Good Morning Sunshine [open]

[Nitro!]

It was a beautiful, fine morning. The sun was shining happily, the birds chirping and flying everywhere; the sky was a vivid, warm, summery blue; a pleasantly warm breeze valiantly jousted persistent, wispy clouds, fighting them back towards the horizon so that the sun could smile down on the quiet world and gently rouse it into wakefulness. The cold of night faded with the tender, kind touch of the sun's long, far-reaching beams. The buildings of a calmer part of Tokyo cast long shadows under the low-hanging ball of light and heat, becoming active as alarm clocks shattered the picturesque, quiet moment and technology and ignorance of the roses along the sidewalk took hold again.

Or, one might prefer an alternate description: the sun glaring down harshly, unforgivingly, on the already-dry earth, the hot breeze beating away the only hope of shade, the birds tormentingly laughing at the poor creatures who refused to rise with the sun, the buildings looming like iron and concrete sentries, cold and towering and unkind. Ryou certainly did.

In the event that a certain time of day had to be eliminated for all eternity, Ryou was pretty sure he'd vote for morningtime. It wasn't that the sun shined, or that the birds chirped, or that the breeze blew, or anything like that. The simple principle of waking up from such a pleasant experience as sleep simply made it his least favorite time of day.

Seriously. Why wake up so soon? Sleep was healthy, or so his health teacher always said; sleep was a good thing. Why, then, did school make him get up at 7:00 to be on time? 7 in the morning seemed very early, if he didn't think too much about it; the sun always seemed irritatingly brighter in the morning, and this morning in particular, a very loud bird had decided that the little ledge beside his window was a wonderful perch, and had sung a grand ol' wake-up call for the sleepy teenager.

He had not been a happy camper. He'd still had ten minutes left to sleep.

The bad wake-up call had been followed up by him managing to burn his toast and losing three pencils somewhere in between his bedroom and the kitchen, and another one during the car-ride his mother gave him on her way to the grocery shop where she worked part-time, dropping him a few blocks away so they could both be on time.

Now he was walking into the school's open, welcoming doors, dark green-and-black backpack slung over his shoulders with care that contradicted that particular verb, looking as bright-eyed and bushy-tailed as any teenager this time in the morning (which is to say, not very). With a slight, almost-unnoticable frown that might have been a quiet, faint pout if one squinted and tilted their head, he trudged up the steps and between the intimidating metal doors, open wide like the jaws of a beast preparing to play with its food and then pounce on it viciously to suck out its soul (or brains).

It wasn't so much that Ryou disliked school as much as that he disliked being woken up, and then having to hurry to get there on time, and then sitting through the boring parts of class forcing himself to be attentive instead of making up for lost sleep that aforementioned institution had stolen from him like some of his peers did. He paid attention, he learned, but on mornings like these that just started out badly, he could never really enjoy it like he might if he'd just had a few more hours of pleasant, undisturbed sleep. School wasn't unenjoyable for him, no, but at times, he really just didn't feel like it.

Stupid school system.

Reluctantly, Ryou turned up the hall that was right inside the doorway, forgoing the office and continuing to the lockers beyond to find his (again). He was a freshman, after all.

[Elena]

It was morning.

The temperature was mild, taking into consideration the morning chill, and the sky had little to no cloud cover. There were relatively few people inside the school, as with such agreeable weather most chose to hang out in the school yard, awaiting the bell. He supposed the rest were in those early morning clubs and activities or preparing for a test come first period.

In short, it meant the hallways were blessedly sparse of students. Sai had had the misfortune of arriving to school close to the bell, and it was rather crowded. Therefore, Sai learned from the experience and made sure he came at least ten minutes before the start of the day. That way, he could do the locker supply shuffle, have his things for the next few periods ready, and spend his free time sketching or whatever else he felt like doing. A rather boring, solitary routine but it worked just fine.

However, he did not expect to find someone at his locker. The boy seemed rather short, and it could very well be that he had simply mistaken the locker as his own… Or he was up to some mischief. There was really only one way to find out, and that would be a confrontation.

He walked up behind the boy, and while Sai stood at an average height, he felt a little taller in comparison. His hand pressed against the cool metal right beside the boy’s head, undoubtedly trying to figure out why the combination wasn’t working. Ah, well that was because only he knew it. Locks were meant for keeping unwanted people away from private property, after all.

With one hand at his hip, he leaned forward almost intimidatingly, and asked, beside this unfamiliar, smaller person’s ear,

“What are you doing?”

[Nitro!]

Apparently, the lockers were in it with the birds.

The little knob spun easily enough, but his combination didn't seem to be working. He'd checked it at least three times in his head and tried two other slightly similar numbers just in case he was mistaken. The entire world seemed to be plotting against him and it was not at all enjoyable. At least the few fellow teenagers that were wandering around the halls, preparing for classes, seemed to agree.

Now, let it not be said that Ryou was an impatient person -- he was more patient than the vast, vast majority of his peers, but still, he was not happy to be standing at the locker for upwards of a minute, trying to get the stupid thing to work. Like all normal teenagers, he was getting frustrated, albeit with more composure than most said teenagers.

He didn't think anyone was hovering -- what's so interesting about a freshman having trouble with his locker? -- but was proven wrong when a voice abruptly spoke from directly by his ear. The young man stiffened and turned as quickly as he could, meeting dark eyes and not quite computing the words for a moment.

What am I...what does he think? Wasn't it kind of obvious that he'd been trying to get his locker open?

Then his mind started functioning again: hand on locker, person standing just slightly too close for comfort, looking rather intimidating. All signs pointed to the person being not happy with the freshman.

"I -- uh --" he paused, taking in the taller stature and dark hair and pale face and wondering why the boy didn't seem that alarmed by a kid trying to (not purposely) break into his locker. It still felt like staring a brick wall in the face, though (if brick walls had faces). "...was getting into my locker?" he finished lamely, pressing his back against the locker uncomfortably.

[Elena]

The young teen before him had yelped, and turned around and pressed himself into Sai’s locker at a rather impressive speed. While Sai couldn’t boast that he knew everybody like some people could, he was fairly certain this boy was one year younger than himself. It would explain how he could make such a mistake. Sai wasn’t angry, and he silently wondered what had this stranger looking so terrified, but that was just Sai. Any outsider could tell that some stranger effectively trapping you between a locker and themselves would be an awkward situation at best. For a timid person, it could be quite the nerving experience.

Sai leaned in further, until he was nearly eye-level with this person, his face much closer, the plane of his lower arm resting above the kid’s head. This would be a comfort zone invasion, if Sai had any. “Is that so?” He asked with his gaze unblinking.

He was silent after that, trying to assess if he could pick out any mischievous intent from the person trying to break into his locker, or if this was all just a simple mistake. “You see, that’s a problem…” He started slowly.

“Because this is my locker.”

A pause ensued. Slowly, Sai straightened, looking down at him with a less vapid and more thoughtful gaze. Being kind and helpful to fellow peers would only benefit society. It wasn’t as though Sai was looking to instigate any sort of conflict here. Now curiosity was taking over.

“Tell me your name. You are new here, and I believe you’re still getting used to where everything is.” Maybe he should have phrased that as a question? No matter, that was not important. As an upperclassman, he felt it in his right to speak with some authority. It was all to benefit him, anyways. Otherwise he’d be called ‘boy’ forever in Sai’s mind.

“If you step aside and wait for a moment, I’ll help you find your locker and will escort you to your class if need be. I just have some things to sort.” He tapped on the bag hanging by his hip. Sai didn’t have a backpack, but rather one of those black school packs that went over one shoulder. He had a car, so he didn’t have to experience the ache of the strap cutting into his shoulder whenever the thing was heavy for long durations, but it was still uncomfortable all the same.

“So, if you don’t mind…” He was already reaching beneath the teen’s arm, grabbing the lock and turning the dial with practiced ease.

[Nitro!]

Ryou was fairly frozen, holding his breath as the other young man examined him, feeling very out-of-place under the scrutiny. The person leaned in further, causing Ryou to try to press further back away from him. Unfortunately, the lockers (which were still thoroughly against him this morning) prevented that, holding him in a position that was extremely disquieting. They were practically on eye-level now, and the Takezo took a moment to wonder if the other boy was at all uncomfortable.

If Ryou hadn't already felt unsettled, the steady gaze definitely did it. The older boy spoke -- "Is that so?" -- and then there was a pause, as if he was being assessed, and then the odd person continued, "You see, that may be a problem..."

Now, Ryou was as much intuitive as he was intelligent, even if he wasn't the smartest person in the school. Currently, his mind was making the connection: this was not his locker and, judging by his actions so far, it belonged to this odd boy. That was Not Good. He might have just made an actual enemy -- not something Ryou wanted to do before he'd even gotten very far into the school year.

He's not your enemy yet, the rational part of his mind assured him. The situation is salvageable. Besides, he doesn't seem that upset, it added. This logic and observation calmed him down just a little, but only to process that the other boy had just confirmed his suspicions. In the pause thereafter, all Ryou really did was shift so that he was standing just barely straighter so his back wasn't straining to much. The scrutinizing gaze felt like it was trapping him and he couldn't move too much, lest he set off some sort of explosion or other very destructive and probably painful event. Possibilities that ran through his mind included laser beams for eyes and several X-men references.

The expression had shifted to something that didn't feel quite so severe -- though perhaps it was the change in the way the other boy held himself, mostly, that felt more friendly (even if it was just Ryou's imagination running wild). He felt very small still, like a puppy at the mercy of a larger dog -- but that was probably had less to do with the other person (despite the fact that he was, in fact, taller than Ryou) and more to do with the situation. The taller boy spoke again, his tone seeming changed from before, much like his posture.

"I'm Takezo Ryou," the freshman meekly stated, deciding that calling the older boy out on the disregarding of good manners would be a bad idea. Ryou didn't care so much that it was polite to give one's own name before asking for one, especially not in this situation where he'd just been caught trying to break into a locker (unintentionally) by the owner of said locker. "I'm a freshman..." He trailed off, suddenly conscious of the fact that he was still leaning heavily on the older boy's locker. He almost protested to say that he could find his locker on his own, no need for the upperclassman to inconvenience himself, but only just held his tongue, awkwardly sliding his arm over the lock and, as soon as he could, slid out of the veritable pin so he could breathe again.

Standing a good couple feet from the older boy and feeling very awkward -- this wasn't the sort of thing his parents taught him how to react to, nor the sort of event he underwent daily -- he ducked his head and said sheepishly, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize...and I thought..." Stupid, stop stuttering. "Sorry," he repeated helplessly, glancing at the locker so he didn't have to meet the boy's eyes. He mentally smacked himself as he glimpsed the dial being turned to put in the combination, head whipping to look at the opposite side of the hall. He'd already dug his hole deep enough...

[Elena]

He pulled out his books, holding them against his chest with one hand holding the lock. He used it to shove the locker closed again and slid the hook through the slot with ease, turning his head toward the young freshmen now known as ‘Ryou-kun’ forever on. He shot the boy an easy smile, one, if he hung around, he’d see often.

“Sai.”

Click.

“Just Sai.”

The pale boy had no intention to unnerve Ryou-kun, in fact he was thinking of ways to extend his help and worldly knowledge so that the newcomer would have a better transition into school. There were rumours of students being part of a big-shot yakuza gang and all. Who knew what kind of enemies a misinformed child could make. He drew his eyes across the boy’s frame, silently judging him as he approached. Rather short for his age, wasn’t he?

“I can see why you are so terrified.” He said while he recalled some of his readings. He gave almost what you could call a ‘knowing’ look. “Size for men is a big issue.”

He paused.

“Ah, was that just a pun? Size... Big… Hmmm, no matter.” He shook his head. There were more important things to achieve here.

“The fixation crosses many things; height, muscle, reproductive organs… You mustn’t despair though. I may be taller than you, but I am definitely not the tallest, nor do I have as much muscle.” There were quite a few people he could name that were bigger than him, vertically and horizontally.

“But who knows? I could be the biggest of them all. If you think of it that way, the apparent differences don’t become so frightening.”

Sai did not think to consider the negative effect his image of being the ‘biggest’ would inflict, or how frightening that could be.

“Now, shall we head to the office and get your locker number?”

[Nitro!]

Ryou almost flinched when the upperclassman smiled. It was odd -- not a normal smile -- and not exactly in a bad way, really. It simply looked...well, fake, to say the least of it. It was like he plastered it on because it was the appropriate expression to have, not because he meant it. That bothered the black-haired boy a little. He’d seen his brother and father do it to some people -- his brother, a lawyer, to other lawyers, and his father, a businessman, to other businessmen. He had always hated seeing it on their faces, especially his brother’s, because his brother was so genuine usually. He’d never been oblivious to the game that the two played with others of their respective professions -- a game of deceit and forced smiles and handshakes that were wiped off afterward. This smile wasn’t so much deceptive as smiling to meet a requirement; because he had to.

It was, nevertheless, a smile, so Ryou smiled back, a shaky, shy little smile. "Sai," the pale boy told him; personally, the freshman thought the click sounded very ominous. "Just Sai." For a moment, Ryou wondered if "Just" was his surname -- he’d heard many strange surnames in the past -- then dismissed it as being rather unimportant in the long run. Sai was walking toward him, and he felt like he was being examined again. It was only slightly less unnerving than before because he was quickly associating the feeling with the older boy.

He was very close to correcting the junior -- he wasn't terrified. He was beyond terrified. Passing into the distant realm of death by terror, even.

Why? Because he was a freshman.

Sometimes he wondered if that summed up the reason for any and all problems that cropped up in his life that year. He figured someone had it out for freshmen as a rule. But anyway...

"Big?" he echoed under his breath. The meaning hit him like a ton of bricks, and he could've been either blushing or very pale suddenly. Maybe both. All he cared to know was that he felt rather sick.

He's so odd, he thought, trying to recover his mental balance as the pale junior continued about it. And...he even had a point, maybe. Not everything was a measure of height and -- and -- Get a hold of yourself, Ryou, he commanded. There were more important matters at hand.

Like going to the office. That sounded like a good preventative measure to keep him from wandering around aimlessly and almost breaking into other people’s lockers (unintentionally).

"Okay," he almost squeaked, feeling like he should just do as he was told. He scampered after Sai in the direction of the office (or what he thought was the direction of the office), already feeling a little worn out.

Although...

Sai was nice enough, he supposed after pausing to think about it. He had taken Ryou almost breaking into his locker (accidentally) in stride and proceeded to offer (insist) to help him find his own locker and thus avoid any more mishaps. He had been friendly, was probably one of the better people to chance upon in this place, and was fascinating in a way -- so strange in his mannerisms and expressions and speech. He was an enigma if ever there was one.

[Elena]

Was that his shoes creating friction against the sleek floor or was that squeak really from his voice? Sai didn’t linger on the thought as he watched the boy, Ryou-kun, rush ahead in front of him... Too bad it was in the wrong direction. He must really be looking forward to going to the office and finding his locker, Sai reasoned to himself, and approved. There was only so much time they had to linger about before the bell would go off and classes would commence. Having to drag about all his textbooks and material to each class would not be good for posture nor for convenience.

He snagged his sleeve and made a subtle gesture to the right direction. “This way is faster. Come along.”

Aside from when he first registered to the school, Sai didn’t visit the office. That didn’t mean the office and the people inside weren’t acquainted with him. In fact, for how little they saw of him, they acted as though his presence was a regular occurrence. He didn’t understand where this familiarity came from, aside from the fact that he had relation to a well-known figure. Sai was getting used to not understanding things, so as he walked in to see a secretary frowning at him, he just jovially sauntered up to the table, resting his elbows on it as he leaned in. Before he could even explain his presence, the woman in her mid-forties spoke with a tragic sigh.

“Classes haven’t even started and here you are. I was expecting to see you when I heard talk of roofs, teachers, and inappropriate behaviour but I was expecting it much later. How are we going to tell you care-taker I wonder…”

Oh, so he was the subject of talk? Did this make him popular and well-liked? “He would consider it a waste of time if you called him, but whatever you’ve deduced about my presence here, you’re mistaken. I’m just helping a freshman here—“

The secretary shot Ryou a look of pity.

“—who has forgotten his locker number. Mind disclosing it?

She sighed and began to type something on the keyboard in front of her. She glanced unamused in Ryou’s direction.
“Name?”

”Takezo Ryou.” Sai didn’t miss a beat, and seemed oblivious to the fact she was shooting him an ’I didn’t ask you look. It didn’t take long, and she ripped a post-it note from a stack and hastily wrote down on it.

“There you go, the locker number. Try to remember it for next time.” She held it out for him to take, before returning to whatever she was doing before they came in.

”Thank you.” Sai gave a flicker of a wave, barely any effort behind the action. If he was aware that he had been talking for Ryou, he didn’t act as though it was a bad thing.

[Nitro!]

Crap.

He just had to hurry off ahead of his current walking, talking map. Good job, Ryou, he told himself, mentally facepalming. He probably looked like a complete imbecile. It wasn't that he really cared about his image. It was just that, well...idiots, clumsy people, and people who did anything that would embarrass them were prime targets for being picked on. Of course, everyone made mistakes, but in high school, unless you hold power over the people, it was harder to live them down, and harder to keep out of the limelight. Ryou was not fond of the limelight. In fact, he really just wanted to live out his school days nice and quiet-like.

Making good and sure that he was following his guide now, he trailed after the older boy, looking around the halls, which were still fairly empty. He made a mental note that the office was on the south side of the school (not that he had much of a sense of direction or anything), just in cast he got lost and needed a reference, or needed something from the secretary. This situation was hardly ideal, and he'd prefer for it not to happen again.

Ever.

No offense, Sai-san.

He almost ran into the older boy as he turned back to look at him. Flinching ever so slightly at the near-collision, he stepped back as the junior walked into the office, almost like he owned the place. Ryou hesitantly stood at the doorway, feeling a bit like a feral animal, prepared to run if they made the slightest wrong move. As Sai leaned on the desk, the woman behind it sighed. It sounded like an exasperated sigh, the sort that a mother gave when her child wasn't getting something.

“Classes haven’t even started and here you are." The freshman blinked slowly. Not him, right? He hadn't done anything... Then he realized she was looking at Sai as she carried on, and wasn't sure if he should be relieved that he hadn't managed to make himself very known with the secretary or pity Sai for earning the immediate recognition of the worker (in what seemed to be a bad way). After a pause of considering the rather irrelevant thought, he settled on both.

He glanced down at the tiled floor as Sai cheerfully explained what was actually happening, and looked up when he heard the tap of a keyboard in use. He did not miss the glance he got, and offered a sheepish half-smile in return. It wasn't like he had tried to forget it...

And -- was Sai speaking for him? Ryou tilted his head ever so slightly, not sure what to make of that. Did the older boy realize that he was shy and liked to keep quiet (even if it was such a simple thing as divulging his name)? The freshman thought that was very kind of him, going out of his way to make others more comfortable (or Ryou, at least).

He smiled again at the secretary, a grateful smile. It would've been more polite to speak, but she probably would've barely paid it mind anyway. He scrambled to get out of the doorway, giving an apologetic half-smile to the junior.

"What's the number? I can probably find it now..." he spoke up hesitantly, feeling badly for taking away from his schoolmate's free time. The older boy didn't have to help him find his locker, but he was, and Sai probably usually did something in that time. Ryou was pretty sure he'd get lost again if he tried to find it on his own, but he was smart enough to figure it out.

...Eventually.

[Elena]

His new acquaintance was giving him a smile that wasn't quite right; so was there an issue with the situation? Perhaps the familiarity in the office was unnerving, or maybe he was overstepping his boundaries. However, Sai didn't care too much. He was the upperclassman here; he would do his duty in guiding this amusing little freshman about, and Sai wasn't about to quit here. At the mention of the locker number he glanced at the paper again, and took the boy's arm with a wide smile.

“I'll show you the way.”

He pulled the boy along, through hallways, but not in a manner that would have outsiders suspecting he was going to throw the freshman against the floor and start kicking him. No, it was a rather normal walk, in fact if they were holding hands it would look more appropriate, but Sai's grip stayed in the hook of his arm.

They did make it to the locker, and it was right next to Sai's. Imagine that; they were locker neighbours. “No wonder you mistook my locker for yours, they are merely one number apart.” He observed the obvious. “It seems we'll be seeing each other every morning. Won't that be interesting?” Perhaps he could transfer his alone sketching time into useful socializing. “I hope that we become good friends, Ryou-kun. Your inferior nature is amusing... I think I may already like you.” He eyed him. Yes, he could provide some fun, as they build the famed senpai/kohai relationship together. His lips pulled taught once again, and he reached over to pat him on the shoulder.

“From now on, if anything is confusing you, or if you need any advice, you are to come to me. I will not forgive you if you turn to someone else. I will be your one and only senpai, at least in spirit. You must not forget your manners, after all.” He was not joking, nor was he asking. Sai was telling him how this was all going to go down, but at least he managed to look friendly (if in that awkwardly terrifying sort of way.) He thought for a moment.

“Ryou-kohai or Ryou-kun... I like Ryou-kun better. You can call me just Sai, I don't mind. If I think of a better nickname I will refer you as such.” Sai learned that ruffling ones hair was a sign of brotherly compassion. He raised his hand, uncertainly, and ran it back and forth across his head. How odd; he hoped the message got across. He dropped his hand.

“See you later then, my little kohai.”

Yes, he thought that went rather well.