infinite_reflection

Entry tags:

campus,
open rp

April 9th

April 9th, 2012, early

It was a humid morning, and only the second week of school. A fine mist of rain clouded the sky, doing nothing against the damp heat that had invaded Eizou Academy’s campus. Beyond the misty and annoying weather, it was also irritatingly early! Students milled about from the main gates, slowly heading towards their campus buildings (it could be quite a walk, most had to arrive a wee bit early). Umbrella’s seemed to do nothing against the rain, but staff and students alike tried to use them regardless.

A scream sounded out, from the cluster of buildings that all the elementary and junior high students were headed toward. It was quite a distance away from the Highschool section, and the clouds and mist dulled the sound. Sirens, blaring through the morning air, pierced the quiet created by the mist. Where were those headed?

That exact thought filtered though Miho Tanaka’s head fifteen minutes later. She could see flashing lights of a police car, and probably an ambulance, from out of the front door’s of the Highschool building. The light filtered through the thickening mist, as the rain started to gradually turn into a downpour. The school seemed eerily quiet, and everyone’s attention seemed to be drifting out toward the elementary buildings. What happened?

Two girls entered, whispering in low fast voices to one another.

“Did you hear? A teacher jumped.”

“I heard she was pushed! The impact broke her neck.”

“I heard she splattered all over the concrete…”

“But we still have to go to class today? Jeez!”

"Mouu, I bet everyone in junior high will get the day off today. This is so unfair.."

Miho frowned slightly at the passing conversation, gaze drifting from the two gossiping girls out towards the lights in the distance. A jumper, huh…?

((NOTE: About half an hour after this initial post, the PA system comes on - everyone is informed they get the day off.))

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Gregory trailed close behind, or more like at her side, it seemed he had the edge as far as running went. The rain started coming down harder as they want, though it seemed they'd just narrowly avoided the sudden opening into a torrential downpour by a minute or two at best. The boy nodded while panting, slouching while he walked under the cover of the apartment complex.

Thankfully he'd wiped his shoes on the mat on the way in, so tracking mud wouldn't be too much of a problem! By the time they hit the elevator Greg had better control of his breathing, though it looked like they were both sort of drenched. Miho could change her clothes at home, but Gregory... Not as much. "If the rain gets any worse, we might just have to stay in, for the love of..."

Miho fanned herself as they waited for the elevator – currently it was at floor ten, and slowly lowering. Strands of her hair clung to her neck and face because of the rain, and all in all she looked quite mussed and out of breath. “M-mmaybe,” Pant, she really, really hated running. Her hands went to her knees (she flashed Gregory an apologetic smile before she bent over to catch her breath), “My mom will go out. We can hope.” Another rolling clap of thunder sounded out from outside, seeming to echo throughout the deserted hallway. “I didn’t think it was supposed to storm like this, today. The weather didn’t mention it… Does your phone have a weather app?”

Ding! The elevator had arrived. In they went, surrounded on all sides by full length mirrors. The floor was the same posh dark marble as in the lobby, and it gleamed from the overhead lights. “We’re really high up, so this might be a bit of a ride. “It’s 36 stories; we’re on the top floor.” Miho seemed to be getting her breath back at least, as she pressed the glowing ‘36’ on the door panel. The doors smoothly shut, and the elevator clicked back into life. The only sound was the sound of their breathing, they wouldn’t even be able to hear any whir of machinery.

Gregory stood up straight, he was catching his breath a little quicker, and watched the little glowing number count down until it hit 'L' for the lobby they were in. "Uh, yeah, it does. My phone, that is, hold on..." The boy slid his phone out of his pocket while they both entered the elevator, and he took note of the... Decidedly odd decoration choice. The four mirrors created an odd effect that made the elevator look deceptively massive and also full of a ton of Miho's and Gregory's. "Thirty-six? Wow..."

He slid his finger along the smartphone's touchscreen to unlock it, then pressed his weather app... The screen froze, though, and Greg shook it with a slight frown. "[C'mon, you piece of crap.]" The boy let out a somewhat dramatic sigh, he absolutely hated when technology got all difficult, and prodded at the touch screen a little more. "Just a second--"

A high-pitched and rather eerie cackle came out of the small speaker in the back of the phone, made somewhat tinny by the decidedly crappy sound card, and poor Greg almost dropped the damned thing. "[Fuck!]" He fumbled with it momentarily, watching the screen fragment oddly and then go black. "Sorry. One of my games probably messed up..."

“Yeah! We’re kind of high up, I’m sorry about the wait.” She didn’t bow that time, at least, with her apology! Progress! “It’s a nice apartment though, so I think it’s worth it. Um.. My Mom isn’t a big fan of traditional Japanese interiors, though, so… It might be more in line with what you’re used to?” Miho shifted her weight while they slowly ascended the building, glancing from the ticking number of the floor, to the stark steel doors. Being surrounded with mirrors like this, when they were both soaked, sure was depressing.

The poor thing nearly jumped a mile at the sound that eminated from Greg’s cellphone, and then actually gave a surprised little ‘Eeee!’ when the power abruptly flickered. The two were suddenly left in the dark, in a frozen elevator, as antoher clap of rolling thunder sounded dimly from outside. “Ohmyg-gosh!” A shakey laugh from the startled Miho, as she tried to peer through the pitch black. “Bad timing, bad timing, haha, this aha.. ah. Never happens. This’s never lost power before…”

"Sounds expensive, too." Was it okay to talk about that, here? Greg had the feeling it was okay to talk about a lot in Japan, actually, and he was just making weird assumptions. Oh well! "I'm sure it's, uh... Well, I'll like it. And if I don't, I'll tell your mother that I do anyways." Hey, that was almost a joke! The boy's shoulders hunched at the sudden thunder, and then there was the distinct bwwwrrrr of power going bye-bye. All of a sudden it was very dark, and he cleared his throat. "Uh.. Miho?" Yeah, because there'd be someone else there. Durrrh.

"Here, let me get-- There we go." There was a brief flash of light in front of the girl and then a catchy little jingle while his phone started back up. "Yeah, it was just a glitch, then. Kind of a... Freaky one, if uh... If I'm gonna be honest." Regardless, she could see his face illuminated in the dim blue light coming off of his phone's screen. Greg turned it her way, and then he could see hers. "I'm sure there's a generator, right? It'll kick in any second now."

“J-jeez, what is with this? The power's never gone out in this building.. And there's a back up generator that should kick in right away.” Miho licked her lips, a tad nervously. Not only did the anxiousness show in her stance (though Greg couldn't really see that, could he?), it was audible in her voice. She shifted closer to him, gaze darting to the pinprick of light his screen gave off. Somehow, in this elevator, surrounded by mirrors, she felt as though they were in a much larger space! Just the sounds of their voices and breaths seemed to echo oddly, as if they were in a large cave.

“I'm really sorry about this, I don't know what's going on.” CLANK! Clank! Grrrriind. There was a series of noises, loud and abrupt, like a wrench hitting something metallic followed by a screeching grind of gears. The lights flickered back on in full force. Everything seemed normal, as the elevator started to shudder back into life, but Gregory might notice... Out of the corner of his eye, his reflection seeming to flicker and turn toward him.

"Well, is there a backup generator for the backup generator?" Greg seemed oddly all right, at least. His calm might not have been contagious but it could certainly be comforting at a time like this. "Well, uh... At least we're not falling, right? I always figured that's what'd happen... Y'know, if you got stuck in one of these and the power cut." Oh, god, why'd he say that?! A cacophony of horrible metal-on-metal noises followed that, and for a second he thought it was some kind of sick corrupted wish come true thing. "[Aaaah, FUCK!]"

Oh, lights! Whew. The boy had hunched over a bit, like that'd help when they plummeted something like twenty or thirty floors. There was no drop, though, and then the lights were back... Something caught Greg's eye, though, and he turned his head in time to see... Himself.

It wasn't him, though, because it was facing forward with both hands on its hips and a little sneer on its face. "What--" Gregory blinked and then his reflection was normal, staring back with his same bewildered face and in the correct position. "I'm seeing things, ugh." He jammed the '36' button again, not wanting to spend too long in this box of terror.

Miho was standing relatively close to her classmate, now, smiling in her usual cheerful manner – it was laced with a slight undertone of nerves, however. Had she also seen Gregory's reflection flicker? “It, it was probably just a trick of the light. Our eyes adjusting, and everything.” The elevator continued to climb normally, relatively silent again (no horrific sounds of gears grinding, or metal clanking, at least). They finally reached the top floor, and the doors slid smoothly open to reveal a plush carpeted hallway. There didn't seem to be too many doors. “We're right at the end.” She sounded damn revealed to be home, and was damn quick to get out of the elevator.

A large window at the end of the hall revealed a beautiful view of the city (the acadmy was visible!) - unfortunately it was really rather foggy, and pouring so hard that it was all a bit obscured. “There aren't many apartments on this floor, because they're all kind of big, um.. Make sure to take your shoes off when we get in.” She lead the way to the last door in the hall, unlocking it and ushering him in. It was, needless to say, fancy and posh looking. There were a whole lot of windows to show a great view of the city, too!

Suffice it to say that he was quick to leave as well when the doors slid open. Gregory did his best not to scramble out but he definitely got a move on, happy to be on what felt like solid ground again. The view might've been pretty on any other day, but it was mostly obscured today... It made the city look really dreary, if anything. "I'm sure it's, uh... Nicer on a sunny day. So much for the mall, I guess?" Not only was it pouring, the boy really didn't have any desire to ride that elevator back down anytime soon.

He followed Miho, calming down rather quickly now that the apparent danger was gone. The reflection was bugging him, but he could dismiss it for now and think more on it later. "Uh... Oh, yeah. We take shoes off in my house, too. You're sure your mother won't mind..? I would feel weird just... Uh, staying." Gregory stepped in when she opened the door regardless, removing his shoes and then standing off to one side. He was still a little damp, see, and didn't really want to touch anything.

“She won't mind, it'll be okay.” Off her shoes went, and then neatly tucked to the side of the marbled entry way. It, much like the lobby, was done with a shining dark marble that had flecks of white and silver throughout it. Her apartment was really modern and fancy, featuring a white and black colour sceme, with the occasional splash of vibrancy in the form of a red or an orange. It was also noticeably large! The cost of living in Okachi wasn't as pricey as say, Tokyo, but it still wasn't cheap. Miho must have had a wealthy family, to afford this place.

She lead Gregory inside, and right into the living room. “Um, so, this is the sitting room. Further down the hall that way..” She pointed to the left. “Are the bedrooms. Mine, Mom's, and Lee-Senpai's- Oh! Oh, she's staying with me. Cultural exchange program, from Korea. Isn't that cool? She's so cool – aha, in both meanings. I wish she'd warm up a little.” Siiigh, and then she perked back up, clearing her throat. “S-sorry, sorry. Rambling! The kitchen and dining room are up there.” A northward gesture! “There's an infinity pool on the rooftop, if you ever want to come over and swim- do you like swimming- Erf, anyway! This is my house.” Miho tilted away from her guest somewhat, to call out “I'm home..!”

“Welllcome h~oome~.” Out stepped Akane, tall, slender, with dark burgundy-brown hair and a whole lot of leg showing. This woman knew how to dress to impress, and she was certainly doing a good job of it! She had the same beauty mark under her left eye that Miho had, as well – but beyond that, and maybe general face shape, the two didn't seem to share any similarities. “Oh no!” One of her hands, with it's nails fine painted (a vibrant red), rose to her mouth. “G-chan, Mi-chan, you're all wet! This just won't do. Miho, you can go change, but what about our poor guest? You'll have to strip and let us do your laundry.”

Gregory was very impressed, to say the least... His apartment was quite a lot smaller, and quite a lot closer to the ground on top of that. He followed Miho, absently trying to adjust his uniform so that it was too uncomfortable. That was impossible while it was damp, though! Ugh. "Yes, I think we've met. She seemed a little distant..." Coming from the guy who was nigh unapproachable in his own opinion. Then again, he'd somehow secured 'hanging out' and even going home with something like a friend, so...

"Uh... Swim? Hm." He could, but it seemed a little weird when he just barely knew her. Something to keep in mind for the future, though, sure. "Yeah, sure. And, uh, it's nice." The boy nodded and then took another look around... Wait, was she calling for her mother? Greg had just assumed that the woman worked during the day! She was home now? "Uhh--!"

And out came the woman. She looked pretty as ever, in a practiced sort of war, and Gregory bowed his head slightly with a greeting. "Uhh, good morning, Tanaka-san. I know you were expecting me later, but the rain's... Uh, severe." He gestured out one of the windows... Just in time for the woman to suggest that he take his damned clothes off. That said, it wasn't any different from their usual encounters! She just had a good reason for it this time. "Oh... You know, it's no big deal. I can manage..!"

Another apologetic smile goes out to poor Gregory, “Um! I'll be really quick, okay?” Her mom wouldn't try anything really crazy, right? That'd be like, assault. She was a cougar, sure, but she wasn't insane! So Miho scittered away down the hall and to her room. “Don't drip on the carpet, darling! That really wouldn't do!” That left G and Akane, the latter of which who was smiling like a fox. “I'll get you a towel, G-chan. I won't have you dripping all over my carpets until dinner, tsk tsk.”

The dress clad woman turned on her heel and sauntered away, returning moments later with a very fluffy looking and large white towel. “Go to the bathroom, won't you? We'll dry your clothes off and you can wear this until they're ready for you.” And with that, the phone rang! Akane's brows rose, but before she went to answer she quickly gestured Greg in the right direction.

Yeeaaah, Gregory was even less sure that Miho's mother wouldn't just pounce on him and do something horrible and unspeakable. In his head he wanted to believe that she was totally joking when she flirted and wouldn't dare, but there was a rather big and nagging doubt. "Soo-- Uhh, okay." The boy couldn't just say no, very unfortunately, and dripping all over their apartment would be incredibly rude... Probably get him sick, too.

The woman came back with just a towel, of all things, and he looked a little incredulous at the idea. Not even just that she'd be seeing him in a towel alone, it was more that he had to hang around Miho like that and if the other one came home it'd be her, too. They were classmates! "Uhh, this is all you've..." Right, they didn't really have a man in the house. At least Miho's mother wasn't offering to help him with the undressing part, he'd expected that. "All right, sure. I'll--" Ring ring ring. Huh. "I'll just go and do that, really quick..."

Greg tried not to run in fear to the bathroom, and it ended up in more of a brisk walk. He felt weird even undressing behind a locked door in a stranger's house, but it was technically necessary. He emerged several minutes later with just the towel wrapped around him... It was thankfully long, and even a towel-dress was better than simply being naked. Or, in his case, in his underwear. The boy hadn't taken that off because it wasn't particularly wet, and also as insurance if he did happen to drop the stupid towel by accident.

Akane cursed quietly as Gregory emerged from the bathroom, setting the cordless phone down on a counter and letting out a long sigh. “Mi-chan, I have to go out. The bank is calling again, about the cafe. I won't be home 'til late, probably...” Miho stuck her head out of her door, blinking. “Mm, okay! See you when you're home. I'll cook.” The older woman nodded curtly, tugging on a fancy leather jacket that hung against the couch in the living room, and grabbing her matching purse. Her steel-blue eyes gave Gregory a once over, and then she winked, “My, you should come over after school more often. Bye, kids~. Behave~.”

Once the apartment door had clicked closed, Miho emerged from her bedroom. She was out of her soggy school uniform and dressed in a slightly oversized turtle neck stripped sweater, a dark blue skirt, and stockings. “...Do you want, like, a house coat? There's one in the bathroom. I'll dry your laundry.”

That was good news for young Greg, at least. There'd be a lot less eyeballing and suggestive commenting thrown his way, though he still had to be mostly naked in front of one of his classmates... Well, whatever. "Uh, I'm sorry, Tanaka-san. I'd head home if it wasn't pouring, that is..." The boy laughed a little nervously at the woman's suggestion that he visit more, and then she was gone. Whew!

He spun to see Miho after she'd come out of her bedroom, looking her up and down and then offering neither a compliment nor his opinion at all. "I get the feeling it'd be for a woman, so... I think I can, uh, manage in the towel." It fit snugly enough, at any rate. He had another question, actually, for right now! "Is the cafe all right..? I don't, uhhh... Want to pry or anything, but I do work there, so." It really would suck if there were financial problems!

“Oh, ahh.. It's okay! The cafe is fine. It's location issues, or something..” It looked like a subject she didn't really want to talk about, so she changed it with a cheerful smile. “Do you want to play video games or something? I can make us a snack later, too. Um! S-sorry, if I'm boring, by the way.” With that, she trotted along the carpet to set up the playstation to the TV! “I don't know if Senpai is in right now. What kind of snacks do you like, G-san?”

Interesting... But clearly not something she wanted to talk about. He could (and probably would) ask a few of the more veteran employees and see what he could turn up. Greg was just interested! It was put in the back of his mind, much like their trip up the elevator, to be considered later. "Uh, games? Sure, that sounds fun." The boy took a seat on a couch near the television and then set his phone on a nearby table. That thing never left his side, it seemed!

"You're not boring, and uh... Well, I didn't really go over to anyone's house, in America. This is new to me, so." Greg took another look around with that in mind; it really was a lot nicer than his apartment! He'd almost feel embarrassed if Miho ever came over... Not that it'd ever happen. "Snacks? Oh, uh... Jeez, anything. I get a lot of snacks from convenience stores, so..."

Actually, Miho's housemate was home and enjoying the comfort of her room. Seung Mi had headed straight home as soon as the intercom buzzed with the message, wasting no time on staying to gossip with her fellow classmates. It was pointless, rude, and of none of her interest; a teacher jumped, she was deceased, and that was that! The exchange student's thought process was a little harsh, but that was how her mind worked. These things happened. It wasn't out of the ordinary. It may have even been sad, but why waste tears on a person you barely knew?

Seung Mi heard the voices of her schoolmates, but didn't announce her own presence in the apartment. She was far from a social butterfly. Besides, she had yet to write in her journal since school began, and that took precedence over... whatever they were doing. "Already April 9th," she muttered to herself, putting away the notes she was studying prior to the idea of writing, and grabbed a leather-bound book that was presumably her journal.

“Maybe they won't be so noisy.”

“Snacks! Yeah, I like cooking. Mom's not the greatest at it, she doesn't actually cook for the cafe, you know? That used to be Dad's job. She just does the finances and hires and stuff.. Hmm! What do you want to eat? I could make something, or we have a bunch of daifuku mochi filled with red bean paste I made the other day, in the fridge. You can pick a game you want to play, too!” She'd set up the playstation, and was headed toward the kitchen.

Hmmm. Greg stood up off of the couch to go and browse her collection of games... Definitely something he'd be judging her on, but thankfully silently. Well, actually, he'd be judging her brother more than anything! "You've got a lot of the classic RPGs, here..." He thumbed through several titles before pulling out what looked like a fighting game. This'd do, for two players... Older systems like this had so few choices for multi-player games!

"Uhh..!" He had to speak up, while she was in the kitchen. "Anything, really! If you've got leftovers, there's no need to... Uh, y'know, make new stuff!" Gregory popped the CD case open and then dropped it into the Playstation while she was in the kitchen. He took a seat on the couch, controller in hand, and then dropped the other beside him. Assuming she'd want to sit there, at any rate.

“I'll just bring the mochi balls over, they're really good!” She returned moments later, with a container of daifuku mochi . Said container was set down beside them as she climbed onto the couch and sat cross legged. “Aha! I love this game.” It looked like Seung Mi wouldn't be getting any sort of quiet today. “Let's do a versus round? I'm going to kick your butt.” With that said Miho quickly selected her character. “Who's your favorite Tekken character?”

"You unlocked all the secret characters, huh?" Greg hadn't pegged Miho as the fighting game type, actually. Then again, it may have been her brother who had played this... Really, it took a fair amount of time to get them all! Still, it'd make versus mode a lot more fun. He was already on that screen checking out the characters, and the speed with which his friend chose hers suggested that she probably did know what she was doing! "Uhhh..."

Gregory hadn't played this one in a long time, though he had one of the more recent versions at home on his PS3. How different it could be it? "You're kidding, right? Jin is the best, Miho-san." Was that the right-- Yeah, he was pretty sure. The boy locked in his character choice after a moment, choosing Jin of course, and then they were off. "Good luck, huh?" He sounded more lively, so that was good.

“Jin is overpowered.” Both of her brows rose and she shook her head in playful distaste. “He's kind of silly, in three, y'know~.” She'd picked Nina Williams. With a cheerful smile, Miho selected a random arena and they were off. “Good luck, you'll need it!” By the look of things, she really knew how to play this game. Maybe she was the one that unlocked all the secret characters?

The next four rounds were hard fought, with plenty of cheering and and booing from the girl. She was actually pretty damn good at Tekken 3, it seemed! In the end they were tied 2 to 2. “Goodluck, G-chan! You're going to need it!” All this enthusiasm was certainly nice, but it meant that poor Seung Mi, attempting to study down the hall, wasn't getting any silence! Three... two... one... FIGHT!
Ba-blam! Several minutes later, Miho emerged the victor. The controler was carefully set down before she threw her arms up. “Woohoo! My win!”

Greg turned her way with a raised eyebrow. "Overpowered? Well, uh, there's nothing wrong with using the tools that I'm given..." He shook his head and turned back to the screen in time to for the countdown. "I'm the one here playing games all the time, you know..!"

That didn't help him in the actual course of the game, however. Miho was good, a lot better than he expected, and it cost him the first match where he had decided to go easy. That little decision was cast aside after she completely dstroyed him, though, and the next three games were hard-fought! In the end they needed a tiebreaker, and Greg looked awfully concentrated by then. Actually, he hadn't spoken much at all beyond distressed grunts when she'd get a good combo in. It seemed that the boy took his gaming rather seriously.

Even the last match was close, and Greg leaned back with an exasperated gasp when she caught him in a corner and juggled the rest of his health down. "Ghuhhh." The controller was dropped onto his lap and he shook his head. "You're pretty good, Miho-san, that was close." On the plus side, now he could stop focusing on the game and eat for a second! Miho was also too busy celebrating to get any for herself. Gregory leaned down to open the container and took a large bite out of one of the mochi balls.

Unfortunately for Seung Mi, she didn't get the peace she had so hoped for. She sat at her table, pen pressed to a fresh journal page but unmoving, and stared at the door every time a particularly loud noise made it down the hallway. It sounded like Miho and her guest were playing games, if the comments and sound effects were any indication. She sighed, "Perhaps I should go greet Tanaka, after all."

The Korean girl closed her journal and sat her pen atop it. She stood up and made her way to the door, pausing to take a breath before she actually opened it. She wasn't necessarily bothered, but they were being disruptive. Still, she would try not to bring that up first thing -- albeit it would certainly come up. The cons of not lying!

Seung Mi opened the door and emerged into the hall, as Miho was celebrating her win against Gregory. The noise was a lot louder when there wasn't a closed door in the way. She winced, but wore the same uninterested expression she had day-to-day. As she neared closer, she greeted simply, "Hello."

And then stood there.

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