2013-11-05 - Weekend Park Time

Title: Weekend Park Time
Summary: You never know who your going to run into while sitting at a park. Sometimes its nice meeting those you may know, other times, you wish you didn't.
Who: Hotaka Domen, Sakura Akagi, Minako Aino, Kinzo Hiroyuki
Where: Ueno Museum District
OOC - IC Date: 11/5/2013 - 10/12/2013

Hotaka Domen has posed:

It is Saturday! School was out and everyone was free to roam, hang out with friends and enjoy the first day of the weekend before dreading sunday night. It actually a very beautiful autumn day. Birds were singing. People were walking along the sidewalk next to the park enjoying the gentle breeze. It was a bit cool, but thanks to the sun and a few clouds in the sky. It was keeping it pleasant.

There was some activities going on in the park however. Like some people actually using the grass to kick around a soccer ball for one. Others were enjoying picnics with their friends. Some just having fun flying kites and being goof balls.

In the case of Hotaka Domen. The Highschooler was sitting on a bench under a cheery blossom tree. With one hand resting on the side of his chin with the elbow supported on the armrest of the bench. He had one leg crossed over the other and a book in his hand that he was reading. Using his thumb to keep the pages from being moved by the wind. It looked like some kinda novel dealing with sorcery or something. Probably a fantasy book of some kind.

He was wearing a dark blue t-shirt, a pair of jeans, pair of black sneakers, and had a backpack next too him which was slightly unzipped. It looked like it had stuff still inside of it really. Probably more books.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura has seemingly been feeling a bit unwell this week. She's come out to the park to view the autumn-blooming trees, and think a little about her place in the world.

There's also a bookbag over her own shoulder when she arrives. She notices, however, that a good cherry tree spot is already occupied.

That makes her frown. But the book he's reading, at least from faraway, looks quite interesting.

He's an older student, so she is nervous to approach, but clearly lurking on the edges and trying to steal a glance at the book.

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino has absolutely no problem strolling around the older students since she often presents herself as one anyway. It's even easier to do so when not in school or in a uniform, so Minako is brimming with confidence today!

This is mostly demonstrated by walking to other groups of students in the park and easily conversing with them or kicking people's soccer balls.

She gives Hotaka a friendly wave and a loud, "Good morning!" while sneakily peeking into unzipped schoolbags left near trees. Curiosity!

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki was done with his sports day, having done the minimal amount of activity required to make his parents happy, that, and he spent most of that time splicing wires together because someone didn't properly lay the wire down and some students ripped them apart.

So now he's in casual wear, with a book bag on as he checks his watch, he seems sort of down about something as he peers over at the small gathering.....there's Sakura---who he kinda knows... and there's Hotaka who he actually knows from school on a base level, most likely, being at the same school and grade..... he doesn't know the blonde though.

He walks on up. "Uh, hey! You guys didn't happen to see, a person with a dog walk around here looking for someone else did you?" he kind of asks to the small group.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka was busy ready. It is only when he shifts his position to change to the next page does he notice a younger student from his school look in his direction. His blue eyes stare at her for a moment before he raises a brow softly. He is about to motion her over when suddenly there is a loud 'Good Morning!' aimed in his direction.

This causes him to snap his attention around to spot a young lady peeking at his bag. Which she will find... More books! (and a journal) "Morning." Hotaka replies gently as he ponders why she is looking at his bag for. "You wont find much of anything in interest in there. Just library books and some of my own written material."

Thankfully Alastor was being a true lazy demon today and was snoozing. Which was /nice/. Hotaka could have some private time to himself and think straight for once. The cover of the book he was reading had a mage on it and a dragon. The title was rather obscure. Not a mainstream book by any means.

He does at last reach up with his hand and motions for Sakura to come and join him. He doesn't mind someone sharing the bench to read as well. After all, if she was eyeing the book so curiously, she may actually enjoy glancing it over.

That is then when another of Juuban High shows up and Hotaka does /know/ this one. At least seen him around and heard the teachers call his name out. He tilts his head at the question, and places a cloth bookmark on the page he is at on the book. He'll have to get back to this later. "A person walking a dog looking for someone else? No.. I haven't. Though," He shows the book. "I get pretty entrenched in what I am reading sometimes." He hrms softly. "Hiroyuki right? Nice to see you beyond the school grounds."

That is when he realizes he probably should just introduce himself to the two others out of politeness. "..and I guess, so I am not seen a rude guy," He rubs the back of his neck. "My name is Hotaka Domen." Then comes that sheepish smile.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura notices that ... Hotaka is gesturing for her to walk over. Should she? She looks a bit flushed that an older boy would invite her. But Minako's cheerfulness and relative lack of fear interrupts her thought process, which... is probably a good thing for her really.

She also recognizes Kinzo. He's the computer club guy. That's all, though, obviously. She looks over at him, and shakes her head. "Ah, no, sorry. I didn't."

She gives Hotaka a short bow. "Sakura Akagi. Pleased to meet you. I'm sorry for being nosy." She thinks maybe she should explain why she was looking at the book, but 'I'm interested in magic lately' sounds very stupid in her head, so she decides against it.

She does walk over and sit on the bench, but, it's quite tentative. "I was... thinking to sit here and read also, but I guess you had the same idea."

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino announces easily that she's both not looking through bags as well as she's not noticed anything unusual concerning people with dogs. "But all dogs are really friendly and they're always looking for other people to be friendly at or to sniff or whatever, so -anybody- with a dog is looking for somebody else. Is there anything special or in particular about this particular person and dog combination that would make them stand out more," Minako asks, ever eager and anxious to help out others.

"I'm not rude, either. I'm Minako Aino! You might have heard of me!"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki is late for his meeting then. He kind of brushes a hand across his face. "I'm late then....oh well..." he says a little defeated sounding.

This is like the worse thing to happen to him...being late that is. and it's been happening a lot! (Hotaka would actually know this from class.)

"Oh... yeah. Hey!" he ays to Hotaka. "I've just....been really busy....but I guess it seems my afternoon is free now...I hope my friend isn't too upset." he says with a defeated tone. "I was supposed to dog sit for a bit." he nods. He smiles and waves to Sakura more properly. He doesn't ask about the Computer Club thing again, besides, it's too soon to do that, that'd be rude!

He looks over at Minako a moment. he scratches his head. She's familar, but he doesn't know why. Most certainly not from a Sailor V Fansite that he most certainly never visited. At all. Because the proof doesn't exist anymore.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka notices the younger students nervousness and smiles softly. He can be pretty shy himself when its a large group, so he kinda understands maybe a bit. He also was once there too. Unsure if it was a good idea to speak to older students and so on. Being looked down upon by those of higher society. Yatta yatta. "No harm done. After all, this was suggested to me by a friend of mine, so if you like to look it through.." He says holding up the book a bit. "..and yeah.. its a nice sitting location. Pleasure to meet you, Akagi."

Then when Minako Aino introduces herself, Hotaka looks over to her. He studies her for a moment, squint eyed a bit really. He-- swears he has seen her before, but from where? "I-- think I may have seen something or heard something about you, but--" He smiles sheepishly once more. "-- I can't remember from where, honestly." He then lowers his gaze. "..sorry."

His attention then goes to his fellow classmate and he hrms softly. "I am sure if they are any decent friend, they will forgive you." He then shrugs his shoulders. "And nothing wrong with being busy. I kinda wish I could get myself into more stuff, but my home life doesn't let me. Which sometimes is kinda bothersome."

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura isn't sure she knows Minako. Is she someone famous? Maybe she was in a magazine or something. She does look kind of familiar maybe? But she races off so awkwardness is avoided.

Hotaka seems forthcoming with the book, so she looks over at it. "Ah, so, are you interested in magic stories?" She'll take it and flip through. In the process she puts her own bookbag between them - partially just accidentally, but partially not accidentally as it's a useful 'barrier' of sorts to prevent accidental contact. She is mentally trying to decide what is less rude to do.

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki is about to ask Minao something when she darts off....huh.

He kind of scratches his head. Huh...she was in more of a rush than he usually is nowadays.

"I guess she forgot some appointment. I kinda know how that feels." he says with another defeated tone. He looks over at the other two. "So what are you two reading today?" he asks. "Something fun or School books?" he asks.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka hands the book over with simple ease. He doesn't even note the book bag got placed between them cause he isn't even worried about it really. She was a fellow student of the same school. What was he going to do? "I do like some, yeah." He glances over to her. "Fantasy, magic, science fiction. Even some tall tales of history and ritual concepts." He gives a mild shrug. "You never know what may catch a fancy or two."

He then looks over to Kinzo. "Most of my stuff is just for fun reading really. I keep all my school books along with homework at home. Figure I'll get a ton of it done later this evening if not most of it done tomorrow as Homework goes." Hotaka really has no social life. He use too, as some Juuban students would say. Friendly guy, use to be very sociable, but somewhere just grew very distant and drawn in.

Seems some of his social talk still remains however.

"No idea about here though," He says pointing his thumb over to Sakura playfully. He is trying to get her to lighten up a bit. Yes, she may be around two older student here, but Hotaka was pretty sure neither of them are jerks nor would bite.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura's bookbag contains a few books. Sitting on top is the Book of Five Rings, which she got from the library. She pulls it out, but then she looks embarrassed about it at the same time. "Ah... it's about martial arts swordfighting, but... I don't know how to do that. A lot of people say that it's very interesting for general combat strategy... ah, er, not that I mean to get into real fights, but for politics and business use too." She bows her head a little at Hotaka. "I'm also interested in history, I guess."

Not 'I guess,' that's what she seems to be carrying with her, mostly. "What... kind of ritual history do you mean?"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka listens to what Sakura has to suggest and he places his hands behind his head, looking up at the tree leaves. "Nothing wrong with someone knowing how to protect themselves. After all, sometimes all you have to depend on is yourself.. though.. its nice knowing when someone has your back." Those blue eyes just stare upward as his brown hair is moved by the breeze a bit.

"As for the rituals stuff.." He then lowers his arms and uses his hand to scratch his head a bit in thought. "..well.. mostly for just silly curiosity. That.. and.. I figure if I ever decide to.. like.. write a book, knowing such stuff may be interesting..." He seems to maybe be avoiding the real reason, or it was a strange topic for him to be touching on. After all, rituals, magic, sorcery. Such things by some are bad mojo.

After all. None of such reading has /anything/ to do with trying to find away to unbind something from him. Nope! Then again. Talking of rituals and magic, that may be one has to question what is up with the Celtic rune tattoo, though it was hard to spot because it was almost skin color. It ran from his upper right arm all the way down his lower arm almost to the black cuff bracelet he was also wearing that had some kinda strange language written on it in a light gray color.

Yeah. That kinda stuff had nothing to do with anything at all...

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura looks at the tattoo when Hotaka raises his arm. She usually associates that kind of thing with... Yakuza, or other rough gangs, but it doesn't look like a Yakuza tattoo. Still, it seems to put her on edge for a second. She takes a deep breath through her nose. To... steady herself, maybe? She seems to be a little bit of a nervous type to begin with. So reading books on combat and war strategy seem a little odd. It's definitely not frivolous stuff.

Sakura glances at the bracelet. She can't read it. Wishes she could. "Ah... A book about fantasy? Do you want to be a writer?"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

"Maybe one day." Hotaka says as he glances over to her and then notices she spots the light tattoo. He tsks softly. Yeah. He should have brought he jacket along. He actually spaced it out really. Then closes his eyes with a mild smile. "But not sure when I will ever get that chance." He then looks at her again. "..Though I gotta ask. Why would you be interested in such stuff like war, tactics, and such?"

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura is momentarily distracted by that bracelet. Her little inhale tells her it has... a wrong scent to it. Does he know? He probably DOES, if he's wearing it willingly. The tattoo is almost like a chain that leads into it.

Her silence is notable, but Hotaka interrupts her with his question. "I--"

It's best to lie, she thinks. She blushes and lowers her eyes to her hands. "My dad says that knowing war is something important for someone in business." That's actually true. He really does say that. "And I'm trying to decide what I'd like to be." Also true! See, no lies after all. She's hiding something though maybe.

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki had completely dropped his book bag, because that would happen to him. Books go everywhere, as does a keyboard, a mouse, and a bag of what appears to be potato chips. Luckily, the bottle of colonge in his backpack doesn' go flying anywhere too far as it's was in a different compartment. Though it is something he picks up first and checks it a moment before putting it back! He Sighs and begins picking the books up, all of them have to do with computers or technology of some sort, nothing magical here.

He puts the bag of chips in last. "Ugh...Sorry about that." he says as he head tilts. "Oh, I didn't know you had tattos..." he asides to Hotaka. "Did your parents let you get them?" he asks a bit. He thinks that's kinda rad if they did. Then again, for all he knows, Hotaka may or may not even have them!

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka smiles softly when Sakura blushes. At least she seems like she is not so on edge. Man. He is glad Alastor is snoozing. This is so nice. He goes to say something to Sakura about the time that suddenly books and stuff go dropping. He almost goes to move to help Kinzo out but thinks better of it.

Besides seems the guy has things well in hand. He rubs the back of his neck when asked about the tattoos. "..its.. kinda a thing.. in my family.." This is honest truth. As much as he hates to admit it. "..kinda was done on a dare on my sixteenth birthday by one of my cousins." Not completely true, but he holds up the lie well enough, though maybe a hint in his eyes that something was off. "I tend to keep it covered up so that I don't get asked about it much."

He looks at his right arm, for a moment, there is a hint of sadness on his face as he looks at the markings, before he then gives them both a soft smile. "I just-- kinda spaced it out today to wear a jacket. Wasn't really expecting to run into people from Juuban out here." He then drums his fingers on his pant legs. "..so like.. if you two could keep it between yourselves. I'd be really grateful."

However Hotaka almost winces as Alastor seems to suddenly looking on. Something caused the demon to stir from his sleep. Though what Hotaka wasn't sure. He was almost mentally pleading with him to just-- like-- roll back over. There was nothing here!

The teenager then places the fantasy book he was reading into his bag along side him. His brows were furrowed for a moment before he looks at them both, then over to Kinzo, "..Hopefully your mouse and keyboard are ok."

Hotaka then looks over to Sakura, "..and sounds about right. What your dad talks about. Corporations I heard can get pretty political and nasty when you get in the ranks. Not an industry I want to be in. That is for sure." He then hrms. "..and.. yeah.. figuring out where to go in life is hard, though I imagine if its chosen for you--" he doesn't continue down that line of thought as he hears a verbal 'ahem' in his head.

Yep. Alastor was awake.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura blinks suddenly when Kinzo drops his stuff. She is about to get up and help, but... he seems to have it, so she does an awkward almost-stand and then sits down again.

The conversation moved away from her for a minute, and that was fine. But Hotaka said something about having destiny chosen for him. She ponders that herself for other reasons. She doesn't want to pry, but it seems like he clammed up suddenly. Maybe asking about the tattoo was a sore point. "I promise not to tell anyone. Did it... hurt to get a tattoo?"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki nods, it seems kind of a weird secret, but Kinzo can't really see a reason to /not/ keep it a secret--- he figures, as long as some sort of adult knew already it's fine. "Yeah it'll be fine...I just bring my own along with this little Microcomputer I have in my pocket." he smiles. "It helps when I need to troubleshoot, at least for people! Computers, I mean, trouble shoot computers." he nods a bit.

He looks on. "and yeah I won't tell anyone." he shrugs. He looks to Sakura. "Don't you know how they give tattoos!?" he asks. "They use these big, scary needles!" he says with an uck. "I could never do it!"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Sakura asks about the Tattoo and he looks off to the side. "..It.. did yeah." Hotaka says softly seeming to not really want to talk about it much. How strange, most people you would think love to talk about their markings they haven given themselves and the reasons behind it. Not Hotaka it seems though!

"Not something I probably want to experience again." He decides to add with a more calm sound in his voice then the nervous one earlier. Then it seems Kinzo explains the reason /why/ it is painful. That works. No harm done.

'Making friends are we, Hotaka? ..Hopefully you haven't been to.. informative while I was asleep..'

Hotaka then rubs the bridge of his nose gently. He can't really respond to Alastor, as much has he wants to tell him to just go back to sleep and nothing was said. The Juuban teen then lowers his hand back down. "..a Micro computer huh?" He says softly looking over to Kinzo. "That is pretty neat. Bet it is pretty handy."

'That one you are speaking too. They had something.. at least I thought I picked up something.. Perhaps I was mistaken.'

That is when Hotaka kinda closes his eyes and he has an oddly annoyed look on his face, before he goes to stand up, however he just sits back down. Alastor was interested-- even if Hotaka wanted to just get out of here. Crap. He rubs his face a bit then, before making a gesture to rub his eyes. "Man.. I think something rolled in with the wind there.. allergies trying to flare up a bit." He says with a bit of a nervous laugh and a rub of the back of his neck.

"You guys mind if I stand and just pace around a bit?" Hotaka asks still giving a sheepish grin. "..been sitting here for awhile and all. Could be the tree itself for all I know."

Sakura Akagi has posed:

If you're allergic to cherry blossoms, Sakura thinks, then, I don't think we can be friends. She smiles a little to herself, but, she decides not to actually make that joke. Especially since he does seem to be really worried by something.

She doesn't think that it's the tree. "No. I don't mind. I'm sorry if it was a rude question to ask." She didn't notice Kinzo's cologne coming out during the bag falling. "It sounds very scary. I guess I could find a less allergic place to read, but, ah. I like this tree."

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki pulls it out of his pocket! It's a black box with hook up jacks. "Yeah!" he says. It's pretty much a Raspberry Pi in a black case.

He nods. "Sure?" he asks to Hotaka. "Are you alright?" he asks in a concerned tone.

Kinzo hasn't bothered giving Hotaka the scent test like Sakura did. He's not as concerned with that at the moment.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Left alone with the fantasy book that he had, Sakura looks at it again, paging a bit through it while Hotaka paces. She never thought about it before, but it's hard to say how much of this is true.

She looks at the dragon illustration on the front and is lost thinking about it for a moment. She thinks Mist is still at Hisae's house. She thinks.

She looks up. "Going well." Though Kinzo missed class for a while because of his arm, she realizes. She decided not to skip class after the fight on the street, but many people noticed she's been tired the past couple of days and was even less enthusiastic about sports than she would be normally. "I'm glad sports festival's over though."

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki says. "Oh, this isn't expensive! It's actually kinda cheap! I mean...you gotta buy a case for it and all, but.." he shrugs. He nods. and frowns. "Yeah, mostly. I mean, I hurt my arm in..uh...."

.....

.....

Dammit! What did he say he hurt it in? "A...Bicycling...accident...yeah." that's it. He thinks. And not at all fighting a big ball of psychic anxiety in a maze of it's making.

"But that was just a bad sprain, it's all better now, which is why my parents made me partcipate in yesterdays events." he ughs. "I don't like sports." he insists. "But, gotta make the parents happy....."

Hotaka Domen has posed:

"I'm actually glad I missed that." Hotaka states with his arms crossing over his chest. "I'm never any good at sports and tends to be my worst class." He looks at his backpack. "..probably because I am to much of a book worm for my own good really."

"Bike accident?" Hotaka looks over to Kinzo. "Man. That sucks. Glad its better though." And sounds like he isn't alone on the not liking sports thing. Good. "And I guess its important to make the parents proud. I am-- not really all to worried about mine though."

"Though I do take care of my mom, kinda why I am hard to find." He explains with a shrug of his shoulders as he places his hands into his jean pockets. "She isn't very-- well." He then looks off to the distance. "..so.. have to keep an eye on her when I am not at school and thankfully for now, one of my cousins is seeing to her." Not really, but they don't need to know the fine details.

"So how did the sports event go anyways? Anything exciting happen?" He asks looking at them both.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"Not to me," Sakura says, laughing; her participation was non-notable. "It's... my worst class too." She thinks she might have a lot in common with both of these guys... well, except for Hotaka seeming weird. But the mom thing kind of explains it, so she frowns. "I'm so sorry to hear about your mother. I hope that she gets better." She doesn't know her, or anything, but generally it's just good to wish someone's mom gets better. "I guess I could, uh, hang out at computer club next time there's a sports event like this," she says to Kinzo. "I'm glad you're healed up."

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki nods. "Providing my parents don't make me do it again..." he ughs. "Just....been hard to keep up with life and something else." he says, being vauge.

"But me and some other Computer Club members totally took out the Drama Club in the Calvary event so there's that!" he says.

"Drama club.....they're so...self righetous because they think art is high culture or something." he says with an 'ugh!' XP face.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

"I would join a club, but--" He gives a sheepish grin. "-- busy life and all. I got a feeling I'd probably miss a club more then I actually do any good in it really. I'm just glad I can keep going to school." He then looks over to Sakura. "Thanks. I am sure she would appreciate the thought."

He walks around a bit more. Mostly just scuffing his feet a few times against the grass as he walks. His mind starting to wonder on to some things really. Maybe Alastor was right, it was a bad idea to have friends or even the idea of allowing people to get this close. After all, he shunned away his childhood friends, so why is he trying to make friends with these guys again?

Right. The same way he never truly got rid of his old childhood friends, because though it is dangerous for them, he doesn't like the idea of being alone either.

For now it seems Hotaka has fallen into silence, just listening to the conversation and the wind. At least Alastor has gone quiet. That was a good thing right?

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe is happy to totally ignore the sports events especially since Sakura, the only person in the multiverse who could have probably drawn her out to them, has also elected to not participate. She isn't too hurt to participate, just too uninterested. More to the point, she doubts any team would actually WANT to have her. Madobe takes to self esteem like oil to water.

But even so, she was hardly expecting to actually run into Sakura (et al) at the park. She is--as one might expect, glued to a 3DS which she is poking at repeatedly with her stylus. She nearly walks right on past before she walks backwards a bit and spots her friend (and others).

She waves a bit to Sakura with the stylus.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura is poking around in the book, but when she glances up, Madobe is over there. "Hi Madobe-chan!"

She peeks over, but of course the 3DS is too small to see. "...Sailor V?" she asks, regarding the game.

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki listens to hotaka..."Yeah...I know how that feels....I may be forced to quit Computer Club at this rate." he says in a sad tone. "I can't bring people in as fast as the others want and I've missed the last two recent meetings." he laments, you can almos thear an audible whine. Almost.

"I don't want to, but things have just gotten a little hectic for me." his ears perk as Sakura calls out to someone, he glances over....".....oh! Oh Oh Oh!" he waves. "Hey.... did you ever decide on if you want into the Computer Club?" he asks over at her enthusiastically.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka was pretty much still being quiet and then there is a Madobe. A girl he once called a 'sister' in order to keep her from being picked to much on by Sei. Someone he kinda befriended and yet at the same time, wasn't sure if she knew what he was. Though in truth, she did know about Alastor-- or at least the fact he turned into a demon.

Yeah. This could be a problem if things get brought up wrong. That and unlike many times where Madobe has run into Hotaka. There in sight was the odd coil of a tattoo on his arm, almost skin color that ran from his right upper arm almost down to the very black cuff bracelet he wore with its strange markings on it in gray.

Hotaka notes that Sakura knows her and then looks over to Kinzo and hrms a bit. "Hopefully you can find people. You seem really invested into it." He then shifts his weight a bit to his other leg. "How many members do you need? Maybe you can find someone with some artist skills and make an awesome flyer for it."

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura smiles a little bit at Kinzo. "Well, um, I guess I could join if Madobe was going to..." It's not her best subject but she's not stupid at it either, and hanging out with friends is always fun. "I'm still trying to figure out careers so maybe it'll be good to try something new."

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"Hey...No, this is...um..." She holds it up and it's one of the Shantae games. "A platformer. There haven't been any new V games for a while." Yeah Madobe basically played through them all to her satisfaction and is waiting for a new one. She's had this particular game for a while but hasn't really gotten around to actually playing it due to GAMER BACKLOG. Did you know that going to school AND doing homework cuts out the time you have to screw around playing video games?

"oh, um, sure. Yeah. I was gonna." She tells Kinzo. "I've been meaning to."

She glances over to Hotaka and it takes her a moment before her eyes widen suddenly--

--it's that guy! THAT GUY.

"...Sorry." She adds awkwardly.

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki looks absoultely overjoyed..."R..really!? Two!?" he says. "Yesssss, this'll make the others happy at least!" he insists. "Why that makes.....!...."

"Two..." he ughs. "Two in like 2 months , that's actually horrible." he ughs and leans his head back. "Well....better than nothing!" he insists, trying to perk himself back up.

He blinks. "Uh...is everything okay?" he asks looking between Hotaka and Madobe.

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Hotaka sweat drops a bit at poor Kinzo's trouble. "Well. I am sure you can get more people, I mean. Look on the bright side! You got two for your club and that is better then none!" He says with a positive smile on his face.

That is when he notices how Madobe is staring at him and he blinks a few times, then frowns a little. Yeah. It seems for whatever the reason, Madobe has become skittish of him since that one time. He still has no idea and may never know she actually knows his secret. "Its ok." He tells her with a soft smile. He then looks between Kinzo and Sakura. "..and nothing really. Just I had to once call her my sister in front of another school's student in order to keep her from maybe getting into some hot water."

He then shrugs softly. "Wasn't really needed in the end." He then picks up his backpack. "I probably should get going anyways. Its getting later in the day and I need to head home before I get a call." He has spaced that book that Sakura stills holds.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura notices how uncomfortable Madobe is. She makes eye contact with her, gives a sympathetic nod, and then figures they can talk about it better in private.

Sakura still has his book though, so she waves it. "Hey, don't forget about your book!" she says, a little louder than her normal voice. "It was nice meeting you...!"

Hotaka Domen has posed:

Sadly by the time Sakura tries to remind him of his book, Hotaka was already out of there. He moved at a pretty good clip actually. Thankfully since they went to the same school. Most likely Sakura can track him down there to return to book back to him.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe gets a little nervous here. Two in two months? Maybe...maybe she shouldn't join this club? ACtually her player thought she did already but that's besides the point. She tries not to worry about Satan even if, perhaps, she's not sure he is also a McHitlerpants. Maybe he's not. Maybe he's just a Satan.

She bobs her head to Sakura and adds, to Hotaka, "Uh--sure---see you." She watches after him for a moment before adding, "Skipping the event too?"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki watches as Hotaka takes off...."Be well!" he calls out.

He's about to yell 'and I'll keep those tattoos a secret!', but then realizes that isn't very secretive at all.

He looks back to Sakura and Madobe. He smiles.

"You can at least come check it out!" he says to Sakura. "At the very least you can use it as an excuse to goof off on a computer for a bit on school time, like a few people do." he says in a silent tone.

He nods. "I had to do the first part." he ughs. "My parents insisted." he says as he crosses his arms.

Also, the player didn't know! Opps. But still, yay! More people in the club! "The next meeting will be soon!" he says. He glances at Sakura. "Did Hotaka seem a little off to you?" he asks scratching his head. "Something seems wrong with him. I mean. I'm kinda concerned." he says.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

His bracelet is evil, Sakura thinks. But she doesn't want to say that aloud. Madobe seemed to sense something off too. So...

"He seems to be having some problems at home. I guess if my mom was sick, I'd be anxious too." That seems like a reasonable comment to make; Sakura makes it without much hedging or hesitation, but gives a meaningful look to Madobe.

She stands up, still holding his book. "I guess I'll have to give this back to him."

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe isn't sure she really wants to join any more clubs after this though. AT least not without leaving one first. She really has no plans so it's easy for her to join a club and then leave it, except for the crippling social anxiety but a lot of that is in her room as she stares at the wall rather than out in the open where she tries not to come across as someone suffering from crippling social anxiety.

She doesn't have any comment on bracelets.

"Y..yeah. Me too." SHe admits. It's actually been a fair while since the last fight with her mom.

"--Oh, he left it?"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki looks at his watch...."Huh.....it's still early?" he looks at for a long moment....

Wait...the second hand isn't moving....His eyes widen hard.

"Oh...oh no. What time is it!?" he asks as he looks across the park at a nearby steeple with a clocktower. "Oh no!" he says as he laments. "My parents are going to killllll me." he almost whines.

"I'm late for a family get together." he says as he rubs his face a bit.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"Well, good luck, Kinzo. We'll ... see you at club, okay?" Sakura asks. She sits back down on the bench for a moment.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe waves after Kinzo awkwardly. That was kind of weird. Maybe he needs to get a cellphone that tells the time for him instead of using a watch. Those things are so out of date anyway, aren't they? She doesn't vocalize this judgement call and just says, "See you later." Person without a smartphone? SO WEIRD.

"H-hey Sakura-Chan. Um..." She glances around to see if anybody's around. PERHAPS MINAKO WILL BE AROUND?

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Kinzo definitely had a smartphone - he was showing it off earlier! But he apparently has a watch, too.

Sakura gets her phone out, and looks at it for a second. If she gets interrupted she might just text Madobe. But... the coast SEEMS clear...

She gestures for Madobe to sit and scooches a bit closer to the middle of the bench, moving her bag to make room. "You noticed?"

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino is not just 'perhaps' around but definitely around! Dancing around the park, petting a dog, being loud, smiling at Madobe, making her social rounds!

This time, she's brought a puppy. Everybody loves puppies, and she was reminded that dogs equal popularity due to an earlier conversation she might have not quite listened to.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"Noticed? You mean Hotak--" Madobe's ears prick. She senses trouble and she quickly sits down next to Sakura. She looks around a bit before spotting Minako--trouble indeed! And...trouble's dog?! "O-oh hey Minako." She says, looking over to the puppy, then back to Minako. If she knew that Minako was buying a puppy to get more popular she would have immediately demanded to get a puppy herself and so maybe it's for the best that she's unaware. Madobe probably is not ready for taking care of puppies in her life.

"Did you always have a dog?" She asks.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura can't answer, because, suddenly Minako. Darn. She nods to Madobe, and says... "Yeah, um, that. Hello, again!" she says to Minako now that she's interrupted.

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino sets the friendiliest, lickiest dashchund in the world at Madobe and Sakura for friend-making duties. He's a barker and a wriggler.

"Well, I haven't ALWAYS had a dog. A girl from Ohtori was giving away puppies and sent me to a room full of puppies to pick one out. I thought it was silly and wasn't gonna do it, but look at this guy! Look! Isn't he wonderful!"

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe has seen things (tm) about Hotaka but she can't just go up and tell Sakura about it right now because Minako is there and Minako is, obviously, totally uninducted to the magical realm and is totally not Sailor V. She just plays Sailor V on TV which is why they look similar. But they don't look the same because Sailor V has a mask!

Madobe looks at the dog.

"...I..." She begins. Wait, IS he wonderful? She looks up to try and read Minako's expression to get the right answer.

"Yes?" She guesses.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura looks at the dog. It's cute, but... she shares similar indifference to it after all.

She looks at Minako...

"Ah! I know where I have seen you before!" She's... "You are a singer, aren't you?"

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino loves her dog her dog apparently loves everybody, as he performs a combination of wriggles, ankle nuzzling, and attempted face licks (which may be aided by Minako if height is a concern) repeatedly and without remorse. "This is Choppin'. He's named after musicians. And yaa! I'm a singer, a dancer, a model, a super-star, and more! You mighta' seen me on CDs lately or heard some of my new songs," she admits.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"Oh, wow." All those things. Sakura laughs. She accepts a lick or two from the happy dog, though she kind of wants to wipe her face afterward. "Is it... ah, difficult, being famous?"

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"He's named after Chopin?" Madobe says, actually pronouncing it right. Choppin' sounds like he's named more after uh, well, being a bitey dog. She can't really say it's an inappropriate name for a dog.

"W--well it is a cute dog." She adds, neglecting to comment on music because--well--she's always a bit shy with sharing such details. Though she does mumble, "She was giving out free CDs. Dunno if she still is." to Sakura, though.

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki comes back, he comes trodding back as he looks absouletly dejected. he wasn't gone all that long, but seems to be rubbing his temples a bit.

"Well...." he says. "The bus broke down." he says under his breath, but loud enough for everyone to hear. "So I'm late in any event..." he grumbles....

"and my cellphone battery died....."

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino helps an agreeable dog make friends with the girls. "Yes, Alexandrea-chan helped me name him. Feel free to hug and carry him off, Madoobs. It'll make you more popular with the boys for sure! Maaaybe you can use him as an ice-breaker on your date!"

"And yeah, I'm all out of free CDs. The rest got stolen, but a few are available on special order. You can grab it through my website. Madoobs knows all about it!"

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino helps an agreeable dog make friends with the girls. "Yes, Alexandrea-chan helped me name him. Feel free to hug and carry him off, Madoobs. It'll make you more popular with the boys for sure! Maaaybe you can use him as an ice-breaker on your date!"

"And yeah, I'm all out of free CDs. The rest got stolen, but a few are available on special order. You can grab it through my website. Madoobs knows all about it!"

Sakura Akagi has posed:

An ice-breaker when? "....You - you're going on a date?" Sakura asks Madobe. Madobe has ... a crush? That doesn't seem very like her at all. But she'd be happy for her if it were true! "...Oh, I'm sorry to hear, Kinzo."

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki ughs..."Any of you wouldn't happen to have a cellphone I could borrow, could you?" he asks.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Wow, MAdobe thinks. Kinzo's really unlucky. She gives him a sympathetic look but doesn't speak up. This has gotten to be a 'crowd' again so she's a little hesitant all the same. She does pet the dog though, nodding briefly to indicate she remembers the name, and smiles faintly at the creature. Kinzo asks for phone. Madobe always has phone. She puts away her DS and draws out her smartphone instead, offering it to Kinzo.

The wallpaper is of five well-chiseled men, two with their shirts off, grinning forward and some obscure game title name underneath. She must have forgotten about that.

She leans in to SAkura to murmur, "Minako apparently set me up on a date with someone but I don't know who it is."

She turns bright red though. She probably didn't decline for two reasons. One, THIS MIGHT BE HER ONLY SHOT. And two, it's embarrassing!

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"What, really?" Sakura asks Madobe, equally quietly. She hopes it's not some jerk.

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino hopes that the game is a V-game!

"I'll tell Madoobs more about her blinding dates later on in private. But she's sorta' gettin' popular. You should check what she writes on the site. Madoobs, talk about the site. People love to hear about it," she announces, throwing herself on the ground and getting the dog suitably worked up due to activity!

"Anyways, if you got any of my work, I'll happily sign it. And I do got 11 extra CDs left over. Technically, they're for Ohtori students, but Juuban or Infinity also get some dibs on them!"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki accepts the phone... "Thank you!" he says as he inputs his home phone number, he talks quietly.... sometimes using the 'I'm trying really hard to explain this isn't my fault' tone.

He'll be a moment ir seems.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe Kuroi nods numbly to SAkura. Hopefully it ISN'T a jerk--sadly her game is NOT a V game this time, it's one of the Shantae's, She is probably awaiting a NEW V-Game (or V-Fangame) to come out before geting back to those. Maybe she'll try some strange foreign Sailor V Knock Off game at some point, but she's hoping for a new official(?) release.

"I am?" She asks, bewildered. She doesn't want Sakura thinking she's getting popular because, well, for starters she doesn't feel popular and for another she doesn't really believe Minako.

She glances nervously over to Kinzo as he deals with the phone.

"C--could you make an exception for Sakura-Chan?" She mumbles, figuring she's doing her a favor?

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino only gives Sakura one. It's pre-signed and it's the same one as on the table from earlier that was causing so much drama!

"here you go. And yeah, the site. I got a combination Minako super-fan-page and a Sailor V fan club, since I dress up as Sailor V on it and do lots of songs, videos, and so on. It's linked to my YouTube account too! Madoobs is one of the biggest forum posters!" she says, just oozing with pride.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe may have missed that development too. She seems relieved, for some reason, when Sakura also gets a CD.

"W...well..." She mumbles. Posting online is easy to do, because people can't see you, and that always makes things easier. And it's also easy to post a lot when you're not doing anything all day but posting messages on a forum. It's not exactly comfortable knowing Minako knows about her internet life and her real life simultaneously.

"Sakura-Chan and I have known each other since we were kids." She says.

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura takes the CD, and looks at it. Hm. She will listen to it just because she's interested in what Madobe is interested in. But she also promised to do computer club, and, all this reading to do! There won't be time for it all, she mentally frets. "...Madobe-chan...?" she looks over at her friend, but then at Minako; the upcoming question is obviously for her also, in a way, "Do you think that Sailor V is really a superhero?"

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino agreeably encourages Sakura to listen to music, regardless of how much other stuff she must do. Her answer to the question is an emphatic yes.

"Of course she's a super-hero. You can do lots of independent research or... you can read about it on the forum. Madoobs can probably help you with that stuff. She's a regular scholar!

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki finishes, he doesn't look happy about it. He gives Madobe back her phone. "Thanks." he says politely.

"Not as much trouble as I thought...but....ugh." he says.

He looks at the group as they talk about CDs and music. "Oh...! That's right, that's where I know you from!" he says with a smile. "I was wondering when you ran off earlier!"

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

Madobe Kuroi Takes the phone back. "Don't worry about it," She--snoopily--checks the call history. She's curious! And apparently has no good notion of privacy. It's not immediately obvious she's doing this. She might just be fiddling with it to make sure settings are proper and whatnot.

"I wouldn't say that." She says. "I don't know the real V or anything."

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"Sure, Madobe. You can show me to the forum," says Sakura. "I'd be interested to know more about all this. I don't think that... well, I don't know." She would like to say, she thinks it's wrong to try to use super-hero powers to become a celebrity. But on the other hand... wouldn't it be easier than studying and still trying to be a super-hero? She's not sure at all.

She ends up petting the puppy again, just to keep her hand busy.

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino totally thinks it's OK and she encourages this right now.

"She's so awesome at pop-starring and crime-fighting. I mean, that's exactly what a hero is! And she's good for the environment and helps orphans and contributes to charity. She should run for prime minister!"

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki blinks. "Wah...how is she good for the enviroment!?" he asks a little.

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"--What?" Madobe says. "She contributes to charity? I didn't know that." She also didn't know she specifically went out of her way to help orphans, she just assumed she was a crime fighting superhero. "I'm not sure you can have a secret identity and be prime minister at the same time."

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino gives everybody a grin that's filled with pride, just dripping from each side of her mouth. "Oh yeah. You gotta do your research, but it's all out there. She's contributed more blood to the blood bank than a rhinoceros. And... if that wrestler can be the secret president of Mexico, then so can the prime minister be a Sailor V!"

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura looks a little distant. Well, she wanted to think about her own stuff, but... it's gotten a little noisy to do that now, and this is new information that she needs to process.

She smiles at Minako anyway, and puts Hotaka's book into her bag. She looks at Madobe for a moment. "Tell me more about your date later, okay? I think I really do need to get some studying done."

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"Rhinos give blood to the blood bank?" Madobe sounds dubious but, well, who knows really. World is weird sometimes. "But either way, you shouldn't give too much blood." She smiles at Minako. Even if she gets carried away like that, it's endearing in its own way.

"Y--yeah okay. I guess." If it actually is a thing that exists. Madobe knows precisely as much about it as Sakura does.

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino shrugs her shoulders at Madobe and just pets a dog instead. "Right. I don't give too much blood. I give just enough. That's about the same amount everybody else should."

"BTW, anybody wanna give blood sometime? You get rewarded for it, you know!"

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"Well I mean, V shouldn't--" Madobe says. "--Er," She's scared of needles. "I'll...think about it."

Sakura Akagi has posed:

"Well, if Sailor V does it," Sakura says with a little smile. "I think I can too."

Kinzo Hiroyuki has posed:

Kinzo Hiroyuki nods. "I already give blood when I can." he says matter of factly. "Erm...mainly because my dad makes me." he says rubbing the back of his head. "For no reward." he sticks his tounge out at that a little. "Ugh."

Madobe Kuroi has posed:

"Wow." Madobe says, sympathetically. "Nobody should be forced to do that. It defeats the purpose."

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino encourages Kinzo to keep it up. "Also, go somewhere else for it. There's definitely lots of rewards to be given out!"

Sakura Akagi has posed:

Sakura bows again. "I'm going to head home and get this studying done. And... listen to your CD, okay?" she says to Minako. "See you soon, Madobe-chan."

Minako Aino has posed:

Minako Aino makes extravagant kissy faces towards Sakura. She tries to get her dog to do the same (mostly, it barks and its ears flop around).

BARK! BARK!