2013-09-24 - The Jam

Title: The Jam
Summary: Anthy gets slapped. Again. Mami comes to the rescue. Again. Sei is a bitch. Again. Daichi is anti-social. Again. Siiiiiiiigh.
Who: Anthy Himemiya, Mami Tomoe, Sei Itazura, Daichi Daigo
Where: Ohtori Academy Grounds
OOC Date: 24/9/2013

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

The late afternoon weather in Ohtori Academy is, as it almost always is, sunny, bright and brisk, with picturesque clouds dotting a deep azure sky. This is the kind of weather that would put just about anyone in a good mood, and certainly Anthy Himemiya appears to be in one as she hurries--if you can call that somewhat less than leisurely walk a hurry--from the East Dorm towards the campus. It is after school, and she carries a cloth bag in her hands. Something clinks within it.

As she passes by the magnificent buildings, on her way to the middle school building where Utena awaits, a trio removes themselves from the shadows and start to follow her. When she has her side to a wall, one of them calls out:

"Hey, you!"

"Eh?"

Anthy pauses, blinking over at the three girls who now approach her, foul looks on their faces. She recognizes them instantly and takes a step backwards, but in an instant they have her surrounded.

"How could you humiliate Hirata-kun like that!" the one with the pigtails demands, taking point as she usually does. "Don't you have any shame at all?"

"It's bad enough that you have so many of the boys eating out of your hand," says the second, one with her hair curling up onto her cheeks, "but it's too much when you let it go to your head!"

"Wh-what? I don't know what you..." Anthy protests weakly.

"Ohh, are you going to play dumb now?" the third, a girl with a mole on her cheek, utters haughtily. "Don't tell me you already forgot turning him down when he confessed to you? Or are you just so stuck-up that you think you're owed that?"

"You already ruined Saionji-san for us!" the leader insists, getting into Anthy's face; the purple-haired girl lowers her face, visibly uncomfortable, and shrinks away as much as the wall to her back will allow. "Are you going to ruin all the middle school boys next?!"

"I-I... I don't..." Anthy murmurs, but it's clear none of these girls have any intention of listening to her--especially when the pig-tailed one lifts a hand, and...

SLAP!

Mami Tomoe has posed:

The sunlight gently beams own onto golden hair as Mami Tomoe's footsteps click against the cobblestones, her shoes touching down on the pathway as her path takes her out of one of the other buildings on the campus. There's a pause, as she turns to close the door behind herself, rather than gracelessly letting it fall to shut with noise on its own. Her other hand still holds a school bag, of standard issue much like most of what she has on her today. As always, the third-year middle schooler wears the uniform largely unaltered, adding primarily a single ring on her left hand--and, for the observant, apparently sort sort of decoration on one of her fingernails.

No matter; her steps are only part of many at this point, as she is hardly the only one walking here. Quite the opposite--the three girls from the shadows quickly drown out the noise of her approach. Mami, eyes down in thought, does not bother to comment on them. This, too, is usual.

Her steps slow, however; she's walking a distance, but behind and out of the sight of the girls accosting Anthy. That change in her pace happens as the shouting intensifies, and she finally looks up. This is in time for her to see the violence, and her mouth briefly thins into a line.

There's no sign of that as she suddenly alters course, walking calmly up behind the group. "Himemiya-san, it was so kind of you not to show anger when this girl nearly tripped and hit you by mistake as she was falling." She smiles as, presumably, at least one person prepares to face her. "But don't let me interrupt you while you make it up to her, Sonoda-san. After all, if Himemiya-san hadn't caught you, you really could have hurt yourself."

Her voice is mild, and pleasant, even kind. The undertones are just subtle enough that it's possible to /pretend/ that the way Mami stares the slapping girl down is just innocent focus.

Sei Itazura has posed:

The two middle-schoolers and the bullies are not the only students about the campus this fine afternoon. In the near-distance another pair of girls is making their way down the path, from the gates of the school deeper into its recesses. These girls both wear the uniform of the high school, and, perhaps a bit startingly, appear completely identical from a distance - their distinguishing feature, the color of their eyes, not easily apparent unless closer.

Reaching a fork in the brick-paved path, however, these girls pause briefly, apparently speaking to each other. Nods are exchanged, and they part ways.. one moving away from where the middle-schoolers are having their little confrontation, the other heading almost directly their way, though from all appearances, completely by coincidence.

As she draws closer, Sei's eyes, so unusually blue in her Japanese face, focus upon the small gathering of girls with what is first idle curiosity, her mouth twisted slightly to the side in a small grimace, almost of distaste, as in, 'what are these peons doing in my way'. A slight burdgeoning of interest, however, begins as she draws close enough to see the violence done, no matter how tame said violence might be. She says nothing, though, continuing on her intended path, though her steps slow just slightly.

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

It maybe be a small kind of violence, perpetrated by unathletic teenage girls on another unathletic teenage girl, but the red blush left on Anthy's cheek is no less visible for it. The glasses-wearing girl makes absolutely no move to defend herself or fight back; she merely continues to cower, having accepted the blow. The girl with the pigtails opens her mouth to continue to berate her, when--

'Himemiya-san, it was so kind of you...'

Keiko Sonoda almost jumps when Mami's voice sounds behind her, and she whirls around along with her two friends. She reddens when Mami, a girl she does not know but who seems to know her, addresses her by name and suggests that she make it up to Anthy.

"*So* sorry for tripping into you, *senpai*," she says in a curt, haughty, completely insincere tone, and then quickly starts to walk off. Her two friends fall in step with her, and as they go, they pass by Sei. One of the girls, the one with the mole, briefly glances at her, but otherwise they keep their heads high as they retreat, even under the heat of that disdainful look of Sei's. Somewhere, a girl with blonde curls might be frowning very mightily at this turn of events.

However, that doesn't matter at the moment. Anthy, no longer surrounded, slowly straightens, one hand still clutching her bag, the other pressed to her abused cheek. She watches Keiko and the others retreat with slightly parted lips and nervous-looking eyes, which slide briefly towards Sei before landing on Mami. "U-um... Thank you very much for your concern..." she murmurs, bowing her head just a bit.

As she does so, her green eyes come to a rest on the blonde upperclasswoman's hand.

Mami Tomoe has posed:

Mami's mild smile remains as the others whirl around and Keiko makes her clearly false apology. It remains as she watches the three of them leave, seeing them off it would seem. Today, a different set of blonde curls reigns supreme near the middle school building.

"Please, think nothing of it," Mami insists gently to Anthy as she bows her head, her hands visible enough, now that they're folded before her on the handle of her school bag. "That type only needs to be challenged a little bit before they back down. They won't bother you for at least the moment. Is your cheek all right? That looks painful."

The ninth-grader turns to glance down the way, in time to see Sei present. She bows slightly to see her moving slowly, but won't say much yet--after all, Sei is still walking... or is she??

Sei Itazura has posed:

Sei is actually still walking, although not very quickly. The three bullies scurry past her, and the look on her face might be more at home on someone facing down severl cockroaches than underclassmen. Those eyes, cool and blue, shift then to Mami.. Anthy completely disregarded. Asses potential threats.. the girl who was getting slapped around hardly qualifies. The blonde might be a different story, although she's still a Middle Schooler. Such beings, in Sei's mind, rank somewhere between plankton and litle yippy dogs.

"Pathetic." is what the senior mutters, after a moment, a brief shake of her head sending her long, dark hair shimmying behind her head. Who she is talking about, however, is left ambiguous.

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

Anthy's eyes remain lowered, bangs hooding them from sight as they peer at the other girl's hands. Then, as Mami asks after her cheek, she straightens at last. "Y-yes, I'm all right, thank you..." she murmurs, before braving a smile. "It was kind of you to say something, wasn't it...?" There is a pause then, at which point Sei makes her remark. Anthy's expression pinches as she looks again at her, but aside from very briefly meeting the high schooler's blue eyes, she keeps to herself. Instead, she looks back to Mami, lips pursed for a moment before her expression clears and she reaches into her cloth bag.

"I don't know if this would be to your liking, but..." With another slight clinking sound, pulls out a small jar of what looks to be a dark red jam. There's no label on it, but the preserves look rather good, and Mami has a chance to get a fine look as Anthy holds it out to her with both hands. "Rose jam. I made it myself," the dark-skinned girl offers with a small smile. "It's just a small token, but it's the least I could do."

Daichi Daigo has posed:

Daichi was not having the best of days, to put it mildly. What started as him sitting in the back of English class and minding his own business (read: not paying attention to the substitute teacher) took a turn for the dangerous when said teacher called upon Daichi to stand up and read a passage from his textbook.

Daichi could not sensibly fault the poor man -- he was new to the class, and didn't know to leave Daichi alone. But what the hell, Daichi faulted him anyway! Glaring at the substitute with the fury of a thousand suns, the substitute recoiled as if struck, sweat gathering on his brow.

"P-P-please," the older man said, trying to maintain his cool in front of the student body. "If you may, r-read the, uh, second paragraph--"

Daichi's glare intensified, lips pulling back and baring the grit teeth beneath.

The teacher swallowed audibly, regretting his agreement to fill in at Ohtori on such short notice. "If-- if it is too difficult for you, I, uh, can ask someone else to--"

Daichi's palm came slamming down on his desk with a resounding sound, making the substitute teacher flinch. The defiant student hunched over the wooden surface like an angry beast, burning eyes boring holes into the professor. "You," Daichi uttered, tone low and threatening.

The teacher, white as a sheet, made one more valiant attempt, "It sh-should be n..no problem, if you had done your homework assigned, which-- uh, uh, according to my notes, I trust you did, uh," and it went on like this for a few moments longer.

That was when Sora, invisible to everyone and hovering over Daichi's shoulder, decided to speak up. Only Daichi could hear when she deadpanned over the substitute's prattle, "Why not confess you have no grasp of the English language?"

"GO TO HELL," Daichi exploded, head whipping in Sora's direction.

A deathly silence followed this outburst. Students and teacher alike had grown stiff with shock. After a moment Sora offered oh-so dryly, "I stand corrected." For indeed, Daichi had chosen to yell at her in perfect English.

Told to stay after class, and receiving a stern talking to from an actual teacher that the substitute had called over for the abject purpose of chewing Daichi out, the Yakuza heir was only now making his way back to the dorms. Trudging with his shoulders slouched and hands in his pockets, the storm cloud over Daichi's head was quite potent. Sora was gliding behind him, absently gazing at the school grounds and completely disregarding the foul mood Daichi was in and which she was directly responsible for.

It was probably for the better anyway. Daichi did not care to interact with anyone. He already had way too much interaction for one day, thank you very much. His social quota was way past 100%. Sadly, school grounds being what they were, Daichi could not avoid passing by other human beings. A trio of haughty girls, for one. A trio of not-quite-as haughty girls, for another. Daichi didn't care for either group, but the mention of 'rose jam' the second time around managed to catch Sora's attention.

"Oh," she said softly, ghostly form coming to hover right above Mami and Anthy. "How quaint. Daichi, ask her for some."

Daichi halted and snapped for a second time that day, turning his head around in a sharp gesture, blurting, "What?!" at Sora... although as far as those gathered would be concerned, his bark may as well have been aimed squarely at them.

Mami Tomoe has posed:

As Anthy smiles, Mami looks over her once more, and then nods, seeming to be somewhat satisfied. "Oh--please, don't worry about it," she says, more sincerely pleasant from the sound of it.

In the same pause, Mami looks up, assuredly unaware of how she's being sized-up. Still, as middle schoolers go, she is somewhat unusual. "...I apologize if the commotion has troubled you," she offers to Sei, using polite--but not too deferential--language. Her eyes slide back to Anthy, though she doesn't turn away from Sei, and looks slightly surprised. "Oh, you really don't have to give me anything," she answers at first, though she bends her knees a moment to set her schoolbag down so that she can reach both hands towards the jar; to steady it, though not to /take/ it yet. "...If you insist, though, I'm sure I can use it." THe last is offered with a slight smile of her own. "In fact--ah, I know what I can do," she says, and leaves it mysterious as--

As... Something usual occurs.

Mami's eyebrow lifts at the outburst from Daichi, "I'm sorry? I must have been very distracted; I didn't hear what you said at all."

This is one of those social lies that polite girls tell to let other people avoid looking bad.

Sei Itazura has posed:

"You know what troubles me?" Sei asks, one delicate brow quirking above a pale blue eye. Her gaze swerves to find the retreating backs of the bullies, watching them a moment before looking back at Mami, the slightest shake of her head once more sending her long, straight hair swaying. "Angry little girls who think they're tough, but run away the moment anyone shows a little spine. It is, as I said, pathetic." Her voice is clipped and precise, her tone casual, rather than angry or arrogant. "If one is going to resort to violence, one must be prepared to follow through." The senior falls silent as Anthy offers her gift to Mami, a little smirk forming on her lips. "Well, isn't that cute. Either way, this whole display has been mildly entertaining, but-"

She's cut off by Daichi's sudden outburst from nearby, the blue-eyed girl turning slightly to regard him qith both brows now raised in query. "Do you have something to say, Daigo-san? The situation seems to be well in hand."

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

When Mami seems to accept the jar, whether to steady it or to actually take it, Anthy removes her hands. If this means that it goes smashing onto the concrete below, that will no doubt cause a good bit of dismay, but for now the demure girl continues to smile, this time with shut eyes. She doesn't insist or anything of the sort, though she doesn't say anything to contradict Mami, either. "May I ask your name?" she wonders, though before the older girl can say anything, that outburst occurs.

"Excuse me...?" Anthy wonders, holding a hand to her chest now that they're free, tilting her head at Daichi in apparent consternation as he seems to bark at her and Mami. She makes no remark to Sei, the high schooler having not been addressing her at any point, but she does look between her and Daigo.

Daichi Daigo has posed:

Had Daichi possessed a penchant for physical tics, the bottom of his eye would be twitching by now. Instead, his eyes simply dart from Sora, to Mami, to Anthy, to Sei, and back again. It would be a pretty comical sight if not for the very serious matter of ~school bullying~.

"Ahh... khh... ngnngngn," the young man tries articulating. The tiger in him wants to rip into Sora and give her a piece of his mind. But whatever remains of his common sense knows that doing so in public would be a very bad idea. It takes him a moment of heavy breathing and regaining control of his shaking fists before the Yakuza punk finally spits, "It's nothing."

Sora, surveying the scene all the while, immediately points down. "The jam, Daichi," she reminds. "The jam."

Daichi's nostrils flare. "Absolutely /nothing/," he repeats with added force, intending to convey the brunt of his words in Sora's direction without coming off as a freak to the fully-human girls in the group. The last thing he wanted was for Sei to spread around that he was crazy - not when his own Yakuza clan relied on him. If any of the rival groups smelled weakness, that would be the end. Bringing disgrace to the Daigo family name would be the least of Daichi's worries at that point.

"If you don't ask," Sora offered matter-of-factly, "/I/ will."

Daichi's heart skips a beat. His eyes widen, and for a moment it appears as if an intense inner struggle is taking place inside of him. Finally, as is far too often the case, Sora gets her way.

The Yakuza heir turns to glare straight at Mami, as if accusing her of something unspoken. "The jam," he states.

"Ahh," Sora expresses her deadpan approval with nary a smile, clasping her hands in front of her chest.

Mami Tomoe has posed:

Left with the choice between ruining the lovely attempted gift and taking it, Mami of course keeps her hands on it, taking the jar in both hands and holding it for a moment that turns into a few more moments in short order. After all, there is the boy being strange, but there is also Sei, actually answering. Mami's return gaze is steady, perhaps moreso than a middle schooler's ought to be. She is silent at first, and then sees to leave it at that for a moment at the matter of violence, until the sarcasm rains on /the jam/.

"Yes," Mami agrees, "I'm certain that our senpai has many other things occupying her time. She must have come out here specifically to check on the school, or she'd never have been able to be free to stand here watching members of the junior high." Smile.

'Something to say' finally comes up, as he's insisted about nothing, until finally mentioning, in his very unusual way, the jam.

"Yes?" the puzzled blonde answers. "What about it, exactly?"

Sei Itazura has posed:

Sei meets Mami's gaze for as long as she gives it.. one slender brow slowly raising for each extended second of the eye contact, a slight, sideways smirk growing on her face at the same time. This one has balls, of a metaphorical sort, and that sort of spunk always intrigues the girl. "What can I say," She murmurs, "The smell of conflict attracts me."

Then Daigo, faced with scrutiny, manages to say a lot of nothing, followed by 'the jam', and Sei's cutting pale gaze returns to him again. She looks quizzical.. then a bit disbelieving and amused all at once, as she misinterprets his statement through the lens of her experience. "You're robbing jam from middle-schoolers now, Daigo-san?" A soft, loft sigh, her eyes rolling skywards. "There was a time my father spoke with respect of your family, you know. I suppose sons cannot always be the equal of their fathers." A slightly more barbed smirk is sent his way. "But do enjoy it. Ill-gotten gains are all the sweeter.. especially when they're spread on toast." She then turns back to Mami, Anthy still, more or less, part of the background as far as she is concerned. "As it happens, I do have business to be about. So much pressure. You'll understand when you're older. Ta." And then she's off, walking at a brisk pace down the path, long hair flowing out behind her.

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

Anthy smile widens just the smallest amount when Mami remarks on Sei's presence near the middle school building, barely noticeable. Since her eyes are still squinted shut at the time, there is no particular emotion to which to assign it. It remains in place just as much as it was before when Sei criticizes Daichi for his attempted jam thievery, and when Sei flaunts her way out, Anthy finally regards the young man and his strange outburst in regards to the jam with eyebrows upturned and expression gentle.

"I'm very sorry," she says, and she looks like she means it, even after Daichi's truly bizarre display of manly indecisiveness, "but I only have two jars with me, and the other one is for Utena-sama... I need to hurry and get back to her; she's waiting for me. If you're interested in jam, you could always buy some at the tea shop Magnolia, over in the shopping district...?" Of course, given that this rose jam is homemade, he won't find any there, but Anthy never did say anything about the specifics.

Daichi Daigo has posed:

Sei's words cut straight down to Daichi's heart. At any other time, the young man wouldn't give a crap about the rose jam. Or any jam, for that matter. Stealing jam was one of his /least/ favorite things! However, even more so than the insinuation that he was into jam, was the fact that Sei managed to hit a very sensitive nerve of Daichi's by mentioning his family.

For a moment the young man is struck speechless as a result, staring after Sei as she takes her leave. Only after the window of opportunity for a well-placed retort has long-since passed that poor Daichi remembers how to move his tongue.

A blazing fire ignites inside of him alongside the aforementioned memory, both coming together in a volatile reaction. "WHAT THE HELL DID YOU JUST SAY?!" he barks. "YOU TALKING CRAP ABOUT MY FAMILY? YOU TALKING CRAP?! YOU LITTLE BITCH, /YOUR/ FATHER WOULDN'T KNOW A GOOD JAM IF IT STRUCK HIM IN THE FACE, YOU FUC--" and on and on Daichi's foul mouth ranted, cursing after Sei and acting as an aggressive top dog to the best of his ability. It was doubtful Sei even heard half of that, though. By the time Daichi regained control of his vocal cords, she was already well on her way to her next destination.

Upon finally running out of ugly words in his lexicon, Daichi levels his heated gaze on Anthy and Mami. Now Sei had done it. Now Daichi was on the warpath.

"The shopping district?" He says. "You expect me to go all the way to the shopping district? After all THAT??" He makes a wild gesture in Sei's direction. Anthy sure had gall to suggest something like that.

Daichi also had gall, but what he did /not/ have was patience. Not satisfied in the slightest with Anthy's words, Daichi once more turns to Mami. "The jam," he says, tone very nearly a growl. "Give it to me."

Sora, who really didn't care much for Daichi's derogatory vocabulary, would have none of /that/. "Politely, please," she admonishes.

Daichi slaps his hands to his face, shutting his eyes tight. When he next looks back up, his abrasive voice is heard rephrasing the demand.

"Give it to me?"

Well... that'll have to do.

Mami Tomoe has posed:

Mami watches Sei Itazura leave. It is a few moments before she is willing to turn away from the older girl. In that time, it would appear that Daichi all of a sudden has a need to shout a lot of words that proper young people should not be hearing, much less mentioning, even if he is shouting on about family. Frankly, being near all that yelling is something of an embarrassment.... But not as much as something else.

The heated gaze brings Mami's eyes up to settle upon Daichi's, even as he turns towards her. She is still holding onto the jam. "Apologies are unnecessary," she says to both Anthy (as a reassurance) and Daichi (as the start of something of a challenge, basically.) Her eyes remain on him. Despite her size and age, she does /not/ back down from the angry older student befor eher.

"It would be terribly rude to pass on a gift so quickly, and I would hate to be rude to someone on a pleasant day like this." She doesn't actually start smiling.

Anthy Himemiya has posed:

Anthy covers her mouth with one hand and her eyes fly wide open as Daichi screams abuse at Sei's back, well after Sei has already gone, all over a jar of jam. The bag she holds, which conveys her solitary remaining jar of jam, is clutched to her chest, and when Daichi yells at her for /daring/ to suggest that he actually buy his own jam from a store, as opposed to actually forcibly take the jam like Sei just mocked him for doing, makes her clutch it close as she shrinks back again, eyes and lips trembling as her eyebrows drop. "I-I'm sorry..." she murmurs. The expression doesn't much change even when he turns his demand into a question.

Mami reassures her that there's no need to apologized, and Anthy turns that fearful look her way--though this time, it is as if to a ray of hope, and when she stands up to the much taller, much older male student in front of her, the younger girl takes half a step to one side, putting her directly behind the blonde girl.

Daichi Daigo has posed:

"Mm," Sora vocalizes, eyes similarly directed at Mami. About the only indication that the ghostly girl was assessing the blonde and giving her words any consideration happened to be the slight tilt to Sora's head. Mami may not be aware of it, but the diplomatic case she was making to Daichi was leaving quite an impression on the spirit.

"Why you," Daichi starts anew, unwilling to back down and failing the game of diplomacy altogether. He takes a step towards Mami -- Anthy did wisely when she took refuge behind the blonde -- quite literally stepping up the challenge that had been unwittingly put forth by both students. Who knows how things would have further unfolded if not for Sora's timely intervention.

"Let's go," she says, and Daichi freezes mid-step.

His expression is painted a confounded shade, even as his brow remains lowered in aggression. His lips mouth a single, silent word. 'What?'

"Let us go, Daichi," Sora repeats, already floating away in the direction of the dorms. "There will be other, more pleasant opportunities."

At that, Daichi finally rips his eyes away from Mami's, turning his head to look at Sora's retreating form. To Mami and Anthy, of course, it will appear as if Daichi was looking off into the distance for no discernible reason before returning his now distressed(?) gaze to them, and back again to the horizon.

Thus the tensions come to a peaceful end. "I don't even /like/ jam," is the final barb he says Mami's way, not unlike a petulant sulking child. And then he departs, stomping on after Sora.

Mami Tomoe has posed:

Mami thus ends up standing between Anthy and Daichi, as her classmate clutches a bag and looks her way, and as an unseen spirit apparently judges her words. Not that she knows that, of course. Mami has a lot of talents, but noticing ghosts without even trying is not one of them. There are many other things that aren't one of them. Luckily...

She does have a way with words. Anthy, behind her, may notice a slight tension when the step is taken towards her--she doesn't step back, but she is prepared to move a bit, though she keeps it subtle. However...

However, there's.. Another...

"...?" Watching Daichi go, Mami tilts her head slightly. "...Well, that was certainly unusual, wasn't it?" Turning to face Anthy, she smiles. "I'm sorry; my name is Mami Tomoe. I suppose I should let you get your other jar to this Utena-sama. Take care, all right?"