Not Quite Leisure Time [Open]

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya was still pretty depressed that he was forced to have tea and then be forced to relive that awkward day. Really wasn't a good week for him. But, what could he do. The tea had finally arrived and after giving a polite thank you, he gave a silent prayer and started to embrace his drink. The aroma eased his nerves. Maybe it wasn't all bad. 

He was only half listening to the conversation between the two girls. He wasn't really acquainted with either of them, and he didn't have much to say so he was fine just drinking his tea. His ears did perk up at the topic of the earthquake though.

Oh yeah that was two years ago wasn't it? It was pretty devastating. Wonder what happened to piss the gods off. 

He only vaguely remembered the earthquake. Most people have very vivid memories of it and could tell you exactly what they were doing that day. But not him. He honestly has no recollection of the day or even the days after it. It was almost like he wasn't even part of reality during it. Nevertheless the topic seemed kind of a sour subject for Hiromi. She must have lost someone to the earthquake. Tetsuya took another sip from his cup. He wasn't one for jumping into conversations, but the way Hiromi wants to deny the past is wrong.

"They talk about it because the past reminds us of what we've been through, and as a way to give respects to those we've lost. " It didn't really come out the way he wanted to, but he said it and that's all he cared about. Now all he had to was pray to the gods that she didn't yell at him.

[Shion Amanomiya]

❊ SIGNPOST OF MEMORIES ❊

Hiromi's nonverbal cues and change of tone did not escape Shion. As much as she was a public figure and practically a plaything of media outlets, her observations were something that had rarely failed her. She'd said something that had not sat right with the younger girl. Perhaps she'd lost someone in the earthquake. That seemed likely as she was saying that people died when, as far as she knew, the people of Kanehira just went missing. Unless Shion didn't know something about the entire disaster that would justify using using the word.

Shion picked up her cup and took a tiny sip of the piping hot tea, but her attention was on the pink-haired boy who, surprisingly, spoke up. To give respect to those we've lost... Shion repeated in her mind. If Hiromi had indeed lost someone in the earthquake or in the chaos that followed, and did not wish to speak about it, Shion couldn't blame her. No one needed a constant reminder of who they've lost, and how they weren't going to see them again. An ache formed in her chest, and a sense of emptiness followed, vast enough that Shion had to compose herself to keep from staring absently into her tea. Delicately clearing her throat, she set the teacup down and smiled weakly at her two companions.

"You're both right." She began slowly, folding her hands on her lap to maintain a sense of control over herself. Calm the hell down, girl, you've only had nine years to deal with it. Shion wasn't anywhere near entertaining a plan to spill her own troubles to people she'd just met. "It's painful, remembering who or what we've lost, but at the same time, we can't forget them, or we'll lose our way."

TAGS: Hiromi Sakata, Tetsuya Horokeu

XOXO SHIN OF GS + THQ

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi's frank words must have given away more than she had intended. She was sure of it. Especially judging by the looks she was getting from the two of them. She now expected a response from Shion. Something not to personal but still attempting to be comforting.  She's heard all the classic lines before. She doubted the teenage girl would surprise her. After all, who could beat the classics: 'Don't lose hope Sakata-san.' or 'You have to stay positive.'

And her personal favorite: 'I'm sure they're watching over you.'

When she first heard these now all to familiar lines, they would make her livid. Now they all just sounded like hollow words. She would give a polite 'thank you' and then try and move on from the topic. She already had the whole interaction mapped in her head. That was why she looked up in surprise when not Shion, but scared-of-his-own-shadow Tetsuya spoke up. Words that were spoken without stuttering, backtracking, or embarrassment.

"They talk about it because the past reminds us of what we've been through, and as a way to give respects to those we've lost."

Her lower jaw dropped a little. She told herself she was shocked by the boy speaking the words, not so much the words themselves. Of course not the words themselves she told herself again angrily, as her shock shifted into an angry scowl, as she stared daggers at the pink haired boy. As if words after the fact does anyone any good! And respect?! Is he trying to say I don't respect-!

Her thoughts were cut short by Shion, who seemed to Hiromi like she was trying to mediate the situation before it got worst. Hiromi was currently more concentrated at her anger at Tetsuya that she missed the effect the conversation had on Shion. Taking the time to gather herself, she went back to her tea, taking another sip. She could no longer enjoy the warmth and taste the tea brought to her. Now it was simply an object she could use to buy her some time before she had to speak up again.

"I think..." she said trying to sound very casual as she placed the teacup back down. Her voice didn't match her narrow expression still focused on Testsuya. "...a new topic for discussion is best."

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya gripped his cup tight. Yup he had done the very thing he prayed he didn't do. He went and pissed her off. If it weren't for Shion he might be dead. Well, maybe not dead, but not really alive. He didn't regret what he said, however. He believed in it 100%. He may be timid and clumsy at times, but  this was something he wouldn't give up on. Luckily he didn't have to fight. Hiromi was obviously done with the topic, and to talk about it any further would lead him to an early grave. So he dropped it. 

He took a sip from his cup. Everything was fine. Everything was great. Well, except for the fact that Hiromi was glaring at him menacingly. Maybe if he ignored her she would go away? Three seconds passed, but her stare did not. He could feel her staring a hole right through his skull. She must be really angry. He tried to hide his face behind his cup. He had to try to change the subject. "Um so uh how's school." 

Smooooooooooth


He didn't even care that the question was dumb or awkward. He just wanted her to stop looking at him.

[Shion Amanomiya]

The young model was only too willing to drop the subject. Her own feelings on the matter aside, Hiromi was glaring at Tetsuya so hard it practically radiated hostility. It wasn't good to continue the conversation on that track, not at all, because either Hiromi might snap and scare the young man off (as if he wasn't already getting anxious about the daggers the younger girl was sending his way), or Shion would have to hurriedly excuse herself from the two.

Neither were particularly pleasant ways to spend a rare afternoon of free time. Going along the rather abrupt but quite necessary topic change, Shion picked up her cup again. "I'm doing well so far." An understatement, but Shion wasn't about to toot her horn about how she was at the top of her year level, and how it looked like it'll be that way for the rest of the year.

"Academics aside, the Student Council had been keeping me busy." Maybe they would like to join and help out? It was always good to train the younger students on the SC's workings; Shion had gotten that start in the previous year.

She turned slightly on her seat so that she was facing both Tetsuya and Hiromi better. "What about you, Sakata-san? I hope you didn't have a hard time adjusting into high school."

---

Tags: Hiromi Sakata , Tetsuya Horokeu

[Hiromi Sakata]

Watching Tetsuya squirm under her gaze was oddly satisfying. She might have continued if the thought of this kind of retaliation as being childish never came to her. With her 'retribution' now finished, she turned away and resumed her bored expression. Once again her head was only kept up because it was propped by her one hand. Her other hand held her warm tea cup as Shion answered Tetsuya's question.

She only straightened up when Shion asked her specifically about her time at Kanehira High. "Not really," she answered back. "Everyone in my class complains, but everything has been pretty easy so far."

Hiromi knew she was being less than honest about answering Shion's question, but she felt perfectly fine by doing so. After all, she wasn't completely lying. Her subjects at school seemed easy enough and her grades were always high above the average. Academically she was a cut above the rest in her class. However, only academically.

Socially it was another story. Her friends from middle school drifted apart from each other once they hit Kanehira High and even she recognized her deposition was less than approachable. While she was perfectly fine with it (she was always rather independent, even at a young age), the Kanehira High teachers were less so. They encouraged her to join clubs to be more social. Getting to know her other classmates. Hiromi wasn't fond of any of those suggestions. Then there was the dreaded P.E. The only time in Kanehira High where her deplorable endurance was visible to everyone. If she was one to be quick to embarrassment, she might have attempted to get out of it more. It might not have bothered her, if it wasn't for her late sister being remembered as a great member of the track team a few years back.

Her chest suddenly felt a little heavier. She closed her eyes briefly and took another sip of her tea. The tea really was soothing. She refocused her attention on Shion. Student Council? That's probably why she looked so familiar-.

Click.

And suddenly Hiromi remembered why Shion looked so familiar.

"I'm surprised you have time for student council." she said, hiding her surprise with a mask of indifference. It gave the impression that Hiromi didn't just remember the fact a moment ago. "What with everything else you do."

She gave a quick glance to Tetsuya. Him falling over and embarrassing himself made a little more sense. Probably was 'star struck'. She rolled her eyes.

Boys are dumb.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Tetsuya let out a sigh of relief when Hiromi stopped glaring at him. He somehow got out of that unscathed. He was glad he didn't push his luck any further. After calming down he listened in on the two girl's school life. He didn't talk to many other students so he really didn't know how he compared to them with grades and such. He lowered his head in defeat.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAnd just as we thought. Compared to them you're clinically stupid.

Do you have to rub it in like that?


Pfft it's fine we both know school is't for us. We were made to fight!


He shook the thoughts from his head. It was rude for him to blank out while listening to people talk. But he was right, compared to them, his grades were horrible. Hell Shion was part of the student council, and here he was not apart of any clubs and barely passing high school. He took another sip of his tea. Made to fight huh? Something Hiromi said interrupted his sulking. Well it was more of how she said it. Must be something big or weird if she said it like that. Well now his curiosity was peeked. "What do you mean? What else does she do?" 

And he take the bait. You know curiosity killed the cat.


He prayed that this didn't lead to him getting embarrassed again. He made it a goal to make a fool of himself only once a day. IF he did any more he might just die.

[Shion Amanomiya]

Shion tilted her head to one side and blinked curiously. "What do they usually complain about, the workload?" She asked. While there were bound to be differences in the level of difficulty in their subjects, wouldn't it have come as expected? Then again Shion didn't make the transition from junior high to high school in Kanehira... St. Bridget had made the transition quite smooth and prepared their students well. So when Shion got to high school, it was pretty much just a continuation of junior high, just a different building on the St. Bridget grounds.

When Hiromi remarked on how she handles the Student Council on top of everything else, a smile flitted across the model's face. Sometimes it was a wonder to herself that she was able to do what she did, juggling academics, the Student Council, and modeling. Granted it wasn't easy, and her first few months had been tough, but she has a good manager who took good care of her. He had even offered her a tutor one time, but Shion simply wasn't having that much of a difficulty in school to warrant that.

She wasn't surprised that Tetsuya didn't know about her job though. As a model for ladies' apparel, Shion didn't think she'd have a lot of male fans. There were several who liked to see her model, and there were also those more interested in her appearance than the work she did.

"Horokeu-san, I have a job modeling for Trandy. Are you familiar with the brand?" She gestured vaguely towards the direction of a poster, just outside the glass walls of the cafe. Sure enough, Shion was on there, dressed in the latest winter pieces. "I'm fortunate that Trandy's management understands that school is important to me, and they work around my schedule. My agent's also pretty good. I'd probably have a harder time without them."

---

Tags: Hiromi Sakata, Tetsuya Horokeu

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi didn't bother to examine Tetsuya's reaction to Shion's admission of being a model. She was so sure that he'd say or do something that would embarrass himself further that she felt no need to witness yet another blunder made by him. She was after all having less and less respect for the pink haired teenager.

They talk about it because the past reminds us of what we've been through, and as a way to give respects to those we've lost.

Just an idiot she thought to herself, allowing her to temporarily forget Tetsuya and focus on Shion. By doing so she unconsciously, just for an instant, made comparisons between Shion and another girl. She had hated herself for doing it, but the damage had already been done. And the comparisons weren't too unfathomable if she really sat down and thought about it either (though she didn't wish to). Looks wise the two were similar. The long dark hair. The posture. And Hiromi wasn't too ashamed to admit both had a beauty that she could never hope to obtain for herself. And academically, and going by what Hiromi inferred from Shion, both seemed to do rather well. And to be on the student council, Hiromi was sure she was as likeable and approachable as her late sister Kanami. Obviously there were some minor differences, but they seemed to be almost the same person.

Hiromi bit her lip, around the sometime as Shion was explaining her experience with her time at Trandy. The same person she thought to herself. Minor differences? That's not true at all. Kanami was at least two inches taller. And her face was a little rounder. And she would never be a model! She hated attention like that!

Hiromi frowned, upset with how quickly tried to draw parallels between Shion, and her late sister. One was practically a stranger, the other someone she knew for years! They were different people, and just then she had so casually thought of them as the same person! What an idiot she was! She resumed leaning on the table, this time looking more annoyed then bored all thanks to her own overactive mind.

"Sounds great," said Hiromi when Shion finished.

Hiromi was intentionally looking away from Shion, which was a stark contrast from how she had been so keenly focused on her earlier.

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

Listening to Shion talk about her career was like listening to an entirely different language. He had absolutely no clue as to what she was talking about. Ok Trandy seems to be a brand of clothing, but... "W-what's a model," he asked tilting his head slightly. He could already guess that this was a really dumb question, but he really had no clue. His eyes moved to where Shion motioned to earlier. There was a poster, of her! So maybe that's what it was? Maybe she got paid to wear clothes. But, how was that a job? To him a job meant some kind of labor, but if she truly got paid to just wear clothes, is that really a job? 

Tetsuyas head started to hurt so he just dropped the thoughts. He would get an answer from her soon enough.

[Shion Amanomiya]

"What's a model?"

Shion wasn't sure if she heard him right, and spent a few seconds just staring at the pink-haired boy. Was he serious? Shion glanced over at Hiromi; maybe Shion really just misheard Tetsuya or something and the younger girl was going to help her with this. However, it seemed that she was occupied with something else and was looking away from Shion, and it seemed deliberate, too.

Had she done something to offend Hiromi? She didn't know the girl well, and couldn't begin to guess what this behaviour meant.

She returned her attention to Tetsuya's inquiry; at least this she can do something about. "A model..." It was a lot more difficult than she thought, defining what she does for a living. "Um, I wear the clothes they make and pose for photos to use in their advertisements, and also represent them in fashion shows... Generally display the clothes by wearing them."

It definitely sounded easier than it was, but how else was she going to describe what she did? Shion resumed sipping her tea, letting the hot liquid warm her up as if to keep the winter chill away.

---

Tags: Hiromi Sakata, Tetsuya Horokeu

[Hiromi Sakata]

Hiromi was so thankful for Tetsuya. She could not only (thankfully) forget how stupid she felt earlier, but also transfer over to someone else. Goes above and beyond what I think is possible she thought to herself, amazed at how he didn't know such a basic concept. To Hiromi, it would be like if he pointed and asked 'whats that' to a fridge. Acceptable for a toddler...not acceptable for a (presumably) seventeen, eighteen year old.

Shion however was very patient for Tetsuya, although Hiromi could tell she was taken aback by such a question. She had explained it adequately enough, but Hiromi couldn't help but add her little flare to it. She continued to lean on the table, but turned so she could face Tetsuya who was sitting across from them.

"It's a job for attractive people," she said rather bluntly. "They get paid to make company's products look better by being on an attractive person rather than use people like your or me."

She paused for a bit, wondering where this kid had come from to not know something so basic. Did he just come out of the ground full grown? Is that the reason for his pink hair?

[Tetsuya Horokeu]

He nodded while Shion explained what a model was. "Oh ok. Sound cool!" His guess had been right. But, he couldnt help but feel a little stupid for not knowing something so basic to most people. His semi-sulking was interrupted by Hiromi's own special explanation of a model. Attractive people? He understood what she meant, but it didn't really make sense to him. Why could one be a model but not the other one? They were both attractive, so it was really confusing for Tetsuya.

"I- I don't get it? Why couldn't you be a model Hiromi?" He was having a hard time making sense of it all. Maybe there was another meaning to it that he didn't know. Well whatever the case hopefully one of them would answer his question.

[Shion Amanomiya]

That feeling that she had somehow done something to offend the younger student wasn't going away, especially not after that additional help -- if it could even be called that -- in explaining to Tetsuya exactly what it is that Shion did. But what could that have been? It wasn't like she forced Hiromi to sit with her, and it would have been quite alright if she had shown some kind of sign that she hadn't wanted Tatsuya to join them... She hadn't been the one to make that patronizing comment about the dead, either, which had seemed like where Hiromi's terrible temper had started flaring up.

Not that she completely agreed with Hiromi's opinion about attractive people and modeling. As terrible as it was for Shion to think so, the industry was not exactly populated by beautiful people. Besides, it was more about charm. The treasurer didn't think she had much of it, really, but she could exude that for a while, which was all it took for the cameras to snap away and hold it in memory.

So why couldn't Hiromi be a model? "It's not a matter of could or couldn't, really." Shion started gently as she set down her teacup. "She has to want to be one first." The younger student wasn't terrible looking; she was adorable and would probably appeal to a wide audience. "Connections play some part of it too, but that's easily remedied."

---

Tags: Hiromi Sakata, Tetsuya Horokeu

[Hiromi Sakata]

"I- I don't get it? Why couldn't you be a model Hiromi?"

Hiromi opened her mouth, hesitated, and then closed it again. She was having trouble deciding if he was simply too simple to understand the compliment he had given her or that he was simply mocking her. Based off of how obtuse he seemed to be and how backhand comments didn't seem to match Tetsuya's style, she decided on the former. She was not used to such a flattering remark so it made her pause before she could give her reply. Unfortunately she waited too long, and it let Shion find her own opening. 

While she had no doubt Tetsuya was simply obtuse about everything, she wasn't so sure about Shion. Hiromi didn't know the older girl enough to know if she was being genuine or if Shion simply found this to be amusing and wanted to go along with the idea to see where it ends. After all her sister would have found this amusing...but Hiromi didn't need any reminders to know that Shion wasn't her sister.

"Don't encourage this." she said simply to the older girl, as Hiromi picked up her cup and drank from it. It was impossible to completely hide that look of annoyance. She then turned those irritated eyes to Tetsuya.

"And you..." she started, pausing as she identified what wording she wanted to use that accurately captured how she felt.

"I- I don't get it? Why couldn't you be a model Hiromi?"

Hiromi finally settled on: "...think before you talk."