[Episode Zero] School Daze

[Straken]

Ruarc kept his eyebrow cocked as he looked at Raiko. This started out as almost being interesting, but now she was threating him and his job. The Irishman thus adopted a sterner look and hunched over slightly so that he was face to face with the nosy girl.

“Raiko, ya look like a smart lass, so Ah will explain this simply. Don’ stick yur nose where it doesn’t belong. Ah have ma reasons, an’ Ah don’ take kindly ta threats,” Ruarc said in a very deadpan and straightforward tone.

”Want me to go for her hair,” Laoise asked him.
”Let me get back to you on that. My answer may change in a bit,” Ruarc replied.

[Kai]

Miyuki nearly choked on her bite of food, and swallowed it roughly, coughing a little bit, and starting to blush. "Uhh.. Yeah... that's probably mostly why." she answered sheepishly, before clearing her throat and regaining her composure. "Don't think he'll just let us get away with anything, though. A distraction to save you is one thing, but pulling pranks or something is another thing entirely," the girl instructed, chidingly.
"She's right." Hisoka muttered, now chewing on his pencil. "We don't cause trouble as a rule, but it was necessary that one time."

******

Raiko rolled her eyes and sighed. "Look. You're homeless and jobless. I know the school gives uniforms for free, and I've seen what you've been eating." the girl began playing with her hair, completly ignoring anything that Ruarc may have been doing to intimidate her. "There's a little cottage on my Estate grounds, and I need a new gardener," Raiko offered. The two girls behind her balked, as this whole thing had been completely out of nowhere.

[Straken]

Ruarc was about to say something that he had already prepared, but stopped short as he registered what Raiko had said. He tried to say a couple of other things but kept coming up short. On the one hand, Ruarc had already committed himself to being in an argument, but the offer seemed generous and genuine. The Irishman squinted his eyes as he gave Raiko a questioning look.

“Uh, thanks? Ah think… Why are ya offering me this out of tha blue?” Ruarc asked, not really sure how to proceed.

[Kokuten]

"You guys didn't have to do that, you know. I appreciate it, but you don't have to go out of your way for someone like me." said Percival, feeling a little warm in how it seemed like they felt it had been necessary. Going to an all magic school as one who was technically a nonmag seemed to give you that dismal outlook. Only William would've gone that far for him, and he had known him for years. The problem was, was that he was at an actual nonmag school with nonmag kids who only knew nonmag things. They wouldn't judge him for his lack of mana, but it was still something that weighed in his mind from years of facing it. "And even when you all did that, I did the foolish thing and opened my mouth." He drew a circle in the ground with his feet and sighed, his thoughts coming aloud, "I guess my social status isn't limited to my disability..." He looked up at the school building, his bright hazel eyes staring up at the building, "..." He looked at them, "I'm sorry." His gaze made it's way back to his sandwich. "I'm making things awkward."

[Kai]

"Well..." Hana began, somewhat sheepishly "As the daughters of two faculty members and the smartest kid in the school" Hana smiled warmly at Hisoka, whom was busy putting the final touches on his project, "We feel it's necessary to make new students welcome."
"Something like that." Miyuki agreed, gracelessly, through a mouthful of food. "Though you are a bit awkward. but I think that's mostly because you're weird." she added, swallowing her food in a gulp. "Just stop worrying so much, this is just school, after all."
"It's not just school" Hisoka chided amicably from his side of the bench. "It is an important aspect of our lives, not to be discounted for any reason!"
"And we're used to weird," Miyuki continued, sticking her tongue out to goad Hisoka
"I heard that."
Miyuki and Hana giggled at the response.

******

"I am a kind and generous princess, that is why." Raiko answered. "as a shrinemaiden's daughter I've always been helping people the best I can. Right Kiki, Ginga?" she asked her two friends. They both nodded, agreeing in some form or another verbally, as well. Raiko placed her hands on her hips, and leaned forward at the bewildered Irishman.
"I'm offering you a job and a house. Do you accept? I'm sure whatever provisions you have will only last so long, and the weather isn't always this nice. Bridges aren't the friendliest of places."

[Kokuten]

"I've spent so much of my life wrapped up in..." Alchemy was a no no to nonmags. "Chemistry books... and Academics for that matter." said Percival, smiling for the first time on that day. He sighed before biting into his sandwich again, and chewing at it. It was hard to swallow, the idea not the sandwich, of how they had accepted him so quickly. Then again, they did say it was responsibility to make everyone feel welcome, so it sort of diminished the gesture. It provided him comfort, though, he wasn't used to this kindness from other people his age, and not knowing why had bothered him. "I guess it did make me a little weird in the process. I was so caught up in numbers, formulas, and names that I never had the time be a kid and act normal. I only had two real friends in my life, you know. I never mingled with too many people, so I'm always shy. But I try." He stuck the last of his sandwich in his mouth and chewed. "I was scared when I heard I had to move to a new country, a new school. I was going somewhere where I was going to be even more different than I already was. There was this picture in my mind of me in a worse situation than I had been back at home, that I was going to be alone until I moved back home. I'm a straight A student, I was always right with my guesses... and that scared me."

He looked up at them, and sniffed, "Thank you... for proving that even a straight A student can be wrong."

[Straken]

“Well, uh, tha’ is….very generous of ya,” Ruarc said to Raiko as he scratched the back of his head. “Ah suppose Ah very well can’t say no, Ah guess Ah am just a lil skeptical is all. Other than tha’ shelter would be appreciated, an’ Ah ‘ave experience as a gardener.”

”What did she say?” Laoise asked from high up in the air.
”She offered me a job,” Ruarc replied.
”Really? That is…unexpected.”
”How do you think I feel?”

“On a side note, it was a very nice bridge,” Ruarc said a one last little quip.

[CadetNewb]

Grass faintly crunched underfoot as a newcomer neared the group under the tree. "Um, hello everyone. Do any of you mind if I come to join you this lunch?" Duncan asked softly. Despite the immaculately neat uniform, the boy looked rather sleepless and frail. His back was hunched over ever so slightly, and his feet tended to shuffle a little as he walked. Frankly, the previous day looked to be a 'good' day in comparison, as the previously observed lack of breath and fatigue was nothing against how he was now. "I...sort of remember you guys from the other day at the Principal's office, and...um. Well..." He seemed to be shy, slightly uneasy with what he was about to say as faint color came to his paled skin. "I guess I'ma - a little fixated as to why some of you were there the other day. Um, my name's Duncan by the way." The boy shuffled slightly and brought forth a small tin of Sakuma Drops.

"I also brought these recently. Would any of you like some?"

[Luca]

Mr. Miller was doing his daily rounds, walking through the school courtyard to make sure no mischief was being carried out. His classes earlier that day were successful and effective, making him feel better about yesterday. He hummed a tune as he passed by some of the kids, and gave them a nod of acknowledgement. However, he accidentally tripped and fell over his own feet, falling, but getting up, dusting his glasses off and continuing with a chuckle.

He walked past Ruarc and Raiko, giving the Irish kid a nod of acknowledgement "Hello Ruarc, good work on your English introduction," He said before moving on to inspect more of the yard, eventually walking past Miyuki and company and giving them a nod before moving along. He wasn't paying any attention to what they were reading, but at least they'd appeared to have forgotten about yesterdays events and were enjoying themseleves.

All was going well, and everything was better than yesterday.

[Kai]

The trio simply looked up at the suddenly teary exchange student, and Miyuki almost looked like she was about to respond when yet another exc hange student, this one looking somewhat weak and sickly, appeared. What are we, the foreigner-magnets? Miyuki thought to herself, as he began speaking. "I was the only one there." she corrected, remembering that everyone else had been at or near the nurse's office at the time. "I do remember you, you seemed a little under the weather," the girl commented. She looked at the other three at the table, all of whom shrugged. "I guess we don't mind you sitting here, what about you, Percy?" she asked, giving the young Welshman the option of deciding for the group.

******

Raiko chuckled at Ruarc's little quip, before responding "What? am I not trustworthy? The Princess of the Academy, Shrinekeepers Daughter Kokoro Raiko not believable?" she pretended to look hurt. "Fine. I'll give you a week to decide Whether or not you want the job. Just come find me at lunch next Monday and tell me Whether or not the urban world of Osaka agrees with your Irish disposition." The girl winked, and blew Ruarc a swift kiss before turning back to her friends and heading off. after a moment, though, she paused, and turned to wave "Ta-Ta!" to the probably stunned Irishman before moving on.