanted to inform you, but you were sleeping so they called me. I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this." Shinzuu himself choked a little at his mother's words, as it sounded similar to what he had to listen to when his father passed. In frustration of himself, he left and went to the cafeteria.
-
As soon as the word "sorry" had escaped Shiori's mouth, Veronica's facial expression dropped. She already knew what was coming before it was even said. Looking up at Shiori with an empty expression until she was done speaking, she then glanced over at Shinzuu when he choked a little and walked off. Her eyes then directed themselves at the floor. After a few more seconds, the fact that her parents weren't coming back finally really kicked in and she broke down, putting her face in her hands and pulling away so Shiori's hands fell off her shoulders. As she sat there sobbing, it sounded like she was saying something in between sobs. "....no.......no.....no...no.NO!" Her voice grew louder and louder until she screamed the word. She didn't want to believe that it was true. She wanted to pinch herself and wake up from this nightmare, but when she pinched her arm and slightly opened her eyes, she was still looking at the floor of the hospital. She shut her eyes tighter as she cried harder and harder, and started to rock herself back and forth in her seat. After a minute or two she suddenly got up out of her seat quickly and started to run toward the operation rooms. She didn't get very far before her legs gave out underneath her and she landed on the floor on her knees. Putting her face back in her hands, she continued to sob right there in the middle of the hallway.
-
Schad turned her head quickly and wiped her face with her arm, hoping Reno didn't see that she was crying. "Thanks, Reno." She said, taking the books from him and looking through the notes that had been scribbled as instructions for her to follow from the teachers. She seemed somewhat blank, and in all honesty, she was now that she had stopped crying. "So what's up, are the people that wrecked okay?" She was still fixated on seeing if anyone other than herself had been hurt.
-
"I'm not sure...But...It was Veronica's parents in the car....She's here too...So is.......Shinzuu." When Reno said "Shinzuu" his tone grew cold and bitter, as if he talked of someone he hated. His face hurt again and he put his hand on to try and help it feel better. "I think I'm going to get some more ice..." he groaned. "Be back in a sec..." He turned and walked out of the room. He walked down a few halls to the ice machine, which was near Veronica. It was just about the time she heard the news. He saw her crying as he stood in the hallway, he knew that the news wasn't good. He didn't know what to do at that point, part of him wanted to tell her sorry, another wanted to say "crying won't bring them back". He believed crying didn't solve anything, which is why he avoids it. Yet still a part of him wanted to cry with her, he knew how she felt. His parents too died from a car in a sense. He took a step forward without being able to help it, stopping for only a second confused. He then walked up to her and stood in front of her for a second, he tried to speak but couldn't form any words. Again without thinking he bent down and took her by the hand. Reno pulled Veronica to her feet and gave her a hug, he was a bit taller than her so he hugged her over the shoulders. "...I-I...Know how you feel...I...I'm so-..." He wanted to say sorry but he would feel like a hypocrite. "...It...It's going to be okay..." "You're an idiot...It's not okay...Her parents are dead! Your parents..Are dead...No one was there to say it to me. Don't lie to her..." As he was hugging her he was trembling, flashing back to the lonely nights crying all alone. No one was there to comfort him, he didn't have anyone else. "I wish this didn't happen to you..." A tear ran down his face as he continued to hug her. He didn't know what to do now that he had gone through with this.
-
Sam walked through the doors of Emergency with the mugging victim. He was still crying as Sam walked along side him. "Take a seat and wait here." Sam said. His voice was tired. He'd said it like he'd said it a thousand times before. The hospital wasn't busy but the few who were the all turned in his direction, looking at the bloody rabbit's cut up face. The strangest feeling rushed over Sam like a warm blanket. Had everything gone as planned, Shinzuu would be in the same position as the rabbit and Sam would be standing there next to him because things would have gotten out of hand way too fast. Suddenly he'd heard Shinzuu's name down the hallway. He thought he'd almost imagined it but stepping away and poking his head around the corner he saw Reno talking to Schad in one of the rooms. What the hell is he doing here again? He waited until Reno left and then popped back into the room. "...Surprise!..." Sam's ill-fated attempt to seem cheerful failed miserabley. He looked at Schad's leg and sighed. "How you doing?"
-
Shinzuu sighed as he grabbed a drink from the cafeteria and chugged it down before sighing and grabbing another one for Veronica and walking back to the main lobby. The second he turned the corner, he saw Reno there hugging Veronica and his blood boiled even more. Shinzuu crushed the can, with it exploding and splashing everywhere, including all over Shinzuu's jeans and shirt. He dropped the exploded can and walked out of the front door, punching his fist into the glass door, and cracking it where his fist hit it. Shinzuu's hand began to bleed from some small shards lodging inside his knuckles, but he just picked them out and walked home.
-
Veronica didn't know who had pulled her up and hugged her until Reno had spoken so when she was first pulled up she had kept her arms at her sides as she continued to cry. It wasn't until Reno had finally finished talking that she couldn't resist anyone's attempts to comfort her anymore and she quickly wrapped her arms around him, clutching the back of his shirt in her hands. When she heard the crunching of aluminum and a fizzing & splattering sound, she slowly opened her eyes and looked over Reno's shoulder. She managed to see Shinzuu through her tears just before he disappeared again. She didn't understand what his issue was but she wasn't in the right frame of mind to even bother trying to figure it out. He was going to live another day, her parents weren't; his issues could wait. She closed her eyes again as she continued crying and rested her head against the front of Reno's shoulder again. If he got uncomfortable with her, he was going to have to pry his shirt out of her hands because she was such a wreck that she would easily release her grip.
-
"Ah crap." She said, looking up from the papers. She seemed not to care very much, but the fact was she was somewhat lost in reading the notes she had just gotten. You could see a little emotion bleed through when her brow furled a little, she chewed on the end of the pencil she had retrieved from one of the binders nervously. Her eyes and the fur on her cheeks were still wet with tears, and the truth was she was trying to hide it by acting like she was concerned about her schoolwork. She had only took the time to look up when he told her he'd be back, if only to frown in response because of how much his demeanor had changed. When he left, she threw her books in the floor and covered her face again, feeling the anxiety coming over her again like a sickness. She fell backward from sitting up, seeming to be trying to cram the back of her head as far into the pillow as she could by pushing her hands into her face. It wasn't until she heard a "surprise" at the door that she stopped, and sat up, somewhat shocked that it wasn't Reno and somewhat feeling crappy that someone else would be seeing her in her current state. "I-I Uhm, I'm alright." Her voice came out shakier than she had expected it to. She felt the urge to cover her face again, but she stopped herself from doing so. "W-W.. What are you doing here?" she asked.
-
Reno stood there letting Veronica cry on his shoulder, he felt her grip tighten on the back of his shirt. "...Now what? Now what do I do...Maybe I should try gettin' her mind off this...How? I doubt she wants to eat...I didn't...Maybe-...Oh shoot, I need to get back to Schad! I bet she's freakin' out. Bollocks...Got me self between two girls again." "Uhm...Hey, lets go see Schad, try to ta- er...I'm sure she'd like to see you. How 'bout it? Hmm?" The thought of picking her up cross his mind but he felt he was getting to cozy as it is. If she went for the idea he'd guide her to see Schadenfreude, if not he would have to wait until she decided to free him from her grip.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he finally got home, all alone. His home phone rang as if almost on queue and he picked it up, it was his mother. "Why the heck are you at home!? I've been looking for you everywhere!" Shinzuu groaned and sighed as he had to cover his ear to muffle out the shouting, "If you're still there, you should know why. That's the kid that was pretending to be my friend just to get to her. I don't care if she's going to be living with us, but don't ask me to do anything unnecessary, alright? Besides, it's not like she actually cared for me anyways."
-
Veronica didn't stop crying but she nodded her head 'yes' after a minute in response to Reno's question. She released his shirt from her grip and sniffled as she pulled away from him. Keeping her eyes directed downward, she wiped the tears away even though she knew more would take their place. She waited to follow Reno to Schad's room, trying to suck it up long enough to look at least moderately okay to Schad. She knew her eyes were red and puffy so she wouldn't actually succeed in her act though.
-
Reno was glad Veronica let him go from her grip. He led her down the halls to Schadenfreude's room. As they walked in he saw Sam sitting in one of the chairs but paid him no mind. "Uhm...Got a visitor for you, Schad." he said nervously. Reno felt a bit uncomfortable, not really knowing what to do next. He remained standing next to Veronica, kinda hoping there would be no more hugs, at least in front of Schadenfreude. He didn't expect himself to even hug her in the first place, it just happened. "So uhm...How's the leg doin'?" "I hope Veronica doesn't say anythin'...About that hug...Or my parents...If she doesn't know already...She's a sharp one."
-
"...I was taking a...friend to the hospital because he got into a...fight. I heard your name and saw Reno. I figured I'd pop in to see how you're doing." Sam looked at Schad's face and was a little startled by what he saw. He'd seen his share of bloody fights and their results but something about Reno's face hit very close to home. He felt terrible and was very sorry for seeing the state she was in. "...The car hit you pretty bad didn't it? I was told at the police station." He walked over from the door and sat down in the chair, taking note of the mess of paperwork on the floor beside her bed. He sat down and put his hands over his face. He suddenly looked up. "I hope I'm not a bother or intruding...it's just...the police tried to pin the crash on me and the gang." He looked down on the floor. A laugh came through his tired expression. "It's funny, I'm blamed for something I have no idea about...You were there. What did you see?"
-
The nurse came into Schad's room to usher the kids out, "I'm sorry, but she's close to full sedation. We're going to put her under in about 5 minutes to switch out to a more sturdy cast before we let her out. She'll be home by 10pm tonight. Now please, let her rest, she will need it. The pain she'll be feeling later will be pretty bad. Reno, we'll drop off the painkillers with her, your guardian has already paid for them all. As for you, Miss Veronica. Please follow me. Mrs. Katame is going to take you to the courtroom to settle the rest of the legal issues."
-
Veronica had walked alongside Reno to Schad's room. She only had the time to raise her hand in a wave and force a smile to Schad before the nurse came in to kick them out. When the nurse told Veronica to follow her, she did as she was told though she didn't look to pleased along with the original depressed look on her face. "Legal issues? Legal issues?! Why the hell do I want to deal with legal issues?! My parents just died!" She thought to herself. The frustration added to the depression made tears start running down her face again as she followed the nurse.
-
"It managed to break my leg.." She responded to Sam, her voice being shaky again. She was beginning to get frustrated with how hard it was to get her voice to stay stable like it usually was in comparison to how it was now. "Well, I remember just..." She gave up with restraining herself and let her hands cover her face again. "The car came out of nowhere, I don't remember seeing anyone until the..." She took a deep breath, "Until the ambulance got to me." She was beginning to talk through gasps as her chest hurt from the anxiety again. She didn't like to be seen like this, but the medicine was starting to make her feel woozy, forcing her to relax. By the time Reno entered the room, it seemed to be swirling again, surreal, until the nurse broke everything up.
-
Reno was a bit saddened having to leave Schadenfreude, he was also confused at what legal issues Veronica might have. He said goodbye to her and left the room, he said goodbye to Veronica before leaving the building and taking a cab home. When he got home he looked at his room as he closed the door behind himself. His room was trashed but he didn't care, he was too mentally stressed to. Dorris would probably clean it later anyway, he never really had to clean. It annoyed him a little but she was doing her job so he didn't care too much. He thought of how it was going to work with Schadenfreude in his room, there was only one bed, though it could hold two people he would be too nervous to try. It made him feel awkward just thinking about it. He fell down face first onto his bed and just laid there trying to sort out the day.
-
Shiori met up with Veronica at the door and placed an arm around her as she walked her to the car. "I know how you must feel, Veronica, and I'd love to give you more time here, but if we don't take care of these now, you'll be shipped to an orphanage tonight in Tokyo. It's not what you want to hear, but it is what will happen. From everything that Shinzuu's told me about you, I don't want that to happen to you. You may not believe me, but Shinzuu's not exactly in the greatest mood, either. To him, today is like a replay of the day his father, my husband, died. Also, before you say it's not the same, that's not too correct. I'm not Shinzuu's biological mother, just a step-mother. His mother was killed by someone breaking into their home when he was still young. After that incident, he was traumatized and looked straight to his father for pure support. It wasn't long after that that I met Shingo. By then, Shinzuu had already become a spoiled kid who spent all his time in front of his computer and the TV. He's resented me for years, saying that I'm stealing his father away from him, but he ended up accepting me a couple years ago, but that was only after his father passed. I don't expect the same out of you, but I just hope that I can help you before you're old enough to be on your own. Also, please don't pay Shinzuu any mind when we get back. I know he's a hot-head, but just give him time." Shiori then drove to the courthouse where she and Veronica sat in Shiori's quiet office and filled out a bunch of papers, Veronica only having to sign a couple sheets, all under the watchful eye of a judge, who reviewed each one as they came. The office was that of any major law office, with the exception that there were pictures all over the place of a family, with a very pudgy and disgruntled child in each one.
-
No matter how much Veronica wanted to pull away from Shiori when she put her arms around her, she didn't. She just walked with her to the car and listened. Shiori was wrong, she wasn't going to say anything or make any comment about how the situations were alike or different. She didn't want to talk, didn't want to expend the energy to put one foot in front of the other to walk with Shiori, didn't want to breathe. All she wanted to do was curl up into a ball and never get up. If she hadn't felt so numb, the story about Shinzuu's biological mother would have made her feel bad for him (since she already figured out that his father had died), but she was numb for the time being so it had no effect on her. As she signed the papers that were handed to her while sitting in the office, her mind moved her to thinking about what would happen when she went back to school, the way the other students would look at her. She didn't want their pity. The thought of everyone feeling sorry for her made her start to feel angry, but it didn't last long and she became numb and uncaring again.
-
After everyone moved out of the room, a doctor came in with a few nurses, getting ready to put her under for a procedure. She wanted to fight it when they pulled out the mask to place over her face to make her sleep, but whatever they had given her previously was causing her to relax a little too much. She managed to pull her hand up as an attempt to resist, but it flopped back down when she tried to move it too far. The monitor that had been keeping her heart rate suddenly became apparent again as the pent up fear spiked when the doctor attempted to place the mask over her face, causing the monitor to beep rapidly. A nurse took her hand and rubbed it gently, and a surreal voice drifted through her mind. "Sweetie, you're going to have to relax." The figures were becoming more and more blurred as the mask settled onto her muzzle. "Now take a deep breath." She inhaled deeply, darkness creeping in on the edges of her vision... The orders of the nurses becoming alluring. But something didn't feel right. Something was wrong, but she was drifting off so quickly, it couldn't be stopped. She couldn't speak, she could only take the breaths the doctors asked of her. The tinges of black on the edges of her vision were getting more intense, bigger, as they spilled out further onto the figures, eventually covering everything in black. She could not tell how long she had been fighting them, but suddenly her body felt stiff, and the struggle was pointless. The darkness seemed inviting. She could hear gasping, but at this point she couldn't tell where it was coming from or who it was. It almost sounded like herself, but she didn't feel like she was struggling to breathe until the gasping stopped. When it did, it was as if she was being pulled at high speeds outward into the middle of nowhere, everything still black, voices drifting in a rushed madness until suddenly, silence gripped her both in mind and spirit.
In the room the nurses rushed, the monitor spiking and eerily fading into the monotone sound they all regretted to hear as their efforts to save the possum proved to be useless. The doctor was yelling at one of the nurses. Everything had seemed to being going smoothly for the first few minutes until the possum was thrown into an episode of sudden cardiac arrest.
-
Reno was lying on his bed continuing to think about the day. He kinda wanted to go back to stay with Schadenfreude but he probably wouldn't get passed the doctors and nurses. He rolled over having grown uncomfortable with the position he was in. Afterward he sat up and scooted to the edge of the bed. He was worried about Schadenfreude, no matter what he thought about he couldn't help but think back to her. After awhile of just sitting there a knock came at the door. He quickly got up to go answer it, hopeful that it was Schadenfreude. But he was met with the owner and his wife, they looked sad. It gave him and uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach, maybe Schadenfreude wasn't going to be staying in his room was his first thought. "Reno...May we come in?" asked the owner. "Uhm...Sure. Come in." Reno led them inside and closed the door behind them. "Did you guys want something?" "You may want to sit down for this..." "W-...What is it...?" "It's about your friend in the hospital...We just got a call. She's dead." Reno's knees buckled and he fell to the floor onto all fours. "W-What?! She-....She's what?!" The wife knelt down beside him and put her hand on his shoulder. "I-...She can't be! It's-...I couldn't-...NO! SHE CAN'T BE! I LOVE HER!" he shouted as he started punching the ground. "Reno..." said the wife trying to console him. "First me parents! Then me best friend! And now HER!? WHY?! Why damnit?!" "Reno try to calm down...I-" "Calm down?! She's DEAD! They're all DEAD! Everyone I care about DIES!!" shouted Reno again. He got to his feet with tears starting to run down his face. He then headed to open the door when the owner grabbed his wrist. Reno jerked his hand away and opened the door. This time the owner grabbed him by the shoulders and tried to stop him. "Reno, calm down, son!" Reno broke free by turning around quickly making him trip out the door running into the wall across the hallway. "You're NOT my father!! AND YOU NEVER WILL BE!!!" he shouted before running off. Reno ran out the front door into the night. He made it to the park after awhile. He saw a bench, which was there very bench Schadenfreude had passed out on. He sat on it recalling that time. Just thinking about her, and then thinking that she's gone. They will never again spend time with each other. It made him bury his face in his hands and just start crying.
-
The judge sorted the papers as they were finished, and bowed before he left. Shiori sighed as she got up and stretched, "I know I'm not your mother, and I'm not looking to replace her. I'm only looking to help you out until you get to that age." She walked over to one of the shelf units and looked through a lot of the pictures, paying particular attention to Shinzuu in each picture, progressing from when she first met him as a short, fat boy, up to only a few months ago, when Shinzuu won another trophy for basketball MVP. She picked up one of him and her and his father not long before Shingo's passing. "You know, seeing you like this reminds me of that day. It's not healthy to bottle up everything to make yourself numb. You need to talk about it, and someone to relate to. How about I get you and Shinzuu some time off from school. Ms. Yass wouldn't mind if it's from me. I know that there's some tension between you two, but if you talk to each other, I'm sure it'll help you through this, and possibly even help Shinzuu. He may have been a little more opened up now, but he still needs closure to his father's death. Just don't end up miserable as he did, it's a horrid life."
-
Veronica sat in the same chair she had been sitting in while she had signed the papers and stared at the floor while Shiori moved about. When Shiori said she wasn't looking to replace her mother, Veronica scoffed in her mind. "Excuse me, but I didn't only lose my mother..." She thought to herself, never looking up as Shiori continued talking. The idea of talking to Shinzuu didn't sound good to her and Shiori talking like she knew what was going on between them irritated her. "Tension? Tension?! You have no idea how stupid he's being over nothing. I apologize to him about one thing but he doesn't even acknowledge it and now he saw something and has made up another thing from it to hold a grudge toward me for. I don't have the time or the patience to talk to him. He doesn't want to be around me anyway..." She looked up at Shiori for a moment before looking at the floor again. "And I don't want anyone around me now."
-
They followed the procedures calling the next of kin by looking them up on her file after they informed her current guardians. The first time she'd entered the hospital the paperwork was randomly filled out, and there were no valid numbers, but after doing their homework by contacting the school, the hospital contacted Schad's mother.
She was curled up on the couch when her cell phone rang. Adali grabbed it from the table before it vibrated itself right off the edge. Her head hurt. She felt like she had a hangover from hell, and she still had to go to work. She hardly noticed Schad's absence due to her job being a night shift and her bad drinking habit. She never really checked on Schad because they usually argued when they did, and even so, Schad was always out, and it wasn't unusual for her to be gone for days on end. She flipped the phone open, and sluggishly answered it, shocked then the voice responding sounded formal. "We hate to inform you of this ma'am... But you're daughter," there was a pause, the voice on the other end flipping through papers, "Schadenfreude Snide? Passed away today while undergoing a procedure to fix her leg."
Adali almost dropped her phone at this, but she managed to get out an angry, "WHAT?" It took her a moment, but she finally reminded herself to breathe. "What procedure? What happened to her leg?" She was practically shouting into the phone. "This has got to be a joke! And it's not funny!" She wanted to throw the phone, but stopped herself. "Who is this? Where are you at?"
The man was equally thrown off guard by her response, but answered, "I'm Dr. Katsume from Feral Medical Hospital. We please ask that you come soon to make arrangements for the body."
Adali fell silent at his words as tears began to form in her eyes. "Alright. I'll be there as soon as I can." She closed the phone, sitting there on her couch, and suddenly the apartment's usual emptiness seemed to be overbearing and more significant. She wiped her eyes and stood up, about falling back on the couch again and grabbed a drink from the fridge. It was alcohol as usual. She flipped the phone open and made a few more calls. One to her job, and another to an old friend.
-
Reno sat on the bench well into the night, that is until a police officer walked over. "Hey, kid. It's late. You should head home." He didn't know it, but it was the officer that normally told Schadenfreude to go home. Reno was still crying a little when he looked up at him. "Why? Why bother? I have nothing anymore. She's dead. They all are!" The officer took out his light and shined it around. "Who's dead? Where?" Reno put his face back into his hands. "Everyone I love...They're all dead...Everyone dies...I can't be happy." he sobbed. "...Are you okay? I think you should head home." "I don't want to...Just leave me alone..." After saying that he seemed to lose control of his body and just fell over, he was tired from the day alone and mentally exhausted and worn. The officer sighed and scratched the back of his head. The owner and his wife eventually wandered over, it seems they were looking for Reno. "Reno! There you are!" the owner said as the two hurried over to him. "What happened officer?" "Are you his parents...?" "We're his legal guardians...His parents passed this summer...And this week it seems he lost his best friend and girl he was in love with..." "Yikes...Well...He just fell over...Not sure what's wrong with him." "It's been a long day for him...We'll take him from here, officer." "Alright." With that said the owner picked Reno up and carried him to the care and took him home.
-
Shiori sighed, Yep, just like Shinzuu used to be. She pulled on Veronica's arm to go with her, "Come on, let's get out of here. I know you're hungry and tired. Let's grab some food and go back to my place. Your belongings will be there by tomorrow. The funeral's in 2 days, and then the reading of the will that night. Take this time to hopefully find peace." Shiori drove Veronica to the convenient store in town to grab whatever food she was in the mood for, and drove her straight back to the apartment. Shinzuu had closed his door and was sound asleep already when they got back. "When you're done eating, take a bath, you'll feel a little better. Your room is right next to the bathroom. Good night." Shiori downed the rest of her bottled tea and disappeared past the living room, into a door at the end of it.
-
Veronica wasn't in the mood for any food but when Shiori took her to the convenience store she grabbed a couple of bags of Funyuns and a jug of chocolate milk. When they got to the apartment, she only paid attention to where the bathroom and her room were. She headed to the bathroom after Shiori disappeared into her own room, turning on the light as she stepped through the door. She closed the door behind her and didn't bother to lock it since she figured it would be obvious that someone was in there when the door was closed. She started the water and waited until it was the right temperature before making the drain plug itself. She got out of her clothes, shut off the light, and sunk into the bath in the darkness. Closing her eyes, she tried to relax but her mind was flooded with thoughts. Tears started to run down her face again.
-
After getting dressed, she brushed her teeth and did the best she could to mask the smell of alcohol. She grabbed some pills to help with the headache and chewed them in her mouth, dry, cringing at the taste, but swallowing all the same. She wasn't dressed very nice. She had an old faded Abercrombie & Fitch hoodie and a pair of jeans. She looked more like Schad's older sister than her mother by the way she dressed. She tucked her hands in her pockets, along with her keys and cellphone, closing the door behind her, and heading to the hospital. She passed the park on the way, taking notice of people carrying a rabbit out. It almost reminded her of Schad because sometimes she'd catch her asleep in the park. Tears welled again, but didn't spill over onto her already wet cheeks.
-
Reno was taken to his room and set in his bed. The owners wife pulled his covers over him and they both told him good night as they left. Reno wasn't asleep, he couldn't sleep. He would just stare blankly at the ceiling. He was thinking about Schadenfreude. "She's...Gone...I can't believe it...I didn't even tell her how I-...How I felt about her...It's all my fault...I should have known something bad would happen...Bad things always happen to me...Why did I ignore the obvious? Is love really so blinding? Or so powerful as they say? I would give anything...To just hold her one more time. I wish I told her the truth that day...I wish I could have done more for her...I wish...She was here..." Reno turned his head and looked at the seemingly empty space on his bed next to him. "She was going to be in this bed...I know it would have been awkward...But I don't know...I kinda wanted it. I want to be with her...I would give anything to just be beside you, Schad. To walk to school with you...Play games with you...I...Love you..." His hand was held out across the bed with the palm up as if he were reaching for something. He slowly began to drift to sleep.
-
Shinzuu awoke the next morning and groaned as he stretched. Dammit, the shit's hit the bucket when I can't even get a good night's sleep anymore. He yawned as he opened the door and went over to the bathroom. Dammit, mom. I told you to always close the windows at night or else it gets blown shut. Shinzuu walked in and looked down, noticing the floor a bit wet before he opened the door, "What the hell?" He looked up at the tub and saw a naked Veronica sleeping in the tub. Shinzuu quickly left, closing the door behind him. "Holy shit. Guess I'm not brushing this morning." He went into his room to get dressed into his school uniform. Shiori opened his room door while he was buttoning the jacket, "Don't bother, honey. You're off of school for the next couple days. You're going to be spending some time talking with Veronica, and no buts about it. You're doing it, and that's that."
-
Veronica had cried herself to sleep. She awoke coughing and spluttering, having sunk into the water to just below her nose after hearing the click of metal while half awake. After she was done coughing, the temperature of the water finally hit her and she quickly got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around her. After a couple minutes of shivering, she started to dry herself off. When she was finished drying, she redressed since she didn't think her belongings were there yet. She raked her fingers through her hair as she looked in the mirror. She looked horrible. It wasn't exactly in a physical sense. She just looked like an empty shell. Her eyes looked dull and lifeless. She didn't bother to tie up her hair and left the bathroom as she was. She went to the bedroom next door and stepped inside to look around it. Walking over to the bed, she sat down on the edge of it, facing the wall that the door was a part of. It looked like she just didn't know what to do as she sat there and maybe she didn't, but at that point, she was sitting there because she was so numb that she didn't have anything to do.
-
Marlowe's father, Mordecai, was done throwing his clothes into his several suitcases, and had them loaded. Yet his daughter was still not done. "Marlowe!" he shouted, tapping his foot irritably. "What is taking so long?" The white bull terrier stood at his black Subaru Outback, cursing his daughter under his breath. "Just grab some clothes and your electronics. We can leave everything else." After no response, he stepped inside and went upstairs. The place looked as if someone still lived there, not much was missing. There was still food in the cabinets and the fridge.
When he slung the door open, Marlowe was sitting on her bed, playing her DS. She looked up briefly, but then her orange eyes went back to the screen. Her things were in the floor, packed. It was mainly her 360, Wii, Playstation 2, laptop, and games. She had a smaller bag beside her that contained her DS accessories, her phone charger, camera, and iPod and some of the suitcases had clothes. "Marlowe, COME ON." He gestured as if to ask her to leave.
"You haven't even told me why we're leaving or where to." She had an unamused look on her face.
"It doesn't matter, I'll tell you on the ride there." He scooped up some of her electronics, and a bag of her clothes. "Get it in the car now. Right now, the only thing that matters is that we move."
She closed her DS and let out a heavy sigh, loading herself up with as many bags as possible before heading out to the car. She took a last look at her room and closed the door. There was so much she couldn't take with her, it seemed like a waste. "Are we coming back?" She asked curiously as her dad placed everything in the car.
He seemed caught off guard by the question, as if asking it was the equivalent to a physical blow. He closed the hatch, and pinched the bridge of his long torpedo snout. "No, Marlowe. We're not. I know you don't want to hear it, but..." He shook his head. "We gotta go. Get in." He walked around the car and got inside, starting it. Marlowe just stood there, looking at the house, forlornly. She eventually got in the passenger's seat when her dad opened the door and reminded her to get in. She kept the smaller bag with her, pulling out her iPod and wrapping the large DJ-styled headphones around her head. She decided to listen to some E Nomine on the ride. Before she could get too into her music, her father tapped her on the shoulder. "Oh, and we're not going to the airport. We have to talk to Mr. Rice about taking his jet to Japan." His eyes grew wide as he realized that he had just slipped up in what he said.
"Isn't that where Schad moved?" She asked.
-----
Her mother got home, exhausted. Arranging things wasn't easy... She couldn't believe it until she had actually seen Schad.
-
Reno had nightmare after nightmare about Schadenfreude. He tossed and turned in the night, waking up in a cold sweat. Anytime he slept or closed his eyes he thought about her. In his nightmares he would run to her but he could never reach her. When morning finally came he didn't feel like doing anything, especially not going to school. He figured he would just not go today. "I need to shower...I haven't done it in days...I don't feel like getting up though...But I have to..." Reno forced himself up and into the bathroom. He slowly took off his clothes and stepped into the shower. He fumbled with the knobs to turn on the water not being able to get the water going. He eventually just fell backwards, his foot managed to turn the water on. It hurt his toe but he was too depressed to even care about the pain. The warm water just showered over him as he just sat there thinking.
Meanwhile a knock came on Shinzuu's front door. It was Mr. Avery. Reno's weird psychology teacher. The black panther stood there waiting for someone to get the door, reading over a pink sticky note he had stuck to his finger.
-
Shinzuu spent the day with Veronica, sitting at home, but he didn't really want to talk. Since his mother is forcing him to stay here to talk to Veronica, he just sat in the living room, playing on his Playstation 3. He had not played Metal Gear Solid 4 for a long time, so he thought he might as well. She didn't seem like she was in the mood to leave her room, anyways, even when her stuff came in, and he knocked on her door, ending up leaving it in front of her door. In the game, Shinzuu's character was spotted while walking down the streets of Berlin and shot down. "******* A, dude."
-
Veronica stared at the wall for a good part of the day. She didn't understand why Shinzuu knocked on the door when it was open, but she didn't respond to it and didn't take her eyes off the wall. A few minutes later, she finally looked over at the doorway and saw some of her things sitting there. Walking over to the doorway, she picked up the box and brought it into the room. She gently kicked the door shut behind her and set the box on the bed, going through it. She changed into a set of pajamas that were in the box, not seeing the point in dressing in regular clothes when she wasn't doing anything. When she exited her room, she heard a knock on the door of the apartment. "Not even all my stuff. I want ALL my stuff." She muttered as she walked to the door. She looked through the peephole, recognized the man standing there as a teacher, and opened the door, walking away toward the living room right after without saying anything to the man. "Somebody's here..." She mumbled as she entered the living room and plopped down in an empty chair in the living room.
-
The drive was quiet, but the tension was enough to drown both of them. Marlowe was definitely harboring silent hate for her father, but it wouldn't matter what she did at this point. She had to do what her father asked of her. She knew he was involved with bad crowds and was often chased for cheating loan sharks out of their money; so when he said to do something because time was of the essence, she knew it was true. After a while, she fell asleep in the car, her music ultimately dictating the small bits of dreams that she had.
When she woke again, she was almost startled, but realized that she was on the jet. Her first instinct was to fumble around in her pocket and cut off her iPod. The second instinct was to check for her bag. It was tucked in the seat beside her. She looked over her shoulder when her father turned to look out the window, catching a glimpse of her things in the seats behind her. They were the only people on the jet and she assumed Mr. Rice's men and her father had moved her and her things onto the jet while she was asleep. She was not often a heavy sleeper, but since she was up the previous night, she couldn't help but sleep through just about everything. She slumped down and pretended to get comfortable while sleeping, eavesdropping on her father's conversation.
Mordecai's eyes wandered to Marlowe when she began to move around. "One moment," whispered softly, covering the mouthpiece of the phone with his paw. After a moment of making sure the black and white Bull Terrier was sleeping, he continued, "Look, Adali... I'm heading there as fast as I can. Things aren't easy because the mob found me again, and we had to leave everything.." He got quiet for a few moments listening. "No, I haven't told her yet. I was planning to on the car ride once we unload. Right now we're on a friend's private jet, heading there." Again with the silence. "I know, it really is a shame that such a bad thing would happen. But again, I'll be there to help soon enough. Have you made the arrangements?"
In her head, Marlowe was scowling because her father was withholding something from her, but continued with her charade of innocently sleeping. She had at least figured out that they were heading to Japan to help her friend Schadenfreude's mom.. But over what? What could have happened that was so bad? She pushed the questions to the back of her mind, part of her not wanting to know.
"Look, I'll call you when we get to Feral. We can meet there. Until then, look for me a good place to stay." There was another pause, and then he clicked his phone, taking a paw and placing it on Marlowe's head. It was times like this that he appreciated the mere fact that his daughter was alive.
-
Mr. Avery was surprised to see Veronica answer the door. "This is the Katame residence...Right? Well, I should probably speak to Shinzuu, I don't think Veronica needs any more negative news." "Pardon the intrusion, but I was looking looking for Shinzuu Katame. I am a teacher from Feral High. I was hoping to have a word with him, it is about his friends. Miss Snide and Mr. O' Malley."
Reno eventually got out of the shower and dried off. He leaned against the sink and looked at himself in the mirror, seeing that he still looked like a mess clean. He put his pants on and wandered back into the other room. He looked over at his Xbox remembering when Schadenfreude had come over to play it with him. He was still nervous at the time, but that was also when he started to get more comfortable around her. He went to sit on the edge of his bed, he hunched over as he sat there. He then looked over at his nightstand and stood up a picture frame of his parents. Afterward he dug out a picture of Nero from the drawer. That was when Reno realized he didn't have a picture of Schadenfreude. "I wonder if she would be in the school year book...? I could just buy a copy and cut it out..."
-
Shinzuu was irritated with the knocking on the door, and even more so with Veronica answering his door without his permission. When he heard the teacher walk in and talk to Veronica after she was walking away from him, he grumbled as he paused the game and put the controller down. "What is so damned important that even a teacher would ditch school to tell me about?"
-
Veronica didn't pay attention to what the teacher said as she sat in the chair. She would have snapped at Shinzuu when she detected her annoyance with her but she was in the state of mind where she just didn't care. She sat there in the chair staring at the paused game screen. Glancing at the controller, she thought about taking over the game but decided against it. She sunk further into the chair and let out a sigh.
-
Marlowe drifted in and out of sleep until they finally got to a landing pad, also at one of Mr. Rice's residencies. Mordecai woke her by bumping her with his elbow, and telling her they were there. "Luckily, while you were sleeping, Mr. Rice offered for us to stay in his extra home until we found out own place." They unloaded the jet into another car. It looked just like the one they had at home, but she knew it wasn't since they had left it at the airport along with their home at the US."They did it in silence. When the car was loaded, her father went inside to thank Mr. Rice for his offer and pay him for the use of his jet. Marlowe just shuffled behind him trying to stay out of the way as best as she could. She assumed Mr. Rice was a new client for him, but wasn't too sure. Again, on the way to the car, there was a silent hatred brewing inside of her for her father's job and way, but she loved him all the same. If there was one thing she could say about her father, it was that he had always provided for her, and made sure she had everything she needed and more.
Mordecai cranked the car, sitting back in the seat to relax while it warmed up. He looked at Marlowe with a little concern. When she noticed it, she sighed, and decided not to hold back her feelings. He backed out of the driveway of the rather luxurious house, and was getting ready to call Adali again to let her know what was happening when Marlowe interrupted the process. She was looking blankly out of her cranked window. "Dad, why are we going where Schad lives? I know you talked to her mom." Her gaze didn't break.
His had dropped on his lap, the phone still within his grip. "Look.." He hesitated. "I know I should have told you before we left, but if I did you wouldn't have come.. Or you'd have fought me about it." Marlowe's eyes narrowed as she waited for him to finish. She knew he had been withholding something from her. "But, Schad's gone." He looked at his daughter, but since she was looking away, he was currently looking at the back of her head. Mordecai hated having to tell her like this, but he didn't want to lie.
Marlowe snapped her head in her father's direction, completely disregarding his somber expression. "What do you mean, she's gone?" she growled.
"She passed away, and I have to go help her mom. You know I hate that you had to see her again in such conditions.." He drifted off, "..But we've got to be strong for Adali. I know it's hard.. You two were very good friends.. But because of things we have to move here.. And I couldn't afford for Mr. Rice to see you get out of control in his presence."
"My friend passed away and you couldn't tell me because you thought I'd be OUT OF CONTROL? How old do you think I am?" She crossed her arms, looking rather miffed.
"I'm sorry, Marlowe, I really am. You know I a--" His phone rang, interrupting him in mid-apology, and when he went to take the call, Marlowe reached out and snatched the phone from his hand hurriedly tossing it out the car window, into the highway. "MARLOWE, WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?" Mordecai snapped, pulling off to the side of the road.
"You just told me that my friend died, and was going to answer that damned phone in the middle of an argument!"
"So you throw the phone out the window? How am I supposed to get in touch with someone?" Mordecai slammed his fist down on the steering wheel. He then pinched his snout again like he had before they had left. "I'm trying to do for you, to make sure you can have what you need. I'm trying to be a good father, but you... YOU, make it so HARD on me. That phone had everyone's number on it.. Mr. Rice, Adali.." He exhaled, clearly upset. By this time Marlowe was regretting throwing the phone out.
-
Mr Avery held out the sticky note to Shinzuu. "I wrote it down here. I am not the best bearer of bad news...But you are Mr O' Malley's friend. So I figured you would help him the most." The sticky note read: "Miss Snide has passed away in the hospital. I know Mr O' Malley has strong feelings towards her and it's going to hit him hard. I fear he may very well snap. After the loss of his parents before starting school this year he was very anti-social. The three of you helped him through it though, even when his best friend died a couple weeks ago. Now that Miss Snide has passed he will need you more than ever." Mr Avery stood idly by hoping Shinzuu would take the note and read it so he didn't have to say it himself.
Reno fell backwards onto his bed with his arms extended out. He looked at the ceiling again, thinking about things. Mostly Schadenfreude.
-
Shinzuu took the note and skimmed it, So she finally kicked the bucket, huh? Well, at least she doesn't have to put up with those pains and having to waste money popping those pills. He sighed and turned back towards the inside of the house, "Why don't you go back to your students waiting for you in class?" Shinzuu's tail gripped the door and slammed it shut in Mr. Avery's face. As he was walking back to the living room, a thought occurred to him, And why the hell would I want to help or consider helping that backstabbing runt?
-
Veronica had gotten up and gone to the bathroom. When she was done, she hadn't bothered to look in the mirror while washing her hands. She knew what she looked like and she knew it wasn't good. Normally she would have cared what she looked like in front of Shinzuu but with the state she was in, it wasn't very high on her list. When she left the bathroom, she heard the front door slam shut, but didn't look in that direction. She went back to the living room and slunk back into the chair she had been in.
-
The ride to Mr. Rice's extra home was silent after Mordecai made it clear that he was at least thankful that he had gotten directions before she chunked his phone. Marlowe was sulking, but playing her DS to get her mind off of things. Pokemon tended to do it for her, so that's what she played. She was on Victory Road and ready to battle the elite four. It wasn't long until they got there. The place was huge and white, and it looked as if it was obviously expensive. There were men there to help unload their things. Marlowe grabbed as many of her bags as she could, and the men got what she couldn't. Mordecai did the same. One of the men, a black wolf, addressed Mordecai. "We'll show you to your rooms." Mordecai nodded and gestured to Marlowe to follow.
The inside of the house was just as expensive looking as the outside of it. Marlowe had to close her DS and look it was so big. She felt as if she'd get lost if she wasn't careful, but she managed to keep pace following her dad. Luckily, their rooms were across from each other. The men unloaded their things as she plopped on the bed looking out one of the windows. They were on the third floor, and outside was a balcony with a very nice view of the city. Her train of thought was derailed when her father entered the room. "Marlowe, we're going to have to get you registered to attend the school here tomorrow." Marlowe remained silent, still looking out the window as her father closed the door softly behind him. "I expect your things to be unpacked by that time, alright?" He plopped on the bed beside her. She still didn't respond. "I wish you'd just let me do what I have to do, Marlowe... You know I only want the best for you."
-
Shinzuu sighed as he sat back down, picking up the controller. He tossed the little note towards where Veronica was sitting and unpaused the game, "It seems you weren't the only one who's suffered a loss yesterday. Schad's gone, too. She died last night when they put her into surgery. If you want, you can go ahead to Reno's place. I'm sure the situations' completely (censored) him up in the head..."
-
Veronica glanced at the note when Shinzuu threw it toward her, but since he told her what happened she didn't bother to read it. "Okay." That was her only response to the whole thing. She had heard everything he said but it just wasn't affecting her since she had become numb. Also, she didn't see any problem with going to see Reno. It's not like she was talking to Shinzuu and at least it would give her something to do. Even though it probably wasn't a good idea for her to go walking around by herself, she went to the guest and grabbed a sweatshirt out of the box on the bed. She then walked to the front door of the apartment, put on her shoes, and left without another word to Shinzuu. Once outside the apartment building, she started walking to the hotel.
After a while of walking, she arrived at the hotel. She went to the front desk to ask what room Reno was in. When she got her answer, she went to the room number they told her and knocked on the door. While she was waiting, she realized that she had never been there and wondered how she had known where to go. She shrugged it off after a few seconds though and continued to wait for Reno to answer the door.
-
Her accommodations were very similar to a hotel room. There was a rather large TV on an entertainment center with large speakers to match. It was placed in front of a plain bed, made to look very nice and inviting, clean, and the sheets matched the color scheme of the room. One one side of the bed was a white nightstand with a clock placed on it, as well as a white door that lead to a very sterile looking bathroom with neatly folded towels on the rails. It seemed like everything was light colored and neutral, even down to the carpet and tan striped walls. On the other side of the bed was an open area with a desk/chair combo and a sliding glass door covered in long curtains that opened up into a small balcony.
After a long talk with her father, she began to unpack her things and hook up her game systems to the TV. She was rather satisfied when she inspected the entertainment center, finding that there was a DVD player and a satellite box. It was the highlight of her day actually given how things had been going so far. She tucked her key and the copy of her father's room key into her wallet and changed into a pair of pajama bottoms. Despite having slept a lot of the trip there, she was pretty tired and in the process of adjusting to the time zones. She laid back on the bed after hooking up all of her electronics to the TV or their proper chargers with her hands behind her head, sighing deeply outward. Hooking up her games plus her laptop and placing her clothes in the closet in the room seemed to drain her physically, but her mind was still going a million miles per hour. Tomorrow would be busy, she knew because they had to get necessities. The first being phones, the next being going to the local school to register and get all their ducks in a line. She knew her father would be up all night researching the area on his laptop so that he knew where to go... She felt horrible, knowing that it was her fault that he'd be up all night stressing out since she had trashed his phone.
-
Reno was still lying on his bed when he heard a knock. He figured it was Dorris wanting to clean his room. He didn't really want to speak, he didn't feel like doing anything at all. Luckily breathing was done involuntarily. He was actually still in just his pants, he didn't feel like getting all the way dressed. "Not now, Dorris! I wanna be alone." he said loudly, enough to be heard without being a yell. "I just wanna...Be alone..." he said more softly to himself. He didn't know it, but his door was unlocked. He grunted and forced himself up, almost falling off the bed. But he managed to keep himself up. "Ugh..." he sighed. "If I were goin' to go do somethin' what would I do? I don't wanna go anywhere...Maybe I should live up to the Irish reputation and hit up the nearest pub! (Censored)." Shortly he fell back down onto his bed into a similar position.
-
Shinzuu sighed as Veronica left without a heartbeat, Why am I not surprised that she would leave without a second thought? Whatever, I really don't care, I guess... He shook his head in frustration and saved the game before stopping the game. Shinzuu then got up and opened up a small package that's been sitting by the TV for the longest time, and pulled out a steel game case with Call of Duty: Black Ops. He put the game in and sat back down...
-
Veronica looked down at her feet when Reno responded to her thinking it was somebody else, then looked back up at the door. "It's me..." She said softly but without any emotion, testing the handle of the door. When she realized it wasn't locked, she opened the door slightly and stuck her head into the room. "But if you want to be alone, I can leave." Normally she would have been really embarrassed accidentally seeing a guy with his shirt off, but at the moment she didn't care and didn't really notice.
-
Marlowe sighed, after shifting between closing her eyes and staring at the ceiling for about two hours. She sat up from the comfortable bed and stared at the TV, despite it being off. She swung her legs to the side of the bed and stood up, kicking her legs as if to make sure they worked. She snatched up one of her hats and put it on her head, not much caring what she looked like and got her essentials, which at this point was just her wallet. Marlowe pushed the door open, and went across the hallway and knocked on her dad's door. "Dad.. I'm going to go out."
Before she could walk off, there was shuffling, and the door opened. "I'll go with you. I need to get some things, anyway.. Like our phones." He smirked a bit. "I was looking that up before you knocked, and if you want we can go now." She nodded. Mordecai grabbed his coat and stepped out, locking it behind him. While he did, she did the same.
-
Reno leaned his head back to see who opened the door, to his surprise it was Veronica. "Oh...Vee-...Veronica..." He said, sitting up. He turned on his bed to look at her. "...What're you doin' here?" he asked. His voice too seemed a little emotionless. He realized he wasn't wearing a shirt and got up to go get one. He got one on the table and threw it on, without buttoning it. He almost looked normal, you couldn't tell he had been crying the previous night. His face also went back to normal. "You can stay if you like...I know you're probably still feeling down..." he said while looking at the table. Then he suddenly put on a bright grin, turning to Veronica. "We can talk about it if you want to." he said, smiling. Not a toothy smile, but a someone forced grin. It would be hard to tell it was fake. Reno tried his best to hide how he was really feeling, he didn't want anyone to worry.
-
Shinzuu consumed himself with his new game and his mind began to wander. His mind slipped back to the days right after his father's passing. The game seemed to be a war version of his life. The interrogator was torturing the main character, forcing him to recall the events of his past and the struggles that he went through to get where he was. It's like his everyday, he's constantly haunted by his past, the struggles, both physical and mental, that he went through to get from his old, obese and nerdy self to today's more upbeat and fit nerdy self. It was only the course of a few years that he went from four feet seven inches tall with a triple XL adult size to a six feet eleven inches at a size medium. The constant memory of his father was torture enough.
-
When Reno asked what she was doing there, she looked at the floor which made it seem like she was trying to remember (but she wasn't). "I heard the news." She said, believing that that was better than saying 'I heard that Schad died'. She then stepped through the door and slowly closed it after Reno said she could stay. It was easy for her to see that his smile was fake no matter how hard he tried to make it seem like it wasn't. "Nice attempt, but I'm a cheerleader...I know fake smiles when I see them." She smiled slightly, which was real, but it didn't remain on her face very long. "There's nothing to talk about. My parents are dead." Even her voice sounded emotionless as she spoke like she didn't care in the slightest. She really did of course, but she had numbed up.
-
The phones were fancy. Her father had picked up an Android for himself, and when she had to pick, she grabbed a Rogue. She liked that it had the touch screen and the slide out keyboard. They started a contract under Verizon, figuring they dropped off the map in the US under their false name. "Now at least we can call Mr. Rice and each other when we need it. You can go out on your own now since we have our phones." They stepped outside of the store, "I'm going back to Mr. Rice's place. Do you want to go, or do you want to stay out some?" Mordecai asked.
"I think I'll explore some." Marlowe replied. Her father nodded and hugged her, slipping a switchblade into her hoodie pocket.
"You may need that. Just call me when you're ready to come home and I'll pick you up." He smiled.
-
Reno's smile faded and he looked back at the table. He tried his best to push out the thought of Schadenfreude's death, it made him sad to think about it again. "Everyone I've ever cared about is dead..." he mumbled. He put his paws on the table and grunted, with a seeming growing anger. "If you want to live...You should leave...You'll die if we continue to be friends!" He turned his head away slightly, enough to hide his eyes. Reno was pretty upset, his voice seemed a bit angry, which was something easy to pick up because he was never normally an angry person. He himself wasn't even sure why he was angry. "I care about you and Shinzuu...That's why I don't think we should be friends anymore. I don't want to see you get hurt."
-
As Shinzuu continued on, his mind then dove even further back, back to his earlier childhood, days spent with his mother, who spoiled him and gave him everything that he ever wanted and, coincidentally, fed him everything he wanted as well. Tears began to run down his fur as all the happy time he had with his mother flooded his mind, the happiness, how much she always carried him, even up to age 4. She was much taller than his father, and she was burly, the result of being Ms. Japanese Bodybuilder for 3 years straight before getting married. She was a very gentle woman, and her orange fur was the softest material he ever felt in his life. Being in her arms made him melt in a flurry of happiness and bliss. Shinzuu finally dropped the controller and just broke down crying right there and then.
-
Veronica's numbness finally broke at seeing someone else expressing a true emotion, but not to the point where she would start crying about her parents. It was just to the point where she would care about how other people were feeling. "You really need to stop being so dramatic." She said softly as she slowly walked over to Reno. She gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "All that has happened has nothing to do with people being involved with you. That's just a coincidence. Schad is better off now than she was in life." She looked at a wall for a moment. "Just because I'm friends with you, doesn't mean it will kill me. It won't be a friendship to bring me to my end. There are...bigger things, that will kill me..." She started to let out a choking sound but cleared her throat to cover it up and shook her head slightly, letting her hand slide off of Reno's shoulder.
-
The bull terrier was walking down the street, not really going anywhere in particular. She had her hands stuffed in her pockets, playing with the switchblade her father gave her, without opening it. She looked around, trying to read the signs, but stopped when she came to a building that had games on the inside. She figured it was an arcade, and opened the door, taking in everything. Flipping through her wallet, she found some money, and found the nearest fighting game there was. It was Tekken. She chose her favorite character, Yoshimitsu, and started the game in arcade mode.
-
"I'm serious...This isn't a joke! Everyone dies around me. It's all my fault too! If it wasn't my birthday...My parents would be alive! If I...If I was there for Nero...He wouldn't have gotten shot! I wasn't there to keep him out of trouble! And...Schad...She...If I never...Met her...She would be alive too! I could still be with her..." Reno slammed a fist into the table in anger. He was trying to hide how terrible he felt after remembering all that. He wanted to just cry again but instead he punched the table. He turned farther away from Veronica and took a few steps, wiping his eyes and sniffling a bit.
-
Reno's pessimism really got Veronica irritated. "I didn't take it as a joke!" She snapped at him. "You and your damn negativity! This isn't about you! This has nothing to do with you!" She meant that in the way that the people dying had nothing to do with him, not that he had no right to be upset about the deaths, because he completely had the right. She moved away from Reno and to the midway point between him and the door, not to leave, just to move around because she couldn't stand still. "People die everyday, Reno. Everyday. If some of those people are involved with you somehow, it doesn't matter. It all has to do with timing. If you had it bad with the mafia, then maybe it would be about you, but you don't so it's not." The last part was meant as an example, not a joke. "Everyone dies eventually. You just have to...accept..." The wall blocking her emotions broke down at her own words along with realization of what she just said actually applied to her and the fact that her parents had died flooded back to the front of her mind. Without another word, she walked to the door, opened it, and left. The door slammed shut behind her but she didn't close it that hard on purpose, it was just the emotions controlling her body. She hurriedly walked down the hallway on her way to leave the hotel.
-
Reno was shocked that Veronica said what she said. At least how angry she got. It made him feel terrible, making him more sick to his stomach than he was already. "I'm sorry..." He mumbled as she left. She probably didn't hear it, but he didn't exactly think it mattered. He turned in time to see her leave and slam the door. Which made him feel worse. He didn't feel like should go after her, he was kinda glad. "Maybe now she'll leave me alone...I'm sorry, Veronica...But it's for the best. I'm sure Shinzuu already doesn't care, or he'd have been here." He sighed and began to pace back and forth. "I wonder when the funeral is...? I'll go to that...And then..." He fell back onto his bed and just lied there.
-
Shinzuu finally calmed down after almost an hour. His fur was soaked and he felt all musty and nasty. "Oh well, I guess since I haven't yet..." Shinzuu sighed and went over to the bathroom, undressing and filling the tub, testing the water from the little shower head on the floor with his feet. After being fully undressed, he sat on the little stool and soaked himself a little before grabbing the soap.
-
Veronica didn't pay attention to where she was going when she left the hotel, she just walked. She tried to hold back her emotions which just gave her a headache so she finally let the tears fall. She was pretty much walking with her eyes shut and she heard horns blare a couple of times but she never paid any attention to them. When she finally stopped and opened her eyes, she found herself at her house. Sniffling, she went through the gate and up to the door. She went to test the door handle to see if it was locked but her legs gave out and she crumpled on the step in front of the door. She didn't bother to try to get up and just curled up with one side against the door, closing her eyes and continuing to cry.
-
After she finished with Tekken, she moved around to other games until she got bored. She exited the arcade, and walked down the street some more until she came across a park and rested. She decided that this would probably be the best place to call her dad from since it was probably easy to look up and hard to miss. She punched in his number and sat on a bench. When he answered, she asked him if he could come pick her up at the park. "Sure, as soon as I figure out where it is. I'll be there soon enough."Mordecai answered, "We can get a bite to eat as well, I know you have to be hungry."
She ended the call and yawned, sitting in the park in her pajama pants with her hand tucked into her pockets. It was pretty, the grass was green, and there were a few trees with a winding path. Her stomach growled. Her father was right, she was a little hungry. She also assumed that he would fill her in on Schad's death. At that thought, she sighed.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he rinsed off and then jumped into the tub. He laid his head back and closed his eyes. The first thing that popped into his mind's eye was seeing Veronica crying in the dark and empty void. Her image then shrank as 2 more figures, in the same position crying, appeared. There, he found his younger self and Reno, all huddled together, crying the same way, mourning the same thing. They were one in the same, but just different people. Shinzuu snapped awake at that and sighed, "I guess...."
-
Veronica didn't move from her spot curled up against the door until about half an hour passed. Finally, she slowly got up as tears continued to run down her face and opened the door, entering the house. She didn't bother to close the door behind her and moved through the house slowly, looking at pictures hanging on the wall and flashing back to those times for a few seconds each time. She didn't want to let anything in the house go. She didn't want any of it to be sold off to random people who didn't know what any of it meant. It would be better, she thought, if the house stayed the way it was as a sort of crypt and no one touched anything except her. She went up to her room and grabbed a big teddy bear her parents had got her for her last birthday then roamed back downstairs and made her way to her parents' room. She crawled on the bed and curled up in a ball in the middle of the bed like a child who went to sleep with their parents after having a nightmare. Closing her eyes, she hugged the bear tight as she continued to cry. If nobody came to find her, she wouldn't mind. She didn't want to ever leave the house.
-
After a while of waiting, her father came and picked her up like he said he would. Mordecai seemed concerned that his daughter was upset, but why wouldn't she be after getting the news she got today. "So what are you in the mood for, Marlowe?" Mordecai smirked uneasily. He wanted to cheer her up. He had already found just about every food place nearby so that he could go where she wanted to. "I'm up for anything you are!"
Marlowe smirked a bit. "How about some waffles?" She tucked her hands into her pockets, getting comfortable in the car.
"Sounds good to me," he said while putting the car in gear and pulling off from the park. They arrived at a breakfast joint not too far from the park. When they stepped inside, Mordecai grabbed a booth. He knew that Marlowe preferred booths over tables. When the waitress came up to get their order, Mordecai looked at his daughter. "I'm going to assume you want two blueberry waffles and a chocolate milk?"
"You know it," she smiled.
Marlowe bowed his head and smiled back, "We'll take that. And for me a ham and cheese omelet with coffee, straight black." The waitress busily scribbled down his order and rushed off. Mordecai tucked away the menus behind the napkin dispenser. He looked back to Marlowe. "I really am sorry. Right now I have to figure out how to get in touch with Adali... I told her I'd call her when we got here and settled.." He looked back down at the table in silence.
-
Reno continued to just lay there on the bed. He managed to take his mind off Schadenfreude and think about Veronica. It made him feel bad that he upset her, this time something was his fault. Another knock came at his door and someone walked in. He didn't bother looking. "Very becoming of you, Mr. O' Malley." said Mr. Avery walking in and closing the door behind him. "Pogue muh ho-in'.(Kiss my arse.)" "Classy. I know you are feeling down, and I am almost certain you are blaming yourself." "Why wouldn't I? It's my fault. Now piss off and stop calling me that. You know it annoys me." "I am just being polite. Anyway, I just came by see how-" "I'm peachy. Go raibh maith agat.(Thanks)" "Don't mention it. I will be leaving now. Don't do anything I wouldn't do." With that said Mr. Avery went to the door. Before closing it all the way he stopped. "By the way, you are out of school for awhile. I have already taken upon myself to talk to Miss Yass and excused you." After that he closed it and left. Normally Reno would have been angry for someone doing something like that, but he didn't care at the moment.
-
Shinzuu sighed as time passed, "I guess I have to at LEAST say something to her." He changed into some normal clothes and walked out the door, taking his key with him. When Shinzuu got to the hotel, he asked the receptionist, Mrs. Avery at the time, which room was Reno's and headed over to the room, noticing the door open. He knocked as he peered in, "Hey, Reno. Is Veronica here?"
-
Veronica kept crying. There was nothing else she could do. She didn't feel like she could move from the spot if she tried, which she wasn't about to. She held the bear as tight as she could as she laid there in the middle of her parents' bed. This was the closest she was ever going to be to her live parents. The next time she saw them they would be cold and lifeless in wooden boxes and put in the ground to rot. It wasn't a pretty picture and the more she thought about the more her heart broke. She didn't want to see them like that, she just wanted them to come back. She wanted to believe that it was just a nightmare but she knew it wasn't true. So she cried and cried to the point where the stress was bringing on a headache and she might just throw up if got any more worked up. That was horrible and upset she was.
-
Marlowe chewed her blueberry waffle in silence, while her father cut into his omelet. "Couldn't you call one of the funeral homes where she's located? She told you what town she's in, didn't she? Or keep an eye on the news?" she said between bites. Her father nodded, taking a long swig off of his coffee. "I'm sure if you gave a name or asked about Schad's mom that something could come of it, right?"
"I suppose I could try, but I don't know if it'll work or not." He stroked his chin and yawned. Their dinner was short. The only conversation they had was about methods of trying to figure out where Schadenfreude or her mother, and when they finished, they got in the car and headed back to their new home.
Marlowe plopped on her bed when she got back, glad she didn't have to change and again attempted to sleep.
-
Reno recognized the Shinzuu's voice instantly, though he didn't even budge. "Come here to hit me again? Maybe I do know where she is. You would probably be the last person I'd tell right now." His voice didn't seem angry, rather depressed. He continued to lay there, not really caring about Shinzuu. Mostly because he didn't feel like moving from that spot until Schadenfreude's funeral. Even then he wasn't really upset with Shinzuu, he probably would act like it to push him away further. He didn't want any friends. Or to care about anyone, to him they would all just die.
-
Shinzuu was extremely irritated with Reno's attitude. He himself had been like that before, but not to that extent. Shinzuu walked right up to Reno and grabbed him by the collar and picked him up to his face level. "Listen you little backstabbing rodent, I am really restraining my self, but I'm not putting up with your bullshit just because you think you're the center of pity. Unlike you, Veronica's more prone to hurt herself. If you don't tell me where she is, I damn well will slug your (censored) teeth off just to make you think straight! Now tell me where she is!"
-
Veronica eventuallly stopped crying and rolled onto her back on the bed. She stared up at the ceiling for about ten minutes before she finally got off the bed, carrying the bear with her. Making her way to the kitchen, she set the bear on the counter and started digging through the fridge. After a minute or two, she found a bottle of beer in the back. She popped the top off of it and took a drink. It didn't taste pleasant but she swallowed it just the same then let out an "ack" of disgust and dumped the rest of it down the drain. She slammed the fridge shut and grabbed the bear, heading upstairs. She went to her room and sat down in the window, holding the bear and blankly looking at the road below. She reached behind her to the stand next to the window without looking and grabbed a lighter that she used to light candles. As she sat there, she started flipping the lighter open and closed, open and closed.
-
Reno didn't seem to care that he was pulled up by his collar. That is until Shinzuu called him a backstabber. "Backstabber?! You hit me for no sodden reason and you got the gall ta call ME the backstabber?!" he snapped back. With a sudden burst of rage fueled strength he stood up, broke from Shinzuu's grip and shoved him backwards into the table behind him. "Ya damned hypocrite, get the hell out o' me sight! Callin' me a backstabber...Got some nerve you do. I even had a wee ounce o' respect left for ya too...I don't even..." Reno was angry as well as confused, he didn't know what to think of the situation.
-
Shinzuu rushed up and punched Reno square in the stomach, knocking the wind out of the kid. "Don't act all innocent! You've been pretending to be my friend to get close to Veronica! I saw you two together in that abandoned house! An ounce of respect!? My ass! I came here, not strangling your ass out of respect for the dead! But apparently you're too wallowed up in your own little pity party! (censored) you!" Shinzuu left without another word, slamming the door behind him. Only one place left that I can think of, then... He then ran full sprint down the street and around corners, heading towards what was once his own home many years ago.
-
Veronica didn't move from her place in the window. Cars passed by on the street below as people went on with their lives. Her world had stopped turning this morning but everyone else's just kept on turning. It didn't seem like the world would ever start moving again for her with her parents being a part of it. As she sat there in her unmoving world, she continued to flip the lighter open and closed in her hand. If she stopped paying attention, it would be quite possible for her to drop the lighter and set the house on fire. She didn't think it mattered much if she did drop the lighter, at least she and all the things she didn't want others to buy or throw out would leave this world together and she would be with her parents. She wouldn't drop it on purpose though so she just kept flipping the lighter open and closed as she watched the street below her.
-
Reno didn't expect a hit to the gut, nor did he not expect it. But by the time he got off the floor Shinzuu was gone. "...To get to Veronica? What?" He froze in place as he put all the pieces together; then it hit him. He chuckled lightly. "Idiot...I bet I know where they went..." He got his balance before heading out the door, he didn't even bother with the rest of his clothing. He was barefoot running down the street in black pants and an unbuttoned long sleeve white shirt. He was heading to his house, since it was across the street from Veronica's place. He figured her parents died she'd want to head there, after all he did. And Shinzuu would likely be there too so he could try to explain it to him what really happened. He was able to not think about Schadenfreude for the first time then as he ran to his house.
-
Shinzuu made it back to the old streets of his childhood, memorizing every turn and stone. His right eye picked up a flicker of light flashing on and off from the 2nd floor window in his old home. I knew it, that has to be her. Shinzuu ran up to the door and opened it. His legs did all the running from memory and headed for what was once his own room that overlooked the front of the house, and found Veronica standing there at the window. "So you were here..."
-
Veronica saw Shinzuu running up the street but didn't really "see" him. She knew he was there on the street but it was like she was seeing right through him. As she heard him running up the stairs and to her room, she didn't move from her seat in the window. When he entered the room and spoke to her, she continued to flip the lighter open and closed. "Yeah, I'm here. What's it to you?" She said in a tone like it wasn't a matter he should be concerned with, without looking at him and continuing what she was doing with the lighter.
-
As Reno ran he became exhausted quickly, mostly due to the hit he took from Shinzuu. He sat down on a bench along the sidewalk to take a breather. He had been been able to barely catch sight of Shinzuu as he ran, but he lost sight of him before he stopped. "Ugh...Oh well...I...Know where he's goin' at least." He said catching his breath. "I can't afford to sit here though..." he said pushing himself up. He walked off instead of running, he wasn't too far off now but since he wasn't running it would take more time. Reno came upon an alleyway, it flashed back to him and he remembered that it was a shortcut to his house. He decided to head through it, not knowing there were a couple people following him. About half way down the dimly lit alley he heard his name get called out. He turned to see Jackson with his three goons. "Heeeey, Reno! Long time no see." Reno walked backwards a bit and stopped, staying on edge a bit. "Yeah...Long time no see. Been ditching school?" Jackson chuckled a bit, he didn't have the happiest expression on his face. "Nah...I dropped out. It's thanks to your girlfriend. How's the (Censored) been doing by the way?" Reno's fist clenched when he said that. "Don't talk about her like that...!" This time even Jackson's goons laughed with him. "I heard she died. Did she die, Reno? Did that (Censored) die? That must be why she isn't here to protect ya! Hahaha!" "Shut yer damn mouth!" "Gonna cry, Reno?! Where're your shoes? Did you cry so much you forget to put'em on?" "I can't deal with these guys right now...I have to get to Shinzuu and explain what really happened." "What do you want, Jackson...I ain't got any money on me this time." "Money?! You think I want your money, Reno?! Just came to see how you were doing, we're friends. Pals. Buuuddies...Aren't we?"
As he spoke his goons encircled Reno. Reno took notice of it and began to quickly scan his surroundings, he was likely going to get into a fight. He stopped scanning when Jackson stepped towards him. It made Reno take a few steps back, only to be pushed forward by a goon behind him. "Bollocks..." "...What do you want...Pal." "There we go...See? We can be friends." he said stepping closer. "It's okay, Reno. That (Censored) was pretty scary looking. But I'm glad she's dead." Reno couldn't help but throw a punch at Jackson, who dodged it and countered with a jab to the stomach. Normally that might not have dropped Reno to his knees but he still hadn't recovered from Shinzuu's hit. He was also tired from the run, he wasn't in any shape to fight. "Hit a nerve? You didn't really love her did you?" Reno sprung to his feet only to be thrown at a dumpster. He slid his back down it and sat on the ground. He mustered the strength to roll out of the way of a boot coming towards his face. The kick made a very loud thump against the metal dumpster. "Holy (Censored)...That would have...Killed me! Is he trying to kill me?!" "What's wrong Reno? Tired out? We saw ya running up here. Or are you just so sad cause Schaden-What-Ever-The-(Censored)-Her-Name-Was is dead?" Jackson crept up on him and loomed over Reno. "Well?" Reno rolled backwards kicking Jackson in the jaw and landing on his feet. It sent Jackson Reeling backwards, it also took a lot out of Reno again. "That's it..." Jackson ran at Reno after rubbing his jaw. Reno was too tired to dodge this one, or any other that were sure to follow.
-
Shinzuu looked out the corner of his eyes, shifting a bit uncomfortably, "Well, you see, I..." He couldn't find the words, but then heard the loud sound of a dumpster being hit not too far in the distance. "That sounds like trouble. I'll be back to apologize later.", he spewed as he ran out the door, not really thinking about what he just said. Outside, he saw some kids down the block surrounding what looked like Reno. (Long string of foul swearing and cursing). Does that kid know how to keep himself from trouble? Shinzuu ran full sprint towards them, "Hey! Leave him alone! If anyone's gonna kick that kid's ass, it's gonna be me and only me." Jackson turned towards him with a smirk, "Or else what? You gonna ask that (censored) of a cat to help you? She ain't Batman, you know." Shinzuu didn't even bother to wait for the others to laugh, he went straight for Jackson and gripped his throat tight, choking the boy. "Now listen and listen good. That kid's life is mine. You want to (censored) with it, you have to go through me, first. And mind you, if you pay attention in class, a person's neck takes less pressure to break than a basketball, and you can ask your little buddy with the cast about that." The kid standing in the back who was only in a brace shook a little, "He ain't lying, man. He was he one that crushed even my cast back a few weeks ago!" Jackson tried to swallow, but had trouble with Shinzuu hand around his neck, so he merely choked out, "Ok.... ok... I'm sorry. Now let me go, I can't breathe." Shinzuu eyed him and then the others, particularly the ones who had walked up behind him. "(censored) off or else I'll snap his neck and yours to boot." When they walked over to the side and grouped back together, Shinzuu finally released Jackson and kicked him square in the face. "NOW GET OUT OF HERE! YOU'RE POLLUTING THIS GOOD NEIGHBORHOOD!" They all ran off in quite a hurry, carrying the kid with the brace, and dragging Jackson along. Shinzuu watched as they all left and turned his back to Reno, walking back to the house, wanting to get back and explain himself to Veronica.
-
Veronica didn't move other than her thumb flipping the lighter open and closed. She was listening to Shinzuu but didn't expect much from him so when he said he had to go, it didn't surprise her any. Him saying that he was going to apologize didn't mean much to her. It probably wasn't even the truth, just something to make her stay where she was even though she wasn't planning on moving from where she was anyway. "Whatever." She muttered in response. From the window, she watched him run down the street until he disappeared out of the window's view that she could see without leaning forward. It was a minute or two before he was walking back into view, but she just sat still as she watched him and continued to occupy her hand with the lighter.
-
Reno didn't expect Shinzuu of all people to show up out of the blue to save him. As he did though he fell to his knees tired. "Shinzuu..." Before he could say anything he left again. He staggered after him however, he made it to his house and collapsed on his porch. He saw Shinzuu head towards Veronica's house, he also saw someone flicking a lighter open and closed in the window. "What is she doing' up there...?" He just laid against his house and watched, he wasn't going anywhere for a minute.
-
Shinzuu panted a little as he went up the stairs, but he calmed himself before he got within sight of the door. He walked up to Veronica and sat on the window sill, not really looking at her. "I know how you must feel. I lost both my parents, too, not just my dad. My birth mother died when I was just 6 years old. Coincidentally enough, in the parking lot outside of the Sakuraba Department Store in Tokyo. She had just taken me to the mall to pick out whatever I wanted for my birthday, and told me to wait next to the stairs so she could pull the car up from the parking garage. As she exited the garage, some dumbass with a truck thought it'd be cool to run 100kp/h to beat his friend out of the lot. He hit her right in the driver's side, not even 10 feet in front of me. My mother died instantly. And my dad was all I had left until he was killed not too long after that. I know everyone keeps saying it was an accident, but I know it was a hit and run. My dad used to be the police chief for Feral City. He was my hero." Shinzuu looked around the room and sighed, nostalgia kicking in and tears in his eyes from the memories, "I'm very sorry for your loss..."
-
"I know, your mom told me...in less detail." Veronica said in an empty tone, still looking out the window. She saw Reno sitting on the steps of his old house but didn't pay him any mind even when she saw him look up at the window as she continued what she was doing with the lighter. "Oh yes, we're so alike, you and I. At least, that's what it seems everyone wants me to believe. There's only one problem." Her eyes quickly transferred from looking out the window to looking at Shinzuu. They looked dull like the life had gone from them even though the gaze she was holding on him looked like a glare. "You still have a parent. Biological or not, it doesn't matter. You still have somebody. I have nobody and will have nobody forever. We're different. We'll always be different." She flipped the lighter open and kept it open, staring at the flame.
-
Shinzuu grabbed the lighter from her and slapped her, "And she's seeking to help you, as she helped me! Open your damned eyes!" Right then and there, he hugged her and held her tight, not knowing what the hell he was doing, but merely following his own instincts and just went with it, tears shedding from his own eyes, knowing what he's had, and finally letting go of what was in his own past.
-
Veronica couldn't act like the slap didn't catch her off-guard but the hug was what caught her off-guard the most. She couldn't say she didn't like the feeling of his arms around her and she might have given in to him if she didn't remember what he had done. "Get off me!" She said, pushing against his chest to get him to let her go. "You just hit me and now you're trying to hug me, and you expect me to just let you!" She pulled away from him and snatched the lighter from his hand, still holding the bear with her other arm. "I've had enough crying. I'm done with it. Crying isn't going to change anything and neither is your mother. She may be taking care of me, but that's all she's doing. Nothing she can do will help me." She said as she left her room and headed down the stairs.
-
After a few minutes of rest Reno got back up and made his way towards Veronica's house. He looked away from Veronica and by the time he looked to where she was, she was gone. Instead of heading into the house he remained on the walk way outside. "Should probably give them time...Veronica probably doesn't want to see me anyhow...Maybe she can talk some sense into Shinzuu. I hope he doesn't hit me again...I'm goin' to be sore in the mornin'." Reno scratched the back of his head and idly cracked his knuckles.
-
Shinzuu sighed in frustration after she left, yelling out to her, his tears still flowing on his cheeks, "Oh, wake the (censored) up! You think you acting like a badass is going to bring your parents back!? I may have only met them once, but I know they wouldn't want you acting like this!" Shinzuu opened up the window just behind him and turned around, jumping out and grabbing the tree just outside the window, sliding down in front of the door of the house before Veronica made it to the first floor. "No one as beautiful as you should become as big of a bitch as Tabby. Not you, of all people."
-
"I'm not trying to be a badass! I'm just done wasting tears and emotions on a lost cause! I know nothing will bring them back so why bother with any of it! It's pointless!" Veronica reacted to him yelling at her as she went down the stairs. She shoved the lighter into her pajama pants pocket as she headed toward the open door, staring at the floor as she walked until she heard Shinzuu land on the porch before she stepped off the last stair. When she heard him land, she looked up but continued toward the door nonetheless. After what he said she paused mid-step for a second before continuing to walk toward him. At that moment, the compliment was overshadowed by the insult that followed it. "Don't." She snapped, glaring at him. "Don't you dare compare me to that [word that rhymes with 'mut']!" She emphasized on the word 'dare' as she spoke it, like she had already taken the insult anyway, and also spat out the last word like it had tasted foul in her mouth. "Now get out of my way..." She said as she stood in front of him and tried to go around him.
-
Reno watched as Shinzuu jumped from the window and made his way to the front door. "I hope she didn't throw him out..." He listened as Shinzuu shouted and face-pawed afterwards. "Oh man...Idiot..." he thought shaking his head. He looked up when he heard Veronica's voice inside, she sounded very angry. "Hit'em once for me!" he cheered sarcastically in his head. He took a step forward but stopped, mostly due to fear. As if he were stepping towards the den of a hungry dragoness.
-
Shinzuu didn't budge and shook his head, putting both hands on the door frame to block her passage past her, "No. I won't. Not until you snap out of this stupid attitude of yours! I don't enjoy seeing you like this because... because..." His eyes diverted as he struggled to say the words that have been plaguing his mind for so many months to say. Say it, dammit. Just tell her.
-
Veronica looked at the arm in front of her face for a moment then took a step back as she listened to Shinzuu. When he couldn't finish his sentence, she looked up at his face with impatience but also some curiosity. "Because what? Because it annoys you? Because you think I should cry my eyes out instead of doing nothing? What?" She questioned, looking directly at his eyes even though they were diverted away from her. "It's not like you really care..."
-
Shinzuu's heart snapped at her last statement, and he just blurted it out, "It's because I love you, ok!? Ever since I met you, even before I realized that I didn't have an allergic reaction to you! I thought you were (censored) catch! You were the center of all my dreams, even when I was pretending to flirt with Tabby! Dammit! You're all I've been thinking about! Why the hell else do you think I would give a (censored)!?"
-
Veronica jumped slightly when Shinzuu started to blurt out his response. When he finished what he was saying, her response to the last thing he said was just a shrug. She didn't know how to respond to what he had said. She knew she had feelings for him too but it didn't feel like the right time to talk about it. She didn't want to feel anything at the moment and it almost seemed like he was doing all this to make her stop acting the way she was. "I like you, but just because you like me doesn't mean I'm going to change..." She sighed, rubbing the back of her neck then hugging the bear again. She felt like they were being watched so she stood on her tiptoes and looked around Shinzuu, seeing Reno standing in the walkway in front of the house. Dropping back down to flat on her feet, she looked at the floor. "Hi Reno..." She mumbled then glanced back up at Shinzuu's face.
-
Reno was surprised at Shinzuu's exclamation, immediately it made him think of Schadenfreude. He wouldn't ever be able to say his feelings to her. It made him look down at the ground, he heard Veronica say "Hi" but didn't say anything back to her. But instead of being sad it made him a little angry, and jealous of Shinzuu in that instant. "Shinzuu...I think the reason you were upset with me...You thought I was tryin' to steal Veronica away from you. I wasn't...I wouldn't...I-...That's my house behind me. That's where I lived until my parents died. I left it and had to take care of myself, keeping myself out of foster homes. I'm sorry...But I wouldn't have tried to betray you in such a way..." he said still looking at the ground. He turned around facing the street. "I loved Schad...And now she's dead..." he said before walking away.
-
Shinzuu's ears drooped with his face in sadness at Veronica's response to his blurting out, but his ears perked back up as she said hello to Reno. As a half-assed followup, he grunted to Reno. After hearing Reno's explanation and feelings, he thought for an instant. Before Reno took more than one step away, Shinzuu quickly stepped towards Reno and grabbed the kid by the back of his collar, "You know..." he began, "It's not your fault, man. It was because of me that Veronica strayed away from me, and it was my stubbornness that got in the way. I'm sorry, man. But listen, come with us, stay at my place tonight. We can always use another person through this tough time. Bring a suit, too. We're all going to Veronica's parents' funeral tomorrow. Then we'll go to Schad's. My mother arranged for the funeral to be in the morning so that we could go to Schad's, too. Come on." He wrapped an arm around Reno and stretched out his other arm for Veronica to come with, hopefully into that arm. His face more urging than begging, now. A more mature, somber and even optimistic look.
-
Veronica tilted her head to the side as she watched Shinzuu talk to Reno, apologizing and consoling him. If anything was going to keep her in the same mood it was being reminded that her parents' funeral was the next day, which is exactly what Shinzuu did while talking to Reno. She had already walked down the steps by the time Shinzuu had finished talking. When she saw his arm stretched out to her, she stood there for a moment while looking at him until a yawn made her realize how tired she was and she gave in, walking under/into his outstretched arm.
-
Reno couldn't help but stop when Shinzuu grabbed him by his collar. He listened silently to him as he spoke and when he put his arm around him he was surprised. But a small warm smile grew onto his face. He got misty-eyed about the whole situation, being a sucker for things like this. It probably effected him more because he looked up to Shinzuu, and having him as a friend again felt nice. He didn't say anything, being content with how things were working out.
-
Shinzuu held the two of them close as he walked them back, Reno being more on his toes than Veronica was. When Reno had to go back to his room to get a suit, Shinzuu gave more concentration and help on holding up Veronica. He murmured under his breath, "I'm sorry..." more for his dead parents, but Veronica might have heard it. Another set of tears streaked down his face as he finally let go of the guilt that he had been holding onto for years. Shinzuu brought the two of the back to the apartment, and he emphasized to Reno to take his shoes off. "We'll all stay in the living room. I'll move the couch so there's enough room."
-
Veronica walked along with Shinzuu and Reno until they stopped at the hotel so Reno could get his suit. While her and Shinzuu were waiting, she heard him murmur an apology but had the feeling it wasn't for her so she didn't say anything. She tilted her head to the side, resting it against him as she stood there with his arm around her. She was too tired to realize what he could have taken it as and too tired to want to try to hold her head up. When Reno rejoined them, she continued their walk with them to the apartment. She bent down and took her shoes off after they entered the apartment, heading to the guest room without a word. She wasn't going there to sleep since she heard what Shinzuu said but this way she would be out of the way when he was moving the couch. When she got into the room, she set the bear down on the bed and started digging through the box, trying to find something. She pulled something black out of the box and looked it over.
-
Reno went inside his room and got the rest of the way dressed. He buttoned up his shirt, threw on a tie and shoes and went over to a small closet near the bathroom. He opened the door and stepped in a bit to grab his suit jacket that he never really wore. The only other thing in there were a few other shirts the same as he was wearing. He left the closet open and went over to his bed, tossing the jacket onto the bed still on the hanger. After that he found his duffel bag and put the jacket in it. He then went into the bathroom to grab some toothpaste and a toothbrush before stopping and looking in the mirror. He looked at himself, he was a bit of a mess from all that happened today. He sighed, left the room and threw a change of clothes into the bag before zipping it up, grabbing his wallet and keys, and leaving to go back to Shinzuu. Once at his place he took his shoes off as Shinzuu instructed and just stood near the door looking around and not saying a word. He was a bit nervous being there.
-
Shinzuu picked up the three-person couch and moved it against the back wall. He went into his room and grabbed a few things, laying a traditional futon on the ground and an exceptionally larger one near it. He was wondering where Veronica was and just gave her door frame a small knock as he saw her standing by the bed. "You coming out? It's ok if you want to stay in there, I'm just asking." Shinzuu looked over at the door and sees Reno still standing nervously at the door. "Come on in, it's not like I'm here to cook you for dinner. Come, I'll set up my PS3, too. I just opened that new American game, Call of Duty: Black Ops. You can play with me if you don't feel like sleeping. I have a lot of movies, too, if you're into that, instead."
-
Veronica laid the black thing out on her bed as Shinzuu knocked on her door frame. "I'm coming." She said quietly and grabbed the bear as she turned towards him. If he looked into the room beyond her, he would see that she had laid out a black dress on the bed next to the box that still wasn't unpacked. She moved towards Shinzuu then squeezed past him while he was still looking toward Reno. She headed into the living room and sat on the back corner of the futon that was one of the two corners closest to the couch but also the furthest from the front of the apartment, her eyes directed at the center of the futon.
-
Reno jumped a little when Shinzuu mentioned being eaten for dinner. His ears perked up when he mentioned video games, though he wasn't really in the mood. "Uhm...Not to sound like a downer...But I'm really tired. I've had a long day...Not to mention...I think I'm just going to go to bed." he said holding his arm nervously. He walked over to where the futons were and stood there looking at them and Veronica who was sitting on the corner of one. "Uhm...Which one is mine?" he asked. He would just go to bed when ever he found out.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he went back over, following behind Reno, and just went to the music section of the PS3 and turned on some soft, soothing music, no words, just music. "Reno, you'll sleep on the small one, Veronica will take mine. I'm sleeping on the couch tonight. I've been having trouble sleeping comfortably recently, so I'm gonna sleep in a less comfortable position to start with and see where it goes from there. Bathroom's the first door on the left past the little kitchen area. If you see my mother, try not to make a noise. She's stressed out and has enough of a headache already with everything happening all of a sudden."
-
Veronica looked up when Reno and Shinzuu walked in, not saying a word. The music that was started sounded nice and she felt like it would be easy to fall asleep with it playing. She also felt like the music was familiar but couldn't put her finger on how it was. When Shinzuu mentioned which one she would would be sleeping on, she looked down at the futon she was sitting on and noticed she was already on the correct one. She moved to the middle of the large futon then laid down and curled up into a ball with her back to the other futon, hugging the bear to her chest. Closing her eyes, she focused all her attention on the music playing as she started to drift off to sleep.
-
Reno nodded when he found out where he was sleeping and went to it. He laid down on it and put his hands behind his head, listening to the music. He was tired when he arrived, however now he couldn't seem to sleep. Something about being in the home of wolves didn't sit right with him, since he was a rabbit; he knew nothing would happen but it was like it was instinct or something. He closed his eyes, trying his best to sleep, ending up rolling from one side to the other several times. Eventually he managed to drift off into sleep.
-
Shinzuu crashed onto the couch and eventually fell to sleep. He was then haunted by a nightmare, surrounding him with death. Shinzuu watched as people around him died off one by one, most of them in a bloody mess. He inhaled sharply and sat straight up as he woke up. Shinzuu checked the clock over the TV and saw that it was 5am, the normal time he usually woke up to when he was still on the basketball team. But he wasn't tired, so he tiptoed around the two sleeping bodies and went into the tiny little half-kitchen. Shinzuu dug into the refrigerator and pulled out some fruit juice, drinking it. He watched Veronica sleeping there in the darkness. It was a bit fuzzy, but his feline eye helped him see well in the dark, even if it's just on the right side. She was beautiful, and his chest hurt as his heart ached for her. Shinzuu took another swig before putting it back in the refrigerator. He then leaned back to the counter next to the refrigerator and looked at Reno, the poor kid. Shinzuu felt a little bad for beating him in, but at the same time, felt very little about THAT particular situation. The biggest issue was that he lost the girl in his life before he had the chance to tell her how he felt. He sighed and tilted his head back, covering his eyes with one hand, Whoever said high school was the happiest time of your life should have his head cut off...
-
Veronica didn't really dream as she slept and only heard the music in her mind. Of course, she did dream because everyone dreams every night, but her sleep wasn't a restful one so she didn't remember any dreams she had. She did toss and turn a lot though, if that was any indication of how things were going in the dreams she couldn't remember. She woke up to the sound of Shinzuu sighing but kept her eyes closed as she rolled over onto her back with her bear held in one arm, inhaling and exhaling deeply as she looked at the blackness of the back of her eyelids.
-
Marlowe slept restlessly. She had been up twice, once she had tried playing Bioshock, only to fall asleep with the controller in her hands. She had dreams that had seemed to be segmented memories broken by spells of consciousness, as if she was reliving things that had happened before, but in the mentality that she had now. Schad was there, and the two were out in the woods beating each other with sticks and playing "war" with the boys on the street, throwing things at each other. She'd wake up in a cold sweat, her TV still casting a dim glow on the room, the game screening back to duller colors from the controller going idle. She rubbed her face and looked over to the clock, realizing she was back to her life, and not a dream. Schad was dead, and long before her death, their friendship had fractured. It was 4:43am. She closed her eyes and sighed, laying on the bed, reflecting. Although she had thoroughly meant what she said about her dad ignoring her, she felt like crap again for throwing his phone out the window. She sat up on her bed and buried her face in her hands, sitting in the dim glow of the TV. The dreams had only reminded her of how perfect things were back then when there were less things to worry about.
She felt tears rising, but fought back the urge to cry. Depression was an ugly thing, and despite the fact that Schad had passed, her tears weren't for her former friend, they were more or less at her realization of how alone she truly was. Her friends had all stabbed her in the back one way or another over the years, including Schadenfreude, who had pushed her aside when she fell in love for the first time. Marlowe undressed recounting the many arguments that had happened between Schad and her, always instigated by Schad's boyfriend, and in the end, Schad chose him over Marlowe, only to find that he had cheated on her with several other high school girls. That one thing had sparked fist fights, and before she knew it, Schad had been kicked out of another school and had to move. Again, Marlowe sighed, and stepped into the bathroom, throwing a towel over the shower curtain for herself. It was 5:03am by the time she turned the shower on, and she felt as if this was going to be one hell of a day.
-
Shinzuu stayed like that for almost an hour, when he noticed that it was near 6am. Well, I guess it's time to get ready. He left the kitchen and went into his room, changing into the suit that he has never once wore in his life, but got for Christmas 2 years ago after he stopped growing. Shinzuu felt extremely somber and a bit sad, putting it on. The last time he ever wore a suit was at his father's funeral. As Shinzuu walked out of his room, he heard the alarm in his mother's room go off to signal 6am. Shiori came out of her room in just her bra and panties and Shinzuu growled at her in a whisper, "What the hell! Put on some clothes! Reno is here, if you can't remember!" Shiori gave a "Whatever" groan and put on a robe before going any further. She quietly walked around the others to the bathroom and whispered back, "I'll wake them after I'm done with the shower, or you can do it yourself, but I'm going in first." Shinzuu shook his head as she went into the bathroom. He went into the kitchen and sifted through the refrigerator, pulling out a lot of food. Shinzuu started up a skillet and a pot full of water. On the skillet, he put in slices of ham and bacon, while putting two dozen eggs into the pot.
-
Veronica drifted in and out of consciousness for the next hour. She was awake when Shinzuu said what he did to his mother and had to hold back a smile since she didn't want to be discovered. After she heard the sounds in the kitchen, she slowly opened her eyes and stretched out on the futon. She sat up and grabbed the bear before she got up off the futon. Rubbing her eyes then running a hand through her hair, she walked over to the kitchen and sniffed the air. "Smells good already." She said softly as she watched what Shinzuu was doing.
-
The shower felt amazingly good. She was never really surprised to know that a shower could alter her mood sometimes and make her more relaxed. She stepped out and wrapped a towel around herself, taking a look into the mirror at her reflection. She looked better than she did before she got it. She rubbed her face again, still feeling somewhat drowsy. She was never really up this early unless she had stayed up all night, but she had managed to get some sleep. She was feeling more neutral now than upset, as if the shower had washed away her train of thought. She slipped on some clothes, a T-shirt portrayed one of her favorite comic series: Marvel Zombies, some jogging pants, and a pair of striped socks over her underwear, of course. She plopped back on her bed. Her dad usually woke at 8. Glancing back to her clock, it read 7:12am. It wasn't long until there was a knock at her door. It was her father.
"Marlowe? You up?" Mordecai asked, somewhat cautiously.
"Yeah, I've been up since 5. I've already had a shower," she replied making her way to the door and opening it, looking out to her father.
"Well, that's good. Apparently Schad's funeral is at 3, so, we need to get our running out of the way... This includes getting dress clothes for the occasion since I'm fairly certain you don't have any."
Marlowe nodded silently.
"Well, I called around until I got the proper funeral home. I don't have Adali's number, but we can get it from her at the funeral." Mordecai continued, "And we still have to see what the deal is with the schools around here. From what I gather, you'll be going to a place called Feral High." He rubbed his head awkwardly. "Anyway, I'm going to go get ready, we'll leave at 8, 8:30-ish, alright?"
Marlowe nodded again, noticing that her father was still in his pajamas for the first time. He gave a half "I'm worried about you" smirk before turning and she closed the door.
-
As Reno slept he had a bad dream, causing him to toss and turn. However he didn't wake up to the others. He was dreaming of his parents, on the day of his birthday. The three of them were out on the front lawn, having just gotten back with a few presents and party supplies. Reno ran off to get the door for his parents as they followed behind him. That's when a drunk driver went over the curb and managed to hit both his parents. He turned to see the bloody mess before everything went black. In reality he mumbled something and rolled over abruptly. Back in his dream he was with his best friend Nero, a fox, with his girlfriend Jessica, another fox. He was following a little behind the two as they were walking along the sidewalk talking about their wedding plans for the future. That's when a car pulled up near them and Nero walked over to it like he knew them. Before he got to the car a gun protruded from the open window and let off a few rounds into Nero. After that it drove off quickly. Reno shouted for him and ran over to him only to pass right through him into blackness. In reality Reno mumbled "Nero" and again rolled over. This time back in his dream he was at the hospital. He was talking to Schadenfreude with her broken leg. He didn't want to leave her, but he had to as she was about to go into surgery. As he left the room the doctors came in, though they were anything but normal. They looked like demons and other monsters. The only thing that made them look like doctors were their coats. They walked in bearing several gruesome looking medical tools, but Reno kept walking. He knew something was wrong but he couldn't stop himself from leaving the room.
Once out of the room the door slammed shut. At the sound of the slam everything turned white. It was just endless whiteness in front of him. He turned around when he heard Schadenfreude scream. He saw the doctors hovering over her menacingly and beginning to operate. Again she screamed, calling out for Reno. He tried to shout to her but found he was voiceless. In reality he muttered "Stop you're killing her", though he didn't roll over. In the dream he pounded on the glass window pane he was looking through trying to break it open. One of the doctor's turned it's head towards him, it's eyes gleamed light headlights blinding Reno. He shielded his eyes with his arm and looked away. When he looked back the room had vanished. Only the vast emptiness of the white room remained. He heard her call to him again. Frantically he looked in all directions, trying to find where her voice was coming from but saw nothing. She kept calling to him and he kept looking desperately, eventually running off in the direction he was facing. Schadenfreude kept calling to him, again and again, becoming louder and louder in his head. The cries became more blood curdling and desperate. Reno slid to a stop to look around as the voice grew loud enough to make him cover his ears. Though it didn't help, he felt to his knees covering his ears the best he could. Tears flooded from his eyes as he closed them tightly. She just kept calling his name in his head, over and over as he laid there on the floor covering his ears.
-
Shinzuu gave a faint smile at Veronica's comment. He guessed that the sound of her saying that in the morning just lightened his mood a bit. "I would imagine so. As wolves, our diet is mainly protein. But moreso, on a morning like this, we'll need more protein in our systems. It'll keep us from feeling sore and the natural sugars in lean pork will keep us from falling asleep, as it's more potent than any other natural sugars. And the eggs make a good protein source that can be eaten in bulk without getting fat, when boiled."
-
Veronica managed a sort of tired chuckle. "Are you trying to say I'm getting fat?" She raised an eyebrow at him. Her ears had picked up on Reno shifting around an awful lot and mumbling things so she looked over to see if he had woken up. Her eyes narrowed as she saw him covering his ears. "Just a second." She said, glancing back at Shinzuu then going into the living room. She knelt down beside Reno, setting her bear to the side. Gently grabbing his wrists, she tried to pull his hands away from his ears. "Reno... Reno, wake up..." She said and gently shook him, trying to get him to snap out of it.
-
Marlowe sat on her bed again and grabbed her laptop, leaning against the back of her bed and struggling to type properly since she wasn't sitting at a desk. She checked on her messages and yawned. Despite having a shower, she still felt sleepy, but at least she was relaxed. She finished and closed it, sitting it beside her bed and sprawling out on her bed, burying her face into the warm comforter. By the time her father knocked at the door, she had fallen back asleep. He had to call her cell phone to get her up and going again.
-
After a bit of Veronica's shaking Reno woke up. He shot up suddenly in a cold sweat breathing deeply as if he just got back from a long run. Looking around he realized he was in Shinzuu's place. He calmed down a bit and felt his chest, his heart was racing. He folded his legs to sit Indian style and rubbed his eyes. After wards he slumped down with a somewhat sad expression. Reno looked over to see Veronica, not noticing she was there. "Oh...Veronica...Good morning..." he said in a tired tone. It had a bit of a fake happiness to it, trying to hide his depression.
-
Shinzuu frowned at Veronica's accusation of him insinuating she was gaining girth, "But that's not what I..." But she had already walked away to wake Reno up. He grumbled to himself, "I was only mentioning that because everyone always eats their eggs fried or poached or some kind of mutilated way that adds unnecessary oils and calories and everything else that builds fat, and energy that either burns off fast or never burns off at all causing......."
-
When Reno finally had woken up, Veronica had released her grip on his wrists and watched him. After he finally acknowledged her, she got up off the floor, grabbing her bear and setting in a chair. "Morning..." She responded to him. She could tell that he was hiding how he was feeling but she didn't see the point in addressing it. Without another word to Reno, she walked back into the kitchen. The light in the kitchen threw her shadow onto the cupboards and as she examined her shadow, she realized that her hair was a complete mess. "Ugh. My hair looks horrible." She groaned as she moved her hands to her head and started trying to fix it, an displeased expression on her face.
-
It was 8:05am when she picked up her phone. "I'm at the door, Marlowe," her father said, indicating his presence with a soft knock. She rolled off the bed with an "aw crap" and landed on her knees, reaching under her bed.
"Yeah, I'm sorry, I fell asleep, let me change my pants. Love you." She hung up the phone and sat it on the bed, finally finding the pair of pants she was looking for and changing into them, leaving the jogging pants on the bed behind her. She grabbed her hat and pulled it over her head after stuffing her wallet and phone in her hoodie pocket and opened the door to greet her Dad. "Yeah, sorry."
"It alright, do you have your keys?" Mordecai asked, arching a brow as he noticed them on the nightstand by her bed.
Marlowe felt around for them and panicked for a moment, "Crap, I knew I forgot something, one second," She turned and started looking on the bed, then found them on the nightstand and headed back to her door. Her father had his arms crossed as he waiting. "Alright, I'm ready."
"Well, first thing on the agenda is we need to get some funeral clothes." Mordecai looked at her as she closed her door and locked it, "Which means you have to get either a dress or some nice slacks, something. You gotta look nice." Marlowe scowled, somewhat, but followed him down the stairs to the car anyway.
-
As Reno sat there the smell of food drifted over to him, which made his stomach growl loudly. He grabbed his stomach in attempts to stop it but to no avail. "Ugh...When was the last time I ate...? Lesse... I don't think I ate anythin' yesterday...Or dinner the night before that...Bollocks! I'd kill for a taco..." He got to his feet almost collapsing again but managing to keep his balance. "Where'd he say the bathroom was? I gotta go..." He wandered over near the kitchen pacing back and forth as he tried to remember which door it was. After a moment he tried his luck and walked over to one of the doors to open it.
-
Shinzuu looked over at Veronica when she mentioned her hair being a mess, and couldn't help but stare at her eyes for a bit before he caught himself and scruffed some of her hair while chuckling, "You can fix it later after my mother's out." No sooner did he say that, did Reno run into the bathroom. Shiori was just getting out of the tub when Reno barged in, "What the hell is your problem, child!? Get out you little pervert!" Obviously being more awake, Shiori was very conscious about herself around guests, and she was furious now. She quickly grabbed a towel to cover herself and then grabbed the long scrub-brush and proceded to chase Reno out.
-
Veronica noticed how Shinzuu was looking at her but continued to focus on her hair. That is, until Shinzuu messed with it more. "Hey! You're not helping!" She whined. That was about the time she heard a door open and then heard Shiori yelling. Glancing over, she saw Reno standing in the doorway of the bathroom. "I think she's out." She said, holding in a laugh so that she didn't get yelled at for finding the situation funny when Shiori was furious about it. She slipped out of the kitchen and went to the guest room, grabbing the black dress off the bed and folding her undergarments into it so they couldn't be seen by the guys. Walking back to the kitchen, she waited for the commotion to be over.
-
The car ride was silent. Marlowe was in and out of consciousness, but was a little irritated she didn't grab her iPod. She just sat in the passenger seat looking out the window with her hands stuffed in her pocket. The first place they stopped was somewhere for breakfast. Her dad stopped by the American food place and got a couple of biscuits and stopped at the park to eat. He nudged her as he got out of the car with the bag. "C'mon sleepy." She eventually shuffled out of the car, watching her dad find a spot on a bench. "At least the park is nice. I kind of don't even know why we drove. We could have walked here and to your school. The only place we really have to drive is where we're getting our formal." He was digging around in the bag for her biscuit as she approached him. She knew something was wrong because he as trying to hard to make light of moving, but she tried to ignore her gut feeling and took the biscuit when he handed it to her.
"Yeah, the park is pretty, I like the trees. Though there was more of those back home." She said, stuffing her mouth with the biscuit.
-
Reno almost slipped due to shock as he walked in on Shinzuu's mom in the bath. He held onto the door handle to avoid falling and quickly retreated from the bathroom. "Sorry! I-I uhm- Sorry!!" After being out of the bathroom is when he fell over himself. He stumbled over to the couch and just sat there staring straight forward. His face was bright red and a little blood was dripping down from his nose. "Bollocks. Gonna get eaten now. It's over. She was naked. And-...Naked. I just saw his mother-...I'm goin' to hell for sure. I don't think I should stay for dinner. I might be served for it."
-
Shinzuu sighed and facepawed at the commotion coming from the bathroom, I warned her the first time..." He then turned off the fire on both stoves, pulling plates out of the cupboard above him and placing them across the counter. Shinzuu stacked bacon on one plate, ham on the second, and slowly ladled out eggs, soaking them in running cold water. He cracked them all open and placed the eggs on the last plate, placing them in the little island counter behind him. "Ok, everyone! Hurry up and grab some eats before we go! We gotta get outta here by 8:30 if we want to make it on time!"
-
Veronica watched Reno scurry out of the bathroom and noticed his bloody nose before he went out of sight. Grabbing a couple napkins, she went into the living room and handed them to Reno with a sympathetic smile because of his embarrassment. She went back to the kitchen, grabbing an egg and eating it then grabbing a couple pieces of bacon. After that, she disappeared into the guest room and shut the door behind her. While in the guest room, she set her outfit back down on the bed and ate the pieces of bacon before disrobing. She put her undergarments on before she grabbed a hairbrush out of the box on the bed and started brushing out her messy hair, grimacing when she hit any knots in it but there surprisingly weren't many. When it was to her satisfaction, she grabbed her dress and pulled it on, zipping the back of it up. She swept her hair up into a neat bun, which was an extremely rare thing, and put a hair-tie around it. Looking at herself in the mirror above the dresser, she saw a sympathetic look reflected back at her. She didn't feel like that was the expression on her face so it seemed odd to her to see it in the mirror. When she closed her eyes and exhaled, the look had disappeared from her face in the mirror when she opened her eyes again and she smoothed the sides of her dress. She walked to the door and opened it slowly then stepped out. "Ready." She said softly as she stayed standing in the doorway of the room.
-
They both ate their biscuits acknowledging different things around the park and in the park itself. They eventually were off the bench and in the grass, both sitting Indian style while eating. Her father seemed to be dress a little less formal, but he was wearing a black pair of slacks with a button up white dress shirt, some suspenders, and a red tie. She guessed he would be getting clothes with her wherever they were going.
The place was still a little odd to her. She still couldn't read the signs. It unnerved her somewhat, but she figured in time she would learn it. After all, she had to go from German to English before. It seemed like forever, but eventually her father brushed himself off and stood up, helping her up. "Do you want to go to the school or get your clothes first?" he questioned, stretching. The sun was bright outside, his white fur almost blinded her.
"I guess we can get the clothes."
"If we get those you're probably going to have to go to the school in them, you know."
"I know, I guess I'll deal with it."
-
Reno took the napkin from Veronica without realizing what it was for. But he momentarily noticed his nose was bleeding and cleaned it up. After that he went over into the kitchen and got some food. A couple eggs, and lots of ham and bacon. He ate quickly in silence not saying a word out of embarrassment and being shy. After eating he went and set out his change of clothes. He waited until Veronica exited the guest room, not wanting to risk entering the bathroom again he went in after she left. When he saw Veronica he stopped for a moment, not being able to control it. As he passed her he looked away mumbling something to her. "Uhm...you look nice." His nose was bleeding a little more, which he just wiped with his shirt. Reno closed the door when he was inside and looked at himself in the mirror. Sighing he changed his clothes and put on his jacket he rarely wore completing his suit. Again he sighed deeply, then a sudden urge to puke came to him. He leaned up against the wall breathing deeply. The thought of not being able to confess his love to and never see Schadenfreude again made him feel sick to his stomach. He fell to his knees leaning against the mirror, he was holding back tears as he thought of the whole thing.
-
Shiori made short work of getting her dress on in the bathroom, and came out, wolfing down a couple eggs and a few pieces of ham, steering clear of the bacon. It wasn't that she worried about the contents of the food, but rather, she just didn't like the taste of fat. Shinzuu then watched the clock as he, too, ate, but in bulk, and pretty much finishing off everything that everyone else didn't grab. Shiori grabbed her keys, "Okay, let's all get out of here. It's a half-hour walk to the other side of town, and I would rather we be early."
-
Veronica had looked at the floor and stepped out of the way when Reno walked up. "Thanks..." She mumbled, really meaning it but just feeling shy about it. She watched Shiori and Shinzuu eat, surprised at how much Shinzuu ate by himself. When Shiori said it was time to go and Reno hadn't come out of the guest room yet, she gently knocked on the door. "Reno, come on, we gotta get moving." She said this in a way that wouldn't really be rushing him but just making him aware of the fact that he needed to come out now so they could all leave.
-
They arrived at the store. It was some fancy place with several kinds of black tie affair attire to choose from. Her father picked a nicer version of his usual with some black shoes, while Marlowe struggled in choosing. She didn't like dresses, but she didn't particularly care to have people tag her as something she wasn't while there, and so trying to pick something was a little hard. She wound up picking a black dress that was floor length, but wasn't too fancy. For once in her life she was going to wear a dress, and the thought was somewhat.. Hard to swallow, but she only did it out of respect for her dead friend. Somehow, she managed to convince her father to wait until after they went to the school to make her wear it. They walked to the school, standing outside of it trying to figure out what to think about it.
-
Reno heard the knock on the door and quickly got to his feet. Hearing Veronica's voice he was going to say something but didn't think he could without sounding like he was crying. He said nothing and went over to the door, opening it he scratched above his eyes trying to hide them as he went passed Veronica. He then went to the door, got his shoes on and waited outside a couple yards from the door. He was facing away from them, but just enough to allow him to see them with his peripheral vision. His mind was plagued with thoughts of Schadenfreude.
-
The four of them walked across town together, and Shinzuu couldn't help but adjust his suit from time to time. "So you want to tell me why we're walking again, ma, and not driving there?" Shiori chuckled nervously as she scratched the back of her head, "Well, you see, honey... I actually got home later than usual last night because we were having a 'celebration' about me taking Veronica in. I wasn't planning on it, but the others threw it as a surprise. I felt quite guilty about it so I drank myself hard. Long story short, the Chief drove me home last night, so my car's still at the office parking lot just down the street from the funeral home. Don't worry, the car will be ready for the procession."
-
Veronica was glad she had decided to wear flats instead of high heels because her feet would have been killing her already. She watched the ground ahead of her as she watched and listened to Shinzuu speak to his mother. At the word "celebration", her expression turned to a glare, though it was still directed at the ground. How could Shiori say it was a celebration? There was nothing celebratory about it at all to her. The only reason Shiori had had to take her in was because her parents had died. It wasn't a happy occasion and them acting like it was made her want to find them all and give each of them a punch in the face. Unconsciously, she had balled her hands into fists while glaring at the ground and wasn't even walking upright anymore and it was more like she was stalking along toward a fight. The look on her face, her balled up fists, and the way she was walking completely contrasted the way that she was dressed.
-
She waited outside while her father went inside to get her papers. Marlowe had not really wanted to go inside the school, so she sat outside on the sidewalk looking at the dress in the bag. She liked it somewhat, she just didn't want to wear it because she was very self conscious. She generally wore things that covered her and didn't show anything off unless it was a tight fitting girly t-shirt, and even those managed to make her uncomfortable from time to time despite people saying that she didn't look too bad in them. Marlowe had always been dissatisfied with the way she looked because she was bigger than most pretty girls, but she wasn't fat. She sighed, taking another look at the dress. Her father was going to get mad at her, but she was going to wear her black converses under the dress, she had made her mind up. She hated dress shoes, and the converses would match the dress, even if no one saw them... After all, her dress was floor length. She smirked a bit at the thought and sat the dress in her lap as she put her head in her paws looking outward across to the other side of the street. She only really took the time to look behind her when someone would pass her.
-
Reno walked in silence behind the other with his head down. The only reason he wanted to go to this funeral was out of respect. He didn't want to go, it was going to make him sad. Keeping his hands in his pockets he walked along, trying to keep his mind free of Schadenfreude. He still felt sick, more than before as he got closer and closer. He was getting butterflies, that's what he figured it was. Reno was also nervous as well as sad, several emotions were flowing through his body at the time.
-
Shiori realized what she had been saying about the little party the night before and quickly apologized to Veronica, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound insensitive. But it was just what the other heads of the city wanted to do. The reason I drank so much was because I knew your parents, and they were great people. I drank to their souls and drank to your future, and the next thing I knew, I found a lot of things to drink to." Shinzuu sighed and shook his head, "Mom, do yourself a favor and just shut up right now before you embarrass me and yourself any further." The rest of the walk was made in silence until they got there. When they entered, Shiori put in everyone's names, "Uh, Reno-kun, how do you spell your name?" Meanwhile, Shinzuu walked on with Veronica to go inside the walkway labeled "Smith." There, at the end of the many rows of chairs and a couple early guests, lay Veronica's parents, in their open caskets.
-
Veronica didn't say anything in response to Shiori's apology, she didn't even bother to look at her. She straightened up as she walked but her hands stayed balled up into fists for the rest of the walk. "I could have signed my own name..." She mumbled as she continued to go inside the walkway labeled with her last name. Once they were inside the walkway and she saw the caskets on the opposite site of the room, her hands slowly relaxed so they weren't balled up anymore. A war started to wage in her mind as she was frozen to the spot where she was standing. "'I can't do this.' 'You have to.' 'Those are my parents in there...' 'You have to say goodbye.' 'I can't see them like that.' 'You need to grieve.' 'I. Can't. Do this.' 'There are other people here with you...' 'I'm the only one affected.' 'You can't run. They'll stop you.' 'They can't make me stay.' 'They will. Shinzuu will. He's experienced this. He knows how it feels.' 'He doesn't know anything about how I feel!' 'He knows you should grieve. He understands.' 'No one understands...' 'He loves you.' 'He shouldn't.' 'Move forward.' 'I can't.' 'You can.' 'I can't.' 'Go.'" The war in her head had only taken a moment since the voices went back and forth quickly. She slowly took a step forward and another and another, walking up the path between the seats without any clue of where her feet were actually taking her, whether it was toward her parents or toward a seat. Her face was blank, devoid of emotion.
-
After what seemed to be about 30 minutes, her father came outside with a few papers in his hand. He adjusted his thick rimmed black glasses and looked his daughter over. When she noticed him doing so, she put the dress back in the bag as if she was uninterested and looked up to him. "Well, the school seems nice enough. Though, I hate to tell you, they have uniforms and the uniforms have skirts with them. So.." He stopped a moment, his face seeming somewhat confused as to what to say, "...Be prepared..?" he shrugged and stood there reading the papers. "Ugh, we're going to have to get your transcripts, I don't know how we're going to do that." He pinched the bridge of his snout, closing his eyes. He always did this when he was stressed, had to concentrate, or sometimes both.
Marlowe seemed unamused. "Did you at least see what the uniforms looked like? Is there any way around the skirt?" she asked, somewhat demanding. Being in America for so long, she didn't like the idea of wearing a uniform, and she hated the idea of a skirt. She looked back into the bag, At least this dress goes to the ground, she thought to herself. "Can we get stockings or something.. I really don't want to have to wear a skirt."
Her father looked up at her from pinching his snout, irritated. Despite his irritation, he managed to speak in a calm tone. "Look, Marlow, the last thing I'm worried about right now is what you're wearing to school. Right now we have to get you in it first." He let out an exasperated sigh, the hand with the papers dropped to his hip and he tapped his foot, shifting uncomfortably as he pinched his snout again. "C'mon. We have this done. We gotta kill some time now." He looked down at his watch, it was 12:13pm. Marlowe scooped up her bag and followed her dad as he lead the way down the sidewalk.
-
A puzzled look came onto Reno's face when Shiori called him Reno-kun. "Reno...Kun? What's that supposed to mean?" "Uhm...My name? It's...R, E, N, O...Then O, with an apostrophe, space M, A, L, L, E, Y..." he said scratching his head. "I didn't think it was that hard to spell." He felt nervous about entering behind Shinzuu and Veronica. He didn't enjoy funerals. "I never get used to these things...So many in so little time...I don't think I can handle anymore..."
-
Shiori frowned as she spelled it out, "You kids these day and your using English over your own hometown language." After writing it down, she walked into the funeral hall and sat down. "Shinny, come over here. I feel out of place without the others here." Shinzu obeyed and went over to sit next to his step mother, which was fine, since he wanted to give Veronica some space. "Are you still drunk or do you enjoy embarrassing me? I told you not to call me that in public." Shiori smirked playfully and gave him a hug, "Would you rather I use the nickname you had in elementary school, Fatass?" Shinzuu let out a low growl and pushed her away a bit and sighed, "Whatever. Just keep it appropriate, ma. It IS a funeral after all."
-
Veronica's feet carried her to her parents' caskets. She slowly looked back and forth between the bodies in the separate caskets. Part of her wish they were in a combined casket and she could just crawl in with them, but she blocked that part of her off. As she looked at the bodies of her parents, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration. After a moment, her eyebrows unfurrowed and her face hardened, her mouth set in a straight line. She turned away from the caskets and sat at the end of the left side front row by the aisle, not wanting to sit near Shinzuu's mother.
-
Reno ended up sitting down next to Shiori, though there was a couple spaces between him and her. He didn't know if she would hold a grudge from earlier that morning. "What should I do? I can't really do anything...She's gone...They're all gone...What did I do to deserve all this? What did Veronica even do..." He looked over at Veronica with a blank yet solemn look on his face. "She's nice...Nice to me...She didn't need to suffer..." His gaze shifted to Shinzuu. "Shinzuu...You were suffering all along, you even decided to be friends with me...Of all people...At least...He has someone to care about...Who he can relate to somewhat..." Reno went back to staring forward at nothing. "Why...Did I fall in love with her...I should have never sat down at that table...I should have just stayed in my corner...No one dies there. Some people just can't find love I guess..."
-
Shinzuu sat quietly throughout the wake, and took the wheel in the car when it was time for the procession to the graveyard. Shiori was one of the pallbearers so she drove the casket car. Reno and Veronica sat with Shinzuu in his mother's car, a black Prius. When they all arrived at the site, Shiori and the other town heads carried the casket over, and the priest thanked everyone for coming. "Now will the daughter, Veronica, please come up and say a few words of your own."
-
Throughout the wake, Veronica sat alone. She had stared at the floor and didn't even look up when people offered their condolences. She also rode in the car in silence. Walking along with the others, she stopped when the rest of them did. She was staring at the caskets when the priest asked her to go up and say a few words. Everyone was looking at her when she removed her gaze from the caskets and looked up. Slowly, she walked up to where the priest was standing and turned to face the rest of the people there. It may have looked as though she was going to go into a long speech about how great her parents were and maybe she would have, but that's not what happened. "My parents," she started as she scanned the crowd. "Were great people in every sense of the word. They gave me everything I needed. Love, support, everything." When her eyes met Shinzuu's, she pried them away and looked down at the ground. "But none of that matters now. They're gone and so is everything else that they've done for me." She let out a sigh. "They're dead..." 'And I should be too...' "They will be missed." Most of the time while she was talking, she didn't seem like she could be the daughter of these two dead people. These people would know she really was but if they were shocked by how she spoke, it wouldn't be surprising. She stepped away from the place for speaking and moved back to where she had been standing, keeping her eyes on the ground until she was back in her spot then looking at the caskets again.
-
Her father walked to the car, Marlowe following closely behind and hopping in before Mordecai got the chance to tell her to get in. He sat down and started the car, pushing his glasses up on his nose. "Alright, here's the rundown. We're going by the home to get dressed and we're leaving straight from it at 2. We need to get to the funeral home early to meet Adali, I'm sure she'll need help setting up." He started to pull off, looking at his watch. "Basically, just get dressed fast."
Marlowe looked at the bag quietly and nodded. She hated funerals, and knowing her father, he was going to rope her into helping set her friend's funeral up with her mother. "Alright.. But can I ask you something?"
"Sure, go for it."
"Can you please not make me help set it up with you and Adali. It's hard enough already." She fidgeted with her hands as she waited for a response. He put and arm around her as if to reassure her when they got to a red light.
"Marlowe, I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to, but, it would mean a great deal to Adali if you did. We gotta be strong for her, too. Schad was all she had."
-
Reno sat in silence in both the car and crowd. When Veronica spoke he listened like everyone else. "I wonder who all will be there...At Schad's fune-......Schad..." His ears were hung low as he listened, waiting. He knew he was going to another funeral soon, it made him nervous, and sick to his stomach. The level of being nervous made him feel sick. He looked down at his lap, he felt like crying again, hearing others doing the same. It was just the atmosphere of the area.
-
After Veronica went back to her seat, the priest then proceeded to say the prayers and speeches that came in a funeral while they lowered the two caskets. Shinzuu tried his best to hold his wits as he watched the caskets get lowered, remembering watching his parents' go down. After the caskets were lowered all the way, the priest said one final prayer before he handed two roses out. One to Shinzuu and one to Veronica. Shinzuu was a bit confused at first, but Shiori whispered into his ear, "The proceedings require two people for the couple, and I kinda slipped in that you should be the second person, so just go with it." Shinzuu knodded and walked up to the burial with Veronica. He bowed before taking the last step towards the grave, and dropped the rose in. After the proceedings, everyone was dismissed. Shiori got the kids to get into her car, "Come now, your friend's funeral is in 10 minutes. We should be able to make it 3 minutes before it starts. After we're done, I'll take us all out for supper."
-
Veronica sat through the service in silence, her eyes staying glued to the caskets until they were out of her sight. Her hardened expression remained on her face even when the priest came over and handed her a rose. She walked over up to the hole, not bowing like Shinzuu had before making her final step. Shinzuu dropped his rose in as she stood there staring down into the hole at the caskets below. She felt slightly dizzy and like she might throw up as she looked at the caskets so she held the rose up to her nose, inhaling the scent of it, then dropping it in. When everyone was dismissed, she walked with the others to the car and got in. She didn't say a word in response to what Shiori said and just looked out the window on her side of the car. She didn't want to go to another funeral but she had liked Schad and Reno would need the support, so she went along with it, not like she had a choice in the matter anyway.
-
After a quick stop at the house, they were both dressed and ready to go. Mordecai was in his best, and Marlowe was wearing her dress, her black converse all stars under them. She had managed to sneak them past her father. He always hated the shoes because they laces were mix matched. The left was checkerboard, the right was red. She also wore a lace choker with stars hanging from it.
The ride was silent, but when they arrived, the dreary mood was set. She stepped out of the car and followed behind her father until they made it inside. Everything had already been set, and for some reason it looked as if another funeral had just let out. She kept quiet, looking around. Around the funeral home there were portraits of the previous owners, they seemed to fit the profile of the creepy portraits that stared at people in haunted houses. The director lead them around the corner and down a hallway where Adali was. Her eyes were puffy and she looked as if someone had broken her mind in two, as she stared blankly at the casket.
When she looked up, it took her a moment, but she recognized them both and immediately began to cry as she threw her arms around Mordecai. He held her close as she cried and clenched his suit. Usually he was a stickler for how his suit looked, but he allowed her to cling and wrinkle it as she pleased given the circumstances. Marlowe's nose wrinkled up as she smelled alcohol on Adali. It wasn't an uncommon thing for the possum, but she still didn't like the smell. She stood there awkwardly as Adali bawled into her father's arms, yelling about how she should have been there more or how she should have kept better track of her or how she should have just quit drinking before it got bad. Her father's ears layed down against his skull. He was visibly shaken by how bad Adali was, but he would never admit it.
-
When they all arrived back at the funeral home, they went all the way to the last hall to make it to Schad's wake. This time, however, Shinzuu didn't go in with them, as Shiori made him go find a parking spot across the street. Like before, Shiori signed everyone into the guest book, and sat in the front row. Shinzuu came in just as the wake service started, sitting next to Shiori and Veronica.
-
Veronica watched as Shiori signed them all into the guest book again. "What am I, incompetent now that I don't have any parents?" She thought to herself as she watched Shiori. When Shiori went into the room, she followed and had to sit next to her. "I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here. This woman had no respect for parents or their funeral, why must I be made to sit next to her? I don't want to be here, I don't want to be here. One funeral per day is my limit. This is depressing. I just want to get out." She glanced over at Reno where he was sitting. He looked miserable. She sighed inwardly. "But I need to stay to support him. He beats himself up about this so much even when it's not his fault. I can't imagine what it'd be like to lose--" She glanced at Shinzuu then quickly looked toward the casket. "Losing my parents is the same anyway, I know how it feels. I don't even know how I feel about Shinzuu. What the hell! Why am I even thinking about this?! I've got to stop." She shook her head the tiniest bit and tried to block her thoughts and pay attention to the wake service.
-
Marlowe wandered away from her father as he helped Adali. She felt awkward, almost like a third wheel, so she made her way down the hallways and inside the room where the services were going to be held, sitting in an empty pew by herself. Eventually people started to arrive and the casket was wheeled in and opened. Schad layed there, dressed up in a black dress almost similar to her own. When Marlowe looked at her, it looked as if she was sleeping... Except for a scar from where they had cut into her. Marlowe reached down and pulled the dress up to cover it. She never really expected to see her friend like this when they met again. She took her place back on the front row and waited for her father to come in. Music played softly as the services started. There were few family members there, and even fewer friends, but Marlowe noticed a few people her age there as well, so she figured Schad had made some friends. She looked down to the ground scuffing her converses that were now visible that she was sitting on the ground. She didn't turn around until she heard Adali sobbing, and saw her father doing his best to keep Adali together.
When they got to the first row he sat down beside her. She sat near the edge of the isle and Adali sat further away from it, her father imbetween her, putting an arm around both for support.
-
Reno watched the service go on, not taking his eyes of Schadenfreude's casket the moment it came into the room. He saw some girl do something to it, not really thinking about anything else he just ignored her. He still felt sick and full of anguish, but he kept a solemn expression on his face trying to stay strong. He didn't want to cry, but at the same time he was fighting to hold back tears. Suddenly he balled his hands into fists, trying to replace his sorrow with anger to make it easier. "It's all my fault...I caused this!"
-
Shinzuu sighed as he watched Schad's body laying there for the service. Only a couple days ago... only a couple days ago, she was fine, and we were all just on our own little drama trips. Now, she's laying here where she shouldn't be for another 70 years." After the speaker finished, he waved a gesturing hand to Schad's mother, "Now if the mother will say a few words before we close this session for the cremation."
-
Veronica listened to the service in silence. It seemed like forever since she'd spoken last. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Reno's hands balling up into fists and she could just imagine what he was thinking. Glancing to her left at Shinzuu without moving her head, she thought about how what she was about to do might upset him if she did it, but the fact that Reno needed comforting won out in her even with that consequence. Her eyes moved to look toward the priest and she started to move her hand over to Reno. She gently rested her hand on Reno's left hand since it was closest to her, not looking at him. If he pulled away, she wouldn't be surprised but she figured she might as well try. It surprised her when she heard the word "cremation" come from the priest, but she didn't show it. "Cremation? That's...unexpected." She thought to herself and wondered how Reno would react to that.
-
Adali wiped her eyes, hardly having the strength to get up. She didn't think that she could make it up the stairs, and quickly following behind her was Marlowe, helping her. When she got up to speak, her eyes were puffy and swollen, "Our family wasn't perfect by any means, but I loved my daughter more than anything in the world. I wish I could have been there more than I was because I know she had her problems, but.. " She trailed off and began to cry again.
Mordecai held her, knowing she wouldn't be able to finish. He leaned over to the mic and finished for her, "We all know she's better off where ever she is now, and we all loved her dearly." Marlowe seemed surprised at her father's statement, knowing he wasn't big on faith, but also knowing he didn't have much more to say after that given the circumstances. She watched as he helped Adali down the stairs. She seemed so weak from crying, but Marlowe was somewhat skeptical it may have been alcohol impeding her as well. She was also disappointed that more hadn't been said from Adali, but she turned away from them as they sat down, as if she were both disgusted and angry with them. Her face seemed emotionless as she glanced back at the younger people her age, trying to concentrate hard enough not to be upset to the point of tears, though her feelings were obvious by her ears being lowered. Her father seemed to be having the same reserve, but his ears were also pressed down and he didn't seem as annoyed as Marlowe. By this point Adali was choking back sobs, whispering to Mordecai about how no parent should have to bury their child. She noticed that the rabbit seemed to be angry as well, and partially wondered why, then quickly looked away so they wouldn't think she was staring.
-
Reno jumped on the inside when Veronica put her hand on his. His forced anger vanished in a second. He looked at her hand then looked up at Veronica, still looking at her his eyes looked at Shinzuu and back. His mouth opened as if he were going to say something but no words came out. Quickly he looked forward again just staring at the ground. "What...Is she doin'? Wh-...Is she...Tryin' to comfort me? Do I really look that shaken up about this...? She's worrying about me...I can't hide it from her, she's too smart for tha'...I've become predictable..." A blank and empty expression crawled onto his face as he stared at the ground. "I can't be happy...It's not the place for it...Is it? Yet..." Reno continued to sit there, not knowing what to do or think at that point.
-
The speaker thanked Adali for her words, as well as Mordecai, and helped them down from the podium. "Okay, folks, for those of you staying with us for the cremation, please follow us in the rear entrance. Those who think they cannot handle it, you may get your parking validated in the foyer." When he got up, Shinzuu noticed Veronica's hand on Reno's, but tried to dismiss it as just something that happens in a funeral, and that her caring side is just finally showing. Calm down, man. Calm down...
-
Veronica didn't notice that she had jumped Reno when she had placed her hand on his but she did notice him calm a little. In her periphery, she noticed the girl who had gone up with Schad's mother looking over at them. She didn't look at her though because she just figured the girl was seeing who had come to the funeral. When the speaker finished telling them where to go, she got up from where she had been sitting, removing her hand from Reno's. She had seen that Shinzuu noticed where her hand had been when he got up before her, but didn't really bother worrying about it.
-
Marlowe stood up to go watch while her father put a hand on her shoulder to stop her momentarily. "I'm not sure if Adali is going to go, she doesn't seem like she can take much more.." he said, trying to get Adali to get up with him. Adali seemed too busy crying to notice they were talking about her.
Marlowe looked away from him and pulled his hand off of her shoulder. "Well, regardless of whether or not she goes, I am. Someone has to be there for Schad if she's not going to be." Her father seemed surprised at her words, and shot Marlowe an angry glare, but didn't want to argue at a funeral. Marlowe continued to look at him, unphased by his reaction. "She's her mother, she should be there, even if she's choked down a few drinks before she got here."
"Whatever. I'm going to get her to the car and try and get her calmed down." He was being snippy with her now, not appreciating what she was saying, but knowing it was all too true. As everyone lined up to follow the casket, Adali came over and leaned in, kissing Schad's body on the cheek and telling her goodbye before they wheeled it off. Marlowe got at the front of the line in her place.
-
Reno got up after Veronica did and followed after the rest of them. "Ugh...I don't want to be here anymore...It hurts...I feel so helpless...And pitiful...I don't want anyone's pity...I never needed it before...I don't need it now. It felt weird though...Why? Why this time of all times? What made it different...I didn't want to hear it from Mr. Avery...Yet when Shinzuu and Veronica...I don't know what to make of it...I want to be alone...I...Want Schad back..."
-
Shinzuu's mood remained somber as they all lined up at the back entrance, which led to the furnace. A crew was seen leaving as they entered, a crew that had cleaned the furnace thoroughly, so no ashes were mixed in with Schad's. There, they lined up side by side, standing shoulder to shoulder on either side of the casket. A different priest from before came in and read the rites and the doors opened as he finished. The priest starting saying a long prayer as the conveyor belt very slowly moved the casket in. Shinzuu watched in a sad mood as it did, and noticed Veronica's eyes just through some of the flames. Though it wasn't the moment, he couldn't help but stare into them. He quickly caught himself and paid his attention back to Schad's final moments with the physical world.
-
Veronica stood in line with the rest of the people going into the back and proceeded into the cremation room when everyone else did. As they stood by the conveyor and the priest began a prayer, she looked at the casket. Her eyes slowly moved to look toward the furnace. The flames danced inside it and her eyes seemed to glaze over as she looked at them, at least, that's how her eyes would appear to anyone who looked at them. The fire. All her eyes saw was the fire. She felt like someone was watching her, but her gaze didn't falter. Leaning forward slightly, she tried to get a better look at the fire. She leaned further and further toward the fire. Finally, for one reason or another, she snapped out of her "trance" and pulled away, standing up straight again. Dragging her eyes away from the flames, she returned her gaze to the casket and watched it continue to move toward the fire.
-
The bull terrier seemed lost in the crowd of no one she knew as she looked on at the casket on the conveyor. She was alone in the true sense because her father had already taken Adali to the car. She seemed upset, but as if she were fighting her feelings. She was more or less upset that their friendship had fallen into such disrepair and they had not fixed it before this moment where now, nothing would matter after. She watched, and scooted closer to the conveyor, so close she could almost touch it, and slipped a bracelet that she had been wearing around her wrist onto the corner of the casket. It was a bracelet with beaded skulls, the skulls were made of bone. She had kept it for a long while after their friendship had died, but it had been Schad's to begin with. She wiped her eye, with her arm and turned away from the others that were watching so that they couldn't see the few tears silently running down the fur of her cheeks. Schad had let her borrow the bracelet before she moved away, and Marlowe never had the chance to give it back until now. The casket was already in the furnace as she turned back to watch, her vision blurring and her stomach feeling sick as the flames hungrily took hold of Schad's body. She crossed her arms around her torso, holding herself somewhat shaken, the tears continuing to flow.
-
Reno stood in the crowd, watching the casket slowly move into the fire. Part of him wanted to just jump in with her, he could be with her then. But he didn't do it, however it crossed his mind. Watching in silence he kept a blank look on his face, trying to hide his anguish. He choked suddenly, the combination of the heat from the fire and holding back tears made it happen. Covering his mouth and rubbing his eyes he turned and left the room. Outside he waited for a moment, composing himself. A little ways from the door out of the way of anyone who would walk by, he crouched down with his right hand over his face. "Damnit...She's...I...Schad...What do I do now?"
-
After the casket finally went all the way in, the door to the inside of the furnace slammed shut and the fire increased immensely within. Everyone stood still for q while before finally leaving as well. Shiori stayed just outside the door, next to Reno, Shinzuu and Veronica right next to her. Another minute later, the speaker from before came out of the door with a golden urn. "Now where is Adali?"
-
Veronica almost jumped when the furnace door slammed shut but kept her composure. The heat from the fire radiating off of the furnace felt comforting along with the sound of the flames whipping around. It felt like a lullaby but she couldn't fall into it because everyone was moving out of the cremation room. She followed the others out of the room and stood with them outside of the door. When the speaker came out and asked where Schad's mother was, Veronica looked around although she wasn't really interested in finding her. That hardened look remained on her face as she waited for the time where they could leave. She meant no disrespect to Schad, but she just wanted to go to Shiori and Shinzuu's and get into some comfy pajamas. While she stood there, she toyed with the idea of untying her hair and letting it down. Her head was starting to hurt from how tight her hair was tied up. She decided against it though and figured she'd do it when they got in the car.
-
Marlowe watched the flames, feeling numb, the tears eventually coming to a halt after she watched the door close and the flames spring around wildly. The fire was somewhat calming, but it further enforced the big whole that had been left when Schad had moved, only she knew Schad was not going to show up somewhere or contact her, or see her again. She was the last person to exit, noticing the others again as she stepped outside. She seemed lost again as she looked around, not seeing her father's car. She reached into the top of her dress and felt to see if she stuck the phone in her bra, since she did so when she didn't have pockets, but it wasn't there. She turned behind her when the speaker came outside, noticing he had the urn in his hands.
She was suddenly infuriated that Adali wasn't outside and neither was her father's car. She wanted to go to the speaker and tell him that they were gone and she'd take it, but he probably wouldn't give it to her even if she would promise to get it to Adali. Apparently they had gone somewhere, and didn't care if Schad would be sitting on the cold funeral director's desk for a night or not. Marlowe's hands balled up into fists and before she could think past the moment, she took off at the speaker, snatching the urn out of his hands and running across the parking lot towards the park as fast as her feet would allow it.
-
Reno was sitting there crouched down when he looked up to the others leaving. The speaker came out looking for Schadenfreude's mother, he too looked around. He didn't know what she looked like. That's when a girl came from behind the man and swiped Schadenfreude's ashes from him. He saw her run off with it then, instantly without thinking, he took off after her. "Hey, stop!" he shouted out as he chased her. It was a bit of a run to the park but after a bit of running they were at the park. He continued to chase her, now down a hill. That's when she lost her footing on some wet grass and stumbled a bit. Reno however ran right into her from behind and they rolled down the hill to the bottom. Reno landed on his back hard, which made him cringe for a moment. When he opened them he saw the girl falling toward him. She landed on top of him, stopping herself from colliding into him. Her right forearm above his head, elbow to the side of his head with her hand on his ear. Her left hand was planted into the grass, her elbow bent to alleviate the sudden shock. Her legs were off to his right; her face, however, was only about an inch from his. Reno was blushing immensely, his white fur now a heavy pink on his face. He was too nervous to move, this girl was on top of him. "W-W-What do I-...Do I-...Move her? I don't want to touch her! What if she gets the wrong idea! Who is she?! Why did she take Schad's ashes?! She's-...On top of me! GIRL ON TOP OF ME!!! Wait, the ashes! Where'd they-" Reno couldn't look, partially out of fear as well as being nervous and the fact her face was so close to his, but the urn was laying about a foot from the two on his right, behind her.
-
Shinzuu was looking down at the ground and didn't look up until he heard Reno yell "Stop" and ran out. He quickly looked at Veronica and Shiori before giving chase as well, "You guys stay here, I'll get it back." Shinzuu ran full sprint to chase after the two that were already almost out of sight. Shinzuu got to the park just a few steps behind Reno, since he has longer legs and was an athlete, but he stopped pretty quickly as they got to the hill, since he knew people fall from running on it when it's dry, and watched the two fall straight down the hill. Shinzuu hopped forward and planted his feet, sliding down in a controlled manner. He picked up the urn and inspected it frantically, Okay, the seal isn't broken, and the urn's undamaged. He let out a sigh of relief.
-
Veronica watched as the girl grabbed the urn but didn't see it as a big deal even though she had run off like she was doing something terribly wrong. She then watched as Reno ran after her and then Shinzuu pursued them both. She started to open her mouth in protest but quickly shut it after a second, instead saying what she had to in her head. "Wait! Don't...don't leave me with her!" She yelled in her head. She still wasn't happy with Shiori so she didn't want to be left standing around with her. The best she could manage though was to walk out of the funeral home and stand outside, waiting for the others to come back.
-
She tumbled down the hill landing on the rabbit, but not taking too much time to scramble up after the urn, "You stupid idiot, you made me drop her!" she yelled at him as she did her best to get to it, but before she could get a good grab, a rather large wolf tiger nabbed it when she was mere inches from it. Again, she didn't hesitate to reach out and try snatching it from the guy, despite his size, but missed as he pulled the urn back from her. "Give her back," she said sternly as she stood up, now forgetting the rabbit behind her. Her hands were balled into fists and tears were on the edges of her eyes; she looked terrible by now, she was sure because her dress was probably dirty from her tumble, if anything she was thankful that the urn hadn't spilled out Schad's ashes. She glared at him intensly because he jerked it back, and she didn't care if she was going to have to get in a fist fight over Schad, even if he was bigger than her.
-
Reno was taken by surprise when the girl barked at him. (Hurr hurr, bark.) She got off him and he sat up, he was about to say something when he saw her get up and go after Shinzuu. "Shinzuu? When did-" He noticed him with the ashes, which seemed to be intact. Breathing a sigh of relief that the ashes were fine and he wasn't under a girl anymore he stood up and dusted himself off. "That girl...She seems..." "Who are you? And...Why did you take Schad's ashes?" "And how does Shinzuu show up so quickly.......? He must be a ninja...I am in Japan...."
-
Shinzuu held the Urn up high so that the terrier couldn't grab it even if she jumped. With the other hand, he held her at the forearm and lifted her off the ground a bit and off to the side so she couldn't kick him somewhere tender, and just out of her reach. He then looked at Reno when he cut his sentence short. "You forget, I'm an athlete, I cover more ground and faster, especially with these long legs. So anyways, *turns to Marlowe* those are our friend's ashes. Who the hell are you to steal it from her mother. I despise that drunk as much as the next person, but she is still Schad's mom, and the rightful keeper of the ashes."
Shiori placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder and sighed, "I know you don't like me. Just go. I'll meet you kids down there after I get the car."
-
Veronica managed to stop herself from pulling away from Shiori's hand when she placed it on her shoulder. As soon as the word "go" was off of Shiori's lips, Veronica set off at a sprint in the direction that the others had gone. Once again, she was grateful that she had decided to where flats instead of heels. When she saw the drop-off of the hill after running through the park a little ways, she slowed to a stop. She could see the others down the hill so she cautiously walked down it, being careful not to move too fast or lose her balance. When she reached them, she cringed a little at seeing how Shinzuu was holding the girl. It must have hurt. She moved around the group so the she could see everyone's faces. As she eyed the girl and how desperate she was about the urn, she could guess what the deal was. "Ever think that maybe she's an old friend of Schad's? We're not the only people Schad ever knew in her life." Her eyes moved from the girl as she spoke and she glanced back and forth between Shinzuu and Reno. She had no difficulty saying Schad's name, not choking up when she said it. Sure she was sad about it, but her connection with Schad wasn't as strong as Reno's, so it didn't strike her as hard.
-
Marlowe wrenched her arm, pulling hard enough to make him drop her. She was growling low in her throat holding her wrist from where the wolf hybrid was holding her. Another voice piped in to the already numerous questions that had been asked. "Schad's mom blew off with my father at the damned funeral leaving me there. She doesn't care about what happens to her now that she's been burned up." She was angry, but also hurting at that fact. "Someone has to do something with them. I was going to scatter them somewhere as soon as I could figure out a place that meant something to her here. The funeral director wasn't going to just hand them to be since I'm obviously not her mom, and I wasn't about to have my friend sit on a desk until that alcoholic decided it was time to pick her up." She extended her hand out to the hybrid, "Now give her back, now. PLEASE."
-
"So she is Schad's friend? Wh-..." "Just give it to her, Shinzuu...Please..." said Reno, face looking down. "I-...She...Schadenfreude meant a lot to me...I'd like to help find a place to spread her ashes as well. That's the least I can do for her..." Reno crouched down again, trying to hide the saddened look on his face. The thought of wanting to just curl up and die crossed his mind. He hoped Shinzuu could respect his wishes, of all people he figured he would at least do it for him. Especially under these circumstances.
-
Shinzuu let go of Marlowe's arm when she struggled and sighed when he handed over the ashes after Reno begged him to, "Fine, I guess, but we do this together. I may not have known her as long as you did, kid, but we're all friends of Schad's." After handing over the ashes to Marlowe, Shiori pulled up and honked the horn and then rolled down the window, "I see you all met Marlowe. She's the daughter of Mordecai, the gentleman who escorted Miss Adali out. They're close family friends, so don't worry. Marlowe grew up with Schadenfreude, so she was probably a bit more distraught than the rest of you. Come on, let's get some food. We'll talk about this over supper. You, too, Marlowe. Your dad told me to take you out with us. He's taking Miss Adali home to console her. I'll take you back later."
-
Veronica watched the others with mild interest. She could tell how distraught Marlowe was about everything and wasn't really surprised when she insulted Schad's mother. She could also tell upset Reno was about everything as well. When she heard the horn honking, she looked in the direction that it came from then listened to Shiori. Hearing that she was right didn't make her smug at all. "Come on guys, let's go." She said, though it wasn't in an eager tone, as she walked toward the car, grabbing Shinzuu's wrist in the process and pulling him along in the process. It would look pretty funny looking since he was almost a foot and a half taller than her. "Let the situation go for now and let's get some food." She looked over at him as she spoke then looked forward again as she headed for the car.
-
Marlowe took the urn back, holding onto it tight. She seemed confused. Well, she was confused. There was a strange woman that was telling her to get in the car that just spewed off a lot of information about her and her father and three others that knew Schad. "My dad doesn't know anyone here except Adali and Mr. Rice's people," she mumbled as she walked to the car, following behind the hybrid the rabbit had called "Shinzuu." She hesitated to get in and looked at the woman after she wiped her face and did her best to not look like she tumbled down a hill running off with her friend's urn from a funeral, "Are you with Mr. Rice's people or something?"
-
Reno stood up slowly and watched as the others went up the hill to the car. He didn't really want to go with them, but he did anyway. He figured he could avoid all human contact when this was over. Getting in the car he found him sitting next to next to Marlowe. However he put as much distance as he was able, he couldn't seem to help being nervous around new females. He looked as if he were avoiding her as if she had the plague. Looking out the window he kept quiet and to himself.
-
Shinzuu blushed when Veronica took his wrist, and just let her pull him along, almost like it was an instant spell over him. Shiori gave a smile and then turned to Marlowe, "Actually, I'm a judge. I'm a friend of Adali's, having been the one in charge of all her cases. I talked it over with your father, so he knows who I am now and he trusts me. Now come on, I made reservations at the only fancy restaurant in town. They serve food from anywhere around the world. In Japan, it's a famous eating spot. Reservations need to be made months in advanced, on normal occasions." Shiori then drove off towards the restaurant when everyone finally sat down and buckled up. When they got there, the host immediately recognized Shiori and showed everyone to the large table. Along with the group, there were a few people who knew Adali and Veronica's parents, it was the largest table in the restaurant.
-
Veronica had released Shinzuu's wrist when they got to the car. She went through the ride in silence. Food sounded moderately good to her at this point. Anything that would get her mind off of things that she didn't believe she needed to be thinking about. Her hope was squashed when they walked into the restaurant and were led to their table though as she saw people from the funerals. Obviously it was the people who knew her parents being there that bothered her, not the people who knew Schad's mother. Her posture slumped slightly at the sight. "Can't this just be over already?" She thought to herself and the next words slipped out of her mouth on accident, but she didn't realize it. "This day really needs to end." Her voice was soft when she spoke, but it would have been audible to anyone who was close enough.
-
Marlowe had sat in silence. It seemed awkward being thrust into Schad's friends, especially so quickly. She looked down to the urn in her lap and sighed, not really knowing what to do with it when everyone had started to get out of the car. She sat it on the seat, looked at it hesitantly, Well, it won't be long, then followed the rest inside. She didn't know anyone there, so she kept close to the people she was with so she wouldn't get lost again. She somewhat wished she had her phone again so she'd at least be able to fiddle with it when things were awkward. She looked behind her noticing that the rabbit was avoiding her, "C'mon rabbit boy, I'm not contagious."
-
Reno had gotten out of the car quickly when they arrived where they needed to go. Walking into the restaurant he still avoided Marlowe a bit. He jumped a little, startled when she spoke to him. "I-I uhm...I'm sorry. Aheh...I-...I'm Reno. Nice to uhm...Meet...You." he choked out nervously, extending a shaky hand to her. He was trying to be polite, as nervous as he was. Along with Schadenfreude's death weighing him down. What possessed him to even try to be nice was a mystery to himself. He still had the lingering thought of anyone close to him dies.
-
Shinzuu, being himself, had a lighter mood with food and gorged on it. Shiori giggled a little at her step-son, "You know, Shinny, that's how you became a fat boy when you were growing up. Only difference is that you have metabolism now, so you don't build up girth. Just make sure you keep up your daily routine so you can keep that metabolism up. God knows that we don't need a taller version of your old self." Several of the other older ladies at the table giggled, even some of the younger ones.
-
Veronica didn't giggle at what Shiori said about Shinzuu. She barely even heard her speaking at all. The appetite she had had was pretty much gone now that she had seen their company. Pushing the food around on her plate was pretty much all she did as she sat there at the table, never looking up. Every now and then she took a nibble of her food but mainly just looked at it. All she wanted to was go to the house and get away from everything. These people were not what she wanted to deal with right now. Finally, she just leaned back in her seat, slouching and resting her hands on her legs. Her head was still hurting from how tightly her hair was tied up but she wasn't going to take it down at the moment. She was still putting on the show of being a tough grown up and she felt like if she let her hair down then she'd be letting everything else crash down on her in front of all these people.
-
"Well, I'm sure you know already, I'm Marlowe." She took his hand and shook it, aggravated with how nervous he was. She dismissed it as him just having a lot on his mind and took her seat. She really just sat and listened, occasionally looking over to the other girl that came with them.. She was quiet, too. She ate, but not too much. Just enough to get her stomach to quit bothering her. She felt that lost feeling creeping up over her again, and wondered what school would be like, not knowing anyone all over again. She sighed. Schad, you better have good friends, because it looks like I'm stuck with 'em. The thought of Schad made her mood fall again, so she stirred her drink with her straw idly, trying to seem like she was at least paying attention to what was going on, but she looked as if she had something eating at her.
-
Reno didn't eat, in fact after his first bite he excused himself to the bathroom and just didn't come out. Inside he relieved himself and washed his face a bit. He was still a little dirty from the other night and didn't get the chance to shower. "Ugh...I feel terrible..." Leaning on the sink he continued thinking to himself. "I don't want to seem rude to Shinzuu...Or Veronica...But I just want to be alone right now...I already think I got on Marlowe's bad side...Not to mention Veronica......However she said hello the other day...And...Her hand...*Looks at his left hand*...Why did this stuff happen?! Was it really my fault?! She was trying to comfort me!...She lost her parents...Yet...She was comforting me...I don't get it..."
-
After the dinner, Shiori drove the kids out. Marlowe was the first to be dropped off, having been staying the closest to the restaurant. Reno was the next dropped off, and then drove home. Shiori yawned as they got back into the apartment, "I have work early tomorrow, so I'm sorry ahead of time if I wake anyone up." Shinzuu looked at his phone to check the time, "It's only 8pm, ma, but whatever, I'll try to keep the TV down." He walked into the living room and turned on the TV and PS3, turning the volume down. "Oh, I know you two haven't really talked yesterday, so you're still off of school until you take care of it."
-
Veronica was relieved when they finally left the restaurant. She had noticed Marlowe looking at her during dinner but wasn't in the right frame of mind to be annoyed by it. As they rode in the car, she stayed silent and when they got to the apartment she headed straight to the guest room. Grabbing her pajamas, she headed into the bathroom. She took care of business, changed into her pajamas, and brushed her teeth. When she exited the bathroom, she took her dirty outfit into the guest room and threw it in a corner. As she walked into the living room, she pulled the hair-tie from her hair and let her hair fall around her face and shoulders, putting the hair-tie on her wrist. She glanced at the teddy bear she had set in the chair that morning as she passed it then sat on one end of the couch.
-
When she arrived home, she grabbed the urn and checked her father's car for her cell phone. He had left it unlocked by accident, and when she found her phone she made sure to lock it back. She walked inside with her phone and the urn, climbing up the stairs to her room. Before she went inside, she stood beside her father's door where there was a faint glow and muttered, "Thanks for leaving me, dad," in a loud enough tone for Mordecai to hear her. Before he could come to the door, she went inside and slammed hers, locking it. She sat the urn above her TV and plopped on her bed.
-
When Reno was dropped off he walked inside. Both Alexia and Dorris asked him where he had been, he said nothing and went into his room. After locking his door and turning on the light he saw a bunch of stuff on his bed that wasn't there when he left. Noticeably a Croagunk doll sat atop the pile. That reminded him that Schadenfreude was being moved into his room. He thought of how awkward that was going to be, but now that she was gone he wouldn't have minded as long as she would have been around. He took his jacket off and set it on the table, he would have to run it to get cleaned after the tumble down that hill with Marlowe. After that he got undressed and went to take a shower. After that Reno came out and began moving Schadenfreude's stuff from the bed to the ground carefully. He found her sketch book as he did so, instead of putting it on the floor he set it next to his jacket. After that he picked up the Croagunk and crawled into bed with it. Lying down he hugged it and fell asleep with it.
-
Shinzuu was surprised to see Veronica sit on the couch with him, and was even more surprised of how beautiful she was with her hair down. Suddenly, a thought of what he'd seen in some movies where the girl lets her hair down, and it made him blush and concentrate more on his game. As the night wore on, Shinzuu finally fell asleep while playing his game at around 11pm, his mind not giving him the pleasure of having a dream.
-
Veronica tried to put all her focus on the video game that Shinzuu was playing. It wasn't very interesting to her, but it was good enough to keep her mind off of other things. Pulling her legs up onto the couch, she curled up on her end of it and rested her head against the arm of the couch. Occasionally, she would drift out of consciousness then wake back up. At some point, she had finally fallen into a deep sleep. Shinzuu had still been awake when she had fallen asleep but she had had a feeling that he would go to sleep soon too. The thought that he might fall asleep on the couch instead of going to his room hadn't even occurred to her.
-
She closed her eyes, still in her dress and kicked off her shoes. They hit the ground with a hollow thud and she used her feet to maneuver her socks off as well. She wiggled her toes idly as she stared at the ceiling again. She was actually somewhat tired after such a long day. Eventually she started to drift in and out. Her phone vibrated a couple of times, but she didn't bother trying to check it. She felt as if she didn't want to move for the rest of her life and that she could just lay there for eternity like Schad would be doing underground. Eventually, she fell asleep on top of the covers and in her dress. She didn't dream.
-
Shinzuu awoke the next morning, but didn't want to open his eyes. He had forgotten he had fallen asleep on the couch and thought his head was on his pillow. It was strange that he didn't notice his legs dangling off the side of the couch, considering he normally sleeps on a futon and not a mattress. Shinzuu craned his neck from an awkward position and reached back to adjust the "pillow" before digging the back of his head into it. Then, something snapped in his brain and he put his hand back to feel the "pillow" again. Too firm and soft surfaced to be a pillow...
-
Veronica was half asleep when something touched her butt. She didn't think much of it because she just figured her own foot had brushed against it, but when it happened a second time without her moving it got her attention. Slowly, she opened one eye and looked toward her butt. When she saw Shinzuu's head and hand on her butt, she yelped in surprise, her other eye opening as she scrambled to get off the couch, practically falling on the floor in the process. She crawled a couple feet on the floor before she got to her feet. After that, she managed to make herself stop moving and just stood there staring at the wall, blushing underneath her fur. Embarrassment was the strongest emotion in her at the moment so she didn't even feel mad about it.
-
Marlowe slowly opened her eyes. It was morning already. She wanted to roll over to look at the clock, and yet at the same time she didn't. She stared blankly at the side of her phone, not even mustering the energy to pick it up to check the time. She closed her eyes again and sighed, looking down without moving her head. She had slept on top of the covers in her somewhat dirty dress, and yet, she didn't really care. She was comfortable where she was, and again the feeling of staying in bed forever swept over her until her phone vibrated. She looked at it as if not knowing what to do.
-
Reno eventually woke up, sun sneaking in through his window. He rubbed his eyes groggily and then the drool from his face as he sat up. The Croagunk doll fell off his chest and tumbled to his legs. "Oh...this thing...I got it for Schad..." Picking it up he set it to the side and got out of bed. "I need to stop thinking about it...It's not healthy..." He went into the bathroom and did his business and washed up. Leaving it he spotted the doll in a perfect position to where it was staring at him. "Schad..." Reno walked over to it and tipped it over. "I need to get out of here...Go get something to eat...Or something." He got dressed and headed to the door, upon opening he froze. Schadenfreude was standing in front of him, smiling eerily. Reno's eyes widened and he tried to speak but couldn't say anything. She then put her hand through his chest, it passed through him like it was nothing. It didn't cause any real damage but he felt like something was crushing his organs and he fell down in the doorway managing to hold himself up on his knees. Breathing heavily he looked up to see nothing, no one was standing there. He sat there pondering what happened, clutching his chest.
-
Shinzuu blushed as Veronica yelped and jumped off the couch, plopping his head onto the couch. He then quickly scrambled and ended up falling off the couch, standing back up with his back to Veronica, burning just as much as she was. Shinzuu looked at his hand that was shaking and then scratched the back of his head, "I... I'm... s-sorry... I"
-
Veronica heard Shinzuu fall off the couch after she had gotten up but didn't turn around as she listened to him apologize. "It's, uh...it's alright. Not like you meant to, you were asleep." She responded to him. "I'm just gonna...um...get some cereal." She went to the kitchen and looked around until she found the cereal then found the dishes and silverware, grabbing a bowl and a spoon. She poured cereal into the bowl then grabbed milk from the fridge and poured it over the cereal. After she put the milk away, she began eating her cereal right at the counter, trying not to think about what just happen as her face stayed red beneath her fur.
-
Eventually, she convinced herself to move. She picked up her phone and looked at it blankly. Her dad had tried calling her for something. She wondered if he had tried to knock on her door and she had slept through it. She didn't want to, but she eventually rolled over to make sure what happened yesterday had happened, as if the dress she was wearing wasn't evidence enough. Sure enough, Schad's ashes were still where she had left them. Marlowe sat up, still feeling somewhat numb and began to make herself stand and get the gears of her routine going by taking off the dress and heading for the bathroom.
-
Reno eventually got up an stood there for a moment. He went back inside to grab his violin case and left again. He walked to a small doughnut diner a few blocks away. He went inside and sat down in a corner booth putting his face in his hands after setting his violin case on the table. Soon a waitress came by and asked for his order. Without moving his hands from his face he spoke. "French toast, glass of milk. Please." The waitress took the order and left quickly as she came. He sat back and relaxed against the cushioned seats of the booth as he waited.
-
Shinzuu continued to blush but forced himself to respond, "Y-yea, good idea." Not really looking at Veronica, he went over to the refrigerator and cooked the same breakfast from the day before, except not in as high of a supply, since it's just himself, but it was still half of what he cooked yesterday. As he was managing the frying pan, Shinzuu couldn't help but look behind him and looked at Veronica's backside, his eyes slowly dropping to her posterior. His face burned up more as he quickly turned back to the food he was cooking. After he was done, he placed all the food onto one plate and ate it all in silence.
-
Veronica ate her food in silence except for the sound of soft crunching as she chewed. She felt eyes on her at one point and her face heated up even more, but her expression remained the same. When she finished her cereal, she drank the milk from the bowl then went over to the sink to wash it while licking her lips. After the bowl and spoon were washed, she set them on the counter to dry. Walking out of the kitchen, she went into the guest room and grabbed some clean clothes from the box. She headed to the bathroom and closed the door behind her, locking it. She start the water then undressed while she let the water heat up. Slipping into the shower, she started to hum as she washed up. Finally she started to sing after a minute of humming, the song being "Soaked" by Adam Lambert.
"Soaked to the bone
Sink like a stone
Walk home alone
It's not the first time
It's not the worst crime
Your soul will be okay
And you've had enough
Searching for love
And you miss the touch
Of someone new
Burned by your dreams
It's never how it seems
Cold crushed esteem
Take shelter
And hide forever
Your soul will be okay
And you've had enough
Searching for love
And you miss the touch
Of someone new
And you've had enough
Searching for love
And you miss the touch
Of someone new
Soaked to the bone
Sink like a stone
I will take you home
It's not the first time
It's not the worst crime
Our souls will be okay..."
-
Marlowe turned the water on, walking back to her laptop and pulling up iTunes. She searched around, finally settling on Combichrist, and blared it as loud as it would go. She returned to the bathroom and threw a towel over the bar for herself and stepped inside, not bothering to cut on the lights. She sunk down and crossed her arms over her head as the water poured down her back. She sighed, wondering what her father wanted to do or wanted from her because of what happened the day before. She still really wasn't in any mood to talk to him. After a few songs played she stood up and washed herself, then went back down to sit again. After the whole CD had played through, she got out and got dressed, sneaking past her dad's room to go out.
-
Reno sat patiently waiting for his breakfast to get there. Looking up at the ceiling for a bit before looking back down at the table. To his surprise Schadenfreude was sitting across from him smiling her wide toothy smile. "Sch-" before Reno could say her name she crawled across the table stopping her face mere centimeters from his face. She then opened her mouth and bit into his neck. Reno closed his eyes as she did so, expecting serious pain but found nothing. Upon opening his eyes she was gone. He put his head down on the table again breathing heavily. "W-What's with me?! Why am I seeing her?! Why is she-...Why is she trying to hurt me?!"
-
Shinzuu finished his food in silence and went back to his room to get dressed, but remembered that they're out of school for a while, and put on some jeans and a tank top to wear. He heard the music that Veronica was playing, but he had never heard it before, and barely understood any of the words, since it was an American song. Shinzuu sighed and put on Beautiful Fighter by Angela, waiting for Veronica to get out of the bathroom
-
By the time Veronica had stopped singing the song, she was done washing. Turning off the water, she stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel. She dried herself off and twisted her hair up in the towel. She put her clothes on (jeans and a black t-shirt) then went to the sink and brushed her teeth. When she was finished, she untwisted the towel and dried her hair more with it before she hung the towel on a bar to dry. Using her hair-tie, she put her hair up into a messy ponytail then grabbed her dirty pajamas and left the bathroom. She went to the guest room and threw the pajamas in the corner with her dress from the day before. After that, she went to the living room and sat Indian-style on the couch, staring at the floor.
-
She ran down the stairs and out the door, wearing a pair of jeans and a skeleton hoodie, not looking back to see if anyone had heard her. She jingled her keys, phone, DS, and wallet in her hoodie pocket, and her switchblade stayed in her right jean pocket. She had still neglected to check her phone, but she figured she'd do some wandering again. She walked down the streets, not really paying too much attention to where she was, but she felt as if she was getting overwhelmed by the language since she didn't know a lick of Japanese. Looking to her right, she saw a familiar diner and crossed the street to go inside.
-
Reno eventually brought his head up slowly, peeking to see if Schadenfreude was there. She wasn't this time, however he did see Marlowe walk inside. "That's...Marlowe. She-" Reno flashed back to when they had stumbled down the hill and she landed on top of him, being so close to his face made him nervous. "That was-..." he thought, blushing a bit. He rubbed his face and sat the rest of the way up. "What should I do? Should I invite her over? What if she says no...Oh yeah...I'm pretty sure she doesn't like me. I don't know....Maybe I'm thinking too much. Like usual. Maybe she can keep my mind off of Schad...Ugh...I'd feel like I was usin' her. I have to do somethin'. In-Vite-Heeeeer.....AUGH" "Marlowe? Is that you?"
-
Shinzuu heard the bathroom door open and Veronica situating herself, but waited until his song was over. After it finished, he walked out of his room and stood behind Veronica, behind the couch. Shinzuu was still blushing and looked off to the side as he spoke to her, "So... we still have the day off from school... do you want to head out to a diner or the park or something?"" He was blushing real hard under his fur, thank god it was black.
-
Veronica had zoned out while she was staring at the floor and hadn't heard Shinzuu walk up behind her so she jumped slightly when he spoke. She dreaded the idea of going to a diner because of the night before and having to deal with those people who knew her parents. "Uh...yeah..." She said, lifting her head so it wasn't angled down toward the floor. "The park sounds good." She got up from couch and turned around to face him, a small smile on her lips.
-
Marlowe didn't really look around. She slid into a booth and pulled out her DS playing Pokemon Soul Silver until the waitress came up to ask her what she wanted to drink. She put the DS down on the table to ask for a vanilla coke, then pulled the menu out to look at it to see if something leaped out at her. She was fairly certain she wanted a blueberry waffle like the one she had with her dad.. Maybe eggs. She wasn't entirely sure herself.
-
Reno sighed at being unnoticed, the thought of getting up and talking to her crossed his mind. But before he could act his breakfast arrived. He thanked the waitress and began to eat slowly. After a few minutes the check arrived and he left some money and a tip and got up to leave. He grabbed his violin case and headed out the door. "She hates me..." he thought as he decided to head to the park. "Maybe this will get my mind off things..." he thought again looking at his violin case. He eventually made it to the park and found a tree to climb in. He then took out his violin and stood there on a branch leaning on the tree thinking on what to play. After a minute he began to play a sad song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gIuotFZnBtk).
-
Shinzuu smiled a gentle smile, nothing big, when Veronica said yes to going to the park. "Alright, then. I'll go grab my keys and we can go." Shinzuu grabbed his keys from his dresser drawer in his room and opened the door for Veronica after he put on his boots. He normally didn't wear these except for work, but his ankles have been killing him lately, so he decided on wearing them. Shinzuu then closed the door and locked it behind them, and they made their way to the park. Before reaching the stone wall of the park, they could both hear the violin playing. "Do you hear that?"
-
Veronica went to put her shoes on while Shinzuu went to grab his keys. When he opened the door for her, she went through it and stood outside the apartment while he came out and locked the door. After that, she headed off to the park with him. The walk was spent in silence until they got close to the stone wall of the park. She heard the violin at about the same time that Shinzuu did and recognized it immediately. "Yeah, I do." She said and looked over at Shinzuu. "It's Reno. I'd know that playing anywhere, and I've only heard it once." She looked back toward park as she continued to walk. "Do you want to find him or...?" Part of her hoped that he would say no because she would rather have just been alone with him, but another part thought that it would be a good distraction to hold off them talking like his mother wanted them to since she didn't really want to go back to school.
-
She decided on going with a blue berry waffle and some scrambled eggs. She played her DS until her food was brought to her, then she saved her game and tucked it away in her pocket. Her phone vibrated again, and she ignored it, eating her waffle in silence. She wondered where she could go from here, the only place she did know was the park. "I still need to scatter her ashes," she said to herself, resting her chin on her paw. She finished up her waffle, and moved onto her eggs. She always had o have something to balance off the sweetness of her waffle.
-
Reno continued to play, lost in his music. He was still leaning on the tree standing on the branch, playing through various songs. The songs he played were all sad. The playing did help him not think about Schadenfreude. He also had his eyes closed, it helped him lose himself as well as not see Schadenfreude's apparitions that seemed to want to hurt him. Reno didn't know exactly why he was being haunted, he never really believed in ghosts, but the thought had crossed his mind. He also figured he might be losing his mind, he wasn't really certain on anything.
-
Shinzuu shook his head as he forced a gentle smile, "No, I think it's best we leave him alone. After what's happened I think he might need some time to himself. Besides, I'm already slightly depressed hearing it from over here. Let's just find a place we can just relax, ok? How about on the far side at the hilled slope where we met Marlowe? The sun's very nice over there at this time of day." He did his best not to say anything about the spot also being where the car accident took place. It had long since been fixed and didn't look like anything happened there, but the fact that it's in his mind, made Shinzuu a little hesitant to ask at first.
-
Veronica felt a bit of relief when Shinzuu said no. For her, the music didn't sound very depressing but she didn't spend time thinking about why. "Sounds fine to me." She said, looking at Shinzuu then forward again. She had no idea that they were heading to the spot where the accident took place since no one had told her where it had happened and she hadn't cared to know. If she was told about what had taken place there when they got there, she would probably run off or at least block out all her emotions and become completely blank.
-
As she finished her meal, she left a tip and payed her bill. She then stepped outside and looked around again. She began to walk aimlessly again. Her phone buzzed in her pocket again, but she ignored it. She knew it was her father. No one else had her number after all. She walked along the sidewalk looking at the various signs, still unable to read them. "I ought to just invest in an English to Japanese dictionary or something," she mumbled, scuffing her shoes on the sidewalk. She stopped when she got to the park. It seemed inviting, and off in the distance she could hear a violin.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he pretty much plopped onto the grass and laid on his back, bringing his hands behind his head. The position, for some reason, seemed to bring out his figure more, though, in addition with the sun. But Shinzuu didn't really care or think about how he looked. He mainly just wanted to try to enjoy the warmth of the sun glaring down. It was a really relaxing atmosphere, "You know. It's times like this that make me wish that we were done with high school and either off to college or in a nice job where I can come out here during the day to relax."
-
Veronica slowly sat down beside Shinzuu when they reached the spot and held her upper body up with her hands placed behind her, keeping her legs out straight. Leaning her head back, she looked up at the sky, watching birds fly overhead and wisps of clouds float across the sky. She listened to Shinzuu when he spoke and didn't think twice before opening her mouth. "I've rushed life too much..." She responded, which was pretty much her unconsciously saying something about her parents death. Like her wishing for time to move faster caused her parents to die an early death. She didn't realize what she was insinuating because she didn't think when she said it, but the connection between that phrase and her parents' deaths was something that she did actually mean. Moving her arms, she slowly laid back on the grass and rested her hands on her stomach as she continued to look up at the sky.
-
The music seemed haunting, but she didn't bother looking for the source. She just found where her father and her had sat when they had their biscuits the previous day and looked upward, sighing. She was rather surprised her phone didn't continue to buzz, but it had remained silent for more than ten minutes. She pulled it out of her pocket and looked at it blankly. Sure enough, her father had been trying to get in touch with her. There was a couple of missed calls from him, and a few text messages explaining that he was sorry, the most recent couple only saying, "Where are you?" "Please call me, I'm worried." "Marlowe, are you okay?"
-
Reno continued to play through his current song, when it ended his eyes remained closed. "I don't want to open my eyes...I'll see her...I'm...Scared...Why would she-...Is...She trying to help me? Does she want me to be afraid? I mean...I'd naturally not think of things I fear...But...I want to think about her! I want her back...But...I don't know...I don't want to think about it....I-...Another song..." Quickly he started to play another song, which ever one popped into his mind. This one seemed more upbeat however, something you would be able to dance to.
-
Shinzuu merely sighed and looked up at the sky. He was really enjoying his time with Veronica, despite some of the awkwardness with the recent events. Without really thinking, Shinzuu relaxed his arms from behind his head, his eyes slowly closing and his left hand brushed along Veronica's arm and her hand softly. It didn't even register in his head what happened.
-
Veronica's eyes scanned the sky as she laid there beside Shinzuu in the grass. Somehow the silence didn't feel awkward and her mind managed to stay away from thoughts of her parents without purposely forcing them away. She felt Shinzuu's hand brush along her arm and her hand, and a chill ran through her but she didn't move an inch. She didn't even know how to react to it, what to say or do. Moving her left hand off of her stomach, she reached to the side and pulled up a few blades of grass then turned her head as she released them and watched them float on a tiny breeze. She kept that hand laying in the grass and looked back up at the sky. "Birds sound nice..." She said softly, trying to find something to talk about.
-
Marlowe tapped her phone on her forehead as she leaned over, with a seemingly troubled look on her face. As the music continued to play, she stood up, somewhat wondering where it came from. She looked upward to the trees, gathering that it was coming from above, but unsure of which tree it came from. She wanted to look for the source, but at the same time she just wanted to lay on the bench and stay there forever. She tucked her phone away in her pocket and began to walk on the path in the park, half glancing upward to see if she could find speakers or something that would play music.
-
After his next song Reno finally opened his eyes. Sure enough Schadenfreude was there at the tip of the branch gazing at him. He lowered his violin and looked back at her. "Schad I-" Before he could speak she moved towards him in the blink of an eye. She had her arms on either side of him with her face close to his. He closed his eyes expecting pain again, instead he felts a small tap on his cheek. Opening his eyes she was gone. After realizing that he lost his balance and fell from the tree. "Crap!" he shouted before hitting the ground. He just lay there thinking about what had happened. He also didn't want to move, thinking he might have broke something.
-
Shinzuu thought for a moment at the random thought and nodded his head, though he knew should couldn't see it. "Yea, they do. Unless you're forced to listen to Gretchen in 3-A." He laughed as he thought about the overweight canary senior who outsung the choir in volume, but sounded like a severely scratched up record. Shinzuu smiled as he remembered having to bring earplugs every single time he was forced to go to the school concerts when he was a freshman. He never liked the fact that the only reason she was in the choir and not kicked out was because her mother was the choir director.
-
Veronica had seen the girl he was talking about and had heard her sing at concerts. She had wanted to walk up to the girl and hold her mouth shut, but of course she never did. "I love singing. People like that ruin the fun for me. Which reminds me...I don't remember when my next concert is." She said as she stared up at the sky. She had pretty much forgotten all about choir. It was sort of like her parents' deaths had taken the importance of music from her life. It was actually surprising that she had even sang in the shower that morning. She couldn't remember the last time she sang before that but knew that it was probably before her parents' deaths.
-
The trees shook for a moment above her, and it caught her attention enough to step back, and investigate further, however, she didn't have to look too hard because the guy fell out of the tree less than mere inches in front of her. Had she not taken a few steps back, he would have surely fallen on her. She shook her head, recognizing that it was the rabbit. One of Schad's friends. Part of her wanted to laugh because his spill had been funny, but she was too depressed at the moment to laugh. She leaned down and nudged him with her foot. "You okay?"
-
Reno laid there for a minute, not wanting to move because of the pain. He opened his eyes after feeling something touch him. "Schad?" he said, before realizing it was Marlowe. "O-Oh...Marlowe...We have to stop meeting with you over me like this, heh..." he managed to joke, sitting up. As he sat up he held his back. "Ow...Are you okay? I didn't land on yo did I?" He cracked his back to try and relieve some pain. After that he felt his cheek and looked up to the tree where he and Schadenfreude were. "Did...She kiss me?"
-
Shinzuu looked at Veronica for a minute and looked back up into the sky, "It's next month, 3 weeks and 5 days, to be exact. I only remember because I'm being forced to go, and I had to call off the monthly LAN party night at the arcade." Shinzuu stopped himself ahead of time before he sounded any more conceited than he already did. Great, you (censored) idiot. Now she'll think you don't like her singing.
-
Veronica listened to him and did feel slightly offended that he seemed to feel like it was a burden to go. It wasn't like she should feel offended because he wasn't saying that her singing was bad, but somehow it did feel like a slight slap in the face. She sat up, pulling her legs up so they were bent and leaning against them, and linked her hands together around her ankles. "So don't go if you don't want to." She said with a shrug, trying to look like it didn't matter to her. "I don't see why you're being forced to go anyway." She glanced back at Shinzuu then moved her eyes to look at the grass by her feet.
-
"I'm fine.." She said, looking down and then away. She was kind of upset that he had called her Schad. "So what possessed a rabbit to climb a tree? Don't rabbits dig holes?" She seemed to be trying to make conversation even though she felt like crap. "Were you playing the music?"
-
"Iunno...I just like being in trees. I'm kinda claustrophobic." He looked around for his violin, finding it nearby and grabbing it. "Uhm...Yeah...That was me. Sorry if it was buggin' ya." he said nervously scratching the back of his head. "Now what do I say? We were both close to Schad...I should say something. This silence is awkward, but what? AUGH! Think...Think...." "How...Are you? I mean...I don't know...You were close to to Schad too...Right?" "Idiot...Neither of us want to talk about that....Maybe she can spark something."
-
Shinzuu sighed, "Well, I never regret going to any of them. It's just that the prospect of the LAN party is always on my mind. I use it to keep my mind busy enough that I don't think of anything else. But it ends up that once I get there and tune out Gretchen, the music soothes me more than keeping my mind at bay does. It just ends up being sweet release. It's just that I grew up a nerd, so video games are the only thing from my old childhood I have left."
-
"Maybe if I sing louder you'll have an easier time tuning her out. But then again I don't like to drown the others out like she does." Veronica replied as she stared at the grass. Love of video games wasn't really something she could relate to so she didn't comment on what he said about that. She played games but not the kind that most guys loved. The ones with shooting and blood and zombies and all that stuff. She plucked more grass from the ground, raised her hand up at eye level but her whole arms-length away, and then released it into the air. Her eyes followed the blades of grass as they floated away. She wanted to float with them, to be free of earthly limitations. "Singing is all I have..." She said softly as she watched the blades of grass float further until they landed a few feet away.
-
"The music didn't bother me at all. It was actually pretty good." She frowned when he mentioned Schad. "Of course I was close to her. I was her close friend back in america until.." She trailed off, and averted her eyes away from him. "So, speaking of her what places were important to her here? We still need to spread her ashes, she's sitting on my entertainment center at my house. I don't mind her being there, but I'm sure she'd probably like to be set free and all."
-
"I don't think that jar is doing a very good job at containing her..." he mumbled, thinking how she was haunting him. "I'm not sure...We didn't do all that much together...We went out to eat at some ramen place that I can't remember where it is...There's the arcade...And here at the park....We hung out here the most...I guess it has the most history for us...Thinking on it that might be a good idea. The park. We should do it here...I think I could suggest a place." he said, standing up at the last bit of it. "Come on, I'll show you." he said beginning to walk off. He was heading for the bench that Schadenfreude would have frequently slept on. And where she had passed out, leaving Reno to take him back to the hotel.
-
Shinzuu felt bad and thought for a long while before standing up and brushing himself off. "Well, the past may be daunting, but it doesn't mean we can't make way and provision for the future. So why don't we go out for a bit and eat? Let's go back to the diner where Reno works." He offered his hand to Veronica before walking. After helping her up, Shinzuu took the lead, but blushed when he spoke before taking a step, "It may not be much, but you have me as well..."
-
Veronica thought Shinzuu sounded like a philosopher with the way he was talking but didn't say anything about it. "We're already out, but alright." She said, looking up at him then taking his hand and getting up. He didn't see because he had moved ahead of her afterward but she did smile slightly at the last thing he had said before walking. She followed after Shinzuu, staring at the ground as she walked. She didn't really have any interest in eating but it was something to do so she went along with it.
-
Marlowe followed behind Reno, jogging a bit until she caught up with him. "What do you mean it's not doing a good job containing her?" she questioned curiously. She didn't get what he meant by that, but whatever he did mean, she wanted to know. Her phone vibrated again, then continuously did so until finally, she decided to pick it up. "One second!" she said, stepping over behind a tree. It was her dad. "What?" she asked, exasperated with him just about blowing up her phone.
"Marlowe, where are you at?" he sounded just as frustrated as she was.
"Why do you care, why don't you just go off with miss Adali and leave me with strangers again?"
"Look, I'm sorry. She was having a breakdown, what else was I supposed to do?"
"Not leave me at the funeral home, Jesus." She growled. Before he could get a word in edgewise, she hung up on him and crossed her arms, leaning against the tree.
-
Reno scratched his head in embarrassment, he didn't plan on Marlowe hearing that. He was about to explain himself when she told him to wait a second. He turned to see her dart behind a tree. Which incidentally caused him to lose his footing. He fell on his butt again, after wards he got up, dusted himself off and went to seek out Marlowe. "Hey, you alright? We're almost there." Without thinking he took her by the wrist and pulled her gently back onto the pathway with a warm smile. "Come on." They continued walking for a moment, Reno thought that he was an idiot for grabbing her. "Uhm...As I was saying...I think Schad's been haunting me. That's why I said the jar wasn't containing her very well. I've seen her three times today. i saw her when I left my room...She put her hand through my chest. Then she bit into my neck at the diner...And then I saw her here...Up in the tree. She..." he trailed off at the end, not finishing his sentence thinking about what had happened.
-
When they made it to the diner, Shinzuu sat across from Veronica, at a two-person table. When the waiter asked what they wanted, Shinzuu ordered a whole lot from the menu, his stomach growling almost as loud as his voice. After ordering and waiting for the waiter to finish writing everything down, he turned to Veronica. "Order anything you want. I got plenty of money for this."
-
Veronica watched Shinzuu order all his food with a blank look on her face as she held her unopened menu in her hands. When Shinzuu was finally done and told her to order, she snapped out of it and just set her menu on the table, looking toward the waiter. "Uh, I'm just take a grilled cheese and as many pickles you can give me instead of fries or chips...and a chocolate milk." She said then handed the waiter both of the menus before he walked off. Feeling kind of awkward, she shifted herself in her seat a little like she was trying to get more comfortable and stared at the packets of sugar.
-
"Yeah, I'm fine, I just -- " She was cut short when Reno grabbed her arm. She followed behind him as he took her by the wrist, not really having a choice, but not fighting it, either since they were going to a place that was important to Schad. She was almost flabbergasted by what Reno was saying about Schad haunting him, and it made her slightly jealous that Schad had not visited her if what he was saying was true. "Are you sure that you're just not seeing things?" she managed to say as she followed.
-
"I thought that could be it...She was important to me. I thought maybe her sudden death could have warped my mind. But then again, that doesn't explain what I felt every time I saw her..." said Reno. It was about another minute before they came to the bench. He plopped down on it and looked at Marlowe. "This is it. This I think is the spot that's important to her. To Schad." He bent over to lean his violin on the bench as well when he dropped it and put his right hand over his left ribcage. "Oops..." he said, a bit of pain in his tone. He hunched over to try to relieve the pain and to play it off as if he accidentally dropped his violin. He picked it up with one hand and leaned it on the bench like he wanted it to be. Suddenly the pain was gone, he slowly sat up and leaned back on the bench.
-
Shinzuu frowned behind his hands but he figured not everyone eats as much as he does, and he had to come to terms with that. When the waiter took their menus and left, Shinzuu chuckled a little as he whispered over to Veronica, "Can you imagine Reno wearing one of those and taking orders? Or even him wearing that plus a paper hat mopping up the floors?"
-
Veronica looked back at the waiter who was almost out of sight when Shinzuu posed his questions. "Actually...I can. Especially the 'taking orders' part. He seems pretty submissive." She said then grinned and chuckled at the thought of the paper hat, looking back at the table. "Can't say I blame him on that end either. Being on your own probably does that to a person..." She fell silent after that as she scanned the table with her eyes before resting her gaze on her hands that were clasped together on the table.
-
That was just the bench I was sitting on... She thought to herself as Reno plopped down onto it. It's also the one that Dad and I sat on the day of the funeral. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end as she realized all of this. She was yanked out of her trance-like state with the violin dropping. "Are you alright?" she questioned Reno, leaning down to help him. "You're poor violin is taking a beating."
-
"I'm fine..." said Reno in response to her second. "Yeah...It's a tough little guy. Me parent's probably made sure of that. I was pretty careless back then." He looked down a bit, thinking of his parents. It saddened him a little thinking on it but you wouldn't be able to tell. The thought of not wanting Marlowe to ask about them passed through as he reflected on the bad things that had happened over the year. At the same time, he wouldn't mind the conversation.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he grew solemn at Veronica's words at being alone, "You know... it's more of what he chose to be like. I was alone to myself for quite a number of years myself, so I know. It's merely just what you choose to do for yourself. I was in the same boat, but I devoted myself to making my dad proud. Reno just decided to shut himself in and remain vulnerable to the world. I guess even if we are by ourselves under circumstances, personalities and choices affect how we turn out." Without saying another word, he merely stared down at the table and played with his chopsticks.
-
Veronica didn't respond to what Shinzuu said and instead unclasped her hands and examined each finger one at a time. She liked talking to him but she didn't want to talk about this stuff. The waiter came over with the drinks and set them on the table before walking off. In order to occupy herself, she opened the straw left on the table and put it in the drink. Picking up the glass, she took a long gulp of the chocolate milk while scanning the restaurant then put the glass back down and looked out the window.
-
"Well, it's nice. I'd still be careful with it, even if it can take it.." She seemed to drift off not really knowing what else to say aside from what she had already. "Well, uhm.." On the inside, the awkward silence was making her squirm on top of the anger her father had caused for now. She kicked at some gravel, blankly.
-
"Thanks..." Reno said softly. Silence ensued, neither of them really knew what to say. He thought of mentioning the ashes, but just thinking about that made him feel awkward. "So...Uhm...Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around. Do you go to Feral High?" he said finally, after a minute or so of silence. For some reason he didn't feel as nervous as usual, at least for being around a girl he didn't know.
-
Shinzuu drank his cold green tea and sat there in silence with Veronica. When their food came in it was a sweet release on his mouth pallet and cheered him back up a bit as he scarfed down his food with an increasing rate. Shinzuu didn't realize until now exactly how hungry he was. Waking up earlier than he usually did and eating breakfast 2 hours earlier than usual really builds up his hunger by lunch time. In the middle of eating, something came to mind and he stopped, looking up at Veronica, "So what will YOU do? What will you choose for yourself to become?"
-
Veronica was pleased that she got a decent amount of pickles with her grilled cheese sandwich. She ate the first half of the sandwich in silence and was about to start on the second half when Shinzuu finally spoke again. "I don't know." She responded, looking at him and lowering the sandwich away from her mouth. "It's not something I really focus my thoughts on. What will be, will be." She shrugged then raised the half-sandwich to her mouth again, taking a bite of it.
-
"No, I moved here from America..." She said, looking down, "The move was sudden, I didn't really expect it. I'll be going to Feral High soon enough though. Otherwise, I don't really know anywhere around here other than that diner and this park." She shrugged, not thinking much on it. "I don't even know where Feral High is, I've only been there once, and even then, I didn't go in or anything."
-
Reno listened to Marlowe in silence, when she mentioned not knowing her way around he spoke. "I could show you around...School that is, I mean...Unless you'd like to go other places. With me. So I coud show you." He began to choke at the end. "Idiot." "Uhm..." he mumbled, scratching the back of his head nervously our of embarrassment. "There's an arcade...Also a restaurant...Hotel...Uhm...I don't know much else myself really. Aside from where I used to live."
-
Shinzuu frowned at Veronica's response, but decided not to push the subject since it was still a tender one for her at the moment. He went straight back to gorging himself on his 5 entrees and ended up finishing around the same time Veronica did. Shinzuu sighed in relief as he sat back and rubbed his stomach which, despite having eaten so much, didn't so much as bulge, so it looked a bit weird to anyone. He then asked the waiter for the check and then paid for it, leaving a healthy little tip. Before leaving, though, Shinzuu went to find the manager, but the manager was out, so he asked the waiter for a pen and some paper to write a note. After writing the note, Shinzuu left the diner with Veronica and walked around the sidewalks. "You want to go and hang out in Shinjuku?"
-
Veronica finished eating the second half of her sandwich and ate all of her pickles in silence. She took her time with the pickles because she loved the taste of them so much. Watching Shinzuu when he wrote the note, she wondered what it was about. She walked along with him after they left the diner, looking around. "Um...sure." She responded to him since she wasn't really sure what she wanted to do anyway. "So what was that note about?" She looked over at him curiously.
-
"An arcade sounds pretty good." She muttered, still looking around, trying not to look directly at Reno. "I'm up for anything, I don't really have anywhere I have to be today," she lied, her phone vibrating relentlessly. She silenced it every time.
-
Reno stayed silent for a moment before saying anything. "Uhm...We could go there, if you like..." he said softly. He looked down at his violin, noticing he forgot his case over by the tree. "Oh, oops...I forget my violin case by that tree. Uhm...Excuse me for a second." he said, standing up. He ran off to where he left it and grabbed it. After standing back up from bending over to pick it up he saw Schadenfreude. "Schad! Why are you-" before he could finish he was tackled to the ground by her. He was sure he felt her, her hands on his shoulders forcing him to the ground, her legs beside his as she was over him. He looked up at her, and she grinned, a wide toothy grin showing her sharp fang-like teeth. Her smile spread ear to ear. She then opened her mouth, making Reno close his eyes as he usually did in this scenario. He opened them a moment later, and as he expected she was gone. He clutched his chest, feeling his racing heart. "Schad..." he said softly into the wind as he lay there on the grass, alone.
-
Shinzuu didn't really want to answer Veronica's question, but he did anyways, "Just a little something for Reno. The kid's shut himself in lately, just didn't want him to get fired, you know?" He didn't say much more about it after that, and just walked Veronica over towards the train station. When they got there, Shinzuu heard a familiar voice, "Shinzuu! Shinzuu! Where have you been!?" He turned around and saw Tabby not too far away in the crowd. Shinzuu grabbed Veronica's hand and pulled her as he entered his card into the terminal, "Let's get out of here, quick."
-
"Makes sense." Veronica responded with a shrug. After that, she followed him along to the train station, in silence, as usual. When she heard the voice calling out to Shinzuu, she looked in the direction of the source. A scowl appeared on her face at the sight of Tabby and she didn't need any more urging than the sight of her to follow Shinzuu's instructions. She didn't resist against his pull on her hand and went with him as he tugged her along beside him. Looking behind them, she really hoped that Tabby wouldn't catch up with them. If she did, Veronica had no idea what she might do to her if she got her on edge.
-
After a few moments of Reno not returning, Marlowe sat on the bench, the hair on the back of her neck standing up. She still couldn't get over the fact that she had sat on the bench that was significant to Schad every time she had been in the park. She wondered if it had to do with fate or something. Looking down, she grabbed the violin and looked at it, appreciating its beauty. Being careful with it, she headed over to the tree Reno had fallen out of. I'd wonder if he fell in, but there isn't a toilet, she thought, looking for him.
-
Reno sat up after awhile, upon sitting up he sighed. He grabbed his case and got up to head back to Marlowe. Not too long into his walk he saw her and gave a nervous wave. "Hey, sorry about the wait. I uhm...Well that makes four heh..." He laughed a little at the end, sounding a little crazy. "I see you brought my violin, thanks." he said, getting it from her. Reno put it away and scratched behind his ear. "So...To the arcade then? My treat." Suddenly Reno sneezed, not just once but four times in a row. "Woah...I think someone is talking about me behind my back." he said with a chuckle.
-
The two of them jumped on the nearest train just as the doors shut, leaving Tabby at the station. However, the train was heading in the opposite direction they were planning to go. "Well, we escaped one problem and fell into another. This is the train to Okinawa. Oh well, I hear the shopping district in Kyoto is just as fun as Shinjuku. And since we're going out THAT far, might as well show you some of the sites over there. Your family's American right? I doubt you've seen much outside of Tokyo and Feral City, am I correct?"
-
Veronica was relieved that Tabby didn't make it on the train. Her relief made her not care that they were going in the wrong. "Yeah, I guess." She replied to Shinzuu. He was correct, of course, so the 'I guess' was basically a way of her showing that she didn't really care that she hadn't seen other places. She found an empty seat and sat down with a sigh by a window. It was getting obvious that her mood was regressing back to the point where she blocked out emotions and didn't care about anything.
-
Marlowe looked at him strangely as he said, "well that makes four" but shrugged it off when he mentioned taking her to the arcade. "Sounds like a plan." she said, handing him his violin. She followed behind him, and when he sneezed, it made her jump. "DAMN! Blow the whole place down, why don't ya!" she yelled in response. She couldn't believe a person could sneeze that loudly or that many times in a row.
-
Reno laughed at the joke from him sneezing. "Maybe I will! Heh." After the that there was a fairly silent walk. Walking through the doors he threw his hands up slightly. "This is the arcade. All sorts of games and-" he stopped short, seeing a token rolling towards him. Time seemed to slow down for him, his focus on the token thinking back to the time with Schadenfreude. Which led to her getting a bloody nose and him lending her his favorite tie. He stepped on the token and picked it up, a little fox boy followed it to him. Reno held it to him and he took it, exchanging a thank you before he ran back to his game. He shook his head and proceeded to get some tokens. He split them evenly and gave one handful to Marlowe. "Uhm...Here. If you need anymore just let me know." he said, pocketing his own tokens. "So...What first?"
-
Shinzuu frowned a bit at Veronica's attitude, but just left it at that for now. The two hour train ride was excruciating. Despite being the fastest bullet train in the world, there still wasn't any type of entertainment in it to keep the passengers occupied, mainly since each one had so many stops. When they finally got to their destination, they got off and Shinzuu took a deep breath of not-so-polluted air. "Ah! Kyoto! The first Capital of Nippon and the site of our nation's entire history of war and revolution!"
-
Veronica ran one of her fingers along the window in random shapes for the first hour then, with a sigh, shifted to a slouch in her seat and stared at the back of the seat in front of her for the second hour. When they arrived at their destination and she got out of her seat, she stretched and followed Shinzuu off of the train. Listening to Shinzuu's exclamation about the city, she made an unsure face. She didn't doubt what he was saying, she just didn't care much for Japanese history. She looked around them then looked over at Shinzuu. "Where to?" She asked plainly.
-
"Thanks," Marlowe eyed her tokens, somewhat excited. If there was one thing she liked, it was video games. In fact, video games had consumed just about every aspect of her life. They were the solid ground when everything went haywire in life, and they were her friends since she couldn't keep real ones for long. Thinking about it all made her feel somewhat melancholy, and her expression changed accordingly until she remembered that she wasn't alone. She then made a half-assed smirk, and looked around at all the games. "Do they have Marvel vs. Capcom or any of the oldie games like Pac-man or something?"
-
"Yep." Reno replied to her thanking him. "I'm sure there is somewhere...I mean...It's Pac-man...What arcade doesn't have that? As for marvel vs. Capcom...There's a possibility...I haven't seen it, but I haven't looked for it either." he said, walking around. He eventually found a Time Crisis 3 game and put in some tokens to play. The game started through it's opening movie and he just watched it, letting his anticipation build up. He was able to not think about his life problems and have a bit of fun for now.
-
Shinzuu pointed past the station gates, "Just above us is the second largest shopping area in all of Japan. Also, one of the best hangout places in the whole country, too. I'll take you someplace that most people love going to." When they went past the gates, they took the elevator up to the 4th floor and he took her to the far end, where there was a very large two-story shop with a lot of people moving in and out. The label on the store, "Sanrio", which was the home of everything related to Hello Kitty.
-
Veronica just listened to Shinzuu and followed him the whole way in even more silence. When they arrived at the shop and she saw the sign, she knew what the store was for. She was only mildly interested in going to a store full of Hello Kitty related things since she wasn't really big on Hello Kitty. She watched the people bustling in and out of the store wondering how many times a month these people visited this store when not much could be different in there every time they went. "Well let's go if we're going." She said, moving to the store and going inside.
-
After a while of looking, Marlowe found an old pacman arcade game. She was somewhat surprised that it was there, but she didn't think much of it as she dropped the tokens in the slot and began the game. She grinned as pacman went across the screen making his trademarked wakka wakka wakka wakka. It made her recall when her father and her would go to the arcade together in the mall at her home. He always kicked everyone's butt in pacman and was one of the few to get the top score on the machine.
-
Reno soon moved onto a new game after losing at Time Crisis. He eventually found himself playing a Jurassic park game. He primarily went to play it was because you could sit down, he was getting a bit of a headache all of a sudden. One of his typical migraines, he was use to them. Eventually it grew to the point he couldn't see straight there was so much pain. He put down the gun shaped controller mid game, allowing himself to be eaten by Tezzors. Holding his head he wandered over to a water fountain and drank away, hoping the cold chill of the water would help. So far it wasn't helping all too much.
-
Shinzuu walked in with Veronica, already looking around for something to get. One of the workers soon pulled Shinzuu over and pushed a bunch of different plushies in his face, "Looking for something for your girlfriend? We have the pink Pochacco, an extra large Batz Maru, a white and baby blue Hello Kitty, if it's for an anniversary, we even have the 'I Love You' Kerropi~!" After quickly trying to pull away, the heavy crowd then seemed to separate him from Veronica.
-
Veronica had only looked away for a moment and when she looked back, Shinzuu wasn't next to her. She looked around her, thinking that it'd be easy to find someone who is over a foot taller than everyone else, but she somehow had a hard time seeing him with all the moving people. The fact that she couldn't see him made her start to panic since she was in a place she wasn't accustomed to and she started walking through the store and looking around frantically for Shinzuu. Her heart was pounding in her chest with fear even though she knew that as long as neither of them left the store they'd find each other eventually. "Shinzuu?" She called out into the crowd, her fear laced into her shaky voice. "Shinzuu?!"
-
After all three of her lives were taken, she moved onto other games, including an old lame game called "CarnEvil" that entailed monsters taking over a fair. It was a shooter, and it preoccupied her for the moment, but she couldn't help but mutter to herself about how they could have something lame like this and not Marvel Vs. Capcom. At least, not that she had seen so far. After that, she moved on to play House of the Dead, but she paused before she slipped the coin into the slot, noticing Reno was using the water fountain. "Everything okay?" she asked somewhat quietly.
-
Reno heard Marlowe's voice as he was drinking. He looked up and responded with "Yeah, I'm fine. Just uhm...Got a little thirsty is all." he said, wiping his mouth with his sleeve. "So did you find what you were lookin' for?" he asked, walking over to her. His head was still pounding, a faint sign of pain lingering on his face. He made as if he were scratching his but was really holding it in attempts to relieve some pain, still to no avail.
-
Shinzuu heard Veronica, but he used the opportunity that she couldn't find him and went around to search for a gift. After a bit, he found what he was looking for, a White Batz Maru that read "Gomennasai" (Sorry) on it. Shinzuu made his way to the counter to buy it, and spied Veronica not too far away, still trying to find him. After purchasing, he held it behind him and walked over to Veronica, and took her hand. "Sorry, was kinda hard navigating through this crowd. Comon, let's get out of here."
-
Veronica almost jumped out of her fur when someone took her hand since she hadn't been facing the direction the person came from and her other hand was in a fist, prepared to punch whoever it was. When she looked and saw that it was Shinzuu, her hand quickly dropped to her side and she relaxed, her heartbeat slowing to normal. "Just glad you found me." She said softly in response and followed his lead out of the crowded store.
-
"Not yet, though I'm not going to complain about finding House of the Dead." She slipped the coin into the slot and started the game, watching the cut scene where the demons started pouring into the streets. "You sure you're alright?" she asked, occasionally looking over to Reno with a concerned look on her face. She could tell something was wrong, though she couldn't put her finger on what.
-
"I'm fine, really." Reno insisted. He went off to try and find another game to play, but he wasn't really in the mood at the moment. He forced himself to play the first game he saw, which was a Street Fighter game. He never cared too much for fighting games, he played it idly as his head was still pounding. Trying to take his mind off the pain he though of asking Marlowe to get something to eat with him, but he didn't know if she would be hungry. He himself was a little hungry, more thirsty though. Several minutes passed as he mindlessly mashed buttons on the game. He stopped finally when he had to enter his name for a high score. He entered "Reno" and walked off, not knowing he was on top of the list. The fighting game incidentally made him think of school. "Ugh..I think I missed my swim meet...I'll be lucky if I don't get kicked off the team...And I've missed a couple days of work now...Bollocks...I'm going to get fired. Ugh...My head is killing me! I wonder what I would do if I do get kicked off the team...Maybe I should do something cool...Like...Kendo...Or a fighting club....I can't fight, who am I kiddin'? What's that archery class called...? I wonder if they even have it...That would be cool. Shoot things with a bow..."
-
Shinzuu smiled as he pulled Veronica out of the store. When they finally had some room to move without bumping into anyone, he dropped the bag and held on to the Batz Maru, handing it to her, "I know you're feeling down, so I thought I'd grab this while I was trying to find you. Hope you like it." After she took it, he blushed and seemed to walk off on his own, feeling a bit flustered, having given her a gift. Shinzuu's bought people's food and games before, but to buy a gift just for the sake of feeling, was very new to him.
-
Veronica looked at the Batz Maru as Shinzuu handed it to her. She hesitated for a second before she took it from him and saw that it said 'Sorry' in Japanese on it. When he started walking again, she quickly followed him since she didn't want to lose him again. She wrapped her arm around him from the side while holding the Batz Maru with her other arm and squeezed his waist as a partial hug since she couldn't necessarily stop in the middle of the sidewalk. "I love it. Thank you." She said, pulling her arm away and smiling at him, a slight blush forming under her fur.
-
Marlowe blew the rest of her coins on House of the Dead, and didn't look much further for Marvel vs. Capcom for fear that she would get disappointed. After she finished, she wandered around at the entrance of the arcade, waiting on Reno. She didn't want to rush him if he had coins, but she really had nothing else to do. Eventually she wandered to the claw machines and started to look in them out of curiosity in case she came again.
-
Reno spotted Marlowe at the entrance as he was aimlessly walking around. He watched her as she went to the claw machine, following behind her. He tapped her on the shoulder after standing behind her for a moment. "Hey," he said softly. "Are you ready to go?" he asked. His hunger was starting grow more, he knew it was coming and it wouldn't be too much longer. "Wanna go out?" He realized what he said too late. "Erm...I mean. To eat. Go out to eat. With me." he choked out nervously, blushing a bit.
-
Shinzuu jumped right out of his fur as Veronica gave him a hug and stopped after she let go, completely heating up and imaginary steam coming out of his ears. He then started to walk again, just missing one step to an onlooker. "I'm glad. I was hoping it would cheer you up. Hey, since we're here in the Kyoto shopping centre, is it ok if we go to a certain store I know you probably won't like it, but it's the biggest nerd gathering area in all of Japan."
-
Veronica ran her fingers over the head of the Batz Maru while looking ahead of them as Shinzuu spoke to her. "We both know it doesn't matter if I don't want to go there. It's not like I know any places to go." She responded and it was true. She didn't want to go but it wasn't like she could go off and do her own thing or suggest another place to go. "Just don't be surprised about how I act while we're there."
-
Marlowe turned quickly, rearing her fist back at Reno when he tapped her on the shoulder. She had definitely not expected it, but upon realizing who it was, her fist lowered and she seemed to be somewhat embarrassed. "Uh, sure. I'm kinda hungry myself. I just hope you know somewhere good. All I've been eating at is that diner. It's the only place I know.. Well, that doesn't sell just Japanese food, anyway." She tucked her hands in her pockets, ready to follow Reno.
-
Reno saw Marlowe's fist, however he didn't flinch. "I know a nice restaurant. Serves even American food." he said with a warm smile. "Let's go, it's actually not that far from here." He turned and walked on, with her following him. They went down the road together, half the trip was in silence until Reno finally said something. "So...What club are you going to join?" he asked. He kept his hands in his pockets as he usually did as he walked. "There's a lot to choose from. I probably need to pick a new one myself actually..."
-
Shinzuu hesitated but decided to go with it, "Alright, then. Let's go." He took Veronica to the top floor, which was made of only two halves. One was a warehouse-sized arcade, while the other half was a large section with nerds playing playing card games within a large card shop. "I read about a tournament going on today, it starts in 30 minutes. Winner gets quite a sum of money and some free boxes of cards, which are good for selling for more money. I've had this with me for years in case I met others who played, and I've only used this a couple times in the last month, but it was enough to build something better. If you think you're bored, I can get you some money for the arcade. I'm expecting to win this with flying colors."
-
Veronica groaned out loud at the sight of the nerds playing their card games. "Well if I had known it was this, I would have definitely said no." She said, sounding completely unhappy and almost mad about it for some reason. "This is going to take forever." She mumbled as she turned and walked off toward the arcade half of the floor without getting any money from Shinzuu. She didn't want to take any money from him but she wasn't going to stand around while he was playing some long card game tournament she didn't care about or have any interest in.
-
"I'm not entirely sure." Marlowe admitted. "I'm still not entirely signed up for school. I'm pretty good at drawing.. That's something. I used to do martial arts in the US when I was there, but it wasn't exactly a part of school." She scratched the back of her head. "I'd love if they had some kind of video game club, but I know they won't." She kind of chuckled at her own comment.
-
Reno chuckled slightly as well. "Yeah, too bad for tha'. I think I would be top o' the class." he boasted a little. "You could try Kendo. I mean...It's fighting. Just with big, wooden sticks. Haven't really put thought into the many of the clubs...Could be some fightin' one. Maybe wrestlin', or somethin'. Maybe Karate? Makes sense." He stopped after that, he felt like he was getting too comfortable. Generally he talked a lot when he felt comfortable. His headache was gone too he noticed. Not too long later they got to his restaurant. Upon walking into the building he walked to the counter, to his surprise no one was there. "Reno!" cried out a female voice, seeming excited to see him. Reno turned around in time to recieve a hug from a gray furred female fox. "How've ya been, bunny boy? We've missed you around here. I'm sure- Oh ho ho! Who's this? New girl friend?" "No, Michelle...Just a friend. We were hungry and in the mood for somethin' other than ramen and rice if you get what I'm talkin' about.." "Alright, come on. I'll get ya seated." Upon being stuffed into a booth in the corner she got ready to walk away. "I'll be back for her order in a minute, I know what you want." Reno seemed confused at all this. "That's...Really strange...For her anyway...Last time I checked...She hated me..."
-
Shinzuu fished through his pockets for money when Veronica just up and left. Dammit... With only minutes left, he sighed and signed up. The tournament started without a hitch, with over 100 players. True to his word, Shinzuu did blow through his initial opponents with ease, but couldn't go on due to waiting for newer players who were pinned against each other to finish their matches. In between each match, he would walk over to the arcade and check on Veronica to see how she was and walked back afterwards. When the quarter finals started, no one had left, and there was a large commotion going on, that even the arcade goers came in to watch. Rumor of Shinzuu's deck and another kid's deck had reached people's ears about how they each took down their opponents in one turn, and the crowd didn't start gathering until the finals, when the tiger was pitted against Shinzuu. Shinzuu had heard of the other one winning on the first turn, too, so he was as tense. He knew he was going to get free cards that he'd be selling soon after, but the cash prize was on the line, as well as his pride. Shinzuu called heads as the coin for first turn was tossed by the judged.
-
Veronica wandered around the arcade the entire time. Shinzuu would pop up to check on her now and again but she didn't say much when he'd show up. Finally at a later time, the arcade became really quiet and she noticed that there was almost nobody left in there. She noticed the crowd across the floor at the card game tournament and assumed that they must have finally gotten to the final match-up. With a sigh, she slowly walked over to the other side of the floor and stood in the back of the crowd. Shinzuu was one of the last two, of course, and so was a tiger. She figured she'd at least watch this final match and "cheer on" Shinzuu even though she had no idea how a person was supposed to cheer on someone in a card game.
-
Marlowe looked at him awkwardly, and shrugged, taking a menu in her hand, scanning over the selection. She eventually decided that she wanted some steak, and so she ordered it with mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Her mouth was practically watering from anticipation. She didn't mean to bring up something bad, but she couldn't help but blurt it out. "So after this do you want to spread Schad's ashes?"
-
Reno was idly playing with a salt shaker trying to figure out why Michelle would be so nice when Marlowe asked the question. "...Sure...We should get it done sooner than later I suppose..." he said, sounding a little depressed and distracted. Michelle came back not too much later to take Marlowe's order. "Oh, Reno, boss says your missed days are excused." "Why?" he immediately questioned. His voice had a bit of sternness and growing agitation. Michelle said nothing and left with Marlowe's order. Only did she come back shortly with their drinks, she didn't look at Reno however. Reno just stared at the salt shaker in his hands, he didn't look angry, but he gave off an extremely mad vibe. He took a guess at why she was being so nice to him, she was in a sense showing him pity. The theory was further confirmed by his boss' leniency.
-
Shinzuu held his breath, watching the coin flop onto the table, tails. The tiger smiled and called first turn, Shinzuu frowning inside. The tiger then began to play card after card, playing cards that allowed him to draw and send cards straight from the deck to the grave. Dammit, it must be an Exodia or an Exchange of Spirit deck. Finally, the tiger played one more card and sighed, placing one card face down, and sending a number of cards from his hand to the grave, but he smirked, since the tiger's deck only had one card left, meaning Exodia. Shinzuu looked nervously at his own hand, like the tiger, didn't seem to have the cards for a first turn win, but his face grew brighter as he drew his first card. "As good as your Exodia deck is, you lose, man." Shinzuu smirked as he placed the card he just drew onto the table. "Card Destruction. My win." A lot of people around were shocked at the lucky win, many going, "Oh snap!" The store owner came up as the judge declared the win, holding Shinzuu's hand up with the cheering. Afterward, the owner laid 3 boxes of cards on the table alongside a stack of bills totaling to a high amount enough for people to reach in to grab in their minds, or from where they were standing quite a ways out. When the excitement died down, Shinzuu pocketed the cash into his jeans and took the three boxes with him as he walked up to Veronica with a smile. "Comon, dinner's on me. We can eat whatever you want tonight. Just tell me, I'll take you."
-
Veronica did actually become tense when the tiger's turn seemed to take forever, her heartbeat quickening. When Shinzuu laid his drawn card down and was declared the winner, she inhaled for what seemed like the first time since the coin hit the table. She was smiling when he walked over to her with a smile on his own face. "Congrats." She said when he got to her then eyed him curiously. "Why are you spoiling me?" She wasn't really evading telling him where she wanted to eat, she was just curious. Plus, she didn't really know any place to eat other than the normal places in Feral City, let alone where they were now.
-
Marlowe played with her straw, stirring her drink, looking around the restaurant, trying not to look at Reno since his mood seemed to be spiraling more towards angry. She felt awkward sitting there, partially because she didn't know what to do and partially because again, she didn't know where she was, and that began to grate in her nerves a bit. She probably looked somewhat nervous, waiting for her food. Her idle glances, eventually started to turn into her looking for their waitress with the food as if the food would be an icebreaker or a mood saver.. Possibly both.
-
After awhile of awkward silence their food got there, Reno kinda just stared at the extra large plate of chicken fingers. However his hunger was getting the better of him, he couldn't be mad, not when there was chicken involved. He set his sauce cups between him and the plate, one ranch and the other ketchup. He had noticed Marlowe looking away from him using his peripheral vision. He decided to let this one go, to not ruin the time. "I hope you enjoy it." he said softly. After that he started eating.
-
Shinzuu blushed when Veronica asked him why he was spoiling her, "Well... to be honest, it's what I've always wanted to do. I've always liked you, Veronica. I just never knew how to express it. Yea, at first, it was curiosity that it's because I'm not allergic to you, but it was something more. There was something about you that really held me in. And now, even more, do I feel like I have an obligation to show you how much I like you..." Shinzuu just trailed off as his face burned red enough to show a little through his fur, and he teetered off a bit so Veronica wouldn't notice him blushing.
-
Veronica hadn't really been expecting an answer like that from Shinzuu, but she couldn't say that she didn't like it. Her cheeks burned bright red which could be seen easily through her fur. "I know you like me, and I told you that I like you too, but you don't need to spend a lot of money on me to prove how you feel. There are other, less-expensive ways to do that." She said softly, looking at the ground, nervous about what he had said and what she was saying.
-
Marlowe shoveled her potatoes into her mouth, somewhat relieved that their food had gotten there. She felt kinda bad when she realized that Reno was noticing her not looking directly at him, and she managed to speak after she swallowed, "Well, I hope you do, too." Graceful. She poked at her steak, then looked for the ketchup on the table. She kind of felt disappointed when she noticed it was beside Reno, and part of her just wanted to continue eating her mashed potatoes without it partially because it looked weird and partially because she didn't want to bother Reno since he seemed to be in a fowl mood. Eventually, she convinced herself to ask him. "Could you pass the ketchup please?" She felt like she should ask what was wrong or if he was okay, but then she felt as if that might seem stupid. Please pass the ketchup. BUT NO SERIOUSLY WHAT'S BOTHERING YOU?
-
"Sure" Reno said, a small smile on his face. Fake as it was he stretched his arm out and slid the ketchup bottle over to her. He continued eating his chicken strips, one dip in the ranch, one dip in the ketchup and wash the bites down with a sip of coke after every other cycle of bites. "Is something wrong, Marlowe? I'm sorry, I'm just a grump when...I don't enjoy other people showing me pity...I've never needed it before...I've made it this far without it. I don't want to sound rude though..." he quickly continued eating after that, fearing he was sounding like an idiot.
-
Shinzuu blushed some more when she confessed back to him, but he was too flustered to say anything to her saying doing something alternate to spending money to prove his feelings. "Anyways, just tell me what kind of food you feel like eating, I know all the restaurants around here like the back of my hand, and which ones are the best for each."
-
Veronica let out a sigh. She was frustrated in a way because Shinzuu didn't really react in any way to what she said about proving his feelings in other ways. Reaching up while managing to hold the Batz Maru under one of her arms, she tightened her ponytail which had loosened a bit. She lowered her arms after and wrapped them both around the Batz Maru. "I don't know..." She started while staring at the ground. "I like spaghetti..."
-
Marlowe put the ketchup on her mashed potatoes and listened to Reno as she mixed them up. "No, I just don't think you should be mad. I mean, how else are you supposed to enjoy the night if you're letting people get to you." It sounded like the right thing to say, but she knew it was hypocritical because she was easily bothered, but she shrugged it off as she began to finish off her potatoes and move on to her macaroni and cheese.
-
"I suppose you're right..." Reno sighed. He continued eating his chicken fingers, trying to figure out a way to start a conversation. "Uhm...What kind of music do you like?" "That's a great ice breaker...I guess I can't be good at talking to Schad's friends either. I kinda don't want to spread her ashes...It's...I've never one it before. I'm sure it's going to be awkward." Michelle eventually came back to refill their drinks, Reno had long since finished his so he needed it.
-
Shinzuu nodded, "Spaghetti... ok." He couldn't bring himself to look at her, still blushing hard, but found her hand and took it, walking her over to the elevator and pressed it for the 4th floor. "There's a very nice Italian restaurant down on the fourth floor. Well, actually, there's three of them. But there's one that's owned by the guy who used to own one of America's most popular Italian restaurant. He moved out to Japan a few years ago, but ended up starting another restaurant out here in Kyoto. I think you'll like it."
-
This time that Shinzuu took Veronica's hand it she actually felt something different than the other times where he had taken her hand to lead her places. It made her happy but she didn't let it show that it phased her. She walked with him over to the elevator and went into it with him. As they waited for the doors to close, she wondered what Italian restaurant they were going to and if she would know the place or not.
-
"I like a lot of different things.. Mainly techno and rock, though." She had finished up her macaroni and was now moving on to cutting into her steak. She almost felt like drooling, but restrained herself by jamming a piece of it in her mouth, then taking a sip off of her soda. "How about you?" She began to smear her steak around in its own juices somewhat boredly because she had a habit of playing with her food while she waited for him to answer.
-
"I enjoy most anything...Excluding that "Gangster rap" crap. All the vulgar lyrics and such. But I enjoy techno and rock more than most. And classical music, I find it calming." He began to near the last of his chicken strips, he was getting full so he was slowing down, breathing deeply after every bite or so. He mainly drank his coke, having an unquenchable thirst all of a sudden. It usually happened when he was full. Or at least nearing it. "So you don't have any idea of the club you wanna join?"
-
When they got off, Shinzuu walked Veronica towards the end of one side where they found the restuarant. It wasn't hard to find, though, since it was the largest in the mall. The sign on it read in all katakana, unlike most that were partial kanji. "Kyooto Arebu Gaaruden" The place was packed, but it didn't matter since people were constantly being seated without much wait, and others were leaving just as quickly. The restaurant was huge, not needing any kind of reservation as it was twice the size of many standalone restaurants. Shinzuu and Veronica were seated rather quickly since it was just the two of them. Their waitress immediately was ready to take their orders, and Shinzuu ordered some chicken.
-
Veronica walked with Shinzuu to the restaurant and recognized it immediately as an Olive Garden. A smile crept onto her face since Olive Garden was her favorite restaurant of all time. When they were seated and the waitress came to take their orders, she ordered plain spaghetti with no sauce, just butter. She looked around the restaurant after the waitress left with their orders and took in the smells of the restaurant as she sat there. After that, she looked back at Shinzuu, expecting another awkward silence like they had been having a lot today.
-
"Not really. I hadn't much thought about it, honestly." She continued to eat on her steak, pausing every now and then to take a sip from her drink. "I used to take mixed martial arts a long time ago, but I dunno. I haven't really thought about school as a whole yet given everything that's going on."
-
Reno fell silent after being reminded of the things at hand. Looking down at the little bit of food he had left. He wasn't planning on eating anymore, rather just drink a lot. "I wish we could have met under better circumstances. I'm enjoying myself for such an occasion...How long did you know her? Schad I mean..." He went back to playing with the salt shaker, mainly waiting on her to finish. He wasn't exactly thrilled about going to spread Schadenfreude's ashes.
-
Shinzuu chuckled a little when Veronica inhaled to take in the atmosphere, "Does this remind you of America? I hear it's pretty popular how many restaurants do they have? I mean, I play games with Americans, but I'm usually too busy playing games to actually get to know anything major about the country." At this point, he was sitting straight up and looked like an eager child waiting for a new toy he knows is coming.
-
Veronica looked back at Shinzuu when he spoke and couldn't help but smile more when she saw how eager he was. "Yes, oddly enough, this Italian restaurant reminds me of America." She said with a chuckle since it didn't quite sound right. "I don't know exactly how many of this particular restaurant chain there are in America, but it's a pretty big number." She hoped he would ask more questions so that the conversation would keep going because she would rather talk to him and answer a ton of questions than deal with another awkward silence.
-
"Well, I wished I could have moved here under better circumstances," she muttered, working on her steak. She had almost forgotten how rushed they were to leave and it struck her finally as she sat at the table that her father was probably caught up with loan sharks again. She seemed to sit there for a moment staring at her steak blankly until she remembered she was in the middle of a conversation. "And, uh, I knew Schad well.. For a long time. I knew her when I moved to America when I was younger," she said, finally snapping out of whatever she was thinking about and finishing eating her steak. "And you?"
-
"Only a month or so...We met at School. We met kind of oddly...I sat down at her table at lunch...I was looking for an empty one, but there wasn't any. And hers was the most empty so I just went for it. She was drawin'...Looked like the back of a head or somethin'. Speakin' of her drawin'...I have her sketch book..." Reno said, still playing with the salt shaker. "So who is that that keeps callin' ya? I hear your phone go off every so often."
-
Shinzuu then began to ask questions about culture and hangout spots. About halfway, their food came and they took a break from questioning and ate a bit. However, after a couple bites, Shinzuu started asking again about America, asking about the similarities he heard there were between Nippon and the States. By the time they were finished with their entrees, Shinzuu's nerd side began to take over and his questions started relating to games, science fiction stuff, and the like.
-
Veronica answered Shinzuu's questions with ease. When their food came, she put salt and pepper on her spaghetti then began to eat. After eating a couple of fork-twirls of spaghetti, Shinzuu started in with the questions again and she answered them in between bites of food, trying not to have food falling out of her mouth. She wasn't really surprised that by the time they were done with their main dishes that the questions had changed to ones about games and other "nerd" subjects. She didn't mind it though since she enjoyed the conversation.
-
"My dad. I kind of.. well, ran out on him. I haven't really seen or spoken to him since he left me at the funeral home." She seemed a little disappointed as she talked, stuffing her hands in her pockets. "So what do we do next?" she asked, digging out her wallet to pay for her meal. "We can wait until tomorrow for Schad if you want. I'm sure she won't mind my dresser for one night longer." She tried her best to smile and make light of the situation, but part of her felt bad.
-
Reno listened to Marlowe answer his question. When she asked what to do next he shrugged. "I'm not sure...We went to the arcade...We probably should get this over with...If nothing else. Maybe an idea will come to us." Michelle soon came back with the bill, Reno took it and payed half since he saw Marlowe paying too. He left a tip and stood up. "Why don't you come up with something? I don't think it's fair I choose what we do." he joked a little.
-
Finally, the questions came to an end when the waitress came back and asked about dessert. Shinzuu ordered some and the waitress left. Not that much longer, the waitress came back with four teramisu. Shinzuu's mouth watered at the sight. As much as he loved his own heritage and the foods that accompany it, foreign desserts were quite the delight for him on any occasion and whenever it is within his grasp. He happily consumed each one in two bites, sighing as it just hit the spot to be full.
-
Veronica didn't order anything for dessert when the waitress came and asked about it. Against all guidelines for good table manners, she rested her elbows on the table and rested her chin in her hands as she watched Shinzuu consume the four pieces of tiramisu. She honestly couldn't understand how he could eat so much food with his stomach exploding from being overfull. He was a big guy though, so she let the answer be as simple as that.
-
"Well, if you can get me to the park, I can get us to my house to get her ashes." Marlowe looked down as she spoke, handing the waitress her half of the bill. "I don't suppose any of her other friends want to do this, do they?" She put her wallet away into her pocket. "I don't know how many friends she had here or who would want to be present, but I do know if we're going to do it, you have to get me to the park so that I can get back to my house." She smirked somewhat at Reno, "I'd pick where to go if I didn't just move here and I knew somewhere."
-
"That's a good point...I don't know if they'd want to be there...Maybe tomorrow would be better. I don't even know where they are." Reno turned to walk out of the building with Marlowe. Once out he put his hands in his pocket. "So what do you want to do? Granted you don't know what's here...But I kinda do. Just suggest something." Asking her to go to his place kept popping into his head, but he knew it would seem weird and inappropriate.
-
After paying for the dinner, the two of them walked out of the restaurant and Shinzuu led Veronica back downstairs to the terminal. "As much fun as it is out here, it still takes quite a long time to get back to Feral City from here. Let's head back now so we can get back by dinner time."
Meanwhile, back in Feral City, Tabby was at her friend's place pacing back and forth in anger. "That bitch took my man away from me! I bet you she used her parents as a way to get his feelings. I mean, you saw how Shinzuu and I were in love, right?" Her friend just sat there drawing in her little sketch pad, "Yea, whatever. It always seemed like he was avoiding you whenever Carmen wasn't watching. If I had any idea, I'd say he was using you."
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu out of the restaurant back down to where the terminal was. "Sounds fine to me. I'd like to be back in the area that I actually know and won't have to worry about getting lost in." She didn't feel hungry since they had just eaten but she figured that she probably would be by the time they got back to Feral City and got back to his mom's apartment. Somehow the idea of having to go back to school popped into her head at that moment. "Oh god, I don't want to go back. Everyone's going to look at me like they feel sorry for me..." Then she thought of Tabby seeing her with Shinzuu. "Well...maybe not everybody...I'm sure that will have gotten around by the time we're back..." Without paying attention, she let out a sigh that sounded kind of sad.
-
Marlowe scratched the back of her head. "I don't know. Walking is nice. I mean, we already ate and played video games. What else is there to do?" She felt stupid for saying it, but it was true, she didn't do much else aside from go out to eat and play video games. Sometimes she'd see movies or plays, but she figured that it was something that would take too long for them to do. "I really don't mind you suggesting, if I don't like it, I'll say so. I'm not the type to just let someone drag me around." She shrugged, but as soon as she did, an idea popped into her head. "Well, wait a minute, you guys don't have a comic shop do you? Like with American comics and all that do you?" Her face shifted to a certain amount of sadness as she realized she had left her comic book collection back in America when her dad rushed her out of the house.
-
"I'm not sure...I'm sure there is, but I wouldn't know where...Sorry." Reno said, seeming defeated. "Uhm...I've got video games at my place if yo-" "You (Censored) idiot. You let it slip..." "Erm...Uh..." At this point he was blushing, though it probably wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. "W-Walking sounds nice. Uhm..." he choked out. He was overpowere by him embarrassment, not really able to form clear sentences. It was pretty apparent.
-
Shinzuu noticed right off the bat how sad Veronica's sigh was, "Are you ok? You don't sound too happy. I know the card tournament was kinda long, but still..." Shinzuu sighed and just gave up trying to apologize for everything and make everything perfect. Who the hell was he kidding? He's not Mr. Perfect, and never will be. History has already proven THAT. But at least he did make her happy with the restaurant and the Batz Maru, so he guessed he should count that as a win.
-
When Shinzuu sighed after speaking, Veronica lifted her eyes to look at him. "Oh, don't worry, it has nothing to do with you. Well...it kind of does...but it's not something that's your fault..." She stumbled over her words. "It's just that...I just...don't want people pitying me when I go back to school. That and...well...Tabby saw me with you, and I bet she's pissed. I'm going to have death warrant on my head on top of some people pitying me." She looked down and sighed again. "I really don't need a confrontation on top of the crap that's happened lately."
-
"Well, if you don't want to go to your place, we can always go to mine. I have games, too. Plus, I think there's a projector in one of the rooms, we could probably hook it up and have a giant screen of our games. Our characters would be as big as we are," she chuckled somewhat. "I think there is anyway. Mr. Rice has just about everything in his damned house. It makes me wonder how nice it must be just to throw around money. If it hadn't been for him, we couldn't have moved here."
-
"Are you sure your dad won't mind? How big is he?" Reno questioned, seeming a tad scared. "Did I really just ask that?" "Uhm...I mean...Would he be upset that you brought home some random guy? Does he eat rabbit?" "Shut up already!" Reno fell silent, pondering the thought of being at another girl's house. Alone. "I hope someone is there...Do I? What if it's her dad? What is he's like a giant monster of a guy?! What if he eats me?!"
-
Shinzuu gave a faint smile, "I'm sure it'll just be a pity party for about a week, and things will return to normal. As for Tabby, you let me take care of her. I'll make sure nothing happens to you. Worst case scenario, I'll fight her for you." He chuckled playfully as he mimicked someone boxing. The rest of the ride took just as long as it took them get to there, so he sighed and looked out the window.
-
Veronica shook her head, though his mimicked boxing moves did make her chuckle. "I'm not going to let you fight a girl." She said like it was the most preposterous thing in the world. "I'll fight her if I have to, but she'll lose. Just because I'm a cheerleader doesn't mean I'm a pushover. She might be leader of the 'fight club' but that's not going to scare me." After she finished talking, she laid her head back against the seat and closed her eyes, listening to the sound of the train moving along the tracks.
-
"Quit worrying and get me to the damned park already." She couldn't help but somewhat laugh at him considering her father as a threat, though she knew her father wasn't entirely without excuse since she knew he'd probably string Reno up if he did something stupid, but she just shrugged it off. It's not like they were dating or anything, but her father would suspect otherwise since he always feared for the worst.
-
Reno chuckled nervously. "Aheh...Sorry...To the park we go." They walked along, the park and restaurant weren't too far apart. "So...What about your mother? You haven't said anything about her." The fact didn't occur to him that she might have been dead and he might have been digging up old wounds. The thought of his own parents lingered in his head, then Veronica's. How both of their parents were gone.
-
Shinzuu and Veronica got off when they finally got to Feral City, and he looked around past the charge gate, no Tabby or anyone from school. "Alright. Do you want to head back or do you want to hang around outside for a while longer?" Shinzuu stretched as his joints were nearly asleep after the long ride on the bullet train. He then twisted around, his lower back cracking since he had to slouch almost the entire time due to his size.
-
When Veronica followed Shinzuu off of the train, she noticed Shinzuu surveying the area and figured it probably had something to do with her worries she had told him about. She cringed when she heard his back crack when he twisted around. "That's not healthy, you know..." She said, eying him. As she looked around and debated his question in her mind, she felt how tired her body was from all of the standing and walking during the day. "Umm...I think I'd rather head back, if that's alright with you." She said, looking at him again.
-
"I.. Well, I don't know. I don't really remember her, and I don't know if she's dead or she just walked out on us. Though, I tend to think she walked out on us and that's why it's a sore spot for dad." She shoved her hands in her hoodie pockets and fumbled with her phone some, not really doing anything with it, just turning it over in her hands. "I don't know though." She looked down, looking slightly depressed.
-
Reno looked at Marlowe to see that she was seemingly depressed thinking about her mother. "Bollocks...Now look what ya did." "That's a shame..." he said sincerely, trying to console her somewhat. A few minutes later they arrived at the park. He stopped and stared at it, mainly waiting for Marlowe to say something. "Well, here we are. The park. I think it's your turn to lead the way." he said, with his hands still in his pocket. He tried to think of something else to keep a conversation going but nothing came to mind, he felt kind of bad for making her appear sad.
-
Shinzuu chuckled at Veronica's first comment, "Actually, it's the only joint you can crack that IS healthy for you. For someone my height, or someone who just has improper posture, your lower spinal columns stretch, creating bubbles in your cartilage, making it extremely painful and if left unchecked, can ruin your spinal alignment permanently." When Veronica said she just wanted to head back, he nodded and took her hand, "Then let's go."
-
Veronica partly didn't agree with what Shinzuu said. "Should still have a professional take care of it..." She grumbled in her head. When Shinzuu took her hand, that negative feeling was pushed out of her and replaced by butterflies in her stomach. With her hand in his, she had a strong urge to lean against him as they walked. She resisted that urge though and walked upright, keeping a normal distance with their hands between them.
-
"Welp, come on." She walked ahead of him, finally recognized where she was, and lead the way to her house. When they arrived, Mordecai was standing outside with his hands on his hips, looking somewhat irritated. Marlowe's ears went down. She hadn't expected her father to be waiting outside for her. He seemed to be glaring at the both of them.
"I don't know who your friend is, but you need to tell him to go home." Marlowe turned to look at Reno, with an I'm sorry look on her face as her father's face pulled into a snarl.
"I'm sorry Reno, maybe next time."
-
Reno didn't expect to be turned away at the door, it made him a little sad but at the same time he was glad he wasn't eaten. "Alright...See ya then." he said, turning around. He waved goodbye before turning all the way around. He walked off seeming a little sad, ears behind his head. Walking home he pondered about what he was going to do. He thought about taking up the archery club, though he figured it would be full. But he wanted to try anyway, since he needed a club since he was most likely off the swim team. "Archery sounds fun. I haven't done it in a long time. Not since back then..."
-
When they got back, Shinzuu opened the door and let Veronica in before going in himself and locking up. He took off his shoes at the door and walked in, just in time to meet his mother standing in the hall watching them. There was a smirk on her face and she looked at the two of them for a bit before turning to leave back into the living area, "Make sure you kids get enough sleep tonight. You're both going back to school tomorrow." Shiori gave a little wave to them and disappeared when she flopped onto the couch.
-
Veronica took her shoes off when she entered the apartment then looked up to see Shiori standing there in the hallway. Part of her wanted to slap that smirk off of her face, but the rest of her was more focused on what she had said. "[censored]." She said under her breath with a groan. She leaned sideways up against the wall beside her, not quite sure of what to do. Sighing, she rested the side of her head against the wall, practically forgetting Shinzuu was there.
-
"What is wrong with you?" Mordecai immediately began to scold her. "I've been worried about you all day, and you can't even have the decency to pick up the phone and let me know you're okay?"
"I needed to get out." Marlowe replied lowly walking in the house.
Mordecai simply followed after. "Well, I got in your transcripts, so tomorrow you'll be going to school up at Feral High."
"What? That school has uniforms." Marlowe said, a displeased look on her face.
"I know, every school around here does so you're just going to have to deal with it, okay?"
Marlowe growled and went upstairs into your room.
"Set your alarm!" Mordecai called, following her up the stairs.
-
Reno eventually made it home, upon walking in the room he saw the croagunk doll once again staring him down. He took his shirt off and threw it over the doll and proceeded to the bathroom. Reno brushed his teeth as he took off the rest of his clothes. Soon he jumped into the shower and cleaned himself. When he was done he toweled off and went out of the room, reaching his bed he shoved the doll off onto the floor and fell onto his bed. He just laid there until he fell asleep.
-
Shinzuu could tell Veronica's mood just go downhill, but he walked up to her and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It's alright. Hey, if it gets too bad, just come over to my class, and we'll leave, alright?" He didn't really know what else to say, but that was his best way to comfort her, considering the situation, and the fact that they both knew that Tabby would be waiting for them back at Feral High. Without another word, he walked over to his room to make sure that his uniform was clean and unwrinkled for school.
-
Veronica surprisingly didn't jump when Shinzuu put his hand on her shoulder and just listened to him speak. Without looking at him, she nodded her head in agreement to his idea. When his hand moved off her shoulder, she pushed off of the wall and walked down the hallway to the bathroom. After closing the door, she went to the bathroom then washed her hands and brushed her teeth. When she was finished, she left the bathroom and went to the guest room, closing the door behind her. She changed into some pajamas then laid her uniform out on the dresser for the next day. After that, she went back to the door and opened it, hesitated, then went and sat on the edge of the bed. She would have gone in the living room but she knew Shiori was there and she didn't really want to be near her with her being smug & all.
-
"Hey, you're gonna need this, too." Mordecai tossed a bag. At first, it hit Marlowe square in the lower back and toppled to the floor.
Marlowe turned with a scowl on her face as she picked up the bag and looked at it blankly. "What the hell is it?" she grumbled.
"It's your uniform." Marlowe let out an exasperated sigh and face palmed, tucking the bag under her arm and disappearing into her room. She changed out of her clothes and into some pajamas, sitting on the edge of the bed looking at the bag when she was changed.
"Ugh, this is going to be so stupid." She pulled the uniform out of the bag and looked at it, an unsatisfied look on her face. "God, and it has to be a stupid dress..." She placed it on her dresser and set the alarm on her cell phone to 7am.
-
Shinzuu woke up early the next morning, wandering over to the bathroom to wash up. He brushed his teeth and washed up his face as he didn't do much with his hair. Shinzuu took a comb and got all the knots out, straightening it all, and tied it into a ponytail. Like usual, his bangs sat just at the edge of his eyes and his ponytail hung and swayed at his belt time, looking almost like a second tail. After cleaning up, he went back to his room and put on his uniform. Shinzuu then headed into the kitchen area and prepped some fruits for breakfast.
-
Veronica had fallen asleep with the door to her room open so the sound of Shinzuu walking to the bathroom woke her up. She stretched out on the bed then flipped the covers of off herself before sitting up. Waiting until Shinzuu walked back to his room, she then got up, grabbed her uniform, and walked to the bathroom. After closing the door behind her, she went to the bathroom then took a quick shower. Shutting off the water, she hopped out and dried herself off. She pulled on her undergarments and her uniform then tied her hair in her usual loose pigtails before heading out the door. When she left the bathroom, she noticed Shinzuu preparing some fruits in the kitchen as she headed to the guest room. She tossed her pajamas in the corner with the rest of her dirty clothes then went out to the kitchen. Leaning back against the counter, she watched Shinzuu. "Morning." She said softly since she never liked talking at normal volume in the morning.
-
Her phone buzzed early enough to wake her up. She had fallen asleep with it beside her head, so it was no surprise that even on vibrate it was enough to wake her. Marlowe groggliy hit the snooze option and rolled back over until her father knocked on the door. "Get up, Marlowe."
She grumbled, but eventually she made herself get up and head to the bathroom. She turned on the shower and hopped in, hoping it would wake her up some. "I can already tell this is going to be one hell of a day." She wiped her face as the water fell on it from the shower head.
-
Reno woke up and wiped the drool from his face. Getting up he got dressed for school in his uniform. After that he gathered his things he needed for school and put them in his duffel bag, all while ignoring the croagunk doll sitting next to his laptop on the table. He groaned at the fact he had to go back to school, he really didn't want to go. After finishing getting ready he grabbed his duffel bag, keys and wallet before heading out the door to school.
-
Shinzuu turned around with a mango in his hand, in mid-bite and chewed while he began speaking, "Good morning. You feeling okay?" It was all he could come up with, now being in the same home as a girl who has captivated him. Shinzuu turned his head to the side and blushed underneath fur since he noticed that she hadn't tied the shawl on her uniform yet, and he was able to see her cleavage.
-
Veronica thought that the moment she had caught Shinzuu in was a little comical so she smiled a bit. "Could be better, could be worse." She responded with a shrug. When he turned his head to the side, she narrowed her eyes as she tried to figure out why he was doing it. "What's wr--?" She started but then simultaneously somehow noticed exactly what was wrong and looked down at her chest. Quickly, she turned away so her back was to him and tied the shawl that she had managed to miss doing when she got dressed. "Uh...sorry about that..." She said as she slowly turned back around then reached around Shinzuu to grab an apple to eat, blushing under her fur. As she bit into the apple, she looked in a random direction in the kitchen just to keep her eyes occupied.
-
After showering, she made herself get dressed and went through her morning routine. She felt a great distaste for the uniform she was wearing. She felt as if she looked ridiculous in it because it didn't cover as much as she would like it to. On the way to the car, she continuously pulled the skirt down, hoping it would help the feeling, but it didn't. She blushed angrily as her father snickered at her actions.
-
Reno eventually made it to school, he was still a little groggy. "Ugh...I don't want to be here. I don't want to deal with today." He yawned as he walked through the front doors. He rubbed his eyes with his wrist as he walked down the halls. His ears were drooping behind his head as they were the passed few days. As he rubbed his eyes he stopped, sensing someone in front of him. "Good morning, Mr. O' Malley. It's good to see you back in school." said Mr. Avery standing in front of Reno. After rubbing his eyes Reno looked at him. "...Why?" Reno asked before walking passed him. Mr. Avery sighed and stood there in the hallway.
-
Shinzuu took another bite of the mango, "Y-yea. I-it's alright." He nervously walked out of the cooking area and stood in front of the TV and turned on the news. Nothing special was really going on, just announcements on the national high school sports season starting, and he turned it quickly, feeling like crap that this report reminded him that he was kicked off track and basketball, and was forbidden to join another sport for the rest of the year. Shinzuu then checked the clock on the wall and sighed, I guess I might as well. He made his way to the door and bit down on the mango and knelt down to put on and tie his shoes. "I'm gonna head out early. You want to come?"
-
Veronica watched Shinzuu as she continued taking bites out of the apple and chewing them. She noticed that he changed the channel quickly when the start of the high school sports season was mentioned and detected his unhappiness. It also made her think about if she was going to be kicked off the cheerleading squad for missing so many practices. She threw the apple core in the trash and headed down the hall after Shinzuu. "Sure. Not like I have anything else to do." Her tone was somewhat flat and she looked around for her bag. When she found it, she went back to the area by the door and slid on her shoes.
-
Shinzuu walked Veronica over to school, not really saying anything, since he was still in a little bit of a slump from the reminder of having been kicked out of sports in school. To him, it was almost like a middle finger to his father's grave, since it was what he dedicated his life to doing in memory of his father. Shinzuu sighed as he slowly slunk into a slight depression as he thought more about it, but he was snapped out of it when he turned the corner into the school and, instead of walking in through the gates, he faceplanted right into the large, brick post that held the gates in place.
-
Veronica didn't say a word to Shinzuu. She could that he was still upset and she had no idea of how to make him feel better. Plus, she felt that it was better sometimes to not be talked to when a person is upset and they can just power through it. Even while looking at the ground, she could tell when they were near the gates of the school and soon a kind of thud made her head snap up and look over to where Shinzuu would be beside her. When she looked over, she saw that Shinzuu had just walked into the brick post. "Oh my god, are you okay???" She questioned in a surprised and concerned voice as she carefully turned him toward her and examined his face while sort of holding him up.
-
"I am definitely getting shorts to wear under these, I don't even care if it is against the damned rules." Marlowe commented, sitting in the car as her Dad started it. "Why couldn't they have had pants or something instead of skirts. WHY SKIRTS? Not everyone likes skirts." She crossed her arms, irritated.
"Well, all I can tell you is pay attention Marlowe, because you're either going to be walking or finding a ride to school on your own tomorrow." Mordecai warned as he began to pull out of their driveway. "You're going to probably be in the office most of the day today getting your schedule and whatnot with Principal Yass, so, start thinking about what you want to take."
-
Reno walked on to find his first class. He had almost forgotten what it was. He sat outside the door waiting until it started, his head in his arms as he rested them on his knees. "...I hate school. Why IS it so great I'm back? What's so special about me...My music isn't that good...I'm aim for average grades...I'm not that interestin' of a person. I'm an Irishman that don't drink...I'm shut in and not very social. Hell, there's somethin' wrong with me. Not special. Bollocks...I can at least look forward to lunch. I can-..."
-
Shinzuu rubbed the front of his muzzle, "Yea, I'm fine." After recovering, he walked over towards the track area and sat down underneath one of the trees on the higher ground near the stairs. However, instead of looking onto the track, Shinzuu closed his eyes and thought for a while, trying to contemplate what he's going to do from now on, and even what to do about Tabby if she starts anything with Veronica or even with him.
-
Veronica watched Shinzuu walk over and sit underneath one of the trees. She didn't want to seem clingy even though she wanted to stay with him so she stood in one spot and just looked over to where he was. Of course, she knew that he liked her since he had told her twice but she didn't want him to get tired of her since they were already living together. After a moment, she finally started toward the doors of the school and was going to leave Shinzuu to his thoughts.
-
Finally they arrived at the high school. She stepped out of the car, once again, pulling her skirt down. It had become a habit by now since she didn't feel properly covered. The school seemed almost intimidating as she stood outside, merely looking at it. "Have a good first day!" Mordecai called out, again, laughing at her misfortune with wearing her outfit, then rolling the window up and pulling off. Marlowe merely stood there, looking around with an angry and embarrassed look on her face.
-
Reno eventually nodded off as he sat there waiting for class. He drifted into a light sleep, one in which he bounced back and forth from reality and dreams. He was dreaming about Schadenfreude, he saw glimpses of her. However she kept appearing dead or dying, each time he woke he dismissed it, putting the fact she was alive in it's place and drifting off again to the same. He mumbled things as he did so. "She's alive..." "She's not dead...I'm dreaming." "She can't be dead, I..." "Ugh...I'm dreaming again..."
-
Shinzuu went on inside after a few minutes, and headed for class. Once there, he sat in the back and actually paid attention for once. It was weird for him, but he was actually mildly interested in hearing about math. It's not like he was ever bad in it, it was just that he didn't want to because he thought he'd be going for pro basketball, and didn't need to get into a college or university. However, it was quite a refreshing change for Shinzuu, more like, a re-immersion of his past when he was a fat, little nerd and momma's boy.
-
Veronica had went to her locker after she had gotten inside the school, putting her bag in it and taking out her things for her first classes. When she went to the classroom, she sat in her usual seat. She tried to ignore the staring that she was getting from people and even the teacher seemed to be focusing her eyes on her while she taught the class. It was just something she was going to have to get use to and she was going to be as tough as possible. She kept her head up as she listened to the teacher and kept her face devoid of all emotion.
-
She eventually made her way into the school, looking for the office. She followed the signs until she found the entrance, then she sat down in one of the chairs, looking at the receptionist, unsure of what to really do. She fiddled around with her skirt a bit, averting her eyes from just about anyone who dared to look at her. "Nnnngggg." She eventually got up after a few moments of awkward silence. "Uhm.. I'm a new student here.." The receptionist seemed focused on her screen rather than Marlowe, which bothered her. "Excuse me..?"
-
Reno eventually woke up, due to a teacher heading to class. He followed her inside and took his usual seat in the back. Class started and the teacher went on about teaching class. Eventually passing out the assignment which Reno flew through with relative ease. Really the only thing he did was classwork and tests, he refused to do homework. Even though it was a larger portion of the grade, he never did it. Which was generally why he got average grades. Reno fell asleep again after the work, he wanted to get to lunch quickly.
-
Shinzuu stayed just about the same for the rest of the morning. When it was Physical Education time before lunch, he ditched out and stayed in the classroom, taking a bit of a nap, his brain overloaded with the consumption of information. Meanwhile, Tabby stayed in proximity of her friends during the whole Physical Education class, talking constantly with them, as if they were planning something.
-
Veronica didn't go to gym class before lunch. She knew Tabby would be there and she was going to prolong coming into contact with her as long as possible. Instead, she went up to the roof of the school. She walked around the perimeter of the roof and once she came back to her starting point, she stopped and looked out at the grounds. After looking around for a moment, she leaned forward and looked over the side to see down below. She let out a sigh as she looked down and let her mind wander.
-
Marlowe's day in the office seemed to take forever. It reminded her about how much she hated to move, especially since a lot of the people in the office were rude or too focused on doing other things that it seemed as if they didn't care that she was a new student there. She sat outside the councilor's office, scuffing her paws on the carpet and looking around at the various school spirited things that were hanging in the office.
-
Reno slept until lunch, when he woke up he hurried to the line. He eyed around as he walked, looking for something. He got to the line, got his food and sat down at his usual table. "She's not here...Maybe she's sick..." he pondered, sitting own alone at the table. He ate quickly and left to go outside. There was a number of others around out there, as he walked he noticed someone following behind him. He stopped and the person stopped too. Reno turned around to see a familiar looking dog. "Jackson?" "Nope. I'm his brother. He sends his regards, to you and that (Censored)." he said smugly. Reno balled his fists at the remark. "Heh, he said that would strike a nerve." "What do you want?" Reno asked with a growing anger. "What do I want? To kick your ass!" he barked. "I'm not going to waste my time." "Coward. Gonna go cry to your girlfriend? Too bad she's d-" "Shut your damned mouth!" "What are you going to do? Cry?! Go on, cry!" By this point people were gathering, they had started gathering at the hint of a fight. Reno was also getting increasingly angry. Mainly people were looking at Reno, curious as to why such a quiet person would be in this situation. Reno darted at him and tackled him to the ground. He didn't expect it judging by the look on his face. Reno then began to punch him repeatedly in the face. "Shut up! Don't talk about her! I'll kill you!" he shouted as he kept hitting.
-
Shinzuu went down to the cafeteria for the first time since he first met Veronica, only to walk past the front door in time to hear Jackson's brother taunting Reno. When Reno attacked the boy, he pulled Reno up by the back of his collar, and held him up in mid-air, out of Reno's reach as he flailed around, reaching down to help Jackson's brother up. "Hey thanks, man, I-" Without letting him finish, Shinzuu gave the kid a left hook with his free hand, sending him back to the ground. "That was one of our close friends, you have no right to say shit!" With that, he pinned the kid's left arm with his left foot and kicked with his right, breaking the arm, which the sound was loud enough to silence the whole yard, short of the kid's cries. "And let that be said to all of you! If you have to balls to dishonor the dead, particularly such a tortured soul, I will make sure I rip those balls out and shove them down your throat! You are all Japanese, now ACT LIKE IT! People like you are the reason we lost the war back in the 40's!" Fumed, Shinzuu went back inside, Reno, still in his grip. He knew he was going to be severely punished, if not expelled, for what he just did, but he didn't care. Shinzuu didn't love Schad, but she was still a friend, and a good soul. Couple that with the traditional Japanese upbringing, anyone would see why he was so pissed. He finally let go of Reno when he got to the front door. "Don't start stuff like that again. We miss her too, but it's not your place for something like this. Hate to see you fear for your life until college." He gave a warm smile as his name was called out on the loudspeakers, "Guess that's my queue to go upstairs. Later."
-
Veronica's head snapped up when she heard Reno yell at someone to tell them to shut their mouth. Hurrying across the roof in the direction of the sound, she looked over the side just in time to see (and hear) Reno yell again before tackling someone to the ground and start punching the guy repeatedly. Her mouth hung open for a moment until Shinzuu showed up and pulled Reno off. The sound of the kid's arm breaking made her cringe then she watched Shinzuu as he took Reno inside. Once he was inside, she made her way back to the door to the stairs and went down them. When she got to the bottom of the stairs to the roof, she sat on the next to last step and rested her muzzle in her hands while her elbows were on her knees.
-
It looked as if her classes were in order. She ate lunch in the office along with most of the secretaries, except for this time, she was sitting in the first waiting room at the entrance. She was somewhat looking forward to the lunch hour being over. They had mentioned letting her look at the clubs to choose from. She could hardly stand sitting in the office alone, but Marlowe figured it was better than being slammed with school work considering Schad's recent passing.
-
As Shinzuu had a hold of Reno he swore up and down, all colors of the rainbow along with several swears in Irish. "I didn't need your help! Get your hands off me! I had'im just fine 'til you showed up!" By the time Shinzuu was putting him down you could practically see smoke coming from his ears. When Shinzuu left he turned towards the doors leading out of school. Looking at his knuckles that were bloodied up a bit he started to walk towards them. He needed to find somewhere to cool off.
-
When Shinzuu was called into the office, he noticed Marlowe sitting in Yass' office, while he was seated at one of the teachers' desk. Ms. Yass came over to Shinzuu first, slapping down an empty folder with Shinzuu's name on it, "Fighting is already forbidden on school grounds, but to break another student's arm, that is a serious offense. If it wasn't for your empty record, we would have expelled you, but since this is a first, and an onlooker has told me what caused these events to unfold, you're still going to be suspended, though. You will receive your punishment starting tomorrow. Be ready for it tomorrow, it's going to be a long week for you."
-
Veronica was walking by the office when Yass said that Shinzuu was going to be suspended. "[Censored]!" She cussed out loud then quickly covered her mouth and hurried past the office. "What am I going to do if he's not around? Tabby's definitely going to act on her anger while he's not here. I'm so screwed." She muttered to herself as she continued on through the hallway with her head hanging as she kept her eyes on the floor.
-
Marlowe's head seemed to be on a swivel as Shinzuu entered the office. Not long after, she recognized another person that was cursing in the hallway. It was the other girl that had attended dinner with them. She stood up, looking to see if anyone was paying attention, but the office seemed to be full of its own problems to notice her slip out of the office and follow after Veronica. She could hear her muttering something, but she didn't know what. "Hey!" she called out, waving to get her attention.
-
Reno eventually sat down under a tree out in front of the school. His knees were to his chest and he had his arms wrapped around them. Face buried in his arms he pondered. "What am I doing? I just go in a fight......Didn't win technically...Didn't lose either...Ugh...Damn Shinzuu! Why'd he have to show up...I was winning." The thought of killing Jackson's brother had crossed his mind. "...I wouldn't have killed him...Would I? Am I really shaken up about this? Bollocks..."
-
Shinzuu merely smiled as he chuckled, "Whatever. I have no problems with any of the outcomes. I'm a proud Japanese, I'm not a dishonorable prick like those other boys. Anything else for me, Principle Yass? If not, I'd like to get back." Yass was going to say something, but Shinzuu had already left. Yes, he was being punished, but it was for something he did. Jackson, his brother, and his friends will get their just rewards eventually, but all in due time. Shinzuu walked back outside, people around looking at him and avoiding him. He walked up to Reno, who seemed shaken from the whole ordeal, though he was pretty sure it wasn't from him. Shinzuu merely placed a hand on the kid's head, "You take him down, his friends come after you. Then his brother and HIS friends come after you. Yes, one-on-one, you might stand a chance, but they enjoy ganging up on others. It'd be anywhere between 7 to 20 against 1 of you. It's better if you don't end up in this world."
-
Veronica's mind was reeling and the only thing that pulled her out of her thoughts was someone calling out a 'hey'. Her head lifted as she paused in mid-step then turned to see who had spoken and found Marlowe following after her waving. "Oh, hey. Enjoying your day in the office?" She said with a slight chuckle, knowing how boring it could be on the first day of transferring. "Believe me, classes aren't any better and the students probably aren't any more pleasant than the people who work in the office. Depends on who you come in contact with though. Don't get me wrong, there are some decent kids here. But yeah, what school is fun anyway, right? Heh." She rubbed the back of her neck. She was trying too hard in the conversation to distract her and it seemed like she was nervous about something, but that something didn't have anything to do with talking to Marlowe.
-
Marlowe looked at Veronica with a funny look as she started her nervous habit of pulling down her skirt. She wondered in the back of her mind if she would ever get over this problem or if she would be pulling on her skirt for the rest of her high school years. "Yeah.. It's pretty boring in there, I don't even think they noticed me slipping out." she said, looking over her shoulder, letting out a sigh of relief when she realized no one was following her. She could tell that Veronica was pretty nervous by how she seemed to go on and on without giving Marlowe much of a chance to respond. It was almost like an overload of information to her. "What's wrong..?" the canine blurted. Marlowe seemed almost embarrassed that she had asked Veronica, as if she were intruding on something she shouldn't, but she tried to clarify herself by elaborating on why she thought something had happened, "I, uh, heard you curse at the office door, and.. Well, uh, here we are. And.. Well, you seem nervous." She didn't really know what to say after, she felt like she might be acting ridiculous given she didn't really know Veronica as well as Schad probably did.
-
Reno listened to Shinzuu as he spoke with his hand on his head. When he was finished he didn't say anything for a few moments. "...What makes you so special?" he said, raising his head up. "What's stopping them from coming after you? I didn't ask for your help." He shoved Shinzuu's hand off his head and stood up. "And now you're in trouble. Because of me." As he spoke, his voice and face remained emotionless. "This is why I don't make friends...Bad things happen."
-
Shinzuu chuckled, "You know, that's what friends are for. We're out there to look after each other. Nothing's going to keep them from going after me, but the difference is that I can stand up for myself. I'm bigger and a hell of a lot stronger. Do you know how much pressure it takes to pop a brand new basketball? Enough to crush two bones. I may not know how to fully fight, but I have enough strength to scare everyone by breaking another's bones. Anyways, I never had any real friends before you, Schad and Veronica. I just had buddies who used my star player status to get girls and popularity. You three are the only ones who actually accepted me for who I am."
-
Veronica listened to Marlowe and looked past her at the same time she looked over her shoulder to check if anyone had followed her, which they hadn't. It didn't really surprise her that Marlowe noticed there was something wrong with her. She looked down at the floor for a moment then looked back up at Marlowe. "Oh, that. I heard Yass say that Shinzuu is suspended starting tomorrow, which means no protection for me." She responded to the question. "Now that psycho chick is definitely going to come after me...hope I can take her..." She looked off to the side.
-
"What psycho chick?" Marlowe seemed confused for a moment, "And why is Shinzuu being suspended, is he that bad of a kid?" The bull terrier began to rethink falling into Schad's friend group as she looked to Veronica. She felt like she should be comforting, but she didn't really know what to do. "I.. I uhm, took martial arts and stuff before I moved." Marlowe scratched the back of her head awkwardly searching for the words to say. "What did you do to make that girl so mad?"
-
Reno didn't know what to say after Shinzuu's speech. He felt a bit more relieved from it though. However his expression changed only slightly. He walked passed him towards the doors. "I should wash my hands...I'll catch you later, Shinzuu." As he reached the doors he stopped. "And..." He paused. "Never mind." he continued, walking inside. He wanted to say "Thanks" but was nervous about it. It wasn't a word he used all that often. It's not that he was ungrateful but he was just shy, to almost everyone. The only person he ever opened up to was Nero, his best friend. Reno was even shy around his parents at times. He headed to a bathroom, walked to the sink and began to wash the blood off his knuckles.
-
Shinzuu watched Reno go and sighed as the kid disappeared into the school. He walked over to the side of the building and then behind the school. There was a line of sinks behind the main building, so Shinzuu turned on the water and let the brown water run for a while before it turned clear. Rarely anyone ever used the sinks back there, so they build up a lot of gunk and grime. When the water cleared, he lowered his head and soaked up, holding his ponytail out of the way.
-
Veronica looked at Marlowe again as she spoke and saw that she was obviously confused. She had every right to be of course since she had no idea about the stuff that occurred. "He's not bad." She quickly said defensively then felt bad since it sounded like she was snapping at Marlowe. "Sorry, didn't mean to sound like that. Um, no, he's getting suspended because he pulled Reno off a guy he was repeatedly punching in the face...then Shinzuu proceeded to break the guy's arm. To teach him a lesson, I guess. Wasn't very smart anyway." She looked down and scuffed her shoe against the floor. "Shinzuu is the reason the girl hates me. She's really easy and she wants to be popular and she thought she was going to be with Shinzuu...and then she saw me with Shinzuu at the train station yesterday evening, sooo yeah..." She looked around the hallway, kind of checking to see if anyone else was around but also just giving her eyes something to do.
-
"Oh." Marlowe felt somewhat bad for saying what she had, but she honestly didn't know since she didn't really get to talk to Schad before she came. "Well, uh.. Like I said, I took martial arts.." She didn't really know what else to say. "I used to take mixed martial arts, like the stuff they did with UFC while I was back in America. Cage fighting and all that..." She began to look around, trying to keep her eyes off Veronica since it seemed like Veronica was doing the same. She didn't know if it had to do with the culture in Japan or what, but she continued looking away just in case.
-
Classes lost their luster again after lunch was over, and he excruciatingly waited for each one to end as they seemed to drag on forever. However, the worst thing on Shinzuu's mind was MMA Club. He made sure that this time, at least two other people were in the room before he went inside himself. During club, two things stuck out: 1) Carmen wasn't there, which worried him a little. 2) Tabby was overly cheerful, which worried him more.
Like before, Shinzuu observed different styles fighting each other for a couple minutes, and then seemed to wander into the corner, expecting Tabby to try to get close to him like she normally does.
-
"You don't have to get yourself involved in my problem. No need for you to have to deal with this crap too." Veronica said, looking at Marlowe again. "But anyways, I'll see you later. I've got to get to class." She raised her hand in a slight wave as she walked off to class. She sat through classes in the same way she had before and took notes as usual. After the school day was over, she went to the library and found a book to read then sat down in a chair in there and began to read. When it came time for cheering practice, she would go early to ask the coach if she was still on the squad. If not, she would go home.
-
"Oh. Well, I can help if you need, I don't mind." she insisted before Veronica broke off. She waved her hand slightly and wandered back to the office. She wondered if they had anything similar to the fighting she had done in America. After what seemed like forever, the office finally sent someone to escort her to take a look at the clubs. After talking with the other student for a while, she decided to sit in on their wrestling club. The student took her to the 3rd floor and left her. She took a spot in one of the desks that had been pulled aside, watching the students learn techniques.
-
After classes were over Reno headed over to the swim team. He had a little over an hour to find a new club if he was actually off the swim team. When he got there he found out he was off the team. He wasn't given the chance to explain himself but he didn't care too either. Reno just left casually and went to go search for a new club. He asked a teacher where the archery club was. He mentioned something about "Kyudo" and where it was. He followed the directions and came to a room which he walked in. Inside there was a tan furred fox in front of the class. When Reno walked in he felt the eyes of everyone on him which made him very nervous. "Yes? What do you want, boy?" asked the fox looking over at him. "U-Uhm...T-This is uhm...Th-The Kyudo club?" he stuttered. "Mhmm...Can I help you?" "I-...Uhm..." Reno was cut short from a giggle from the others which he wasn't looking at. However he did look this time only to see everyone was a girl. "Well?" "I wanted to see if...There were any openings. In the club. Here. That is." The fox chuckled at Reno's nervous reactions. "There is one." "Really?" Reno questioned, sounding almost relieved. "Mhmm. Long as you don't mind hanging out with a bunch of girls. Doesn't seem any men wanted to try this year. You'll be the second." "Second? I don't see any other guys around." "Oh. He didn't cut it." she said in sinister tone. "We ate him." chimed in another girl from the class. The rest of the girls giggled at the comment. Reno however gulped nervously. "So do you still want in?" "S-Sure..." The fox walked towards Reno after her spoke. "Alright then. We'll take you for a test drive first thing tomorrow. Alright?" she said turning him around. "T-Test drive?" "Ya know, see how ya shoot. What did ya think I meant?" she said slyly pushing him towards the door. "Don't be late...Or else..." she whispered into his ear before shoving him out the door. Reno stood there not really knowing what to think at that point.
-
To Shinzuu's surprise, Tabby didn't even look at him once as she normally did. Instead, the only time that she has ever looked at him was to help him with trying to get proper form. It seemed strange, but Shinzuu merely assumed that she finally came to terms that he's just not into her, and that he had nothing to worry about. Little did he know, it was the exact opposite. After classes, before club started, Tabby and her friends had already destroyed Veronica's locker, breaking the door and the lock off, and thrown all of its contents all over the place.
-
Veronica put her book away and headed for the gym. On her way there, she saw a mess all over the hall and found out that her locker had been broken into so she then knew that everything in the hall was her own. She let out a sigh and went to the office to check to see if Yass was still around which she luckily was. When Veronica told her about it, she went with her to examine the mess. "Well, you're going to have to have a new locker and for now you're going to have to carry your stuff with you. Any idea who did this?" Yass said, looking at the locker then the stuff scattered around the hallway then finally at Veronica. "I know exactly who did it, or at least the main person behind it." Veronica responded with her eyes on the locker. "Care to tell me?" Yass asked. "It won't do any good if I do. They'll just be punished for a bit then start right up again after their punishment is through." "Now don't talk like that. We do our be--" "Well it's true." Veronica blurted out, a little bit of anger in her tone. Yass sighed. "Well...if this keeps up, or you change your mind about telling me who. Please don't hesitate to come talk to me." Veronica just nodded in response and waited for Yass to walk off before she started gathering her stuff, starting with her bag. She shoved her books and binders inside and through in her practice clothes on top of them, closing the bag. After that, she went to the gym and found the cheerleading coach and asked her if she was still on the squad. "Of course you are. I know you've had a lot happen recently. You'll just have to practice harder to be ready for the competition." The coach responded. "Okay. I can do that." She said and started to walk off to the bathroom to change. "And Veronica..." Veronica looked over her shoulder at the coach. "I'm sorry for your loss." Veronica nodded with a slight smile (which was fake, but not recognizably fake) then continued into the bathroom where she changed. When she came out, she switched her hair into a ponytail after setting her bag against the wall then helped the couch drag the mats out for practice.
-
Marlowe watched the class, with mild interest. It seemed to be similar to the ju jitzu she had done in America. She recognized Shinzuu, but remained seated, scanning the students as if to size them up accordingly. Watching them made her almost want to get out on the mat to see how rusty she was, but she restrained the urge and merely observed, recounting the motions of the techniques some of them were learning.
-
After Reno eventually got his nerve back he walked on down the hallway. He made his way to the exit of the school and slowly walked to work. He still had extra time but he decided to go early to catch up on something. As he walked he kept his hands in his pockets. He lost himself in thought about various things. "I wonder where that doll is going to show up this time? I wonder if I can't get out of work so I can spread Schad's ashes...That was the plan today I think...Ugh..."
-
Shinzuu maintained studying the others and mimicking their forms as they went along. He really enjoyed watching some sparring matches go on, marveling at the difference in styles. However, Shinzuu discovered he enjoyed aspects of all of them, not just parts of them, which was what most people in Mixed Martial Arts did. He wanted to learn it all, and do it all.
-
Reno got to work, nothing new had happened. The crew was glad to see him back and were doing their best to make him happy. He worked as usual, quietly, thinking on a way to ask to be done early. The only way he would be able to if he worked extra hard, but even then he doubted it. He missed a few days of work after all. He seemed distracted as he worked, he kept to himself though everyone pestered him, figuring he was down in the dumps. The thought of asking them to cover for him had crossed his mind, but he didn't want to be a bother.
-
Shinzuu ended up leaving the club a little early and couldn't help but feel that something was off. He went over to the public library to look up some history books and found a couple things that stuck out after a few minutes. Japanese history of their encounters of fighting styles of all types comes down to exemplifying Wing Chuan that was encountered back during Japanese occupation in 1937, in the southern provinces, particularly in Fo Shan (Buddha Mountain) of Canton. The other style that surprised and caught his attention was Tai Chi. Some books signified that though people pay hundreds of American dollars to learn it for a year, it turns out that it was only a warm-up routine, and that combat Tai Chi was known as the world's strongest martial art, having 3 different styles and 2 additional self-acclaiming 4th and 5th styles which apparently was frowned upon since it was actually a hybrid of Japanese and Korean styles. With what he could find, Shinzuu checked out the only two Wing Chuan instructional books, and just one of the Tai Chi books, since according to the study, that they were all the same, and that learning it is branched off from mastering the warm-up routine first. Hopefully this will be enough for the next few months for practice. He quickly ran back to the school, heading for the gym, where the cheer team had already started for a few minutes already.
-
Veronica stretched out with the rest of the squad on the mats and practiced jumps before they started the routine. When they started the routine, she went along with them fine for the first half then had to move out of the group and watch the last half. After they were done, she joined them again and they started from the midpoint without the music, doing clumps of moves at a time to teach her how the rest of the routine went.
-
After watching wrestling for a little while, she stepped outside of the gym where her escort was. "I'd like to check out the art clubs, if I can before I decide." She said, scratching her chin. The student nodded and took her to the art club, where, again, she took a seat and merely observed. She was still unsure of where she wanted to go club-wise, but she felt as if she might be getting a decent feel for them by watching.
-
Shinzuu read his books as the cheer team went through their routines and practice. Out of interest and boredom at the same time, he then placed the book face up next to him and began practicing the forms without the feet portion. At first, he was quite stiff, and he wondered why certain forms were hard to switch to. After a while, he remembered what about the martial art interested him, and he relaxed himself a bit more to try again. Shinzuu just stayed with practicing the upper body forms for the rest of the cheer practice.
-
When practice ended, Veronica went into the locker room and changed back into her regular clothes. She shoved her practice clothes into her bag when she came out of the locker room and slung the bag over her shoulder. She looked up to see Shinzuu doing some moves and headed over to him. "Hey. Whatcha doing?" She asked when she got over to him, shifting the bag on her shoulder since she wasn't used to the weight of all of her things in the bag.
-
Eventually Reno went on break, he sat out back of the restaurant alone. Normally he'd eat something but he wasn't hungry. He wasn't sure what was wrong with him at this point, he didn't know how to think. He sighed, thinking. "What should I do? Should I just move on...? I'm sure everyone would want to say that...I mean...What else can they say? She's dead. It's not like they'd tell me to follow her...Ugh...Veronica is hurting too...I can't just feel sorry for myself...*Sigh*...What did I do when I lost my parents...I cried for days...That didn't help...Veronica didn't...Well, she did have friends to lean on...I didn't...My friends were in a different country...Crying doesn't solve anything...I think I should just move on..."
-
Veronica's call surprised Shinzuu, and he quickly stopped, not sure why he was acting like he was hiding something when he wasn't. "N-nothing. It's just that I've been with the MMA club for a while, and I thought I'd do some research and find a style for myself to learn, so I'm practicing off of that. Anyways, are you ready to go?" He packed the books into his bag and picked up his uniform jacket that he had taken off earlier.
-
Veronica smirked slightly because of Shinzuu's stuttering at first like she wasn't supposed to see what he was doing. "Ah. Sounds...fun." She responded, unsure of what word to use to describe what he was doing was like. "Sure, I'm ready." She stuck her thumb underneath the strap of her bag like that would maybe relieve some of the weight that was on her shoulder from all the stuff that was in her bag.
-
The only thing that bugged her about the art group were the various cliques. She wondered how Schad would get along in such a club. Marlowe recalled the days where they would both sit back and just silently demean some of the more ignorant folk together as they sketched things up. Marlowe sighed again and left the art room heading to the office to clear her attendance so she could leave. She was ready to go and was certain she didn't want to look at any other clubs.
-
Reno got up to return inside from his break when the door opened. It was his boss. "Reno, go ahead and go home. It's slow." Reno didn't expect that and just nodded. He went back inside to grab his things. After that he left to head back home. He didn't know how to get a hold of Marlowe or he would have, he thought of Schadenfreude's ashes. Unless they happened to cross paths it probably wouldn't have happened.
-
Shinzuu smiled and led the way, "Do you want to go home now or do you want to go somewhere else?" He himself was a little hungry, that was easily taken care of no matter where they go, but he figured that Veronica might want to visit her old home or just find somewhere to relax and regain herself, or just to have fun. Shinzuu knew what he, personally, did when he was in her situation, but decided to let her deal with it on her own however she wanted to, and that he would just try his best to support her.
-
Veronica stared at her feet as she listened to Shinzuu and they began to walk. "I don't really have any interest in going anywhere. Not really in the mood." She responded to his question. Her thoughts moved back to her broken locker door and her stuff scattered throughout the hallway. Thinking about it gave her a strong urge to run off and find Tabby a piece of her mind...and her fist...but she resisted that urge as she wrapped her other hand around the strap of her bag and clenched it tightly. She knew exactly what she wanted to do when she got back to the apartment.
-
Marlowe walked out of the school and began to walk home. She was still annoyed with the skirt, and she wanted to get home as quickly as she could so that she could change. There was nothing she would have wanted more than a pair of pants at that point. She felt like she wanted to dawdle around and avoid the long "How was your first day of school" session with her father, but damn, she hated her skirt.
-
Reno continued walking home in silence, hands in his pockets. He accidentally stepped off the curb almost falling on his face. Luckily he caught himself and no one was around to see it. Heart racing he took a deep breath and exhaled. "That was close." he said, looking at the ground to make sure he was walking straight this time. He soon made it to the hotel and went inside. He waved to Dorris and Alexia who were chatting as usual at the front desk. He went inside his room and fell face first onto his bed. "Ugh..."
-
Shinzuu nodded, "Alright." On the way back, they stopped at the convenience store for Shinzuu to pick up a few snacks. However, when Shinzuu went inside, he took an extra minute to look around the other things, particularly at supplies. There, he found fist tape and wrist/ankle weights, which he purchased as well. After getting outside, he walked Veronica back to the apartment and opened the door for her like last time. This time, however, Shiori wasn't home, since it was one of the times she worked late.
-
Veronica walked along with Shinzuu and when they stopped at the convenience store she stood inside the store next to the door while he bought some things. When they finally got back to the apartment and she had gone inside & taken off her shoes, she remembered the weights that she had seen him grab. "You know, you could have just borrowed mine. We use ankle weights in cheering to help us have the ability to do our jumps higher." She said as she walked off toward the guest room, dragging her bag behind her since her shoulder was killing her from the weight.
-
When she arrived at her home, she tried her best to stay silent and sneak in. However, her dad's door was open. She cursed under her breath and quickly darted into her room, slamming the door behind her. "Marlowe, welcome back!" her dad yelled, "How was school?" He knew she didn't want to talk about it, but felt as if he should bug her about it. "I know you're there!" He continued playfully. Inside her room, Marlowe was taking off her dress and throwing it to the furthest corner of her room and changing into a pair of pants.
-
After a moment of laying there Reno rolled over and sat up. He ran his paw down his face and sighed getting up. He took off his tie, threw it on his bed and walked towards the bathroom. As he walked he unbuttoned his shirt. Once he stepped inside the bathroom he saw the croagunk sitting at the edge of the tub. He also noticed his pocket knife on the ground below it unfolded. "That's not creepy at all..." He slowly walked to his knife and picked it up. As he stood back up he heard a knock at his door which startled him. He almost dropped the knife in the scare. He turned around and looked out the bathroom door to look at the front door. Again the knock came. "This is like that one movie..." he thought as he walked over to the door. Reno slowly moved his eye towards the peep hole to look out but was hesitant. "It was just a movie...Not like it was real...Nothing to be afraid of..." He looked out the hole and to his surprise he saw a mask of one of the people from The Strangers and promptly freaked out. Eyes widened, heart racing, back against the door he clutched his pocket knife close to his chest. "Oh crap! What the hell?! I'm gonna die and they're gonna make some sick movie based off of my gruesome death!......Okay...Calm down. No one is going to take me. I got this. I have a knife. And-...Screw it..." Reno suddenly turned around in a bit of bravery, opened the door and looked out. "Oi what-!" to his relief, it was just a mask suspended from his door frame by a string. "Aheh...See? Nothing...Just some sick prank. Nothing to be afraid of..." he took a step back inside, locked his door and turned around. Again to his surprise, he saw Schadenfreude standing there with a menacing look. Normally he wouldn't have, but due to the situation, he passed out from the surprised.
-
Shinzuu shook his head at Veronica's mention of the weights, "No, it's fine. Besides, what if I wanted to use them when you were out in practice? Not exactly accessible right? Besides, mine can be adjusted to different weights on 3 kilo increments. Yours looks like set weights." He let out a warm smile to at least show that he appreciated the gesture before she went off to her room. Shinzuu knew he wasn't going to be using weights any time soon yet, but at least he won't forget later. After putting everything away in his room, he took out the food from the bag and plopped onto the couch, food in mouth and bag in hand.
-
After she entered the room, she closed the door and tossed the the bag aside, which didn't go very far because of the weight. She then changed into her pajamas before tugging her radio/CD player out of one of her boxes of things. Setting it on the night stand, she plugged it in then rummaged through the box and pulled out her Adam Lambert CD. She popped the CD into the CD played and skipped through the songs until she found the one she wanted. The opening music of "Aftermath" started to play and she cranked the volume up loud then flopped down on the bed on her back, staring blankly at the ceiling as she listened to the song.
-
Marlowe sat down on her bed, grabbing her xbox 360 controller. She layed back, holding down the middle button that would activate both the controller and the console. Bioshock was in, and she felt too lazy to change games, so she continued to play from the point she had last saved. In the other room, her father continued to aggravate her in hopes that she would get tired of listening to him and come out of her room.
-
Reno had stayed passed out from his little surprise. He was tired and planning on going to bed anyway after his shower. The apparition of Schadenfreude had long since gone, leaving him to drool on his shoulder as his head was leaning in that direction. He usually drooled on himself, he was a heavy sleeping. In a way it was a sign he was actually sleeping or at least enjoying his sleep. He didn't dream that night, but he didn't really often anyway.
-
Shinzuu finally sighed and gave up on playing games, but kept the TV on so that he would be able to listen to his movies while he pulled out his homework and tried to do it. His brain seemed to calm as his movies played in the background. However, it being homework, Shinzuu ended up falling asleep on the couch on top of his paperwork and books.
-
Veronica listened to the whole song and let the CD continue on after that. As she listened to all the songs, she continued to stare at the ceiling and thought back on times with her parents. She had no concern for her homework and after a while she fell asleep to the music and her memories. While she slept her dream remained a constant one with her sitting alone in darkness with no one else around and complete silence.
-
Reno woke up to his alarm clock going off, which startled him. Luckily he didn't have his knife on him or he probably would have stabbed himself. He wiped the drool from his face as he looked around, wondering why he was on the floor. When he saw the mask laying next to him he remembered and stood up tossing the mask in the trash. After that he grabbed his knife from the floor and folded it up and stuffed it in his pocket as he went to turn off his alarm. Reno then stretched and fell onto his bed. "...I didn't set my alarm last night..." he realized and sat up. He saw the croagunk sitting beside his clock which he didn't notice when he turned it off. "...If you move from that spot when I get back from school...I'm going to duct tape your ass to the wall." he said pointing at the doll as if he were scolding a child. He continued to look at it as if he were expecting it to reply. "You don't care." he said throwing his hands into the air and falling back on his bed. "Ugh...I still don't want to go to school..."
-
Shinzuu woke up the next morning to his Playstation 3 starting to flood with messages. He grunted as he sat up and opened up the main menu from the Netflix page and checked the time. It was still 5am, and his mother was just putting on her shoes in the front entrance. "Later, ma." The wolf fell on her rear in surprise when she heard her son's voice while she thought he would still be asleep. "Okay, dear. You two don't make something tonight, though. I'm going to be cooking tonight. Remember to ask Veronica what she likes to eat ahead of time, and let me know." Shinzuu gave a kind of wave, though she wouldn't see it, "Yea, sure." He opened up his inbox and found hundreds of messages. Most of them were game invites, but some were just questions on latest games and questions on if he did zombie maps or not. Shinzuu yawned and stretched, deciding to walk back into his room to get dressed.
-
When Veronica woke up, she found herself lying on her side with her legs pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. If she had been actually sitting up on the bed, she would have been in the exact same position that she had been in during the dream. Slowly, she released her legs, rolling on her back and gently extending her arms and legs out. She groaned from the stiffness as she settled her arms out at her sides. After a moment of staring at the ceiling, she moved off of the bed and stopped the CD in the player before turning it off. She didn't give any thought to how she looked as she opened the door and exited the room, though her hair was all messy since it had come out of hair-tie it had been in. She took a couple steps toward the living room while rubbing her right eye with her right hand then paused and stood there as if she was trying to remember what she was doing.
-
Marlowe had lost track of time as she played into the night. She eventually fell asleep playing her xbox. It wasn't a first for her, so when she woke, she wiped her eyes, careful not to fling the controller out of her hand. She glanced over at the clock. It was 5:03am. She closed her eyes deciding now wasn't the time to wake for her. This time, she sleepily cut off her xbox and laid on her side on top of her covers on her bed.
-
Reno forced himself up to go get dressed, buttoning his shirt and fishing his tie from his bed. He tied it and went to the bathroom. He relieved himself and checked his teeth, shrugging and got out his toothbrush. After that he grabbed his tooth paste and started brushing. As he brushed he thought of what Shinzuu had said the previous day. "I don't know anymore......I wonder how my new club is going to work out..." The thought of the club being all girls made him shiver a moment. "I get the feeling today will be interesting." he thought as he finished up brushing. Reno then went out of the bathroom, grabbed his things and set off for school.
-
Shinzuu untied his hair and scratched out the knots as Veronica walked in. He stood up and turned around to go to the bathroom, but was shocked to find her standing there. Shinzuu had never let anyone see him with his ponytail untied, and there she was, looking right at him. He waved a little and cleared his throat, "Hey! Good morning. You're up awful early." Shinzuu scratched the back of his neck, not sure what to say or do next.
-
Veronica snapped out of her little trance when Shinzuu waved at her. "Oh, hi. Yeah, I couldn't sleep more..." She responded. Seeing Shinzuu with his hair untied was a different sight, but it wasn't really a big deal to her. What was a big deal for her was that in that moment she just realized how messy her hair must look and how much of a mess she must have looked in general from sleep. "Uh...you can go ahead and use the bathroom. I forgot to grab my uniform anyway." She said before quickly moving past him and into the guest room.
-
Reno walked down the sidewalk onward to school. "Gotta remember to get Marlowe's number..." he thought as he yawned. "And Shinzuu's. And Veronica's...Would it be weird to have two girl's numbers?" He tripped again, though this time it was on the sidewalk. He didn't fall this time either but again it made him tense up a bit. "Bollocks...Need to learn to think 'n' walk at the same time apparently. Kinda scared about Kyudo...All girls...The teacher seemed odd...I could have swore she whispered something in my ear on the way out."
-
"Thanks. Well, I'll leave the TV on. It's not even 6am yet, so you can keep yourself busy." Shinzuu quickly walked past Veronica and into the bathroom, quickly closing the door behind him. He then turned on the shower and sat on the little stool, lathering up and taking a full bottle of shampoo from the little closet and using it all. As he spent time going through every inch of his hair, his thoughts went over to just a few minutes ago with Veronica seeing him with his hair undone. For her, it was probably just superficial, but Shinzuu couldn't help but dwell on it a bit. After he was finally done, he rinsed off completely, but decided against soaking in the tub today, so he dried off and wrapped a towel around himself before tying his hair off. Shinzuu walked out, "It's all yours."
-
Veronica grabbed her uniform from the room along with her undergarments which she once again put in between the shirt and the skirt so they wouldn't be seen. She went to the living room and sat in a chair, watching the TV absentmindedly with her outfit in her lap. When Shinzuu came out of the bathroom and spoke, she got up. "Okay, thanks." She said while still looking towards the TV. After a second, she looked over at Shinzuu and, as soon as she noticed that he only had a towel on, she turned red underneath her fur. She scurried past him into the bathroom to avoid the chance of saying something stupid and closed the door, leaning back against it afterward. Shaking her head to get the thought of Shinzuu shirtless out of her mind, she put her clothes down where they wouldn't get wet, used the bathroom, and then started the water in the shower. While waiting for the water to get to the right temperature, she undressed. She eased into the shower then washed herself up then rinsed off. Turning the water off, she stepped out and grabbed a towel. She dried herself off completely and pulled on her clothes before wrapping her hair up in the towel. Grabbing her dirty pajamas, she left the bathroom and went to the guest room, throwing the clothes in the corner with the rest. She then went back to living room and sat down in the chair again.
-
Eventually her alarm went off, waking her up. She yawned, feeling much better due to the little "power nap" she had. She never knew why, but she always felt better after the second time she woke up. Marlowe stripped down and headed to the shower, turning on the radio and blasting her music so that she could just think. She didn't turn on any lights, she just found her way to the bathroom in the dark. When she got to the bathroom, she still didn't bother with turning on the light. She put a towel to where she could reach it from within the shower and turned on the water, waiting for it to warm up. After she felt the steam hit her, she stepped in and began to shower.
-
Shinzuu tossed his clothes in the hamper and opened up the little closet in his room and pulled out a fresh uniform. He changed into the pants and shirt, but left the jacket off and laid it on his bed as he made his way out to head for the cooking area. Shinzuu started the fire on the tiny stove and placed a skillet on it. He turned to Veronica's direction, "I'm making bacon and sausages this morning, you want some?"
-
Veronica sat in the chair and stared at the TV, not really paying attention to what was actually playing on it. She was in her own little world as she sat there, thinking about what Tabby and her minions were going to do to try to make her life a living hell today. She didn't know how well she would handle it this time if Tabby did something though. When Shinzuu spoke to her, she jumped slightly since she wasn't paying attention. "Oh, uh, yeah. I'd take some bacon." She responded to him. "Thanks." After that, she turned in the chair and saw that he was wearing his uniform as she remembered that he was suspended. "Um...I thought you were suspended, why are you wearing your uniform?"
-
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the water, breathing deeply, occasionally putting a small effort into singing until she realized she was singing to her music. After she was all washed up, she turned the water off and pulled the towel down, wiping her face first, then beginning to dry in the dark. She eventually convinced herself to cut on the light after she realized she'd have to to find her uniform.
-
Reno continued walking, after a minute his stomach growled. He decided to stop by a diner along the way and get some breakfast. Walking in it was fairly empty, he walked to a booth and sat down. A menu was already there so he looked it over. A waitress came over and asked for his order. "Uhm...Stack of french toast, chocolate milk and some sausage please." "Alright, it'll be ready soon." she said before walking off. Reno continued to idly look at the things on the table, keeping himself occupied. "I don't know why but I'm startin' to regret tryin' that Kyudo..."
-
"School rules, ya know? I'm facing the same punishment Tabby and her friends did. It's an in-school suspension." Shinzuu cooked up bacon after bacon, piling them all onto a platter that he removed while cooking the first batch. "You can grab the ones you want. The skillet can only fit 8 slices at a time. First couple are ready." Every batch he made, he would eat one or two after placing them into the platter. After the whole bag was gone, Shinzuu took out the sausages and started cooking them. "Two minutes for the sausages."
-
"Oh..." Veronica said, feeling stupid for forgetting about in-school suspension. When Shinzuu said that the first batch of bacon was ready, she slowly got up out of the chair and went over to the kitchen. As he piled up bacon on the platter, she kept taking pieces from it and eating them while standing there watching Shinzuu cook. When he said the time for sausage, she shook her head. "Not having any sausage. Don't care for it." She stated then looked down at her feet as she continued to eat a piece of bacon.
-
Marlowe finally found her uniform and put it on after searching her room. She had already forgotten that she had thrown it in the corner, and spent a good while looking for it. She plopped on her bed, dressed, picking up her DS and playing it until her alarm that usually woke her went off. She sighed. She had a little more time to kill than she liked, so she grabbed her backpack and began to walk to the door. Surprisingly, her father wasn't up.
-
Reno continued to idly look over the menu, he couldn't read much of it because it was in Japanese. He knew what most of the pictures were though. "Ugh...Girls...Can't live with'em...Can't live with out'em. I kinda wish there was another guy there...But at the same time I don't. That teacher concerns me for some reason...I can't shake the feeling. I'm probably just crazy. Actually I am crazy, I know that much. *sigh* I wonder if it would be hard to be a teacher...? What would I teach? How to hold a game controller. How to no scope. Tomahawks 101. Being lazy for dummies. Aheh...Teaching can't be that hard."
-
Shinzuu sighed as Veronica said she didn't want any sausages, so he placed the cap on top of the skillet and turned to the plate of bacon, consuming them. He finished off the sausages in the same manner when they were done. After breakfast, he rinsed his dishes and let them soak in the sink that was filled with water and soap. Shinzuu then went back to his room to pick up the jacket of his uniform and his bag, going back to the living room to pack his homework into the bag. "I know school's not for another two hours, but I'm going to go out for a little bit before it's time to go. Here's the spare key my mom left for you. Just make sure you lock up when you leave."
-
Veronica continued to eat bacon until her and Shinzuu had finished off what was on the platter. She watched him leave to go to his room and just stood there by herself. When he came back, she watched him pack his things. She took the key from him when he handed it to her and looked at it in her hand. "Oh...alright..." She said as she stood there for a few seconds before she walked off into the guest room. Her mood was mostly tied up in negative things as she walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, staring at the opposite wall.
-
She snuck out past him, careful not to wake him and began to walk down the sidewalk. Part of her wanted to go explore, but the other part was telling her she didn't want to stray from her path that she knew and get lost in the city. After a few moments of intense thinking, she decided to explore anyway. She began to wander, looking at signs and through windows to see what kind of things the places had to offer. Her stomach grumbled when she passed a bar type place that served food on the street. She grabbed one of the stools and looked at the menus, not really knowing what they said. The man sitting beside her was eating something that looked good. Rice and some kind of meat. So she pointed to his bowl when she was asked to order.
-
Reno sat there waiting for his food, eventually it came. He thanked the waitress and began to cut up the french toast. After that he put some syrup on them, dipped some sausage in it and took a bite. He then ate a piece of french toast and tried the milk. It was all good. He continued to eat, thinking about various things. "Schad...I wonder when we're going to bury her ashes? GAH!...I wish...I dunno...Would it have made a difference to tell her how I felt? Ugh..." Reno finished eating fairly quickly. He checked his phone for the time seeing he had some time to kill. He paid the bill and left, working his way to the cemetery. Once there he found his parents' grave stones and sat in front of them. "Hey..." he said aloud as he leaned back on his elbows. "I'm sorry I haven't visited you every Saturday like I promised...Lots happened." he continued, leaning back up quickly. "I fell in love with a girl. She was great...But...She died...I wish I could have spent more time with her...I had a lot of fun with her. I know I need to move on...I just kinda regret not telling her how I felt. It's eating at me. I don't know what to do...I felt like I was getting close to her. Like Nero...Even he's dead. I don't have anyone else I can open up to...This boy Shinzuu...I don't know...He seems to want me to think that of him...But I don't want anymore friends like that. I don't want to suffer through anymore losses. I don't really want anymore friends period..." he said hanging his head low. He seemed very down and depressed as he sat there.
-
When Shinzuu finally packed everything into his bag, he headed for the door and put on his shoes, "I'm heading out." Before closing the door behind him, Shinzuu grabbed the basketball out of the closet and went out to the park. There, to his surprise, were quite a number of people, especially on the basketball court. Shinzuu quickly rushed over, seeing what the commotion was about. In the court, some new faces were playing basketball with random local kids, and money was being thrown in for bets. When Shinzuu arrived down there, several familiar faces quickly called out, "I call Shinzuu on my team!" Shinzuu shook his head as he raised a hand, "No, I'm not. I was just hoping to get some practice in." "Well you can practice on these guys! These guys came in from America yesterday for the junior tourney. They've been placing bets with us, and we've been losing big." Shinzuu sighed and walked up to the cage, watching the game. He then scoffed, his old self resurfacing, "Tch, they're amateurs at best." One of the taller American kids, a cat around Shinzuu's height, perked his ears and turned to him, "Oh really, Jap boy? Care to make a major?" Shinzuu chuckled, "That's wager, idiot. But yea, I'll take you on." The cat then called timeout and took the current pot, handing it to the other kids, "Here's your stupid money." He then shouted something in English to his friends, and they started off the court. "No, no. I'll take on all of you." The apparent leader stared blankly and laughed, telling his buddies what Shinzuu just said. Shinzuu merely smirked as he took off his uniform shirt and jacket, pointing at the cat's friends and motioned for them to get on the court with his finger, before giving them the finger. The other guys got pissed and got onto the court, while others around started gathering around, "I'll be on your team!" "Me, too!" Shinzuu shook his head and smiled, "I told you, they're amateurs at best. They only rely on their size and height. Watch." Shinzuu stepped onto the court and handed the ball to the cat and pulled out a small stack of bills from his pocket, "One point shots, twenty one win. Bet is 12,000 yen a piece. You got the balls to do it, rich American babies?" The cat laughed and threw down 120 US dollars, along with each of his buddies, though the others were hesitant to throw in that much money. Shinzuu threw in 60,000 yen into the pile, and some people were whispering to each other, wondering where a high school student would get that kind of money. "Visitors get first ball. Call your own fouls."
-
After about 15 minutes of staring at the wall, Veronica groaned loudly and got up off of the bed. "I can't friggin' sit around here another second." She said in frustration, walking over to her bag on the floor. She tossed some of her stuff out of it that she didn't need then flipped her head down, untwisting the towel her hair was wrapped in and rubbing her hair vigorously before she flipped her head back. Carrying the towel, she took it to the bathroom and took care of it. While she was in there, she brushed her hair out then put it in her usual loose pigtails. Going back to the guest room, she grabbed her bag and put it on her shoulder then went to the door of the apartment. She put on her shoes then left the apartment, locking the door behind her before tossing the key in a small zippered pocket on her bag and zipping it closed. When she got out of the building, she walked in the direction of school but at a pretty slow pace since she didn't want to be extremely early. All the thoughts swarming around in her head were driving her crazy and it was a miracle that she could even focus on where she was going and not get hit by cars when crossing streets.
-
Sitting at the bar, she waited for her food. When the server came with her food, she handed him some money. She took her bowl and began to eat as best as she could with her chopsticks. She wasn't a pro, but she could get more than a few grains of rice on them thanks to an old friend back in America. She ate the food vigorously, cramming the food in her mouth hungrily. After she was done, she waited a second, asking for some water and another bowl.
-
Reno fell backwards after his little session. There he looked up at the sky, watching the clouds slowly drift by. He relaxed for awhile, taking in the view and the feeling of calmness. "I should probably get going." he said finally. Sitting up he grabbed his bag and stood up. "I'll bring flowers or something next time...See ya." he said somewhat casually before walking off. He walked out of the cemetery and headed to school. He eventually made it and sat in front of his classroom.
-
Shinzuu sweat heavily as the game wore on. Noise was abundant as Shinzuu was up, 20 to 19. Shinzuu handed the ball to the cat, who was sweating just as much. He drove the ball in, but passed the ball to a teammate before Shinzuu reached up to block, but Shinzuu's block was a fake, and he turned 180 degrees and jumped, just in time to block and catch the ball as the one behind him took a shot. Shinzuu then quickly tossed the ball up as he went back to the three point line and jumped up, catching the ball in mid-air and shooting, landing the shot with nothing but net. The crowd around went wild with cheering. Shinzuu chuckled as everyone else came in and handed him the money before hefting him up. After being hefted, Shinzuu saw the clock, "Oh shit! I gotta get to school before the gates close!" A couple people began to panic as they realized they were supposed to do the same, and they all bolted out of the park. When Shinzuu made it to the grounds, he dove hard as the gates began to close. Half the students were outside, while Shinzuu made part of the group that did make it in. However, he was met by gym teacher Kaiya Onizuka, who handed him the two pales of water and hung the sign over his neck. "I will not cause any violence in school."
Meanwhile, Tabby and her bunch had already made their own plans. Veronica's desk had been mutilated with make-up, which read "whore" and "slut" all over it in Japanese.
-
Veronica made her route to school a big loop so that she got there only half an hour before school started. She went straight to her classroom since her locker hadn't been completely fixed yet. When she spotted her desk from the doorway, she could already tell what it said and just turned around and went right back out the door. She went straight to the office and went to Yass' door, knocking on it. Yass came to the door and opened it. "My desk needs to be cleaned. There are vulgar words all over it." She said plainly before Yass had a chance to say anything then turned to walk away. "Ready to tell me who yet?" Yass asked, but Veronica left the office without another word. Walking through the halls, she made her way to the stairs to the roof and went up them. She went over to the edge of the roof and sat against the little wall-barrier that went around the whole roof.
-
After she ate, she looked at her cell phone and began to hurry along to get to class. She wasn't entirely sure where she was, so she backtracked, taking a few wrong turns that caused her to lose time. She eventually got to the school, only to find that the gates were closed. Sighing out, she put her back on the fence and slid down it, just sitting in front of the school as if waiting for something to happen.
-
After sitting in silence long enough Reno stood up ready to walk into class. A few girls passed him by in the hallway but he paid them no mind. He figured they were giggling about cute boys or something and went into class. He sat in the back as usual waiting for his work so he could finish it and take a nap. For once he thought about his grades, he usually kept a C. He did it purposely, the work was easy for him. But he never did his homework which was a large portion of his grade. He thought it should be illegal, making someone take their school home with them. Not only did he work but he wanted to just play games, leaving school at school. His grades suffered for it, but some of the teachers, such as Mr. Avery knew he was much smarter. "I think I should reconsider this Kyudo thing...I'm kinda scared. But I don't want to seem like a wuss or something...Ugh...Maybe it won't be that bad? Maybe I'm just being crazy...What's the worst that could happen?"
-
When it came time for gym class, there was a lot of commotion and people running to the gym. Everyone was talking about some American kids who were there for basketball for the International Youth League.
Veronica didn't hear the commotion since she was still on the roof. At this point, she was laying on her back on the roof staring up at the sky. She was muttering to herself every minute or so. The things she was muttering were random quotes or poems that came into her mind that related to what she was feeling. "Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and, at a certain age, the child is grown and puts away, childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies." She quoted the poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay and her voice shook on the last couple of words. She could feel tears welling up in her eyes but she pushed them back as she sat up and turned so her back was against the barrier again.
-
After a while, Marlowe seemed to doze off outside the gate. Her arms were crossed and she was curled up in her hoodie that she wore over her uniform that she had planned to stuff in her backpack when she got to school. Her hat also was pulled down over her eyes. Another item she planned to put away while in school. She looked as if she might be dead because of how she was sitting.
-
When gym rolled around Reno decided to ditch it. The American kids showing up made it annoying to him, there was too much going on and he didn't care for sports anyway. He wound up wondering around school, heading up a flight of stairs he never went up before to avoid a teacher. Out of curiosity he continued up them, which lead him to the roof. He stealthily made his way through the door, having seen it lead to the outside world. Looking around he saw he was on the roof, completely missing Veronica lying down. Reno took a few steps forward to further look around, eventually seeing Veronica. "Veronica? Is that you? What are you doing up here?" he asked, surprised to see her up there.
-
Shinzuu was bored standing in front of the school all day and yawned by the time noon rolled around. He was curious when people started running fast past him, "Hey! What the hell's going on?" One of the kids turned, but was running in place, ready to turn tail, "The American guys you whooped this morning are here! They're challenging our basketball team!" Shinzuu growled to himself, Goddammit! And I don't get to see any of it. But I'm pretty sure I'm not missing much. Fai is not in the least even a decent player, let alone a captain. Time like this, coach is gonna regret giving me shit for being nice to people.
-
Veronica looked over from where she was sitting when she heard someone speak and saw that it was Reno. "Oh, hi. Yeah, it's me." She said then rested her head back against the barrier. "Just...escaping, I guess." She looked up at the sky and sighed. "So what are you doing up here?" She asked and looked over at him again. It was actually surprising to her to see Reno on the roof, but her voice didn't show any emotion, not even surprise.
-
"Ditchin' gym." Reno said nonchalantly, taking his right hand from his pocket kinda flinging it in the air as he walked towards Veronica. "I never cared much for it and there are a bunch of obnoxious American kids in there. Somethin' to do with basketball I think..." he continued. He sat down somewhat beside her, farther than normally with barely enough room to fit someone between. "What are you escaping from? I saw your locker...Are you being bullied?" Reno sat with his left leg bent up, knee pointing skyward with his arm resting on it. Normally he probably would have been nervous since he was near a girl, especially alone on the roof, but he wasn't. He seemed more calm then anything which was fairly apparent, almost as if something was eating him. Along with his calmness he looked depressed.
-
As per Shinzuu's prediction, the teams only played one half when the school's team gave up with a score of 67 to 12. Utter humiliation and in front of the whole school. The American kids acted extremely pompous about their victory, saying how pathetic the Japanese teams are, when some people couldn't take it anymore and spoke up, "Oh shutup, you ignorant prick! Your whole team lost to Shinzuu in a 5 on 1 match this morning and lost by 2 shots! So shut the hell up about us Japs just because you beat a team led by the biggest idiot to play the sport!"
-
Veronica watched Reno as he walked over and sat next to her and listened to what he said. Her eyes switched over to look at her feet when he finished speaking. "Not really. Let's call it...having revenge taken out on me by a [censored] who can't take a hint and thinks every guy wants her." She responded to him. At any other time, this would be something she would sound angry about, but her voice was completely lacking any kind of emotion still. In all actuality, she wanted to punch something, but she was holding everything back.
-
Marlowe's dreams were uneasy. She turned over, still leaning against the fence, looking uneasy now rather than dead. She realized it was something she needed to face, but in her dreams she couldn't help but feel a degree of guilt over Schad's death. She was in a blank hallway running to the end where Schad's ashes were, but no matter how fast she ran, she could never reach the end.
-
Reno listened to Veronica intently, though looking at his hand that rested on his knee. When she finished he looked at her, though only for a moment. "You have girl trouble too, huh? I joined a club that happens to be all girls...To be honest I'm kinda scared. It was kyudo or MMA though...And I don't know about MMA, I bruise easily..." he joked at the end. "Thinking on it a lot of my problems are caused by girls...Heh..." he continued. "Schad...Marlowe...Kyudo club..." Reno scratched his ear and looked over to Veronica again, looking away shortly after. "I really loved her..." he sighed. "Ugh...Sorry, I'm rambling. How have you been holding up? How are...Things...?" he asked, looking at her again.
-
Fai was extremely pissed at what the guys in the stands said, "What the hell!? I took over for Shinzuu as the next best player!" One of the guys spoke up, "Oh shut up, you hasbeen! You're only the team captain because you're a senior! You're more incompetent than when Shinzuu's in class! He may not be school smart, but he's better than you on the court! We saw him kick this American team's asses this morning in his school uniform! And he's led our guys to nationals the whole time he's been here, more than we can say for you! Coach! Let Shinzuu in here, and you'll see!"
-
Veronica listened to Reno as she switched the attention of her eyes to the sky. There was a slight ping of some sort of emotion in her mind when he said he had loved Schad but it disappeared as quickly as it had appeared. "It's no problem. You can talk as much as you want, I'm not going anywhere. As for the club, just do your best and don't get intimidated. Remember, when they first joined, they were just like you." She said with her eyes still on the sky. "Things are...things. Not much to it." She shrugged as if it were the simplest thing in the world. As if what happened was no big deal.
-
Reno just sat there in silence after speaking, not really knowing what to say. He didn't know why he was being so open either making him feel awkward. The thought that he could relate to Veronica the most had crossed his mind, they both had lost their parents in a somewhat similar fashion. Vehicle related death that is. He inhaled deeply and exhaled through his nose, which sounded like he was sighing. He kinda was, but at the same time he was just breathing. "What are you gonna do about your problem?" he finally asked.
-
Coach hesitated at first, but then the long line of staring eyes from the crowd, and finally gave in, "Oh, alright, I'll talk to Principle Yass." After a few minutes, Shinzuu was dragged in by the coach, changing into his gym clothes as he was being dragged. A lot of the girls stared and some even whistled, but Shinzuu was too preoccupied with changing and wondering why the hell he was pulled into the gym. The American kids seemed hesitant at first, but the team captain stepped up, "Hey! He's not part of the team! He doesn't count!" The coach let out a low grumble, but spoke up, "Well as of today, he is reinstated as team captain until the end of the International League Tournament!" Shinzuu was surprised at first, but smirked once he put one and one together. "Okay, team! On me! Fai! Your ass is warming the bench!" Shinzuu's usual friends huddled with him, "Okay, no dicking around with these guys. Yea, they're amateurs, but let's show them how much of a bunch of amateurs they are. Let's show them how this game is played!" The group broke and got together, "I kicked all your asses this morning, now watch what a competent player/captain can do! We'll even keep the scoreboard as it is!" The American kids laughed, thinking Shinzuu was too full of himself, being behind by 55 points. However, cheers filled the gym 20 minutes later, when the second half was over. The Feral High team won the game with 112 to 69. Shinzuu and his team decimated the opposition, "The French are harder than you guys. Hopefully this will show you that height and power aren't everything."
-
Veronica's eyes moved back to her feet when Reno finally spoke again and asked her what she was going to do. "I'm not going to do anything except tell Yass when something happens. I haven't even told her who did the two things that have happened even though I told her that I know who it is." She said plainly. "Actually, I don't intend to do anything until the girl literally attacks me. That's the moment when she'll understand just how stupid she is. I don't care how good of a fighter she supposedly is." She extended her arms and held her hands out in front of her, examining them.
-
Marlowe finally woke, shifting herself to a more comfortable position on the fence. "This blows, school must go on forever." She grumbled. She was surprised that no one had caught her. Back in America, they had patrols that went around scooping up kids who skipped. Maybe they thought she was a hobo or something. Marlowe reached into her book bag and grabbed her sketchbook. She looked outwards in front of her and began to draw, boredly.
-
Reno silently listened to Veronica until she stopped. "Have you told anyone else? Like Shinzuu? Surely he can do something. I'm sure at the snap of a finger he can have a bunch of girls go handle whoever this girl is." he said, suspecting she was avoiding dropping a name for some reason. "So who is it if you know?" he asked curiously, looking over at her again. He didn't know why he was bothering, she likely had her reasons. He just felt more obligated to help Veronica, feeling they were close because of the recent incident.
-
There was loud cheering that resonated throughout the gym, and Shinzuu was carried out by the team. However, Tabby merely watched from the background, arms folded and standing with her posse. She knew very well that Shinzuu might leave MMA club now that he was back on the basketball team, but she would wait to see what he's going to do at the end of the day. If he was going to leave, she would risk another punishment, and break his leg or arm. Meanwhile, she remembered what had been really bothering her lately, and huddled with the others. Classes started 5 minutes late, but most everyone was in on time, just never changed into their uniforms from their gym clothes. However, before going back to class, Tabby and her friends had raided Veronica's gym locker and taken out her spare undergarments.
-
Veronica dropped her hands slowly and kept her eyes on her feet again. "Shinzuu knew that she was going to be really ticked off after seeing me with him the other day, but he has no idea that she has done stuff already." She responded to Reno and then heard cheering. "And by the sounds of it, they probably let Shinzuu play...and if he's on the team permanently again, she's going to be even more ticked..." She drummed her fingers on her legs which was the only indication of nervousness she gave off. "It's Tabby, the leader of the MMA club, and her friends." She looked over at Reno and narrowed her eyes. "But you can't tell anybody." After that, she leaned her head back against the barricade again. "It's time for class again and my desk is probably clean, so I should probably at least go to these last classes." Pushing herself up with her hands, she got to her feet, grabbed her bag, and put the strap over her shoulder.
-
After a few minutes of drawing, Marlowe became bored again. She put her things away in her back pack, including her hat and jacket and proceeded to jump the fence and make her way into the school. There was a commotion going on, but she ignored it, as it seemed to be something sports related. She never really cared that much for sports anyway. She mad her way to the office, getting her schedule and heading to the class she hadn't missed yet before clubs met.
-
"A girl leading the MMA...? Yikes...Is she a lesbian?" Reno asked, mainly as somewhat of a joke. When Veronica said not to tell anyone he responded. "Not a soul." jokingly throwing his hands up as if she were mugging him. He stood up after she did, looking at the time with a surprise. "Dang, didn't think so much time had passed...I should probably get back to class too." "Can't believe I missed lunch." he thought, crying on the inside.
-
Shinzuu sat in his classes the rest of the day, feeling a lot better about his situation. After the classes ended, he ran over to the track field to see if the coach would let him back in, but fat chance, he didn't. So, a little upset went back into the main building and went upstairs to the MMA club. There, everyone was already finished with warm-ups and Shinzuu situated himself to the normal stuff he does, but he would leave a bit early for the basketball club. Today, however, was a little different, too, seeing as Tabby and her friends weren't there. After leaving, Shinzuu couldn't help but notice a bra and a pair of panties hanging off the front fence, with the words "Slut" and "Whore" written on them.
-
When Veronica went back to the classroom, her desk was clean. She sat through the rest of her classes, taking notes as she usually did. At the end of classes, she went to the library and found the last book she had been reading. She picked up where she left off in the book and ended up finishing it just before she needed to get ready for practice. Before getting ready for practice, she went to find the chorus director and asked him something then went to change into her practice clothes. She went to the locker room and changed into her practice clothes and shoes which were in her bag then went out into the gym, setting her bag against the wall. Once again, she helped the coach pull out the mats and get things ready for practice.
-
Marlowe sat in on her one class, then made her way to the MMA club like she had before. She had planned to watch again because she hadn't brought the proper clothes to change into, nor did she have any place to put her clothes if she had brough them. She took a desk. There seemed to be less people this day than there was the day before. She sighed, watching aimlessly, thinking about the dreams she had about Schad. She still had to spread her ashes.
-
Reno made his way to class eventually to finish it up and get Kyudo over with. The crazy thoughts in his head were running through his mind more frequently as the time to go got closer. Them actually eating him, harming him in some way, it being too hard, him making a fool of himself, being raped and several other foolish thoughts. "I'm probably just over thinking this...It can't be that bad...They wouldn't rape me...Would they?" he thought, sinking his head into his arms on his desk.
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Shinzuu sighed at the sight, Who the [censored] would do something like this? I have a feeling I know who's those are, but I hope I'm wrong. If it is, though, I better get stronger and learn faster. He made his way to the gym and found the cheerleaders practicing, and his own team anxiously waiting for him on the court, many getting up from stretching as a salute to him returning to the team.
-
Veronica stretched out with the rest of the squad when they arrived and were ready. The squad had just finished the stretching of their legs and had gotten to their feet, starting to stretch out their arms when she noticed a few girls' eyes focus on or turned toward something or someone that was somewhere behind her. She turned her head to look behind her and saw that Shinzuu had just come into the gym. For some reason, she thought of when she had seen him in just a towel that morning when her eyes landed on him and she blushed under her fur and quickly turned away. After that, she got into formation with the others and waited for the coach to start the music for them to practice their routine for the competition.
-
Reno woke up when classes were over and set off to find Kyudo. Though with his deep thoughts he got lost on his search for it and wound up next to a fence with ladies undergarments strung on it. "What the...?" he thought as he looked at them. "Someone must be upset at a girl..." he continued as he began to walk away. He stopped suddenly, flashing back to when he was on the roof with Veronica. "Could they be-...Oh God..." He turned to look at them again and looked around to see no one else there. "Should I do something? What would I do? I could throw them away! AUGH NO! I'd have to touch them! I can't touch them, who knows where they've been. I know where they've been, where else would they go?! AHH!!" Reno walked back to the items in question and reached for them. Stopping short he pulled his hand back, holding it as if he stuck it in fire. "No! I can't! I'd go to hell for sure if I touched another woman's-...Sensitive things." At this point Reno was bright red from the situation. "I can't just leave'em there...Uhm...Get something to grab them with...Hmm...I need a stick." He walked off to fetch a stick and returned, once again looking around to make sure no one was around. "Okay...Grab'em...Toss'em in the trash. Everything will be back to normal......Wait, what if these are expensive? Women like expensive clothes, it would make sense that she would have expensive...Things. What if she yells at me for throwing them away and not keeping them?! I can't keep them though! I'd have to touch them then!"
As he stood there, stick in hand, he didn't notice Mr. Avery sneaking up behind him. "What are you doing, Mr. O' Malley?" Reno shuddered when he heard the voice, turning to see him standing behind him. "UHM......NOTHING! I'M JUST-" "Vandalizing women's underwear?" "N-No! That's-...It's not what it looks like! I'm-" "Trying to take them down because you know who's they are, and such person in question is being bullied?" "Y-...No! She's not!" Mr. Avery chuckled and walked away. "Have fun, Mr. O' Malley." "WHY ME?!" he thought. "That's it." Reno set down his duffel bag and opened it wide. He quickly grabbed the underwear with the stick and threw them in his bag. He ditched the stick, closed his bag and walked away with it. "Okay...Piece of cake...I'll just return these to her and burn all my clothes later. Yes. Perfect. I am a genius."
-
Shinzuu stretched with the other guys and then just stood there, soaking in the nostalgia after having not been here in this environment for so long. As expected, Fai apparently quit the team, and the others were excited while there were seniors sitting on the bleachers watching. However, the seniors sitting there were friends of Fai's, not the rest of the seniors, who were cheering for Shinzuu earlier that day. "Looks like it'll turn to shit the second I leave the grounds."
-
When the coach started the music, Veronica and the rest of the squad started the routine. They went through the whole routine once and then waited for the coach's directions. The coach decided that they needed to practice the stunts that were in the routine more to get the timing down so the squad set up in formation for the first stunts and Veronica got ready to fly. The squad went through each of the stunts with the music twice so Veronica went up into the air a lot. Once they had done each stunt twice, the coach had them go through the routine as a whole again.
-
Marlowe wondered if she would ever see that rabbit again. She told him that he could help with Schad's ashes, and yet, the ashes were still on her entertainment center back at her place. She seemed pretty distracted as she thought, as if she were watching through the team as they worked rather than seeing what they were actually doing. She grabbed her phone and looked at the time. She had a text from her father, but she ignored it. He knew she was in school.
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Reno was torn between ditching Kyudo and actually going. He found his way to the door of the club and stood there. The thought of what he was carrying made him more nervous. "What if they tie me down and search my bag? What would they think about finding Veronica's-..." His hand slowly went to the door. "I don't want to go...I don't want to gooo....I can back out now. I never told them my name. They don't know me well enough to distinguish me out of the whole school. What should I do? What would I even do other than this?" Reno began thinking back to the things others had said. "Shinzuu...He was cut from the team. Which means he went to MMA as a fallback...Tabby. Leader of the MMA. Crushes on Shinzuu. Shinzuu likes Veronica. Veronica is being bullied over the jealousy...She mentioned her being more ticked...She said Shinzuu was back on the team. MEANING, there is an opening in the MMA club. Marlowe said she thought of joining the club. She would likely try to join the club. If I go there, I could find her. Then we could bury Schad's ashes finally. And, I could learn how to fight so I don't need Shinzuu to save my sorry self all the time. Yeah...Who needs this club." Slowly he retracted his hand and took a step back. "I'm sure there would be a less chance of me being raped in MMA by girls." he thought as he turned and walked away. "Now to find Tabby..."
-
Shinzuu went through practice like the beginning of the year, working hard, and sweating hard. Meanwhile, Tabby and her friends made their way into the MMA club to help with cleaning up. Tabby surveyed the room and didn't find Shinzuu, "Where's Shinzuu? Did he not show up toady?" One of the girls came up to her, "He did, he just left early for basketball practice. It looks like he's still looking to stay in the club."
-
Once they were done going through the routine again, the coach told them that they were done for the day. Veronica sat down on the mats and began to stretch again as she cooled off from the workout. She stretched her legs first as she randomly looked about the gym. When she was done stretching her legs, she stretched her arms while she sat Indian-style on the mats. Once she was finished with all of her stretching and her heart rate had slowed to normal, she got up and walked over to where her bag was sitting against the wall. She picked up the bag and slung the strap over her shoulder then turned and leaned back against the wall for a moment.
-
Marlowe seemed to snap back to reality when she heard the name Shinzuu. She could swear that was the name of one of Schad's friends. Her focus shifted, and she found herself looking at the girl conversing with what seemed to be the head of the team. She looked away as soon as she laid eyes on her, figuring that it was rude to stare. She felt somewhat awkward because she knew she'd have to eventually talk with this girl, and she planned on putting it off as long as she could.
-
Reno wandered around the school in search of the MMA club, and Tabby. He didn't know where he was going since he didn't know where the club met. He didn't think about the gym since basketball and cheer stuff would go on in there so he was at a loss. "No teachers around this time...Ugh...I just feel so weird carrying these...Things..." Reno did seem on edge, looking over his shoulder constantly as if he was avoiding the police after he had just robbed a bank.
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At the end of practice, Shinzuu just kept his clothes the way they were and said goodbye to his teammates, getting "Welcome Back!"s from everyone except the coach. Instead the coach approached him after everyone left, "You're only on this team for the tournament. After that, you're off the team, and you're also not playing any other games, so be sure you're clear on this." Shinzuu sighed, "Yea, whatever. You want to keep losing, that's not my problem." Without letting the coach respond, Shinzuu left to look for Veronica.
-
Veronica looked up when she heard the basketball coach speak after that practice was all over and watched what passed between the coach and Shinzuu from where she leaned against the wall. When Shinzuu walked away from the coach, Veronica pushed off of the wall and swiftly walked up behind him though slightly to the side and poked her head forward to see his face. "Looking for me?" She questioned as she looked at him with a barely noticeable smile. She had had the urge to slip her hand into his when she had walked up behind him but she had resisted it. "How was practice?"
-
Marlowe sat at her desk uncomfortably looking for something to distract herself with. She hoped somewhat that she could do like she used to do in America... Be an invisible nobody. It wasn't very hard to do given that she wasn't popular, but she was new and that was a factor against her. I'll just talk to the MMA club leader tomorrow, yep, that's what I'll do, she silently thought to herself, though, I wonder how long the school is going to just "let me observe" until they get tired of me not being anywhere in particular or not participating... She slumped down, feeling somewhat defeated at that last thought, and convinced herself to get up. She began to walk in the direction of the leader, but quickly changed her mind heading for the door. Tomorrow... Tomorrow, you'll do it tomorrow, Marlowe.
-
Reno continued his search for the MMA club lost in thought again. He was thinking about all the things that could go wrong with his "heroic" efforts towards Veronica's honor. Reaching a door he decided to try he looked over his shoulders as he walked in. He was too lost in thought to notice Marlowe heading for the door he just walked through and smacked right into her, falling down onto his butt. "Ow...What the hell?" he moaned, holding his face.
-
Shinzuu smiled and chuckled, "You were there, you already know, but it looks like no games for me except for the tournament in 2 weeks. Which is fine, I guess, since Fai pretty much screwed up the season for us, anyways. A team's only as good as its leader." He then took the lead off the school grounds, "So. Is there anything you want to do before going home?"
Meanwhile, at the MMA club, Tabby's attention was taken by the little bump-in at the door. "Oh yea, who's the new girl?" "I don't know, Pres. She just showed up for the club. I think she's that new American student." Tabby sighed and walked over, putting on her best fake smile that she always has for new people, "Hey! Welcome to our club!"
-
"Yeah but I wasn't actually watching your practice since I was busy with my own." Veronica responded, looking forward. "But you are good at basketball so I could just assume that it went well." She shrugged then remembered that he had asked her a question. "Oh, I can't think of anything I would want to do. I don't really go out much. I'm used to a pretty boring routine. Wake up, eat, school, home, eat, sleep." She looked over at Shinzuu then forward again as they walked. "But if you have something you want to do, go ahead and I'll just tag along."
-
"Ow." Marlowe said flatly, falling backward herself. She had been so intent on the door that she hadn't really noticed someone coming through it. It was as if she had temporarily had tunnel vision fixated on the door. She didn't bother saying sorry as she attempted to gather herself up off the floor. She rubbed her nose. It still hurt from running into.. The rabbit. Well, now she could get Schad scattered "Hey! Welcome to our club!" was enough to get her standing straight up and stiff. The bull terrier wanted to just shove past the rabbit and keep going, but she knew good and well she had to turn around and interact. "Um.. Uh.. Hey." Marlowe said, slowly turning to see Tabby.
-
When Reno realized he had run into Marlowe he started to apologize as he stood up. "I'm sorry, I didn't-" he was cut short when Tabby came over to greet Marlowe "Club?" he thought as he looked around. He saw people practicing fighting and such. "Is this the MMA club...? Is that Tabby?" he continued as he grabbed his bag. "Was she the one who did that...? She's been bullying Veronica? Getting butterflies..." Reno was turning a bit pink at this point.
-
Tabby smiled and extended a hand, "I think you Americans shake hands when you meet, right? *Speaking English* Werucommu!"
Shinzuu looked up a bit, "Well, I usually head into downtown for the arcade after practice. It's how I stay in touch with my old nerdy side without it popping out during the school day. I also usually play games for money, betting and facing off with other people. I haven't been there for quite a while, so I wanted to head on out to it. You okay with that?"
-
Veronica listened to Shinzuu as he spoke, not surprised by what he said since he seemed to be big into video games and the like. "Yeah, sure. Arcade's not a bad place to have to occupy myself while you're doing your own thing. Plus, as I said, I have no life." She said with a slight chuckle, though she didn't really think it was funny that she didn't go out much. Thinking about it actually made her feel slightly pathetic though she tried not to show it since she didn't want Shinzuu asking questions about her mental state, especially since the only time that she had usually went out was with her parents and that was it.
-
Marlowe reluctantly took Tabby's hand and shook it. "I'm actually originally from Germany," she muttered, unsure if the American stereotype was something she wanted to be classified with just yet. She drew her arm back as soon as Tabby allowed it. "Uh... Thanks, I guess." She scratched the back of her head, unsure of what to do at this point. Tabby already knew she was a new student, so there was no need in being redundant. She looked to Reno as if to question if he knew what to do, but he was pink at the moment.
-
Reno saw Marlowe look to him as if he knew what to do. He somewhat did, however he was nervous. Though wanting to help out Marlowe kinda gave him a boost of courage. "We're here to join the club. If there is any openings." he choked out. Surprisingly he didn't stutter, he sounded clear and professional to a point. "I'm Reno O' Malley. You are...Tabby, right?" "Devil woman." He felt she didn't even notice him at first, hoping speaking up would get her attention. He also hoped Marlowe was still interested in the club or he would look like an idiot.
-
Shinzuu replied to her chuckle with his own and figured she was probably alright with it, and walked off the grounds with her to the arcade. Once there, he pointed where people who don't play many or any games usually hang out, "They have a little cafe-like area right next to the door here, and a lot of people like to hang out over here. The tables are arcade tables, which are free to play. It's games like Pac-Man or Space Invaders or stuff like that. If you want to play games, you can explore for yourself and see what's out there. There are a lot of ticket games here, too. Where you can exchange tickets you win for prizes at the cafe counter." With that, Shinzuu parted with her and went over to the section with Dance Dance Revolution games. Right off the bat, he was welcomed back by a few people, and bets were already being placed on the mantle.
Seeing Reno, Tabby nearly twitched with anger, since she was extremely displeased with small guys who were scrawny, but she tried to keep her front, a vein getting ready to pop on the back of her head. "Hi. Well, if you two can get an application from Principle Yass, we'll review them and have an answer for you by the lunch time tomorrow."
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu off the grounds of the school and continued to walk with him until they got to the arcade and went inside. She listened to Shinzuu's explanations of things in the arcade and nodded to show that she understood before he walked off. As soon as he was gone, the dull, numb feeling returned to her and her lips changed to a straight line. She walked into the cafe area and found an empty table, sitting down in a chair by herself.
-
"Well, I guess that settles that." Marlowe said, turning and walking away again, making a straight line for the office. She didn't look behind her to see if Reno was coming or not, but she was fairly certain that he would probably follow her unless he wanted to be left alone with Tabby. She didn't want to have to deal with the girl, but again, she knew she had to, and that she had to for sure now that Reno had spoken for her. She didn't know whether she should consider this a good or a bad thing.
-
Reno did follow Marlowe after Tabby had said what to do, he also felt a sudden hostility from her. "She must be a lesbian. I think she hates me. Shinzuu get's all the girls...Even if they don't like men. Or maybe she wants to get close to him to get to Veronica? I hope I didn't make another mistake in clubs...Again. I wish I didn't need a club! They require too much energy..." When he got to the office he asked for an application and began to fill it out with a pen he always kept in his pocket. After finishing he left the application with her and stepped outside to wait for Marlowe. "I should ask for her number now...This would be a good opportunity. GAH! I forgot to ask Veronica...I had the chance. Bollocks...Oh well I'll just ask her next time I-...Oh crap...Next time I see her I have to-...This is going to be awkward. OHAI VERONICA! I HAVE A SURPRISE FOR YOU! OH REALLY?! WHAT EVER COULD IT BE?! *Gives underwear* YOU PERVERT! *Gets slapped* CAN I GET YOUR NUMBER NOW?! This just gets better and better..."
-
Shinzuu spent two hours going from one end of the arcade to the other, betting on games, playing just for leisure, or just watching. After his last match in the fighting game area, he went back over to the cafe area to look for Veronica. It was quite crowded at this time, so he couldn't see her. Before going to look for her, Shinzuu went up to the counter and asked for a ramune soda. He popped the top on it and began to drink it as he went into the crowd to look for Veronica.
-
Veronica spent the entire two hours in the cafe only getting up once to go to the bathroom and get a drink. When she spotted Shinzuu in the cafe, she started to raise her hand to wave him over but he turned to the counter to order something. It seemed like more people got in the way after he was done at the counter so instead of attempting to wave him over, she decided on just going directly to him. Getting up from her seat, she walked towards him, weaving through the people. When she reached him, he had his back to her. "All gamed out?" She questioned as she simultaneously tapped him on his left shoulder with her finger.
-
Marlowe was rather quiet as she filled out her application. She first fumbled around, looking for a pen, but quickly found one on the counter that she was leaning on. She really didn't think much on it, but when she was finished she slipped the pen behind her ear. She gathered her things and stepped outside the office, somewhat surprised to see Reno waiting on her. She was silent for a moment, but then forced out a "hello."
-
"Hey." Reno responded to Marlowe. After that he remained silent, he wanted to mention Schad's ashes and how they should do something about them but wasn't sure if he should. "...How should I do this...Just..." "I-...Uhm...Schad's ashes. Maybe we should...I don't know...Maybe we could meet somewhere and do it?" Reno suddenly turned red as he said that. "UHM, the ashes! Do the ashes. Bury them! Erm. Spread them. The ashes. Not you." "Bollocks you are dumb." He seemed flustered and nervous.
-
Shinzuu smiled and chuckled, "Yea. I pulled in about thirty thousand so it should be fine for now. You ready to go or do you want to eat something? I won a big pot today, my treat." He didn't know if she wanted to pick up food elsewhere or eat here, so he made sure he just said if she wanted to eat anything, rather than seeming pushy to go to any one place, though he really wanted to get some sushi.
-
Veronica's response was mainly just a shrug. She looked around the crowded cafe for a minute before finally looking back at Shinzuu. "I don't really care. Nothing really seems important to me at the moment. Don't really know why..." She said then looked down at her feet. "But if you want to go eat, I'll come along and if they have food I like then I'll eat, but if not then I'll just wait until we get back to your apartment." She lifted her head then looked off to the side.
-
The bull terrier looked at Reno, slightly confused. She wasn't sure why he was nervous, but it was somewhat amusing. "Do what to who?" She blurted out flatly, her eyes widening as if she was over-exaggerating her confusion as to what he wanted. She knew what he had wanted in all actuality, she just wanted him to say it coherently to be sure. She crossed her arms as she awaited his response.
-
Reno took a deep breath and exhaled, calming himself. "Would you want to spread Schad's ashes sometime?" he asked as calmly as he could. "I would say we could go now, but I have to be at work soon. Maybe I could get your number? We could get together and spread her ashes." "That was smooth. I feel like James Bond." He stuck his hand in his pocket about to take out his phone but stopped, thinking it would be better to wait for the answer before seeming over eager. "Maybe we could go this weekend? I'm off then and school is out."
-
Shinzuu sighed and patted the counter, "Then let's eat here. There's a ton of American food and other kinds of food, too. Just nothing gourmet, is all. *Turns to the man behind the counter* Hey Ouri! Get me two sushi platters! Oh, and whatever my friend here orders, give me the bill!" He smiled at Veronica before taking another swig of his ramune.
-
"Okay." Veronica said in response to him saying they should eat where they were. She listened as he spoke to the guy behind the counter, the name sounding familiar to her though she knew that she didn't actually know the guy. When Shinzuu was finished speaking, she looked at Ouri. "I'll take a grilled cheese on white bread with American cheese...and don't skimp and give me only one pickle, I want a bunch of 'em." She said to Ouri while giving him a threatening look. The look was only a joke but it might have looked pretty convincing since she wasn't in a very chipper mood anyway.
-
"Maybe we can do it when you get off. She's been.." Marlowe stopped, feeling somewhat disappointed with herself. "She's been.. Sitting on my entertainment center since the funeral. I haven't really bothered her." She looked down, grabbing her arm behind her, somewhat nervously. She didn't know how close the others were to Schad, and didn't know how they'd react to her treatment of Schad. "Or we can make it at a time where the others can come, too."
-
"Well...I get off late. Like...Midnight-ish...I mean...I would do it, but I'm not sure about the others. A weekend would be better. In my my opinion anyway..." Reno said, looking at Marlowe seem a little nervous. The action made him look away from her, he had thought it made her kinda cute. "I think she forgot I asked for her number. Does that count as being rejected? Ugh...Are we going to spread Schad's ashes near the bench?" "Do you know where we should spread them? I think the bench is the most important to her...But I don't know, it just seems weird to me..."
-
Ouri almost whimpered at Veronica's look when he was about to speak,"But we don't have American cheese. Only cheddar and pepperjack." Shinzuu sighed, "Just give her the cheddar, man. I'm pretty sure people used to American Cheese can eat that over pepperjack." He took another chug of his ramune and waited awkwardly until the food came. Shinzuu stayed at the counter after getting his food and started gorging on the sushi, happy to have it again.
-
Veronica sort of felt bad that Ouri had taken her look seriously. When she heard that she had to have cheddar instead of American cheese, she was disappointed because she knew she wasn't going to like it since she had had it before and didn't like it. She eyed the grilled cheese when it came then cautiously grabbed half of it and lifted it to her mouth. She took a bite of it and made a face since it tasted weird to her. Forcing herself to eat the rest of that half and the other half, she was relieved when she was able to eat the pickles. When she took the first bite of the first pickle, she let the taste of it wash out the taste of the cheddar in her mouth.
-
Marlowe let out an exasperated sigh, followed by a few partial words stretched out as if she was trying to find the right thing to say in the situation aloud. "Uhhh, I really don't know." She rubbed the back of her neck a bit, "I.. I really don't know. I mean, I hadn't... I hadn't talked to Schad in a long while." Saying what she had to made her feel a little worse on the situation as if she was coming clean about a big lie. "Y'see, Schad and I haven't been friends for a long while..." She continued to look down. "Things got pretty dicey, and well, our friendship ended before she moved to here with her mom. I'm only here because of my dad. He has a thing for her mom..." The bull terrier felt a lingering amount of guilt as she spoke. I miss who she used to be before. Not who she was when she was here. She wanted to say it out loud, but again, she swallowed, keeping the last part to herself.
-
"I see..." said Reno. "Got rejected." "Well...We can go this Sunday. No school or work then. We can also go tonight maybe. Though I doubt we'd be able to do it with the others...Maybe tomorrow? Would give us a chance to find them. If you wanted to get them in on it that is...I don't mind either way." He fumbled with his phone in his pocket, wondering if he should repeat himself. A few moments later he took out his phone to check the time, he had about an hour until he had to be at work. "Wanna go somewhere and talk about it? I gotta be to work in an hour. Maybe we can get a bite to eat? I'll buy." he said, trying not to sound like he was in a hurry.
-
Shinzuu was a little disappointed that Veronica didn't like the sandwich, but he was happy that she at least stuck with it and ate it all. He finished off his food and bought another ramune for the way home. Shinzuu checked his watch, 7pm. "Well, I guess it's about time to head back. I have a ton of homework to do, so I think it's best to head back. You ready?"
-
Veronica ate each of her pickles slowly to savor the taste that she actually enjoyed having in her mouth. She had just finished her last pickle when Shinzuu spoke to her and asked her if she was ready to head back to the apartment. "Yeah, of course. Don't know how much work I'll get done tonight. I'm feeling pretty tired and I doubt my mind is in a state to actually deal with that crap." She responded to Shinzuu and let out a sigh.
-
"I don't know how talkative I'll be, but I wouldn't mind eating." Marlowe replied crossing her arms. She began to move towards the door, and once outside, she slid her skeleton hoodie over her uniform and put on her hat. In all honesty, she wanted to get away from school, even though she had only attended half of her classes today. She looked behind her, waiting on Reno. "You're gonna have to lead, I don't know anything about this place, hardly."
-
Reno watched as Marlowe went on, following shortly after. "Okay..." he said as he walked in front of her. Walking on silently they made it to the restaurant in about fifteen minutes. Walking in he greeted Michelle who was behind the counter. "New girlfriend already? Sheesh you work fast." she said fairly rudely. "Hello to you too." Saying nothing else she led them to a table, when Reno found out she wasn't going to be waiting on them he thanked god in his head. It was a male water, a golden retriever. He asked for what Marlowe wanted to drink, completely ignoring Reno. It wasn't that he was being rude, he knew what he wanted already, he rarely ordered anything else. After getting the drink he left, coming back a few minutes later to take her order only to leave again after. Reno was resting the side of his head on the palm of his hand with his elbow on the table. He was daydreaming like he usually did, not realizing he was staring at Marlowe.
-
It took Shinzuu and Veronica around 20 minutes to get back, and like before, he let Veronica in first. Inside, Shiori was washing the dishes after her own meal, "Heya, kids! Have a nice date? You know, it's easier on a Saturday night when you don't have class the next day. You couldn't wait one more day?" Shinzuu scowled, "Keep off the sauce, mom. You are so insensitive when you are."
-
When Shinzuu let Veronica inside, she bent down and took off her shoes while listening to his mother speak. For some reason, what Shiori said really irritated her so immediately after she got her shoes off, she quickly moved down the hallway and into the guest room, slamming the door shut behind her at about almost the exact same time as Shinzuu finished speaking. She dropped her bag on the floor next to the bed then hit the play button for the CD setting on her radio, starting up her Adam Lambert CD. As "Music Again" started playing, she pulled her books out of her bag and set them on the bed. After that, she got on the bed and sat Indian-style, flipping one of the books open along with the corresponding notebook for that subject.
-
Marlowe tended to brush off the comments that Reno was getting noticing that it was irritating him. She stayed rather quiet as well, not really knowing what to say to Reno, but then again, he seemed to be off on another tangent altogether. When her drink arrived, she more or less played with it to take up the time. She tore her straw paper to bits, making a face on her cup by using the condensation from the cup to stick the paper to it. The face looked horrified and was looking up. It looked as if the cup was displeased at getting its contents drank from it. Marlowe faced the cup outward, its face pointing towards Reno in its silent scream as she sipped on it, wondering if the rabbit was even paying attention to her at this point.
-
Reno came out of his day dreaming when Marlowe had faced her cup at him. A smirk crawled onto his face, still leaning on his hand. "Your cup doesn't look happy. It must be one of those cups that are half empty." he joked. He put his hands onto the table, ceasing to lean on one. He mimicked Marlowe's action with the cup and wrapping, however making a happier face. "This one is half full." he said after drinking down the coke inside to half way. He too turned his cup towards Marlowe. Shortly after their orders arrived. Reno was handed a plate full of fries and chicken strips and Marlowe was handed a plate of chicken Alfredo she had ordered.
-
Shinzuu got to his homework, but couldn't help but to be reminded of what happened not too long ago. He had lost a new friend. I wonder what's going to happen to Reno, now. Poor kid, and poor Schad. I wonder if they've scattered her ashes yet, and I wonder what that Merlot or Marlowe or whatever her name is, is going to do. She's cute, I'll give her that, but it's not exactly proper or appropriate to push Reno on her after Schad's death.
-
Veronica had her radio/CD player turned up so that the music drowned out any other sound that might occur anywhere in the apartment. Getting up off the bed, she undressed and changed into some of her pajamas. She went back to the bed and re-situated herself on it so she was sitting Indian-style with her books in front of her. Letting out a long exhale, she then grabbed her pen, sat her notebook on her leg, glanced at the book, and started writing. The music continued to play loudly but to her it sounded soft like background music.
-
"AHHHHHH." Marlowe let out a cheesy awkward laugh with a funny expression. "Gotta admit, that was..." she stopped.. "PUNNY." She ceased as she realized how awkward she was being, then quietly continued to sip from her cup, her paws at her side as she averted her eyes. When her food came out, she dug in without hesitation. She was pretty hungry, and wasted no time to completely demolish her plate.
-
Reno smirked at Marlowe's awkwardness, trying to seem like it was funny in the slightest bit. He ate his food quickly when he saw her doing the same. However, he couldn't keep up with her in the little race they had. He choked on his food a bit from thinking about Schadenfreude and how they didn't eat out often as him and Marlowe. "Bollocks...When did we last go get something to eat? Ugh...I hope she doesn't consider this a date or something. I mean...We're in a nice restaurant. I'm an idiot...What time is it? I should have to work soon..." Reno kinda just sat there awkwardly after he finished choking, slowly finishing his food. "Uhm...How...Was yours?" he said softly. He wanted to say something like "Oh look at the time! I gotta go to work now! Bye!" but he figured it wouldn't look right after the awkwardness from earlier.
-
Shinzuu sighed, the thought lingering, and finally gave in and put down his homework and shuffled through his school bag for his cell phone. He finally fished it out and started going through the phonebook on the phone and finally found Reno's name. Shinzuu selected the name and then selected "Send Text" and started typing. "Hey, man. Sorry about Schad. You guys scattered the ashes yet? If not, would it be cool if I joined you guys?" He then clicked "Send" and was about to put the phone away when something struck his mind and he took the phone back out, typing another quick message. "So that girl who is Schad's friend. You tappin' that?" He then clicked send again and went back to his homework.
-
"It's pretty good. Though, uh, you might want to take it slow there. You gotta chew before you can swallow there, buddy." She chased the last bit of her meal around with her fork on her plate, playing with it as if she were a whole four years old, drawing in the sauce. "Other than the choking, how was yours?" She didn't really know what else to say other than to return his question back to him for him to answer.
-
"It was good. I love me some chicken." Reno replied. Just the his phone went off, which surprised him. You could tell because he jumped a bit. "Since when do I get phone calls?" he thought as he fumbled for his phone. "One sec..." When he got it and looked at it to see it was a text. "Oh...It's a text...From...*Reads it*...Who is this...? Hmm...Could it be Shinzuu? How'd he get my number? It makes sense though..." "Uhm...I think Shinzuu just text me. He wants to know if he can spread Schad's ashes with us." he explained, looking up from the message on his phone. "What do you thi-" just then the next message came in. Reading this one made him turn beat red and facepaw. "Oh my god, Shinzuu..." he muttered. He text back quickly saying "Nooo!! I'm not! How did you even get my number?! I'll ask her, see if she minds..." After that he clicked send and set it on the table. A moment later he realized something, grabbing his phone again. He sent another text saying "If you can go! If she minds if you can go! Spread her ashes. Not...nvm..." "So would you care if he came? And maybe Veronica?"
-
Shinzuu chuckled when he got the first text. He was texting back "What you need her permission to nail-", when he got the second text. "Oh." He then texted back, "Okay, just let me know. But anyways, I got your number from the office several days ago, since I never had the proper time to ask you. Anyways, just let me know. Here's Veronica's number, too. I'd ask her, but I don't think I'm the right person to do it. --> XXXX-XXXXX"
-
Veronica had finished half of her homework by the end of the CD. Leaning over sideways, she started the CD over again then grabbed the book and notebook she had finished using and dropped them on the floor next to the bed. She could barely hear the sound of the book landing heavily on the floor since the music was blaring. Pushing her other books and notebooks to the side, she laid back on the bed, sprawling out her legs and arms. As she laid there staring at the ceiling, she started singing along with the song playing on the CD.
-
When Reno turned red, she wondered what the text was. "You alright?" She looked at him skeptically. "I don't mind, I mean, like I said, I was.. Just thrown into all of this. You guys are probably more friends to her than I am... Was." Marlowe seemed to be getting uncomfortable talking about it. She looked away and her posture seemed to be getting stiff as she scratched at her arm somewhat nervously. "I mean, don't get me wrong, I cared."
-
"I'm fine. It was nothing." Reno replied quickly, looking away nervously. He listened to Marlowe talk, when she finished he looked at her. "I know you cared...I mean...You were best friends at one point...Compared to that I barely knew her...Still...I-" Reno was cut off when the waiter came by to ask if they were done. He gave him their plates and he left. Reno didn't finish what he was going to say and grabbed his phone. He was going to start texting to Shinzuu when he heard his boss call out his name. It made him jump and he dropped his phone on the table making it slide over to Marlowe. He looked over to where the voice came from and saw his boss making a hand gesture that he wanted him to come over there. "Uhm...Be right back. That's my boss." he said somewhat timidly. He figured he was in trouble or something. He walked over to him and went into the back with him. "Reno, how are ya?" "Good, sir." "Good! Now what are ya doing here?" "Uhm...Waiting to clock in. Sir." "What for?" "I...Need to work?" "Not today." Hearing that made Reno happy, but still questioning. "R-Really? I could have swo-" "Nope. You don't work today." "But my schedule..." he said, taking out his schedule. His boss took it from him quickly. "You have the outdated one. This one is current." he said handing him a slip of paper saying "You don't work today". Reno decided not to push this anymore and stopped. "...Th-...Than-" "Go on, Reno! Go have fun or something. What ever you kids do." he said gently pushing him away. Reno left with a smirk on his face back towards the table. What Reno didn't see was Mr. Avery coming from the break room with a cup of coffee. "Good. Very good..." he said before sipping on his coffee. "Yeah...Hopefully he will get better." his boss said turning and heading back into the back.
-
After listening to the first half of the CD, Veronica sat back up with a sigh. She was extremely bored and the only thing she had that she could to occupy herself was her homework. She slid one of her books back in front of her and the notebook for that subject. Flipping through the pages, she stopped on the page she needed and grabbed her pencil. Setting the notebook on her leg, she started working on the algebra problems in front of her on the page of the book.
-
As Reno disappeared, Marlowe looked up to see his phone in front of her. She looked at it for a moment then took her fork and slid it back across the table to where it would be in front of Reno when he came back. She didn't want to nose around or even make it seem like she was. Just as she scooted it back, her phone vibrating, scaring the hell out of her, making the fork drop to the floor. She pulled out her phone and saw it was her father wondering where she was. "God, is there a time where he doesn't keep up with my schedule?" She muttered as she responded to it. She put her phone back into the pocket and ducked under the table, looking for the fork.
-
Reno walked back to the table to see Marlowe go under the table. He resisted the urge to sneak up on her and scare her. Instead he reached over to grab his phone. Looking at it he pondered. "Did she look at it...? Bollocks. What if she saw that text?! Damn it, Shinzuu...You probably....I don't even know." "Uhm...Hey...Marlowe?" he said softly, trying not to spook her. "I guess I'm off today. Maybe we can go spread Schad's ashes now? Maybe call Shinzuu to come along...? He wanted to go." Reno waited for her to get out from under the table and to respond.
-
Shinzuu yawned as he stared at his homework, Aw, screw it. This is why I hate homework and school. He yawned again and laid sideways on the couch, not even trying anymore, and slowly closed his eyes. It was almost instantaneous, that he fell asleep, and all before 9pm. Shiori shook her head as she walked by, heading to her room. She went into the supply closet next to her room and pulled out a spare blanket putting it over her son, "You crazy bum. But mother still loves you."
-
Veronica finished the math homework by the time the CD had gone through the second half and back to the beginning. She closed the book and notebook, put one on top of the other, and dropped them on the floor on top of the other book and notebook, dropping her pencil and pen with them as well. Laying back on the bed, she stared at the ceiling for a moment then rolled onto her side facing the door. Reaching over, she switched the player to the alarm setting so it would go off in the morning. Right after her arm landed back on the bed, she was instantly asleep.
-
Unfortunately Reno's attempts to prevent spooking her were ineffective as she ventured for her fork. When he spoke, it made her jerk upward and bang the back of her head and her shoulder on the table hard enough to make the plates and silverware clatter. On top of that she tipped her drink over and wound up getting soda on her as she attempted to get out from under the table. She looked down at her mess and felt bad, but continued as if nothing happened, attempting to play it off. "Uh, yeah, that sounds good, I... Uh.."
-
Reno was startled at Marlowe being startled. He winced when the drink spilled on her and he grabbed his napkin from the table. "Here. Let me-" He reached for her with the intention of drying her off when he paused due to a burning sensation. "I can't touch her! That would be-...She-...I-..." "-Get you a napkin! Here you go! Aheh...Heh..." Instead of leaning in he just extened the napkin to her. "Uhm...If you're still up for it...I'll let Shinzuu know." He took looked at his phone and with one hand sent a text to Shinzuu, that is until she took the napkin and he went texting with both hands. "She says we can go. I'm off work today. Are you still up for it? You can bring Veronica too. If she wants to go." After that he sent it. "Maybe I should text Veronica too...Hmm...*Looks at his bag on the ground*...I think I'll let Shinzuu do the talking. Aheh..."
-
Shinzuu snorted as the sound of his phone disturbed him from his brief nap. He grumbled as he got up, the blanket pretty much static-clung to his fur and clothes. Shinzuu flipped the phone and read it about three times before he was able to put the words together. He then thought a bit and then texted back, "Wait, you mean tonight? Or on Sunday?"
-
"Thanks." Marlowe replied as she took the napkin and began to attempt to get herself dry. As Reno tended to his phone, she plopped back into her seat only to jolt upwards within a few moments. She hadn't noticed that the drink had spilled on her seat. She looked away and grabbed a bunch more napkins. She sat them all in a jumbled heap on the table and darted towards the restroom somewhat embarrassed.
-
Reno went back and forth to his phone and eying Marlowe as she dried herself off. When she left to the bathroom he focused on his phone. He text Shinzuu back when he finally responded. "Yeah. Tonight. Apparently I'm off today, so I have time. Can you make it? We could go another time...Don't want to force you into something you don't want to do. I know we have school. I would understand if you can't make it. Oh yeah, Veronica is invited too...Uhm...Yeah." After typing it up he clicked send.
-
Shinzuu sighed as the message came back and texted back, "No, that's fine. We can come out, I'll just check with her before I come out. Where should we meet? And should we give you and that Marlowe girl some time to 'bounce'? Or do you want us to just come out right away?" He hit send and then got up, checking the clock. 8:34pm. Ah, what the hell. It's not everyday you have to do this. Shinzuu stretched and yawned before walking over to the guest room, knocking on the door, "Hey Veronica? Reno and Marlowe are spreading Schad's ashes tonight, and we are invited to go. Do you want to go with me?"
-
Marlowe stayed in the bathroom for a while, mainly because she was positioning herself under the dryers to dry her clothes. She only hoped to god no one would intrude. She couldn't imagine how awful it looked for her to be standing on her toes holding her skirt up to the dryer's vent. It wasn't enough to reveal anything, but it was pretty damn close. She was ready to go home and change. She again scorned the fact that she had to wear a skirt silently.
-
Reno text back after he received the new text. "The bench in the park. No rush, I think Marlowe is getting cleaned up. She got wet and ran to the bathroom. We still need to get Schad's ashes anyway." He hit send, completely oblivious to how the message could have been portrayed. He stowed his phone away when the waiter came over. He left the money for the bill on the table and went over to the bathroom doors to wait fr Marlowe to exit.
-
Veronica awoke, gasping for air when the knock on the door happened. Obviously not a very good dream at all. She looked around the room quickly as her body shook then realized she heard Shinzuu's voice at the point where he was saying, "Do you want to go with me?" Getting up, she slowly walked over to the door and opened it, wrapping her arms around herself as the door swung open the rest of the way on its own. "Go where?" She asked, her voice shaking a little as she spoke.
-
"We're going to spread Schad's ashes with Reno and that Marlowe girl. Reno said that they are going to go to the bench that Schad always hangs out on in the park, so I'm going to walk there." Shinzuu went over to the front door and started putting on his shoes, while texting Reno. "Okay, I'll meet you guys at the park. If Veronica decides to join, you'll see her not too far behind me."
-
Veronica didn't say anything in response as she stood there shaking. Letting out a sigh, she walked down the hallway toward the door. When she got there, she put on her shoes. She was still wearing her pajamas but she honestly didn't care what she looked like since she was too stuck in her head at the moment. Without waiting for Shinzuu to get his answer, she moved past him and went out the door, on her way to leave the apartment building, her body still shaking.
-
When she was done, she rushed out of the bathroom, narrowly avoiding bumping into Reno in the process. She had expected him to be at the table, but instead he was at the door waiting. "We need to go to my place to pick up the ashes. Not to mention, I'd really like to change out of this." She said unamused. "So, whoever you're inviting, you need to tell them that they might be waiting a few minutes or that they need to wait before they leave."
-
"Alright. I'll let them know. Also I paid the bill, so we can go." Reno said. After that he headed for the door with Marlowe, grabbing his phone back out of his pocket to text Shinzuu. "We're going to her place. Go to the bench in the park, like I said. I thought I mentioned it. << Anyway, we should be there within the hour." He hit send and pocketed his phone and headed out the door. "Uhm...You lead. I don't know how to get your your place." Reno said, scratching the back of his head.
-
Shinzuu felt his phone vibrate and picked it up, So he's gonna be a while, huh? He locked the door and caught up with Veronica, "It looks like we'll have to wait for them once we get to the park." Shinzuu actually didn't mind since the park was further than the school anyways. After talking with Veronica, he texted Reno back, "You rascally rabbit. Going all the way on a first date."
-
Veronica listened to what Shinzuu had to say when he caught up to her, but still didn't say anything back to him. She still had her arms wrapped around herself as she walked, sort of like she was hugging herself. Her eyes darted back and forth like she was waiting for something to happen or like something was going to pop out in front of her at any moment. Once they were on the street, she almost walked into a pole a couple of times because she was stuck in her head that much in a way where she was on the lookout for things but not paying attention to stationary objects.
-
Marlowe looked around as she stepped outside. "Well, I don't know my way, you'd have to get me back to the school first, you dummy." She laughed. "I'll lead you as soon as I know where I am." It was then that she realized that she left her things at the table. It didn't take long, but she disappeared back inside, returning with her book bag. "Now get going." She said, looking at Reno sternly and shooing him along.
-
Reno blushed a bit realizing that she didn't know where to go yet. When she went back inside and came back out shoving him along a bit it made him blush a bit more. He lead her back to school which took about twenty minutes. Once at the gates her turned to her. "Now you can lead." he said in a joking tone, bowing a little and holding his hand out like he wanted her to go ahead. He felt his phone go off when they got there and checked his message, it was Shinzuu. Reading the message made a smile creep onto his face, along with a bit of blood running from his nose which he wiped away from his face which was growing more and more red. "Dangit, Shinzuu...Gonna get me in trouble." he thought putting his phone away.
-
When they finally arrived at the park, it had only been about half an hour since they left the house. Shinzuu found one of the other benches was under one of the park lights and sat on it, patting the seat next to him, "You care to join me? I may not be the best of people to hang out with alone, but I don't bite. Besides, it is a bit nippy out." Without waiting for a response, he sighed and sat back, folding his hands on his lap and closing his eyes, trying to relax.
-
Veronica followed Shinzuu to the bench under the light and watched him sit down and pat the spot next to him. She looked around for a moment then moved over to the bench and sat down on the end of the bench facing away from Shinzuu with her arms still wrapped around herself. It and her shaking wasn't from the cold though that didn't help, it was still from the dream that she had just been having before Shinzuu had knocked on her door. She let out a sigh as she looked down at her legs as she sat there.
-
Marlowe pushed Reno on the head in response to his sarcasm and walked along, leading the way. She didn't really talk much on the way. When she got to her house, she opened the door, inviting Reno in. Her place was huge. Well, Mr. Rice's place. She hoped that it wouldn't cause Reno to assume things about her, but she dismissed it as she looked back to him. "I'll be right down, I gotta go change and get her." She began walking up the large set of stairs and disappeared into one of the rooms upstairs.
-
Reno chuckled in response to the push. He walked too in silence with her. When he went in he marveled at how large the place was but kept to himself. "Holy crap...This place is huge. Didn't she say she wasn't from here? Is this hers? Wow. God, Shinzuu would think bad thoughts...Oh god. Is her dad with the mafia or something?! Is she a mafia princess?! Oh god, oh god...She's going to have me killed. Or her father will. The don. Bollocks...What did I get myself in to...?" Reno's disposition changed from fascinated to scared.
-
After a few moments, she returned back down the stairs in a pair of jeans and her skeleton hoodie, as well as her black hat. In her hands she had Schad's urn She somewhat smirked noticing Reno looking scared, but before she could get halfway down the stairs, her father appeared and pulled her to the side by her arm. "She'll be right there in a moment." Mordecai mentioned, not much paying attention to if Reno had even noticed him.
Again, Reno was stuck waiting for a bit until Marlowe reappeared coming down the stairs this time, not smirking like before. She stopped looking over to Reno, "Alright, I'm ready, let's go."
-
Reno was still looking around nervously, mainly for armed guards who would whisk him away to god knows where, or laser sights trained on him and checking behind himself to make sure no one was sneaking up to put a bag over his head. The thought of dating a mafia princess had always tickled his fancy but now facing down the possibility he was having second thoughts. His attention was diverted to Marlowe when she came to the stairs, however when what he remembered to be her father snatched her away he braced himself to be shot. When she returned he saw her not so happy and quickly began to jump to conclusions. "She's sad...That's not gooood. That can only mean...She liked me. The don said NO WAY. She's said she wanted to go out with me more and then he's like OKAY I'LL JUST KILL HIM! Oh man..." Reno was obviously nervous, a slight twitch over took him as she made her way towards him. He thought about Schadenfreude and how much he loved her but the thought of throwing all caution to the wind and kissing Marlowe came to mind. He was going to die anyway, what did he have to lose. He didn't, however, and kinda stood there like a weirdo.
-
Shinzuu opened his eyes and looked over at Veronica, who was still shaking, "Are you oaky? Are you cold or something? I can get you something to stay warm." He chose his words carefully, not wanting to make the mistake of making it sound like he wanted to do her. Though the thought passed through Shinzuu's mind, he's known very well to think before talking.
-
Veronica was pulled out of her thoughts when she heard Shinzuu speaking to her and she slowly shook her head. "Not really... Is it cold?" She responded as if she really hadn't noticed what the weather was like, which she really hadn't. The "not really" part was actually her response to the question of if she was okay or not, but Shinzuu probably wouldn't realize that since it wasn't exactly clear what question she had answered with that. After another minute of sitting there facing away from him, she turned her body slightly then, without really thinking about it, she quickly slid down the bench so she was sitting with her side right up against Shinzuu. She pulled her legs up so her feet were on the bench and leaned her head against his shoulder as she positioned herself so her body was turned slightly toward him. Her arms remained around herself and just rested there like she didn't realize what she was doing.
-
Marlowe walked past Reno without looking up, only pausing to see if he was coming. "Are you coming? I'm sure the others have been waiting for a while, we need to get there some time soon." Her voice seemed somewhat irritated, but she wasn't necessarily irritated at Reno. She stood at the door, opening it, waiting for the rabbit to get himself together. She was flustered at her father in all honesty. He was talking about moving again. She hadn't even been here for long and now he was talking about moving again.
-
Reno jumped a little when Marlowe had asked him if he was coming. He didn't even notice her walk passed him. He turned to her scratching his head. "U-Uhm yeah. Yeah I'm coming." he said following her. "I-...Alright. Lets get going." He was still cautious and a bit paranoid as he made his way to the park. "What......Never mind." Reno was going to ask why she was sad, but he didn't want to hear that he would have to die. After awhile they reached the park and found Shinzuu and Veronica waiting on the bench. He waved at them as the approached. "Hey guys."
-
Shinzuu held his breath as Veronica scooted over and leaned on him. He gulped as he could see how big her bust was from how she was curled up, and did his best to control his thoughts. Suddenly, Shinzuu was startled by Reno calling out to them, and tried to play it cool. "Uh, h-hi! W-what took you guys so long?" He laughed weak and nervously as he rubbed the back of his head with his left hand, so it didn't look like he was trying something on Veronica.
-
Veronica had closed her eyes after she had gotten comfortable and had also heard his gulp but in her state she didn't really think much of it. When she heard someone speak, she noticed that it was Reno that had spoken. Raising her left hand away from her body, she gave a slight wave while her eyes were still closed then wrapped her left arm back around herself. Reno and Marlowe would probably think that they were interrupting a private moment from how Veronica was cuddled up to Shinzuu but, as with everything else, she didn't really realize how things might seem to anyone else or how they would seem to her if her head was in its normal state.
-
Marlowe merely stood there with the urn in her hands while everyone talked around her. She waved when prompted, but didn't really speak. She seemed a little spaced out as she stood there. After a moment, she looked to Reno and said something. "Well, you know where we're supposed to spread them, so I suppose you lead." The Bull terrier seemed a little uneasy around the others, but really it was because she didn't know them all to well despite having spoken to them before.
-
Reno kinda blushed when Shinzuu asked why they took so long. "Uhm...We had to go to Marlowe's place. To get the ashes. Were you two...Eh-...Never mind." He had thought it looked like the two of them were having a private moment. When Marlowe had mentioned him taking the lead he was nervous. He didn't know what to do having never done something like this. "Uhm...I suppose we could spread them in the grass? I'm not sure...I've never done this...Maybe we can say something...Or something..."
-
Shinzuu stretched as he stood up, careful that Veronica's head doesn't hit the bench. "Well, we're just following you two. Schad was a friend to us all, though I can't say much for myself. You and her were really close, so it's more on you, man." He became a bit somber, the thought reminding him that Reno was in love with Schad before, Poor kid. Having to see his love's funeral, and now spread her ashes. All without being able to tell her how he felt...
-
Veronica's ears focused in on the part where Reno said "Were you two" and the words replayed in her head as she sat there. That is, until Shinzuu stood up, and then she sat up straight. Looking around for a moment, she then got up off of the bench with her arms still wrapped around herself. She didn't say anything on the matter that was being discussed since she hadn't known Schad well enough to say anything about her or what should be done with her ashes and just stared at her feet as the "plan of action" was determined.
-
"Right here? Is this the bench?" The bull terrier questioned. "Well..." Marlowe opened the urn, looking at it a bit sadly. She had never really spread ashes before... She didn't know if they just poured them out or if they reached in, or what they did. She looked to the others as if to question, but she changed her mind and merely stood there, waiting on Reno. "You can say something first, I guess I'll say something after."
-
"U-Uhm...Okay." Reno said nervously being put in the spot light. He was able to shake it off however, being surrounded by friends made it a little easier.He took a step or two to face away from the others, cleared his throat and stood up straight taking a deep breath. "Schad was a good friend. She was a bit rough around the edges, but that just made her who and who I-...We all liked. I didn't spend a lot of time with her which is something I regret. She was..." At this point there were tears welling up in his eyes but he continued without showing any saddened tone. "...Taken too soon. I would have enjoyed spending a lot more time with her. I-...*Clears throat, sniffles*...I hope she can find peace now and not suffer anymore wherever she may be." He spoke loud enough so they all could hear even though he wasn't facing them. He mainly wanted to hide his face which would give away how sad he was.
-
Shinzuu maintained his somber mood, only giving a small amount of words, "Schad was a lot of fun, and the real life of our group. Like us, she was really apart from the rest of society, but with us, we found people we could confide in, and hang out with to have fun with. We are all going to miss you, though I think that's been true for the last week. But I think *looks over at Veronica and then back at the ashes* you've brought out the best of all of us."
-
Veronica kept her eyes on her feet as Reno began to speak. She could tell that he was sad even before she heard him sniffle just because it was common sense that he would be sad talking about someone he cared for who was now dead. She continued to listen as Shinzuu took over speaking and she felt his eyes on her at one point near the end of his speech but she never looked up. It probably seemed bad but she didn't want to say anything about Schad so she stayed silent and kept her eyes on the ground.
-
"I missed who you were." Marlowe said, "And it's good to know that you made some good friends here. Maybe they were better than I could have been." The bull terrier then held out the urn and began to spread the possum's ashes into the grass. She seemed even sadder than when she had first arrived in the park, but she didn't cry. She just seemed as if she was mildly upset. She placed her hand on Reno's shoulder as if to comfort him after a while since it seemed no one else was going to.
-
Reno watched the ashes being spread, sad on the inside trying his best not to show it and to remain strong. He couldn't help but to think about all the times they had together; them meeting, the fight with Jackson, him carrying her from the park to his hotel and when they went out to get something to eat. There were various other thoughts racing through his mind up until someone placed their hand on his shoulder. He looked to see it was Marlowe and smirked a little at the gesture. He didn't say anything and looked back to the ashes and remained standing there.
-
Shinzuu placed a hand on Veronica's shoulder as he turned from the scene. He merely gave her a look that said that they should leave Reno and Marlowe alone. Before leaving Shinzuu waved over, "I'll see you two tomorrow, then. I wasn't even close to having the friendship with Schad as you two did. And Reno, take care, man. There's more for you out there than you think. You just need to look."
-
When Veronica felt a hand on her shoulder, she looked up to see Shinzuu giving her a look. She glanced over at Reno to see Marlowe standing by him with a hand on his shoulder and that made her understand Shinzuu's look. When Shinzuu waved and spoke to them, she raised her hand in a silent wave as well, feeling bad but not really having anything to say. After that, she followed Shinzuu as he walked away toward the direction they had come from when coming to the park.
-
Marlowe didn't pay much attention to what Shinzuu and Veronica were saying or doing, she merely plopped down on the sidewalk by the grass, staring blankly at the ashes as the wind began to do a better job scattering them than she did. She figured that Reno knew the two better than she did and could tell them goodbye or whatever it is he was going to do. She rested her elbows on her inner thighs as she sat, then rested her chin into her hands as her gaze remained focused. She felt so lost. It almost made her wish she had some sort of video game in front of her so that she had something else to concentrate on, but unlike she usually did, she didn't have any electronics on her. Unfortunately, even if she did, it would have came off as being rude anyway.
-
Reno smiled lightly at what Shinzuu had said as he walked off. "See ya guys...thanks for comin'..." he said with a little wave of his own. He then sat down next to Marlowe and watched the wind blow Schadenfreude's ashes away. His head was hung low as he rested his hands on his knees hunching over. "Now what?" he asked flatly. He wanted to stay silent but felt Marlowe had something to say.
-
The walk back to the apartment was silent, and as usual, Shinzuu would open the door for Veronica before entering himself. He yawned as he checked his watch, not making an effort to slip off his shoes. "Damn, it's already 10:30. I know I'm usually up later than that, but I'm going to hit the sack. Maybe we should leave Reno and Marlowe alone tomorrow at school. I'm pretty sure one night's not going to be enough to find peace in themselves." Shinzuu sighed and went into his room, not trying to close the door, so it was open a smidge. He undressed down to his boxers and rolled out his futon, laying on it and falling right to sleep.
-
Veronica took off her shoes after she entered the apartment ahead of Shinzuu and listened to him speak. "Not like I'm going to make any effort to talk to them anyway..." She mumbled, mainly to herself since Shinzuu had already went into his room right after he finished speaking. Walking off down the hall, she didn't pay any attention to his slightly open door and just headed for the guest room. She closed the door behind herself then flopped down on the bed on her back, staring up at the ceiling.
-
"I don't know. I guess we go home." Marlowe replied, fiddling with the urn. "Do you want to keep her urn?" She nudged it toward Reno as she asked this. She didn't really want it. As much as she had been moving lately, it would probably get lost in the rush of things. "I don't want to keep it." She let out a sigh, things running through her mind. She was upset over Schad, sure, but there were other bigger things on the horizon for her. Her eyes shifted back down to where the ashes were as she waited for an answer.
-
"Okay...I'll take it then..." Reno said grabbing the urn and placing it in front of himself. "I was thinking about staying for awhile..." he sighed. "You can go home...Your dad seemed pretty upset. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble or anything." he continued. "At least I'll be dead soon...I hope they just shoot me in the head. I think that would be best." "So have you ever seen your father kill anyone in his line of work?" he asked suddenly. He was still thinking her father was the don running a mafia of some sort.
-
After a while of staring at the ceiling, Veronica slipped into sleep unwillingly. It wasn't long until she slipped into nightmares just like she had been experiencing before Shinzuu had come knocking on her door earlier. She never had the pleasure of being able to wake up from the nightmares and they caused her to toss and turn in her bed the entire night. The nightmares also caused her to cry out in her sleep or scream loudly from what occurred in them but she still didn't wake up.
-
"Well, he wasn't really mad at me, but he tends to be.... overprotective sometimes." For a moment she began to stare off, until Reno asked if she'd ever seen her father kill someone. She looked at him awkwardly. "Uh, no. I don't think you have to kill people for investments." She looked to the grass again. "I mean, unless they don't cooperate, then I guess you could." she joked, though with her mood, it probably didn't sound much like joking at all.
-
"I see..." Reno said softly. "Hmm...Is she lyin' to protect me? I don't know...Sigh...What should I do now...? This...Iunno...Seems kinda awkward...I don't really want to move anywhere. Just...Sit here forever..." he thought. He suddenly laid down on the concrete walkway and looked up into the sky. Spreading his arms out to his sides he lay there thinking about various things. He didn't want to move anymore and couldn't think of anything to say. The tears in his eyes had gone, a blank expression replacing them.
-
Finally, Marlowe made herself get up. In all honesty, she felt like she wanted to copy Reno and just lie back and soak in everything happening, but she knew she had to go back to Mr. Rice's place. "Well, uhm.. I guess I'm going to go now. Don't be surprised if you don't see me again." She mentioned the last part offhandedly, as if it wasn't important as she turned to walk off. "Nice meeting you." God forbid my dad let us stay somewhere long enough for me to make friends... She thought to herself. She seemed as if she was hesitant to walk off as she stood there, facing away from Reno and towards the exit. She didn't really want to leave, but she knew it was the best thing to do. After standing there for a few moments, she began to slowly walk away.
-
Reno said nothing, piecing the puzzle together as he laid there. His blank expression remained on his face as he slowly sat up. He left the urn and went home. Ignoring Dorris and Alexia's greetings he went to his room. Inside he ignored the croagunk doll where it was, even though it was where he left it for once. Instead of showering he just crawled into his bed and laid on his back to stare at the ceiling. The thought of wanting to die ran through his mind along with so much more. It was all vaguely clear there was so much going on, he wasn't able to even think clearly at this point.
-
Shinzuu awoke the next morning with a headache. It had gotten cold overnight, so he had just a minor headache. Shinzuu rubbed his head as he checked the clock. 6am. Never ceases to amaze me that no matter when I sleep or how I sleep, it's always this time. He got out of bed and out of his room, seeing his mother already dressed and walking out the door. She waved to him before leaving, and shut the door. Shinzuu merely shrugged it off like any other day and groaned as he went into the bathroom. He forgot he wasn't home alone so he left the door open and took off his boxers, turning on a nice, hot shower and just soaking himself over, trying to wake up. Ugh... do NOT want to go to school today.
-
With a final scream, Veronica awoke and shot up in her bed so she was sitting upright on the bed. She looked around her quickly but she relaxed a bit when she saw that she was in the guest room of the apartment. It didn't make her feel great to see those surroundings though since it meant some of her nightmares had been true. Getting up and out of the bed, she walked over to the door, opened it, and went out to the hallway. She noticed that the bathroom door was open while she heard the shower running. Glancing over, she saw Shinzuu so she quickly grabbed the door handle and slammed the door shut before she ended up seeing anything other than his back. She then went and sat on the couch, staring at the TV which was off and not caring about turning it on.
-
The next morning was absolute chaos. Her father had woken her at 5am. "Marlowe, you remember what I told you yesterday, get packing." He surveyed her room, as if to estimate how long it would take her to pack while Marlowe sleepily rolled out of bed. "Mhmmm. You need to be done by the end of the day, we leave tonight." He nodded, pacing again as if he were restless. "Whatever isn't packed by then is getting left."
"Well good morning to you, too." Marlowe mumbled, wiping her face as she sat on the edge of the bed. "Dad, I thought we were staying this time. What about Schad's mom and all that." She stood up slowly and stretched her arms above her head.
"We can't, we've got to go. We could be in big trouble if we don't. No questions, sweetie, just do it. I've never lead you astray thusfar." He said sternly. "I've only got what's best in mind for you, I promise."
"Yeah, just like you did at Schad's funeral, right?" Marlowe wasn't particularly looking for a fight, but she did managed to spit that out. She was sure it was because she was tired. Mordecai's eyes narrowed at her in response.
"Just get your things packed." he pleaded for one final time. He opened the door to her bedroom and a few men came in, bringing with them piles of boxes for Marlowe to move. Her father disappeared out of the doorway along with the men who were now bringing boxes to Mordecai's room as well. Marlowe merely stared at the boxes. "Welp... Japan didn't last long. And here I thought this would be the last time."
-
Reno awoke, still lying there staring at the ceiling not having moved from his position. He looked like he belonged in a coffin the way he slept. "I don't want to be awake..." he thought. It lingered in his mind a moment before more thoughts began to fill his brain. "I don't want to live...I don't want to move...How did I get home? Marlowe is leavin'...*Sigh*...I'm not goin' to school...I don't care anymore..."
-
Shinzuu jumped when he heard the door slam and slipped, falling on his rear. Son of a bitch, what the hell was that? He turned around and saw the door shut, and then lightbulbs finally lighting up in his head. Oh yea, Veronica lives here, too. Well, at least I know she is still mad at me. Shinzuu finished up his shower and dried up, putting on his boxers and heading back to his room to get dressed for school, though there wasn't a need this early in the morning. After getting dressed, he went over to the kitchen to make some breakfast.
-
When Veronica saw Shinzuu come out of the bathroom, she got up off of the couch and headed for the bathroom, closing the door behind her. She undressed and set her clothes on the lid of the closed toilet then went over and turned on the water for the shower. While she waited for the water to warm up, she examined herself in the mirror. She looked like a wreck. Her hair was all a mess and standing up everywhere. Her eyes were bloodshot. Letting out a sigh, she turned around and walked over to the showerhead, grabbing it from its holder. She proceeded to soak herself then wash up before rinsing off and turning off the water, putting the showerhead back in its holder. Grabbing a towel, she started to dry herself off then wrapped the towel around herself and secured it. Brushing out her still damp hair, she then went to the door and opened it then walked over to and into the guest room.
-
The first thing Marlowe did was take a shower. She didn't care how her father felt about packing, but she wanted to be clean before she did so. She felt somewhat depressed as she showered, she wished she had cut on her music as she usually did, but she had been distracted recently. "I was gonna be on the MMA team, too." she muttered. After washing up, she merely stood under the shower head, allowing the water to spill onto her face. When she got out, she dried off and looked at the boxes with discontent.
When she got her clothes on, she started grabbing piles of her clothing and putting them in boxes, not particularly caring if they were folded or not, clean or dirty. They just needed to be in a box. She worked methodically as she packed, after clothes came electronics. After electronics came other items like her collectibles or anything she had managed to scoop up before they left America.
-
"Ugh..." Reno moaned, rolling over on his side. He forced himself to sit up and plant his feet on the floor. Taking off his shoes finally he stood up and went over to his laptop to turn on some music. At times like this, when he was so depressed, he would listen to music in an attempt to cheer himself up. Ditching school hadn't even crossed his mind at this point, it was spinning wildly, lost in thought. He decided he would take a shower so he started to undress. His music was blaring at this point, even though it was early he didn't care.
-
Shinzuu finished cooking his breakfast and started chowing down. He wasn't eating nearly as close to what he usually eats, and his mood was still somber. Shinzuu cleaned off his plate, and then put it into the sink. He sat in the little hallway, right next to the bathroom door, and left himself in deep thought, wondering what it would be like for him if he was in Reno's shoes.
-
Veronica realized that she had forgotten her pajamas and the bathroom so she left the guest room and went back to bathroom. She grabbed the pajamas off of the toilet then went back to the guest room and closed the door. Throwing her pajamas in the corner and grabbing her uniform, she dropped the towel to the floor and put the uniform on. She tied her hair into her usual pigtails as she stood there with a blank look on her face. When that was done, she picked up the towel and left the guest room, putting the towel where it belonged in the bathroom. She walked back to the living room, not even noticing Shinzuu sitting on the floor, and sat down on the couch again.
-
Marlowe had nearly finished packing when she looked at her clock. It was around 8. She almost felt an alert sort of panic in the pit of her stomach that she was late, but there wasn't any use since she knew she wasn't going to school today. I wonder if they'll wonder what happened to me. She thought, half dismissing the idea since she had only been around for a couple of days. She reached into her bag that she usually kept her portable electronics in and pulled out her camera, taking a picture of the now bare room with all the boxes. She slipped the camera back into her bag and plopped face down on her bed, waiting on her father.
-
Reno made it to the shower and just stood there, letting the water run over his body. He heard "How to save a life" by the Fray begin to play. There could have been other songs that would have been better to listen to at this point. He couldn't help but to get tears in his eyes as the song went on, though they were quickly washed away under the water. The thought of being able to do nothing for Schadenfreude was weighing heavy on him right now. He soon sat down under the shower head not concerning himself with the water pouring onto him. "What am I doin'...I...Need to get over this..."
-
Shinzuu's mind swam through all that's happened thus far and what could happen. When his mind went back to what had happened to Schad, he didn't see Schad, but rather Veronica in her place. Before he knew, it he had gotten up and ran over to the couch, wrapping his arms around Veronica's shoulders tightly. It was really sudden, and no noise, but he didn't realize what he was doing.
-
Veronica was just sitting there staring at the TV that wasn't even on. She was completely caught off guard when she saw Shinzuu running at her. So much so that she didn't know how to react or have time to do anything. Once his arms were around her, she sat completely still, unsure of what to do. She didn't know what was wrong with him. It was then that she remembered what she had done last night at the park, how she had snuggled up against him on the bench without so much of a second thought, or any thought at all. She also remembered that Shinzuu had seemed nervous about it but had generally gone along with it. Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment at remembering what she had done but she still decided that it was best to comfort Shinzuu. Lifting her arms, she wrapped them around him and slowly rubbed his back with one of her hands. Closing her eyes, she leaned her head against him. "Shh. Shh. It's okay. It's alright." She said softly.
-
Time seemed to endlessly go on as she laid on her bed. She was interrupted when her father came in to check on her. "That didn't take long." He commented, standing in her doorway looking at all of the boxes. "Not long at all."
Marlowe didn't get up, she just continued lying in her mattress. "It didn't take long because there wasn't much to pack. We just moved, remember?"
Mordecai frowned at his daughter's comments. "I know..." He crossed his arms and leaned on the frame of the door. "I know we did, but.. I uh, I got a job opportunity that I just couldn't turn down." he lied. In truth, the loan sharks had actually figured out that they had escaped to Japan to get away from them, but Mordecai didn't see the point in telling his daughter. She never truely knew of what his line of work entailed. "And when we move, I can get you whatever games it was that you wanted. I know you've been wanting some, we just haven't had the time to go get them."
Finally Marlowe sat up, looking at her dad. She didn't quite know what to say because he seemed to be almost bribing her. So, she just stared at him. "Yeah, I guess so." She rubbed the back of her neck and looked to where she had been laying on the bed.
"Now that you're packed, do you want to help me? I swear, it seems I have more things than you at times, and you're the girl here." Mordecai said, attempting to joke around with her, though she didn't seem to thrilled about it.
"Sure, why not?"
-
Shinzuu nuzzled his face into her hair in embrace, and stayed there, letting her hand rubbing against his back comfort him. When his mind was cleared, he opened his eyes and realized that because Veronica had raised her arms, his elbows were now around her neck and his hands were now on her bust. Before he was able to do anything, Shinzuu blushed as his hands twitched on top of her chest.
-
Veronica continued to rub Shinzuu's back as she felt him relax a little bit. When she felt his hands on her boobs, she quickly moved away so he wasn't touching her anymore. "Ok, well, that's enough of that..." She said, her eyes angled down so she was looking at the couch instead of at him. Her cheeks were flushed an even deeper red now than they had been before. Raising her right hand, she started fiddling with one of her pigtails nervously.
-
Reno eventually got out of the shower, after over an hour later. It was the longest shower he had ever taken easily. He dried himself off and skipped brushing his teeth, just looking at himself in the mirror. Upon finishing drying he went for some boxers and pants. After putting them on he sat on the front of his bed listening to his music shirtless. He looked at his room, it was dirty. Schadenfreude's stuff was still scattered around the room. "What am I going to do with this stuff...?" he thought. A frown was plastered onto his face, ears hanging behind his head as usual. He was contemplating going on a walk, maybe to play his violin but at the same time he didn't feel like it.
-
Shinzuu blushed as he backed up, too and looked off to the side. "I-I think I'll just go out for some air. I'm sorry." He stumbled as he tried to just turn around, but hightailed it out of the apartment, running to god-knows-where. Jesus, what the hell was that? You end up getting worried, then hugged her out of nowhere, and then when she tries to comfort you, you end up groping her boobs. You are an idiot... but they were definitely soft and firm...
-
Veronica didn't say anything and just listened as Shinzuu ran out of the apartment. Part of her wanted to follow him, but another part told her to leave him alone. She felt like she was to clingy with him and that she never let him have time by himself, and it bugged her that she felt so clingy. Getting up off of the couch, she went into the kitchen and got herself a bowl of cereal. She ate it standing up at the counter then rinsed out the bowl and cleaned it in the sink then put it in the drying tray. Standing there with her back to the counter, she looked around herself then, with a sigh, she sank to the floor. Hugging her legs to her chest, she rested her face against her knees.
-
Marlowe followed her father out the door and into his room. She noticed a few boxes already packed, but didn't think too much of it as she began to help him pack the rest of his things. Periodically, Mr. Rice's men would come in and help them pack some boxes as well. Marlowe had never realized that her father had so many things. It was a wonder how he was able to pack it all up himself before she could pack her things. She supposed it was because he always had a certain amount of forewarning. After they finished packing things, Mordecai suggested they go eat before they packed the things into Mr. Rice's personal jet. Marlowe agreed and just followed him out the door.
-
Reno turned his music off and decided to head outside to play music of his own. He grabbed his violin case and headed out. The thought of going out back had ran through his mind but instead he made his way to the park. Once there he went into a tree that was near where Schadenfreude's ashes were spread. Atop a branch Reno stood and began to play a sad song. Closing his eyes he moved slightly to beat of it, though careful not to fall off the branch. He wasn't thinking of the notes, rather they just poured out of him instinctively.
-
Shinzuu finally found himself stumbling at the thought of Veronica's boobs, which finally knocked him back to reality. All his life, Shinzuu had never even been remotely interested in a girl, much less attracted to one. Now he found himself head over heels, and it's driving him crazy. He's not himself anymore. Just then, he realized he was in the park. And worse, Shinzuu was now all dirty and his right sleeve has a tear in it. Aw, shit.
-
After a while of sitting on the kitchen floor, Veronica couldn't stand it anymore and she pushed herself up off of the floor. Going into the guest room, she stuffed her books and notebooks into her bag. She picked up the bag, left the room, and walked down the hall to the door, putting on her shoes. When she left the apartment, she made sure to lock the door before she closed it. Dragging her bag along behind her on the ground, she left the apartment building and began walking down the street with no real direction.
-
Her father chose the diner with american food as usual. It seemed to be the only place they ate at since coming to Japan. She followed Mordecai and sat opposite from him in the booth he chose. She crossed her arms and yawned boredly. She was tired from packing. "Where are we even going?" Marlowe questioned. Unlike the other times before, her father didn't tell them exactly where they were going.
"I'm not sure entirely, Mr. Rice set it up for us." When the waitress came, he ordered a coffee as well as some eggs and pancakes with a side of bacon. Marlowe ordered her usual blueberry waffles with two scrambled eggs and a glass of chocolate milk. "He set it up, and is letting us use the jet to move to wherever it is. I feel lucky to have got in with him, he seems to have a penthouse in just about every corner of the world it would seem."
"How nice of him." Marlowe said sarcastically.
-
Reno poured his emotions into his playing, somewhat of a release for them. The song it spawned was terribly sad and had a sort of feeling of being lost intertwined with it. His face was emotionless as he played, eyes closed not even looking at the notes. They just poured onto the strings, he had committed the notes of his instrument to memory. But his mind was too cluttered with all sorts of things to think which lead to his instinctive playing.
-
Shinzuu heard some music in the distance and followed it. On the other end of the park, he found Reno, and almost smiled, seeing the kid. "Oh, Reno! Nice to see you're here. Did you not go home last-?" Shinzuu stopped in mid-sentence and listened to the music. All of a sudden, the music swept him away with the emotion that poured from it. Shinzuu was then overcome with depression and found himself sulking, crouched and facing a tree, "I wish I had never been born...."
-
When their food arrived, they both ate in silence. Marlowe seemed pretty irked at her father, and he knew that. He was trying to keep the mood going, but as swiftly as he would bring the mood to be positive, Marlowe would kill it again. Eventually, he gave up and just finished his meal, sitting there looking at her. The only time he spoke was when he ordered a refill on his coffee. When Marlowe finished eating, they both left the diner.
-
Reno continued playing, completely oblivious to Shinzuu below him. He didn't hear him speak either, lost in his playing. The music was still sad and depressing as it flowed through the air, the notes practically taking a visible shape. His playing continued for some time, however it soon changed. The melody clearly less sad and depressing. It was more a peaceful tune, not upbeat but not sad at the same time.
-
Shinzuu finally dropped out of his slump when he heard some commotion over at the basketball court. He slowly made his way over to the court, the sound of the ball and screeching sneakers cheering him up again. Some of the kids there noticed him and waved him over, "Dude, what are you doing on the ground? Come on, we could use you on our team. We're getting our asses kicked right now." Shinzuu shifted to sitting down against the fence and chuckled, "No thanks, guys. I'm just here to watch this time."
-
Veronica wound up at the park when she finally paid attention to where she was walking. She could hear music in the distance and recognized the playing right away. "Reno..." She thought but at this point his tune was peaceful so she didn't bother to go looking for him. Shinzuu had advised her to leave him be today anyway. She wandered through the park, dragging her bag behind her until she found a nice tree near the basketball court and decided to sit under it and take a rest. When she finally paid attention to the basketball court after sitting down, she noticed Shinzuu sitting against the fence. She decided to stay where she was though and leaned her head back against the tree, looking upward and sighing.
-
When they got back to Mr. Rice's home, Marlowe and her father immediately began to pile things into Mr. Rice's personal jet, again, some of Mr. Rice's men helping them load their things up properly. Marlowe was quiet the whole time with the exception of when she had to ask if there was a specific place for something. With the help of Mr. Rice's mean, packing the jet didn't take long at all. Marlowe hadn't even broken a sweat, but then again, she let the men to most of the work. Everything seemed so surreal until the jet started and her father hurried her along to get inside. She took a seat in the back away from her father and laid down to sleep again. She didn't want to see herself leaving to where ever it was they were going. "The others won't miss me much." she muttered to herself pulling a blanket up to her chin. "I mean, I wasn't here long after all." She silently stared daggers at the back of her father's seat as she drifted off to sleep, the jet finally departing from Japan.
-
The morning breeze was cool and the heat from the sun was a good mixture. Shinzuu yawned as the comfort of the weather got him tired and drowsey, so he closed his eyes and fell asleep to the fun and familiar sounds that he was used to. He slept a good part of the morning, and awoke not too long after noon, when he heard the chimes from the school, signaling attending students that it was time for gym.
-
Veronica had left her spot underneath the tree in time to leave the park and make sure that she would arrive at school on time. She figured Shinzuu would make his way when he was ready so she left him alone. When she got to school, she sat through all of her morning classes as usual, taking notes. When it was time for gym, she decided that she should probably go to gym class today so she headed there.
-
Reno finished his playing after awhile and eventually played himself to sleep right in the tree. He slept against the trunk, carefully balanced on the branch. He was holding his violin close to his chest as he slept, seeming as if he was holding it like it were a stuffed animal to sleep with. As he slept he was dreaming, in his dream his parents were alive. He was sitting down at a table with a large cake on it, there were a bunch of other kids around, too. It was vague though, all the people were blurs walking around. Reno was the only one at the table, staring at his cake. Soon the people began to fade into nothing, eventually leaving Reno all alone.
-
Shinzuu groaned as he got up and looked up at the clock. He stared at it for quite a while before he realized it tread that it was well after noon. "Oh shit!" Shinzuu got up and was about to rush when he realized that it was kind of pointless to go back to school since 1/2 the day was already gone. He grumbled to himself, "Ah, dammit. Oh well, might as well enjoy my day." Shinzuu was about to walk out of the park, but noticed Reno taking a nap on a branch. He walked up to him and poked at Reno's leg, "Hey, man. You okay?"
-
In his dream Reno heard a voice that he couldn't place, calling his name. He looked around seeing nothing, the world around him starting to fade just as the people did. Soon he awoke, hearing Shinzuu. "Hmm? What?" he mumbled. He forgot he was in a tree, not expecting anyone to have bothered him. He fell out of the tree and onto his face, luckily his violin wasn't crushed under him. It landed safely, undamaged beside him. "Ow..." he grumbled sitting up from his face plant.
-
Shinzuu stepped up and squatted down next to Reno, finding a stick nearby and poked him in the face with it like he was a dead body. "Umm... you alright, man? You don't look so good." When he got no response from Reno, continued to poke Reno in the face until he tired and put the stick down. Shinzuu hobbled over in front of Reno and pulled his face on both cheeks. "Hey! You in there!?"
-
Reno waved the stick off, confused as to what was doing it. Then he saw Shinzuu as he was grabbing his cheeks. "What? What do you want?" he asked grumpily pushing his hands away. He fell back a little, keeping from falling on his back by propping himself up on his elbows. "Shinzuu? What are you doing here?" he asked. He didn't expect him to be there. Reno looked around for his violin, seeing it was undamaged he left it alone.
-
Shinzuu chuckled a bit as he scratched the side of his face, blushing a bit, "Well, you see... I fell asleep on the court. And uh..." Suddenly, a voice yelled right across the park, Shinzuu jumping at the recognition the voice, "There you are! You dumbass! Where the hell have you been!?" Shinzuu picked Reno up and turned him around, facing a tall, silver, female wolf with crimson eyes, using him as a shield to protect himself. The female wolf wore a business suit, and had short heals on, her long, silver hair tied behind her back at the end, unlike Shinzuu's that was tied at the top of the tail. Her fur glistened in the sun, and Shinzuu slowly walked back as she walked forward, "Hey sis..."
-
Reno looked up at the sound of another voice other than Shinzuu's, however he couldn't see it before he was picked up and put in front of Shinzuu. Despite his efforts he couldn't wriggle free, he then heard Shinzuu say "sis" and looked in front of him to see the silver furred wolf approaching the two. His eyes widened at the sight of her, taking note of the suit. He couldn't help but to find her attractive but shook the thought from his head. "Sis??" he asked, head facing to the side talking to Shinzuu. Though his eyes didn't leave the wolf approaching. He was nervous, she seemed irritated as is and to make Shinzuu use him as a shield did not help his thoughts of what was going to happen at all.
-
Shinzuu continued to back up with Reno as his shield, "Y-yeah. Her name's Lorazys, and she's my step-sister. Mother had her with her ex-husband, and she apparently takes after him. She's normally cool, and she works in Sony's corporate office. However, her hobbies include real martial arts, and she is deadly when she's pissed off or her time of month. She's one crazy bitch." Lorazys' temple vein twitched at what Shinzuu said, "Who the ***** are you calling a crazy bitch, you bastard!? Get over here!" Lorazys heightened her steps, closing the gap between them in the blink of an eye, and grabbed Reno out of Shinzuu's hands by the collar and punched Shinzuu in the chest.
-
Reno gulped at Shinzuu's explanation. He winced when she spoke and hurried over to them. When he was picked up by the collar he remained rather limp in her grasp. He got a slight nosebleed from being so close to Lorazys. He couldn't deny she looked good in a suit, which made him feel terrible because he had feelings for Schadenfreude. "Bollocks...I should've just stayed home..." he thought as he was still in Lorazys' clutches.
-
Lorazys grabbed Shinzuu by the front collar before he backed more than a step, and pulled him in, her crimson eyes spelling doom for Shinzuu. "I just got back into town and mom told me to check on you, and the principle tells me you were playing hooky! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Shinzuu's voice stuttered as he tried to explain, "W-well, to be honest, I just woke up. I fell asleep on the court this morning and I just woke up like a minute ago. You can ask Reno over there. He can tell you." Despite being 5 inches shorter than Shinzuu, Lorazys' prowess over him was definite. She turned the rabbit in her hand around and looked him in the face, "He tellin' the truth?"
-
Reno nodded when she Lorazys asked if Shinzuu was telling the truth. "Mhmm. Truth. He was tellin' it." he said quickly. He was nervous but at the same time fearful. Getting beat up by a girl no matter how attractive was not on the list of things he had planned to do today. He just wanted to sulk alone, curl up in a ball, and die. Not necessarily in that order though. He managed to wipe the blood from his nose after he spoke.
-
Lorazys sighed and turned the rabbit in the other direction, "Fine. I'll let you off for now. Well, since it's lunch time, I'll take you to grab some food. It's already more than half way through the school day anyways. I guess I can hang out with my little brother." She put Reno down and snapped her fingers at Shinzuu, pointing over towards the street, like she was disciplining a pet dog. After Shinzuu hung his head and walked over towards the park gate, Lorazys changed her facial features to a smile and looked at Reno, "Reno, was it? How about you join us? Since you're friends with my idiot brother, you must be playing hooky, too. Come on. Lunch is on me."
-
When Lorazys ordered Shinzuu around like a dog Reno couldn't help but to snicker a little. "Yes...It's Reno. You're...Lorazys? I-..." he said. He was going to turn down the offer of lunch but changed his mind. "...Sure. Lunch sounds nice, thanks." he said trying to crack a little smile. "Let me get my violin..." he said going back to the tree to collect up his violin. He put it back in it's case and went back to Lorazys ready to go.
-
Lorazys took the two in her Prius and drove them over to the largest sushi house in the town. Once there, Shinzuu ordered soda, Lorazys getting beer. While Shinzuu drank, Lorazys asked him, "So... who's the girl that your banging in the guest room?" Shinzuu spat out his soda all over Reno, completely surprised by the question, "What the hell are you smoking!? First of all, I'm underage, and two, mother's housing her because she has no family, and... well, she does mean something to me, but..." She laughed and tossed her napkin over to Reno, "It's alright. Mom already told me everything. Chill out. So... WHEN are you gonna bang her?" Shinzuu spat out another mouthful, choking as he tried to recover. "What the-!?" Lorazys laughed again, "Just kidding around. But I'm sure you guys were made for each other, considering she's the only one outside our family that you're not allergic to. So who's your cute little friend here?"
-
Reno was a little disappointed that they went to a sushi place, he hated fish. He eyed his menu looking for something he would gag when eating to no avail. He was broken from his menu browsing when Shinzuu had spat his soda at him. He closed his eyes when it happened, not amused at it. "Eww..." he said flatly. He took the napkin Lorazys tossed at him and cleaned himself off. He was also wiping off the menu when she mentioned "Cute little friend" He raised an eyebrow at the mention of him as well as began to blush. "C-Cute...?" he thought, looking away bashfully.
Meanwhile back at school...
Mr. Avery wandered the lunch room, eventually finding Veronica alone at a table. He sat down and rested his chin on his folded arms on the table. "Salutations, Miss Smith. How are you today?" he said. "I've been looking for you."
-
Shinzuu sighed, finally no longer choking, "His name's Reno, and he'd be perfect for you. He's one of my friends, and he's the shyest kid you'll ever meet, and very submissive." Lorazys almost giggled as she looked at the little rabbit, "Reno, huh? So you must be a gaijin. What brings you to our humble little town of Feral City? I'm sure as hell that it wasn't the sights." Shinzuu snorted, "Better watch it, Reno. She may be in the working world already, but she's a prodigy. She's only 19, man, and she earns more than my mother."
-
Veronica was sitting alone at a table in the lunchroom with her right cheek rested against her right hand with that elbow propped up on the table and staring at the table blankly. She hadn't gotten any food and she wasn't planning on it. When Mr. Avery sat across from her and spoke, she angled her eyes toward him like she wasn't surprised to see him even though she actually was. "Why?" She questioned about him saying that he had been looking for her, skipping over the question about how she was.
-
Reno listened to Shinzuu as he spoke of how he would be perfect for Lorazys, making him blush more. He almost wanted to kick Shinzuu in the leg but didn't. After both her and Shinzuu finished he spoke up, though nervous hearing she was only 19. "Aye. I'm from Ireland. I moved here with my family when I was young. And...They-..." He paused, lowering his head. Though after a deep breath he continued. "They recently passed away last summer. On my birthday of all days...I'm in school here, so I really have no reason to leave. I've got my own place and job...But yeah. I suppose that covers it."
Meanwhile at school...
"I got word of a letter in the office..." replied Mr. Avery. "It was regarding Mr. O' Malley's new friend...It seems she is moving away and will not be attending school anymore." he continued. "I hadn't seen Mr. O' Malley today...I checked his hotel room and he wasn't there. I was concerned he had gotten attached to her and took her moving negatively. My hunch was correct since he's ditched school. I've also noticed Mr. Katame has also gone AWOL...Has Mr O' Malley taken him to play hooky?"
-
Lorazys gave a baby face, "Oh, you poor thing!" She scooted over and gave him a big hug, smothering him within her large breasts. "You shouldn't be forced to live like that at your age! You just can't!" Shinzuu grumbled, face-pawing and almost clawing his face as he dragged it down, "Are you ******* serious? At our age, you were already in college, and earning your own keep while doing internship with Sony. Who are you to speak?"
-
Veronica wasn't really surprised by the news of Marlowe moving so she didn't say anything about it as Mr. Avery continued to speak. "Reno takes everything negatively since he thinks everything is his fault." She said flatly as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "They were both at the park this morning. I have no idea why they didn't come to school." She shrugged with her cheek still resting on her hand as she kept looking at Mr. Avery, not thinking it was a big deal.
-
Reno did not expect to be smothered by Lorazys' breasts. He was shocked to not get a nosebleed. "I-...It's, fine, really. I don't want to be anyone's burden." he said, though it was a little muffled from being smothered in her chest.
Meanwhile at school...
"I see...How did he seem? Was he visibly depressed? It's odd he would stoop to ditching school no matter what the problem...It is unlike him. I'm concerned if he would ditch, the likely hood of him harming himself in some way would be high..."
-
Lorazys continued to smother Reno and shook him left and right, "No, no, no! That won't do! You'll live with me from now on!" Shinzuu facepawed again.
At school, Tabby was a complete wreck, and many students stayed away from her, as a killing aura emitted from every single pore in her body. "Where.... the.... HELL IS SHINZUU!?" Tabby's lackies, who had been following far behind her, fell even further back. "ummm.... maybe he's sick?" Tabby thought for a second, and then turned to flowers and sunshine. "Yea! Maybe you're right!"
-
"I didn't actually see Reno. I just recognized his violin playing. The music sounded peaceful so I would think that he's fine." Veronica said. "Plus, if he's with Shinzuu like you think, Shinzuu won't let anything happen to him or let him hurt himself." She was completely casual about the whole thing, like chatting with a teacher at lunch was a completely normal occurrence in high school.
-
Reno sighed on the inside, knowing there was no way out of this. Looking on the bright side, he would be living with someone attractive, and it would be a good change of scenery. His place would be depressing with all the negative memories. "Bollocks...I should have stayed home."
Meanwhile at school...
"I see...Then he is in good hands." he said, relieved, though his tone didn't show it. "Have you eaten yet? It's still early...Unless you are a quick eater. Is there something you want to talk about?"
-
Lorazys smiled as she finally let go, "Then it's settled! Where do you live? I'll have Shinzuu move your stuff for you!" Shinzuu spat out the soda he was drinking while she said that, "What do you mean ME!? And I don't it'd be cool to take him out of here to live with you in Tokyo!" She gave a pompous, princess laugh, "Oh, ho ho ho ho! Do you even know WHY I'm back in town? I got another promotion as head director for the Playstation division. I'm the lead programmer, and I get to work from home now. I bought the three rooms below you guys. You know all that construction lately? I had them tear down the walls and redo it to be like a real house. I even had the first door expanded to fit my entertainment system from my old house in Tokyo. Now you're a strong, young man. Be one and move all the stuff out. Now, cutie. Where do you live?"
-
"Not hungry." Veronica replied, randomly tapping the tip of the index finger of her left hand on the table top a few times. "Nope, absolutely nothing to talk about." She glanced around the lunchroom casually then directed her eyes back at Mr. Avery. "Besides, you're a teacher, not a counselor. If I actually needed to talk, I'd talk to a counselor, but there's nothing to discuss anyway."
-
Reno was a little relieved to be released, his paws immediately went to feeling his face. He snickered a little when she wanted Shinzuu to help him move. "Uhm...I live at the hotel nearby. It's just up the street actually. Like a ten minute walk." he said, blushing when she called him cute.
Meanwhile at school...
"A counselor I'm not...But I do teach psychology...I'm getting the feeling you are hiding something...You can talk to me..." Mr. Avery said, still resting his head on his arms.
-
Lorazys smiled, "No, just go on ahead when we're done. I'll drive up after I take care of the bill." The three of them ate in fair silence, and quickly.Shinzuu left with Reno first, while Lorazys took care of the bill. While walking over to the hotel, Shinzuu finally broke the silence just before getting into the parking lot, "You seriously going to go along with this? It's up to you, man. But I gotta warn you, she's quite a bitch." As if she was psychic, Lorazys drove right by them, going over a puddle and splashed Shinzuu, soaking him completely.
-
"So what if I am?" Veronica responded then shifted her position, mimicking the way that Mr. Avery was sitting. "It doesn't mean that I want to talk to anyone. My problems are my own and nobody else's. I'll deal with them in my own way." She kept her eyes on Mr. Avery while still having an emotionless look on her face. What they were doing would probably seem like a game or just plain weird to anyone else who might look at them but she didn't think about any of that.
-
When Shinzuu broke the silence he didn't hesitate to speak. "Well a lot of good you did...You practically threw me at her! But...I don't know...I don't want to seem rude..." He couldn't help but to chuckle at him when he was splashed with water. "Aheh...I don't think she likes you. Besides...I really think a change of scenery will help me out. I admit I've been really down since Schad's death...And Marlowe leaving...Maybe it will help me clear my head, ya know?" he explained as he walked to the hotel.
Meanwhile at school...
Mr. Avery was a little amused at how Veronica was acting by mimicking his posture. "I won't pry. Your business is your own. I suppose I should go explain to the principle as to why I haven't been here all day" he said with a crazy chuckle. With that he stood up and turned to walk off. "Pleasure talking to you, Miss Smith." he said before leaving.
-
Shinzuu then followed Reno to his room and helped him pack. After packing everything, he noticed that there quite a number of things that were obviously not his. "Hey... what do you want to do with these?" He had stacked all of Reno's stuff into the car, but he didn't know what Reno wanted to do with Schad's stuff that was yet to be packed.
-
"'Kay bye." Veronica responded, raising a hand as a half-wave without taking her eyes off of the spot in front of her where Mr. Avery had been sitting. "Guess they weren't the only ones playing hooky..." She mumbled after Mr. Avery had walked off. "Damn idiots...leaving me to suffer in this hell hole by myself. I should have just stayed in the park." Her face remained expressionless as she muttered to herself, still staring at that same spot.
-
Reno looked at Schadenfreude's things after packing everything else with Shinzuu. After awhile of looking at it silently he grabbed the sketch book and croagunk doll. "...Leave it...It's not mine..." he said almost sadly. He felt a little bad for saying it, but he had the most important items he thought. "I'm ready when you are..." he said, leaving his room. He headed to the front desk and left his room key. "Bye girls." he said to Alexia and Dorris who were sad to see him go. After that he left the building, heading for Lorazys' car.
-
After putting the rest of the stuff in, and Reno sitting inside the passenger seat, stuff stacked on his lap, Shinzuu knocked the top of the car, "I'm going to head out and take care of something. Why don't you guys go on ahead. I look forward to seeing your new pad, sis." Shinzuu started walking towards the direction of the school, stopping at the convenience store for a bottle of water, first.
-
When lunch time was over, Veronica sat the same way at the table for a couple more minutes before getting up from where she was sitting and heading for class. People were probably wondering why she was dragging her bag around with her but she didn't really care. She went to her class and sat down in the same seat she always sat in every day for every class. Pulling her notebook and her book out of her bag, she set them in front of her on the table and began taking notes as the teacher started to talk.
-
Reno was nervous having to sit in the front seat, even more so seeing Shinzuu wasn't going with them. "I'm alone with her...Bollocks..." he thought, his face going pink. It had also been awhile since he had been in a car, it felt a little weird to him. Not to mention being in the car, alone, with Lorazys. "Dang it, Shinzuu...Don't leave me alone with her! I'm a minor!" he continued in his mind. He was a bit scared now, actually going through with the move.
-
Lorazys drove Reno back to the apartment building, annoyed with the slow traffic. While they were driving, she pulled her cell phone out and dialed out a set of numbers, and placed it to her ear. "Hey, Toyama-san. Yea, I'll be there in 5 minutes. Get the guys ready, there's quite a bit of stuff to carry." Lorazys hung up and when they got to the parking lot, she swerved right in, and came to a screeching halt. "Whew! That was fun." She got out of the car and there stood 5 men, all walking over to the car. Lorazys hit a button on her key chain and the trunk opened up, the men taking all the boxes out, and carried them all upstairs.
-
Reno was gripping the door handle of the car while Lorazys drove and pulled into the parking spot. "We're in one piece. Woo." he mused in his head. He slowly got out, seeing the men waiting to get his things. He kept a hold of his duffel bag which he had with him during the ride. Standing idly by he looked at the place. "So she said she lives under Shinzuu...? This just keeeeps gettin' better don't it...Next thing I know I'm goin' to end up related to him."
-
Lorazys merely walked upstairs first, opening the fairly large door that stood out over the others. Inside, the area was very open, and the fresh scent of freshly laid wood floorboards and renovations in the air. At the back, the living room was the only room that connected all the apartments that were torn down. In the living room, there were 5 leather couches and 3 televisions, 2 60-inch once and a 72 in the middle. Each one had an entertainment system hooked up to it, and every Playstation system in front of it. The center coffee table had a stack of Vaio Laptops, some in pieces, some still in their boxes. The kitchen connected 2 of the apartment areas, about 3 times larger than Shinzuu's, and had the latest chrome/stainless steel appliances and marble counter tops. There was even a wheeled island with its own stove top. The rest of the apartment was either empty or had a stack of boxes in them. "My room's the master on the far right. You can take any of the guest rooms you want. Oh, the fridge won't be stocked until tomorrow, so we're ordering out tonight."
-
Reno followed Lorazys inside her place and looked around, finding it hard to keep his jaw off the floor. "Wow..." he let slip. "This is awesome." he continued as he looked around. When she mentioned he could take a guest room he walked to the first one he saw. "Okay. Thanks." He was curious what they would be having if they ate out. He walked into what would be his new room, throwing his bag onto the bed before looking around. It had a decent sized bed, about the same size as his if not bigger, dresser, closet, desk and night stand. It looked similar to his room, without there being kitchen appliances and a bathroom in it. "I can get used to this..." he thought, looking around at the things in his new room.
-
Lorazys chuckled, "Well, as my idiot brother told you, I DO work for Sony. I get a lot of free stuff and stuff for cheap. All those TVs are 3D ready. I have a stack of 3D glasses in one of my boxes. I'll have everything set up either tomorrow or Monday. So what do you want to eat? I can order anything you want." Meanwhile, Shinzuu sat in front of the school gates, waiting for classes to be over.
-
When school was finally over, which felt like forever, Veronica gathered her things and put them into her bag. Dragging her bag behind her through the halls, she headed for the library as she usually did to waste time before cheering practice. When she got to the library though, she didn't find a book to read like she normally did but sat down at one of the tables right away instead. She took her things out of her bag and started to work on her homework.
-
"Pizza sounds good." Reno said loudly so Lorazys could hear him. He was beginning to unpack now, putting his clothes in his drawers and closet. He set up his laptop on the desk and sat on his bed. Schadenfreude's sketchbook was on the bed next to the croagunk doll, he was curious himself why he brought it anyway; it was a trouble maker. He fell back onto his bed to lay there, looking up at the ceiling, letting out a long sigh.
-
Lorazys went over to her room and pulled out her laptop, connecting a long ethernet cord from her router to it. "Alright, my internet's up. And they said it wasn't worth it." She connected to her work's network and started typing away, managing her team, switching between looking at their different screens, and giving instructions on what to do. At around 5pm, she groaned as she stood up and stretched. She walked out of her room and hollered over to Reno, "Hey! I'm going to pick up Shinzuu from school, and get the pizza. You want to come along, or you want to tell me what pizza you want?"
-
Veronica had finished about 3/4 of her homework by the time she had to head to cheering practice. She brought her bag with her to the locker room and changed into her practice clothes. When she left the locker room and set her bag against the wall, it was 4:15, five minutes before the start of practice. She proceeded to help the coach drag out the mats and by the time the next five minutes had passed, everyone else had showed up. They spent about the first five minutes of class stretching out. After that, they began going through the routine for the competition.
-
Reno had unpacked the rest of his things and fell asleep until Lorazys called him. He woke up and sat up to walk out of the room. "Uhm...Sure. I'll come along, Lorazys." he said before yawning and scratching behind his ear. "That's a comfy bed in there." he continued as he walked over to her. "Can't believe this is Shinzuu's sister...well...Step sister...If Shinzuu is afraid of her......Should I be? She seems nice enough..."
-
Lorazys smiled and walked downstairs, closing the door behind the two of them, and got into the car. They drove over to the convenience store, and she picked up several 2 litre bottles of soda before going next door to order the pizzas with Reno. She went up to the counter, "I'll order 5 X-Large meat-stack pizzas like you made for us growing up, Baxter! Oh, and whatever the cutie over here wants."
-
Reno followed Lorazys around as she did her shopping, when it was time to order a pizza he blushed again at being called "cutie". "Uhm...Meat lovers. J-...Just one. Medium. Please." He was a bit flustered in his speaking. He was also a bit surprised at what she ordered, though her being a wolf it kinda made sense. "Either she can really put it away, or we're having guests over...Probably guests, she is just moving in from being away apparently."
-
Lorazys then left the pizzeria with Reno and drove them both out towards the school, "I'm sure they should be just getting out. I hear that the girl's in the cheering squad. They end at around this time. So if my timing's on, and it always is, we should get there as she's getting out. And if I know that idiot brother of mine, he'll be there, too. Poor girl. Being liked by such a schmuck."
-
Veronica's practice actually got out at around 5:00 since they were only practicing their routine for competition and had nothing else to do. She helped the other squad members put the mats back in their places then walked over to where her bag was sitting. Reaching up, she parted her ponytail and pulled the halves in opposite directions to tighten the ponytail then released her hair. Picking up her bag, she headed out of the gym and to the front of the school. When she reached the front gates of the school and walked through them, she spotted Shinzuu sitting there and stopped walking. "Hey...why are you here?" She asked, sort of sounding like she was upset or something even though she wasn't and actually just didn't understand why he was there when he hadn't been in school.
-
"He's not all bad..." said Reno nervously twiddling his thumbs in his lap. He was still nervous being around Lorazys, and alone with her. "He can be supportive...I should know...He's a good friend. Though he can be a bit over bearing at times...He means well." he continued. He fell silent at that point, not knowing what else to say. He wanted to ask about her, but he was too nervous. He continued to twiddle his thumbs for the ride.
-
Shinzuu snapped out of his trance as Veronica came out of the gates and looked up at her. He chuckled at first, blushing, "I just wanted to... be with you, y'know?" Before another word, Shinzuu's heart nearly stopped as Lorazys pulled the Prius up on the curb to a screeching halt. He jumped up and yelled over, "What the hell, you crazy bitch!? Are you TRYING to kill me!? Goddammit!"
-
Veronica couldn't help but smile at what Shinzuu said. The smile came off her face a quick second later though when Shinzuu was almost run down and she jumped about a foot back herself. By Shinzuu's tone, it didn't just sound like he was angry but like he knew who the person driving the Prius was. She looked over at Shinzuu. "Are you okay?" She asked him, concerned, and then looked over at the Prius. "Who is that?" Her eyes narrowed slightly and she didn't exactly look happy.
-
Reno again held onto the door handle when Lorazys came to a stop, almost hitting Shinzuu. "She takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level!" he thought, heart racing a little. "Maybe Shinzuu was right? I'm goin' to die......Oh well. It wouldn't be the worst thing to happen. I don't think anyone would miss me for very long. Maybe I should write my will...I want Time of your life to be played at my funeral...Hmm...Would that be unoriginal? Maybe a sad instrumental instead?" He looked at Shinzuu and Veronica out the window and then back to Lorazys, finally just staring straight forward.
-
Shinzuu sighed as he face-pawed frustratingly, "That's my step-sister, Lorazys Katame. She's 19 years old, but is currently the newly appointed game development manager at Sony Entertainment Incorporated. She just moved back into town today, and she's already adopted a new pet, Reno." Reno's window was opened, "Hey! Get in the car, guys, I ordered some pizza! We're gonna party at my place tonight! Whoo!" Shinzuu grumbled to himself as he got up and patted himself down from dust, "Crazy bitch."
-
Veronica instinctively didn't want to get into the car with Lorazys. She didn't know why but there was just something about her that she didn't like, other than the fact that she had almost run Shinzuu over. "Oh goodie, pizza." She responded sarcastically about the news of Lorazys having ordered pizza since she didn't care for pizza at all. She also didn't care about partying at her place either since she wasn't that type but part of her wanted to because it might get her mind off of other things she didn't want to think about.
-
"Pet? I'm not a pet..." Reno thought in his mind, hearing Shinzuu. "I don't like parties either..." he continued. "I hope she means just us...Who else would be there? Maybe Shinzuu's mom...I wonder if she still wants to kill me from when I walked in on her in the shower...? I have a really awkward standin' with Shinzuu's family...I just realized that. Why he puts up with my...Weirdness is beyond me." He remained silent not saying anything still.
-
Shinzuu opened the door for Veronica before closing it and then tossing both their bags in the trunk before getting in on the other side. Lorazys drove them over to the pizzeria next to the convenience store, and then went inside while leaving the others inside. When she came back, she opened Shinzuu's door and put the hot pile of 6 pizza boxes onto his lap. When they got to the apartment complex, Shinzuu ended up being the one carrying all the pizza and soda while Lorazys took Veronica and Reno up, first. "So, now that the idiot's behind us, tell me. What attracts you to my stupid brother?"
-
Veronica entered the car when Shinzuu opened the door for her and sat through the ride in silence. As she followed Lorazys up the steps, she glanced back at Shinzuu, feeling sorry for him. When Lorazys spoke, Veronica frowned and looked forward again. "Because he's apparently nothing like you, thank God." She responded in her head, angrily. "He's sweet and caring. He's gentle when he needs to be and tough when it calls for it. He's supportive and helpful and protective of those he cares for. And he's not an idiot, he's actually quite smart." She said calmly, a small smile moving onto her face as she spoke. She didn't look at Lorazys while she was speaking and just kept her eyes looking ahead.
-
Reno wanted to help Shinzuu carry the food and drink but at the same time, he felt it would anger Lorazys; which was something he would want to avoid. He followed behind Lorazys silently, thinking about the pet comment. "I'm pretty sure he was joking...Right...? I'm not that weak am I? I punched those guys at the arcade with Schad...I beat up Jackson's brother...I was winnin' until Shinzuu pulled me off...Maybe I am weak..."
-
Lorazys chuckled and wrapped an arm around Veronica's shoulders, "Oh, ho ho. So you guys ARE banging each other. Just make sure you guys get married first. I'd like my first nephew or niece as soon as possible, but only under legal pretenses." Her smile was big and then she turned and whispered into Veronica's ear so that Reno couldn't hear, "If he ever becomes a problem, his bottom right ribs are always tender because they never healed right. Just give him a good jab if he decides to get frisky without protection."
-
Veronica seriously wanted to pull away from Lorazys when she put her arm around her shoulders then her eyes widened in surprise at what she said. "WHAT?! We are not..." She almost screamed but then lowered her voice for the rest, mainly because she didn't like the word that was used, and actually did pull away. "We are not...banging each other." Her face was bright red under her fur at this point. "And I don't even know if I want kids..." She said softly, mainly talking to herself but Lorazys would be able to hear her and possibly Reno too.
-
Lorazys laughed as she play punched Veronica's shoulder before raising her keychain and unlocked the door. When they all got into the apartment, Shinzuu almost dropped the pizzas at the sight of the living room, though he only saw the largest TV and the table of laptops from his view, and followed Lorazys right to the kitchen. "I got the meaty pizzas that Baxter made for us when we were kids. Bacon, Ham, Canadian Bacon, Pepperoni, Italian Sausage, Polish Sausage, Breakfast Sausage, Sirloin Squares, Chicken Chunks, and all types of cheese stacked together in one." Shinzuu's eyes almost lit up as he opened the first box and grabbed a few pieces without even bothering to ask for a plate. He nearly choked on it, though, when he walked into the living room and seeing the rest of its accommodations. "Oh, by the way. I brought Pepsi, Lemon Ramune, Ginger Ale and Orange Soda. Feel free to grab any of them."
-
Veronica rubbed her shoulder since Lorazys' play punch still wasn't exactly gentle and glared at the back of her head as Lorazys walked into the apartment ahead of her. The whole living room set-up didn't do anything for her since she wasn't into that stuff and she thought it was a waste to have more than one TV in one room. She went straight to the couch since she had no interest in any of the pizza and sat on one end of it, resting her elbow on the arm of the couch and resting her chin in her hand. Looking extremely bored, she stared at a random spot on the floor.
-
Reno, being hungry, dug out his pizza and went for Pepsi. He preferred Coke, but he felt they were the same anyway. He wasn't terribly picky with soda as it is. He grabbed a glass, filled it with ice and soda and went to the couch with his box of pizza. Normally he would have ketchup with his pizza but there wasn't any so he had to do without. The pizza was still enjoyable, though all the meat on the rest of the pizzas sounded tantalizing. "Gotta try some of their pizza...It sounds yummy...A regular carnivore classic it sounds like..."
-
Shinzuu sat next to Veronica to check on her, but Lorazys punched his head as she placed a plate on his lap. "My couches are imported from the States, so don't even mess ANY of them up, or I'll personally kill ya. Mom is gonna be here soon, so get your ass in gear and behave. She can be here any minute." She walked away and pet Reno on top of his head, "Aren't you cute with your appetite." Shinzuu sighed and turned to Veronica, "You okay?"
-
Veronica had the urge to punch Lorazys when she punched Shinzuu but resisted it like every other urge she ever had and kept her eyes on the floor instead. When Shinzuu spoke to her, she glanced over at him just by moving her eyes instead of moving her whole head then looked back at the floor. "Depends on your definition of the word..." She said in response. "I don't like pizza. I don't like parties. And she's not very favorable so far either, in my opinion." It was obvious that she was talking about Lorazys when she said the last part.
-
Reno froze mid bite when Lorazys pet him on the head and commented on his appetite. His face went beat red, visible under his white fur. "This woman will be the death of me." he thought, slowly starting to chew again. "At least she ho-fdbgalfb. I love Schad. But...She's...Dead...Me and my loyalties..." he continued to think moving onto his next slice. He was already a couple in. He tried one of the others' pizzas and it was as good as he thought. Though he continued to eat his, moving onto his third slice.
-
Shinzuu smiled and chuckled as he took a swig of ginger ale, "She's a very big bitch, and has an attitude to boot. She's inconsiderate and insensitive... But she has a very big heart. I know she's an arrogant and pompous hag, but she really is a good person. She's taking Reno in with her, so he doesn't have to work while he goes to school and has someone to be like a family to him. Besides, she's a lonely person. Having Reno around could make her less of a bitch."
-
"Or ruin him." Veronica thought, deciding it was best to keep it to herself. She didn't say anything about what Shinzuu said about his sister and just leaned her head back so it was resting against the back of the couch instead of on her hand. Staring up at the ceiling blankly, her mind swarmed with thoughts, so much that it made her a little dizzy. She took a deep breath then released it, trying to calm herself. "I just want to go home..." She said, her voice almost inaudible. She hadn't meant to say out loud and hadn't even realized that she did as she continued to stare at the ceiling. It didn't mean that she wanted to go to Shinzuu's mother's apartment though but that would probably be how somebody else would have interpreted it.
-
After a while of eating his pizza he couldn't eat anymore, over half of his pizza was gone. He laid back satisfied, full of pizza and soda. "That was good...Thanks for the pizza, Lorazys." he said exhaling a deep breath. "Mmm-mmm...Pizza...I still find it weird being here...But I think I can get used to it. After awhile...I hope she doesn't try anything while I sleep..." he thought. He took another drink of his soda and leaned back again.
-
Shinzuu sighed and grew somber, "I'm sorry you can't get used to us. I guess it was too much to expect you to. But you know? I was really hoping for it. I guess despite all that's happened, I just really want you to be with me..." He blushed as he said the last part, and got up, walking over to the table and getting more pizza to chow down on.
-
Veronica kept her eyes on the ceiling as Shinzuu responded to her. A small smile moved onto her face at the last thing that Shinzuu had said. As she thought about what he said after he walked off, she felt bad. She didn't want him thinking that she didn't want to be around him because that wasn't true. Getting up, she walked over to where the pizzas and sodas were. Grabbing the bottle of Pepsi, she poured herself a cup of it. She moved over to stand next to Shinzuu and glanced sideways at him. "I do want to be with you..." She said softly, looking down at the pizzas then sideways at him again.
-
Lorazys' ears perked at the same time Shinzuu's did at Veronica's last statement. She then put her hands on Reno's back and ushered him out with her, whispering, "I think it's best if we head on over to the other room" Shinzuu himself slowly turned and looked at Veronica. Even though his face looked somber, his eyes glimmered with hope and some happiness.
-
Veronica became nervous when Lorazys ushered Reno out of the room and she was left alone with Shinzuu. She had been alone with Shinzuu before so it shouldn't have been a big deal but it seemed like a more intimate moment to her in a way, especially when she turned to face him and saw the look in Shinzuu's eyes. "I just...this is a hard time for me. And I know you understand that. And I don't want you to think that I don't like you and don't want to be with you just because I'm not in the best place right now." She said softly. "But I want to be with you, I know that much."
-
Reno went with Lorazys into another room quietly. "Drama? Damn it, Shinzuu...Now I'm alone with Lorazys." he thought. He went to go lay down on the bed, eating so much always made him tired. He just stared blankly at the ceiling. "Should I talk to her? What would I say...? Why am I so awkward around girls again?! I thought I was making progress...I wasn't even that bad with Marlowe...But with Lorazys...Maybe it's the age difference...And that she's mentioned me being cute...Bollocks. Damn Shinzuu...I blame him." he continued to think. "So..." Reno said sitting up onto his elbows. "...Got a boyfriend?" "WOAH! THAT WASN'T STRAIGHT FORWARD AT ALL!" he thought in his head. His face turned pink from embarrassment.
-
Shinzuu blushed and looked into her eyes, slowly lowering his muzzle to her's without even knowing. "And I've wanted to be with you as well. But not just as I am, but as the one you look to, not shut out. I mean, you're the only girl who hasn't tried to make a move on me, or be interested in me for who I am, rather than for my fame and reputation. You're the kind of girl that I've been hoping that I would get. I guess the bonus is that I'm not allergic to you."
Lorazys gave Reno a surprised look when he asked his question and then when it caught up with her, she giggled, almost breaking out into laughter. "Me? No way. Guys are always intimidated by me. I mean, come on. I graduated every school, Primary, Secondary, High School, and even Tokyo University early. I was my boss's boss after only 1 year of work, and I'm in a position where people in their 30's are working hard to get. On top of that, I'm tall, strong, and I can kick anyone's ass in both real life and in video games. Nah, there's no guy who would ever think even once about me."
-
Veronica's cheeks flushed as Shinzuu's muzzle got really close to her own. As he spoke to her, she couldn't take her eyes off of his and she almost wanted to cry. Not in a sad way though, in a happy way. "That's not who I am. I would never want a person for such selfish or low reasons." She said as she kept her eyes on his. "There has to be more to a person, and there is more to you. And I want to let you in, it's just going to take some work, but I know I can." Every part of her was screaming at her to kiss him but she just stayed rooted to the spot and kept her eyes on his, feeling like she was being drawn in.
-
Reno smiled lightly, mainly that his awkward question didn't backfire like he had expected. "Oh yeah? Well all the girls I start to like die or move..." he said almost as if he were trying to be better at having it bad with the opposite sex. "I really have no amazing qualities...I'm also probably the least charmin' Irish person in the world. Not to mention I'm anti-social and a geek...I'm not exactly a lady killer. I don't get out much..." he said sitting all the way up. "I'm sorry, I'm complainin' at this point...Heh..."
-
Shinzuu's heart sped up as she spoke, and when she finished, his instincts took over and he held Veronica tight. Before he knew it, he pulled back and looked into her eyes for a little while and kissed her.
Lorazys chuckled, "Well, it seems you're almost like me in a way. Here, let me show you something." She fished into her wallet and pulled out an old tattered photo. It looked like it belonged in a yearbook. In it was a short little wolf girl with red eyes, thick-rimmed glasses, braces and even some visible zits. "This was me when I attended Feral High as the youngest freshman. I was always harassed and made fun of during my 2 years there, never mind a boyfriend."
-
When Shinzuu pulled Veronica in and held her tight, she wrapped her arms around him as well, enjoying the feeling of his arms around her. When Shinzuu pulled back from the embrace, there was a smile on her face as she looked up at him. Shinzuu finally leaning in and kissing her caught her off-guard though. She was so nervous about the kiss that when she kissed back it resulted in the kiss only being a short one before she pulled away. Her eyes were angled toward his chest since she was embarrassed and wished that she had kissed better.
-
"High school can be rough on a kid..." Reno said looking at the picture. "None of those kids knew what they were missin'. You're a nice person despite what Shinzuu says. I mean...You barely know me and yet here you are, taking me into your home without a second thought...I appreciate that..." he said. He fell back onto the bed with his hands behind his head. "You didn't have to do that, ya know? I was survivin'..."
-
Shinzuu blushed when Veronica and blushed even more after she quickly pulled away, "I-I.... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that..."
Lorazys looked Reno and laughed, "You're too polite for your own good, kiddo. No wonder you're still single. Try being less timid. You're more of a girl than I am. And it's not problem for having you here. Someone your age shouldn't be forced to live the way you do... Besides... my pet rabbits died before I came back home."
-
"No, no..." Veronica said quickly and lightly placed her right hand against the center of his chest on his shirt, glancing up at him. "I wanted you to...I've been wanting you to. I was just too afraid to say anything or do it myself." She pulled her hand away from his chest and let her arm fall to her side again. "The only reason I pulled away like that is because I'm nervous and I don't know if I'm any good at kissing since I've never kissed anyone before." Her cheeks blushed deeper red than they already had been.
-
Reno shot back up. "I'm not a girl!" he said quickly, blushing a bit angrily. "I-...I'm...*sigh*...I've been getting that a lot lately...Yeah. So what. I'm nice. It's who I am...If that makes me feminine so be it." he shrugged. "I can be plenty manly. I mean...Look at my muscles!" he said beginning to flew with a serious face. However there was no muscle to be seen. "And...And...Uhm...I'm Irish! That's plenty manly!" he continued. He was trying to be funny, though at the same time was trying to prove he wasn't a woman.
-
Shinzuu blushed to the point of hiding his face in his bangs, "T-that was actually my first kiss. And my body just moved by itself..." He was completely flustered at hearing Veronica had wanted to kiss him, too.
Lorazys giggled a bit, "You're so cute. However, from what I remember, being Irish just means you drink a lot. Here, let me show you something." Lorazys started unbuttoning her suit shirt, which revealed a black, lace bra, but also her physique. Her six pack was very defined, despite her slender figure. Lorazys almost grunted as she flexed her left arm, the muscles rippling past her fur and even two veins.
-
Veronica liked and kind of felt better that Shinzuu was embarrassed as well and that it was his first kiss too. "Guess I should have let my instincts do the work for me too..." She said softly. She stood there without saying anything for a moment. Finally, she closed the distance between them again. It wasn't a kiss though, but another embrace. She wrapped her arms around his waist and rested the side of her head against his chest with a smile on her face.
-
"I'm not a drinker." Reno said at Lorazys' comment about Irish people drinking a lot. When she unbuttoned her shirt he blushed heavily. "I-...Uhm...Nice body-...Er..Muscles. Nice muscles you have. You must work out a lot." he said nervously. He checked his nose to see if it was bleeding, it was though only slightly. He held the back of his paw against his nose. "God I feel like such a girl...She IS more a man than me!"
-
Shinzuu was taken aback by her embrace and didn't know what to do for a bit before he let his arms wrap around Veronica's shoulders. He held on firm, but not too tight, and then lifted his head, whispering into her ear, "Let's get out of here."
Lorazys chuckled and put her shirt back on, "Thanks. You should really stop being so timid. Anyone can tell how perverted you are from your nose."
-
Veronica kept her arms around Shinzuu even when he didn't wrap his arms around her right away. When he finally did, the smile on her face got bigger. When he whispered into her ear suggesting that they leave, she pulled her head away from his chest and looked up at him. "Okay, if you want." She responded softly, not wanting him to want to leave his sister's place just because of her. Releasing her hold on him, she stepped back a bit.
-
Reno shrugged when Lorazys said he should stop being so timid. "It will come soon enough. It usually takes a day of being around a person anymore before I get...Un-timid. And I'm not a pervert. I'm...I-...Well you're hot. And being even remotely close to a woman who almost took her shirt all the way off was...Making me really nervous, and gave me a nose bleed." he said with a chuckle scratching the back of his head.
-
Shinzuu piled the remaining pizza in one box and picked up half of the remaining boxes, and then took Veronica's hand and led her away from the apartment. He took her up one floor, back to his mother's apartment.
Lorazys giggled as she looked out the door, "You're the first to tell me that I'm hot to my face. But it looks like the lovers are going out. Come on, let's finish up the food." She walked out of the room and went back over to the kitchen.
-
Veronica watched as Shinzuu piled up pizza in a box then grabbed half of the other boxes, taking a couple of big drinks from her cup of Pepsi to get it down before they left the apartment. When Shinzuu took her hand, it felt like it had a lot more significance that time than when he had done it others times while they were out walking around or hanging out. "Piggy..." She said jokingly as she walked beside him. When they got to the door of his mother's apartment, she opened the door for him since he was carrying so much.
-
Reno was a bit surprised hearing he was the first to call Lorazys hot to her face. "Woo! How's that for manly!" he cheered in his head with a victorious grin on his face. He followed her out of the room and into the kitchen grabbing the rest of the boxes in a stack. He carried them over to the fridge and put them inside figuring that's where they should go anyway. After that he put away the soda. "So...What now? Your mother never showed up...Shinzuu and Veronica are gone..." "That sounds too awkward...Say something...Say somethiiiing....Crap! I don't know what to say!" "Is there a shower here?" he blurted out just for the sake of saying something.
-
The rest of the years of high school went smoothly, and calmly. Reno went on to live with Lorazys and her kookiness, sometimes being treated more like a house pet rather than a roommate. Such times have resulted in her bringing in rabbit pellets and carrots rather than actual food. Shinzuu was reinstated as the basketball team captain his senior year, after leading the Feral High team to victory. With the help of Veronica, he ended up spending senior year in class 3-D, rather than class 3-G. Shinzuu and Veronica eventually made their relationship public the next year. Tabby had not given on Shinzuu, despite the announced relationship, but it diffused after another 5 months of tormenting Veronica, and getting crap from Shinzuu about it. Shinzuu and Reno graduated at the top of their individual class groups, but failed the entrance exams and ended up spending a year at college prep school while Veronica flew threw her senior year as the valedictorian, being the top of class A. After graduating, the three friends celebrated Veronica's graduation and discussed college plans and what they plan to do, all the while prepping for entrance exams again.
Join us in the exciting college venture in the Adult Serious RP, as we continue our story in Fur-al University. Thanks for reading and participating!!