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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 13, 2012 20:48:22 GMT -5
OUTSIDE OF THE HIGH SCHOOL, 4PM
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Pant, pant, pant...
Was Kousuke Fujihara's own breathing as he ran along the sidewalk from his apartment, en route to Homurabara. Under normal circumstances, Kou wouldn't be running to the high school - he didn't have any business with them, after all. But today, much like two of the other days of this week, was definitely not normal.
For some reason that he couldn't explain (how could he? he barely understood his powers), his visions had changed, both in frequency and medium. The visions had begun appearing more rapidly, following the one about the Holy Grail War, and had begun invading his dreams rather than appearing when he was awake. Last night was no exception.
Unlike the vision a few days before that that rendered him unconscious, this one didn't delve deeper into his future regarding the oncoming war, it didn't involve him at all. Instead, it involved his newest acquaintance, who helped him garner information at the library and who he helped with her project - Tsubaki Sumeragi. The vision regarding her had scared him enough to take action.
It involved Tsubaki walking across the street, followed by the screech of tires and the honking of a horn. The vision ended there, not revealing if a collision would happen or not. Kousuke didn't want to take that risk, though.
Kousuke halted his run at the gate, stopping to catch his breath.
"Where's Sumeragi?" He thought, hoping it wasn't too late. Fortunately, he had a hunch that he wasn't - and his hunches were usually right. Though, he wanted to see with his eyes that the event he foresaw didn't happen yet, seeking to prevent it.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 13, 2012 21:58:03 GMT -5
"Okay! That's enough running! Everyone put your armour on!" Tsubaki called out as everyone began to slow down. All the students of the Kendo club were dressed in their black and white martial arts uniforms, running around the dojo. Fitness was very important, as was warming up, and a good run helped greatly with that. If anything they'd been practising even harder as of late, as there was a competition coming up.
She started by helping a few of the club members with their stances, and demonstrating proper technique. After some practice with their bokken, they switched out for their shinai and began to practice sparring. The captain, Akira, decided to have Tsubaki start off. Her opponent was to be Yuki - a short and energetic girl obsessed with anime who was pretty good... when she set her mind on it, at least. "I'll strike ya down and prove that I'm the greatest! Fufufu!" She called out dramatically as she stepped forward, eliciting a few laughs from the other club members. "Oh? Well then, just try it." Tsubaki said, her mask hiding a smile.
They held their shinai in the ready position, and a few heartbeats later, the first spar was underway. Yuki was on the offensive straight away, her short stature belying her ability and aggression. To a layperson, it might look like Tsubaki was losing. However, she was defending against her attacks quite well. The girl was just waiting for the right moment to catch her opponent off-guard. She preferred a strong attack herself, but Yuki took it to the extreme, to the point of neglecting defence. It was something that she would have to teach her if she wanted to improve.
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 13, 2012 23:22:56 GMT -5
Well, the first thing on the agenda to confirm that she was alright was to ask around.
Good thing he was a young college student and not an older adult, otherwise this would have looked a thousand times more creepy.
"Excuse me, do you know a Tsubaki Sumeragi? I'm looking for her."
He asked a nearby male student, who (not surprisingly) questioned his motives.
"Well yeah, I know her, but why do you want her?"
"I helped her with an English project at the library the other day, I want to ask her about it. I found more information that she could use."
At that point, Kou figured he could have thought up something better than that to try to explain his case, but it didn't matter in the end - the student revealed Tsubaki's location.
"Oh, well then you'll probably find her in the Kendo Dojo, it's in the school."
At least it was easier than he thought it'd be.
"Thanks a lot."
With that said, Kou continued on his way into the school, making sure the red mark that appeared on his hand was hidden from view in his jacket's pocket.
It wasn't hard to find the dojo, considering that he used to be a student here. Opening the door a pinch, he peered inside, sighing with relief once he saw Tsubaki among the students there. At least she was still here, now that the issue of finding her was out of the way, the next one presented itself - how was he to avert the car accident he foresaw?
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 14, 2012 0:56:07 GMT -5
As Kousuke looked on, the fight between Tsubaki and Yuki continued. The crack of the shinai against each other was quite loud, and just as quickly as they clashed together, they backed off. This is it. Tsubaki thought. She'd seen her opponent practice, and knew what was coming up. To be fair on Yuki, it wasn't the easiest thing to counter even if you expected it, but it was important not to telegraph your moves. With a shout, the shorter girl shot forward in a lunge, attempting to strike her on the chest. However, Tsubaki was faster. She avoided the strike and retaliated, hitting her on the head as she stepped past. One point for her. It was a little harder than it needed to be, but she felt that Yuki needed to be taught a lesson.
"I would've got you if I wasn't distracted by that strange man at the door!" Yuki complained. At that point all eyes went to the door. There was someone peering in at the practice who didn't appear to be in school uniform. Wait... is that... Tsubaki took off her helmet and looked again. "Kousuke-san?" She said out loud when she recognised him and remembered his name. What was he doing here? Yuki heard her. "Kousuke-san? Do you know him?" Her mask was off as well, her long twintails tumbling over her shoulders. She had a grin on her face. Uh oh...
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 14, 2012 20:10:11 GMT -5
Well, he was caught. Not that it surprised him much, anyway - he WAS peering in through the door, there wasn't anything inconspicuous about that. Now that he was caught, he figured he'd step inside. He didn't want to interrupt the training session more than he already did, though; so he figured he'd just mention to Tsubaki that he needed to talk to her afterwards.
Entering the room, he shut the door behind him, still making it a point to hide the mark on his hand.
"Sorry for interrupting you guys. I need to talk to Tsubaki-san about something but it can wait until your practice is done. Do you mind if I sit on the sidelines for now?"
He hoped he wasn't coming off as creepy, that wasn't his intention in the slightest. All he wanted to do was somehow prevent the event he saw, or at least issue some kind of warning.
He couldn't tell her about his vision, that would be too weird. Besides, it wasn't like she'd believe him if he mentioned that he foresaw her getting into a car accident in his sleep, even if he tried to explain it.
Although, one thing in his mind bothered him and that was the possibility that the accident he foresaw would not happen today. The vision did not tell him the exact day the accident would occur, they never did. Kou just hoped the warning he would issue would suffice.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 14, 2012 20:40:27 GMT -5
Well, this was certainly awkward. An older guy had come into the dojo asking to talk to her. That was certainly going to give the wrong message to a lot of people. "Well, there aren't any rules that say you can't..." Akira began speaking before anyone else could interrupt. "Sumeragi-san, is this fine with you?" Looks like it would be up to her. She had no idea why he was here, but she didn't think it was because he had ill intent towards her. Still, did he have to show up in the middle of practice? "Ummm... I have no objections. Just stay out of the way, and we can talk afterwards."
Practice didn't go on for too much longer. Kousuke's entrance had broken the focus of a lot of people, as they wondered just what was going on. People kept glancing at him and Tsubaki, trying to figure out what their relationship was. She explained that they'd met at the library and quickly separated, and weren't anything more than acquaintances, but that just fueled the fire for even more speculation. Acquaintances didn't show up at your school to tell you something private.
Back in her school uniform, Tsubaki waved her friends ahead as she walked over to Kousuke. "So? What was it you wanted to tell me?" She tried to sound even, but a bit of annoyance came through in her voice. "I'm sure I don't need to tell you how inappropriate it is for a college student to be asking about high school girls?" OK, maybe she was more than a bit annoyed. To be fair, there were going to be rumours going around about her now... well, at least until something more interesting came along.
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 14, 2012 23:27:16 GMT -5
How exactly could he put this?
It was already evident that Tsubaki was annoyed with him and the fact that his presence and association with her would cause rumors to spread like wildfire wasn't going to help his case. He had to think of something - anything - to get him out of this and save Tsubaki-san. If only it were easier, and if only he didn't put himself into such an awkward position.
"Well, I came to ask about this."
By no means was the marking on his hand the topic of conversation, even if he had no idea what its significance was despite wanting to know. Taking his hand out of his pocket, he shocked the back of it to Tsubaki.
"In retrospect, this probably wasn't the greatest way to ask for info, and I'm definitely not going to not awkwardly intrude on your Kendo practice in the future, but I wasn't sure who else to ask."
Kou hoped that his talk about the marking would make the position he was in less awkward.
"I'm not sure how it got there, to be honest. It's not a tattoo. It just... appeared there while I was doing the dishes after my knuckles bled. Do you have any idea what it is?"
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 14, 2012 23:46:01 GMT -5
Tsubaki wasn't sure what to expect from Kousuke. However, what actually happened was definitely not on the list of expected topics of conversation. She looked at the tattoo, completely confused by what was happening. Well, it wasn't a tattoo, according to him, and just appeared while he was doing the dishes. Was he a drug addict? That'd explain a lot. He didn't look like one, but didn't they say it was the people you'd least suspect?
She realised she was staring blankly at him and needed to say something. "Alright... let me get this straight." Tsubaki started slowly, trying to get his story straight for her own sake. "According to you, this tattoo appeared while doing the dishes. So you decide to track down an almost complete stranger to talk to about it, because you weren't sure who else to ask?" She folded her arms under her chest. It was clear from the tone of her voice that she didn't believe him. "Oh yeah, I didn't answer your question - I don't know what it is."
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Post by Kousuke Fujihara on Feb 15, 2012 0:05:42 GMT -5
So following his question, she stared blankly at him. Not the response he wanted, but definitely the one he suspected. Did she think he was a drug addict now? Probably, and he wouldn't put it past her. In her shoes, he'd probably suspect him of doing drugs too.
In order to avoid making this situation even more awkward than it needed to be (and more awkward than it already was), he decided to try to leave with just this. Maybe after a week she'd forget about it, and him too. Funny how his attempt at doing a good deed - helping Tsubaki avoid a potentially fatal car accident - forced him into one of the most awkward situations ever.
He'd have to think of ways to prevent deaths in the future that didn't involve making himself look like an ass and/or drug addict.
"Well, thanks. Sorry about how... awkward I made things. One last thing before I go, though - try to be careful on your way home. I almost got hit by a car on the way here, guy ran a red light." Despite the subliminal attempt at warning her of her impending doom, it wasn't a complete lie - he did run all the way here, and he DID almost get hit.
"I'll see you around."
With that said, Kou left, annoyed with himself for being self-forced into that awkward position. To the other students - and Tsubaki-san, too,, he was probably now a 'person to avoid' and potential drug addict. In order to calm his nerves, he figured he wouldn't go home immediately, and instead walk around the shopping district for a bit. At least he'd be able to look through the few book stores around there and try to find things of interest or related to the 'Holy Grail War'. He hoped to never cause such an awkward situation again, though.
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Post by Tsubaki Sumeragi on Feb 15, 2012 1:19:13 GMT -5
Kou was starting to look guilty now. Perhaps he finally realised just how stupid he sounded. He apologised, too, and sounded sincere. He was sorry for the problems that he'd caused her by his actions. Since he was sorry, she couldn't exactly stay mad at him. "I'll be careful." She assured him, her voice taking on a more gentle tone. "Goodbye." She waved and waited for him to leave before gathering her things.
When she left, she found that some of the club members were still hanging around. "It wasn't anything important." Tsubaki told them, already knowing what it was about. "I think he might have been autistic or something... where's Yuki?" She was surprised to see that the one who was most interested in what was going on wasn't here. "Oh... well, she's..." "THAT FIEND!" Yuki's voice carried over to them from the gate. She looked worn out and was breathing pretty heavily. Her bokken was in her hand.
"Do I want to know what happened?" Tsubaki asked, sounding almost resigned. "I'll tell ya what happened! Some maniac driver nearly ran me over, that's what happened! I chased him down the street, but he got away! Oooo, if I see him again..." You'll forget all about it in a week at most. Tsubaki thought, smiling. That girl was always so energetic. Still, it was a bad sign if drivers were starting to get more reckless. First Kousuke, and now Yuki. She hoped that there wouldn't need to be an accident for people to realise just how dangerous cars could be.
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