Thread: Playing With Fire

Aria was upset, distraught, angry, she wasn't even sure what exactly she was feeling other than desperate. Desperate to get out. It had been one week since she slipped up, six days since everyone in the school found out she had magic, five since she was expelled on account of her old school priding itself on being free of freaks like her, two since she'd had all her files transferred to this new school, and today she'd found out that Oops! Didn't we tell you? This school that she was being forced to go to was actually a boarding school, or more accurately a prison. Same purpose, anyway, keeping those considered 'dangerous' safely locked away from the rest of the population. True, it was a bit prettier than most prison's she'd seen, but the food was just as awful as she'd imagine it would be in an official prison. Soon she'd find out if the beds were as hard as you'd expect from prison, too.

She'd barely even had classes that day, they were too busy touring her around so she would know where she could and couldn't go, and talking up how this was the best non-private school for 'gifted' people such as herself in the state. Like the competition for that title was so cutthroat. She did her best not to look like she was already trying to search out any possible escape, although so far she was out of luck, which really just reinforced her belief that this was just another kind of prison. After all, what boarding school had doors and glass reinforced so heavily? You couldn't even open the windows more than a tiny crack, just enough to keep everyone from suffocating. They'd finally abandoned her with her textbooks and her schedule right outside her last class with barely enough time for her to get inside and figure out where she should be sitting before the bell went off.

When the last bell of the day went off to tell everyone they were 'free' she'd practically ran out to the only sort of outdoor area she'd even seen within grounds, a sort of courtyard that was all concrete with one sad tree and a tiny bit of grass in the middle, just so she could feel like the walls weren't closing in on her. Not that this was much better, with the school building still surrounding her, and even their air was caged in, some sort of invisible fence up and surrounding the whole thing to keep absolutely everyone and everything that they'd decided was supposed to be inside on the grounds. She was pretty sure she was dying. No, scratch that. She knew she was dying. There was no way she was gonna survive this place.

Since a few days ago or so, there had been frantic talk of a new girl. Then again, there was always dumb gossip in his school; bored kids tended to make shit up all the time. It wasn't a surprise then when Kaimu was shocked to find there actually was a new arrival, sitting in the corner of his last class, looking like she'd stepped right out of a doll factory.

She looked more than lost, but no one reached out to help the poor thing. Of course, he wouldn't either. People like them knew how to take care of themselves. She did too, he hoped. Still, he couldn't help but look her up and down, size her up. And everytime, he came up with the same result: small. The girl wasn't short or anything—well, shorter than anyone else he talked to—but her petite frame, innocent face, 'small' was all he could think about her. She was small. And lost. The kid understandably confused with the grown up world she was in.

The last bell sounded. The teachers were as eager as anyone else to leave the confines of the small classroom. As usual, there was a stampede of sorts to get out the door. Kaimu Kujyou strolled out into the courtyard (after fighting his way out like everyone else) and glanced around at his domain. It seemed...usual. The only difference was the scared redhead fidgeting in the middle of it. He wasn't usually the 'nice' type, but he couldn't stand by and watch a kid suffer; he had a soft spot for small things. "Do you need any help?" He asked as he walked up, flashing a friendly 'smile' to avoid scaring her off. "You seem lost."

Oh no. Aria looked over at the source of the voice, then up to actually see his face. It wasn't like he was that tall, at least not compared to most of the people she knew, but he definitely had about a head on her. And seemed generally scowly. His face had softened slightly- Could you really call that softened? -with his question, but he was still incredibly intimidating. The fact that he looked like he could probably break her in half- not that hard of a task -wasn't helping.

She still hadn't answered him. The beginning of an embarassed flush stole into her face, causing her to drop her vision again. "I- Uh. I-I'm fine." Okay, that was an obvious lie and he probably wasn't an idiot. "I mean. I'm just- I'm fine. It's fine. Everything's fine. Sorry." She glanced back up and tried her best for a smile, it would help shift her expression from 'confused and scared' and he'd hopefully leave her alone.

Kaimu raised an eyebrow at the slight blush that was, pretty obviously, creeping onto the girl's face. He bit down on his lower lip, quickly trying to figure out if that was a 'cute guy' blush, or a 'scary guy' blush, or a 'I'm a redhead, this is my skin' blush. "...Fine? Uh, I guess, if you say so. But I could just show you around real quick. As in, to the dorms, so you don't spend all day out here. It's cold, right?"

He exhaled slowly, the breath barely condensing in front of his face to prove his point. The tall male glanced away from the girl for a second, looking over the other students. Maybe it was a good thing that they were too heartless to help her, she didn't seem too interested in accepting any, anyways. A bit snobby of her, but what was to be expected of someone that had lived on the outside? She probably thought she was better than them. And by all of society's standards, she was. He felt a tinge of jealousy at the idea of enjoying all the new foods, technologies, the thought of freedom. Still, she was here now. Just proved it was inevitable. He gave her a slight smirk as a sort of inside acknowledgement that they were in the same boat.

"Look, I'm just trying to help. If you don't want it, that's alright, I guess. Just uh, try not to die on your first day. I'm Kaimu. Welcome, I guess. Your name?"

Oh, no, he was even more worried now. As far as Aria could tell, her plan had backfired, considering he was now offering to show her around campus. "It's really not that cold- I mean. It's- it's chilly, but-" Just say you'd rather be outside maybe? Or just accept his help. "I. I'm-" Fine? That worked really well last time. A moment's hesitation to try and sort her thoughts out so that she'd stop stammering so much, before finally settling on, "I'm kinda chilly. Kinda. But I- I don't really want to be inside right now." Was that so hard?

Another pause to sort the rest of her thoughts before she continued. "I really am fine, it's just all a bit..." She gestured absently, trying to pick the right word. "Much? ... Yeah, it- it's a bit much. But. Th-thanks?" She shook her head, finally looking back up to somewhere near his face. "I- I'm Aria."

Kaimu nodded absentmindedly as the girl echoed her earlier sentiment: no, thanks, I'm fine. She was obviously less than fine - as pretty as she was - with her frightened face and confused movements. He hadn't taken the quiet newcomer for someone with lots of stubborn pride hidden under her shyness, but why else refuse help? Help she definitely needed. Still, he had promised to leave her alone if she didn't want the assistance, and he'd do just that.

"Alright. No problem. Just...it gets colder in the evenings, so don't stay out for ages. Anyone'll show you to the girls' dorms. Oh! And they serve breakfast at six until eight, but they'll still hand you somethin' at nine. Oh! And probably best to just not tell anyone what you can do. If anyone asks they're not good news."

Aria nodded slowly as he rattled off information at her, although at 'don't tell anyone what you can do' her lips twitched into something resembling a genuine smile. "Somehow, I- I doubt that's going to be a- a problem. B-but. Th-thanks. For the information." And? "And for- uh- f-for.... caring. Enough to. Y-you know. T-talk. To me."

Kaimu smiled back without a second thought, mostly because her face lit up with the sweet expression and well, he was a teenage boy. Eventually, he actually registered what she said, and gave a nod as acknowledgment. "Well, now you're making me curious," he looked her up and down, trying to imagine a fitting power for her petite, soft looks. Something earthy, nature related? No, she doesn't have the hippie vibe the rest of 'em do. Maybe she had a violent power she hid, he'd known girls like that before; it was always an advantage to look weaker than you were, after all.

"But it might be a bit hypocritical of me to ask now. I can't go back on my own advice. Whatever it is, I hope it serves you well, here. Fights can be a bit inevitable. Just take care of yourself, though. Really, don't stay out too late." He leaned in slightly, something hard to do with the height difference, and lowered his voice. "The people in the courtyard after hours aren't nice...and you'll catch a cold."

Aria raised an eyebrow with his added mention of the possibility of catching a cold. She was about fifty percent sure he was lying about that, but she honestly didn't want to call him on that, considering it seemed like he was about to leave and she really needed some alone time outside to process her day. Instead, she gave him her best go at a solemn nod, made somewhat harder by the fact that she was still resisting the urge to point out that she was entirely unlikely to get a cold just by staying out a little bit late. "I- I'll do my best. Uhm. A-and I won't stay out t-too late. I... just need to be out of a- a building. Just f-for a bit."

"Alright. I'm sure you can keep yourself safe," Kaimu wanted desperately to stay and babysit her, but he knew it would do more bad than good. Not only did she seem to be seconds away from leaving if he tried to prolong the conversation, but he was only calling attention to her when maybe, she could have blended in — though, with how soft she seemed, maybe she might as well have a target on her head.

Either way, was it really his problem? No. He had to be back in his room soon, or Keita might make a scene; they looked out for each other, sorta. Or maybe Keita just liked harassing him. A 50-50 chance of either. "See you around," he ducked into the crowd heading to the dorms, shoving his way through with little patience for idlers and slow walkers.

Aria watched him leave, making sure he was gone for real before letting her shoulders drop in a sigh. She lifted her head to stare into the sky for just a moment longer, watching the clouds which were beginning to threaten a drizzle. It wasn't until the first drops started to fall that she actually made her way back to the dorms; as much as she doubted it would happen, she didn't want to risk a cold and get to find out just how uncomfortable the infirmary would be.

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Aria woke up to the screeching of an alarm clock. She groaned, rolling over to look at the glowing numbers on the face reading 6:00 AM. Apparently, her roommate liked getting up early. She buried her head in the pillow, not that it did much to muffle the noise; a moment later the other girl shut the alarm off, plunging the room back into silence. Aria only had a few seconds to cherish the sweet, sweet sound of absolutely nothing before the lights clicked on in the room, earning another groan from Aria and an attempt to bury herself into the bed and block out the light. Too bad the blankets were pretty much garbage. Reluctantly, Aria pulled herself out of the blankets and stared mournfully at the other bed, which seemed to have much more comfortable bedding than hers did. Maybe she was in with the staff, and that's why she had thicker blankets.

Still, she was awake now, and she might as well get ready for her first actual day here. She shoved her blankets off her with a yawn, before sliding out of bed to get ready for the day.

"No, it wasn't like that! She isn't hot, she just seemed sorta lost."
"Uh-huh, sure-"
"Keita! Is it so hard to believe I just wanted to help someone out?"

He cursed under his breath, trying to tune out his brother's obnoxious laughing and teasing. It wasn't hard, since even he had to put considerable effort into understanding Keita's haphazard Romanian most of the time. Kaimu himself preferred to stick to Kansai-ben or English, but when did Keita ever care what he preferred.

After he finished taming his brother's hair, and reminding him "you need a haircut! You look dumb with this length," Kaimu checked his reflection, smoothed his black t-shirt and headed out a couple minutes late for breakfast. The path towards the cafeteria was quiet, besides the biting wind and birds he always heard but never saw. By the time he and Keita were anywhere near the building, he could hear the soft buzz of students fighting over the most desirable foods.

He nudged Keita in first, then stepped in to the cafeteria with a sigh, already checking to see if they were out of his favourite pasta and salad.

Aria, dressed for the day, managed to tame her hair back into a ponytail of sorts, although the standard loose hairs managed to show up within five seconds of her tying it back. She sighed, straightening out her skirt before leaving the room; she'd sent her roommate ahead to see if she actually absorbed any information from yesterday, or if she was going to get hopelessly lost in the campus.

Luckily enough, she managed to locate the cafeteria with only a few wrong turns. She could already hear the other teenagers talking in an indistinct hum inside the hall, which did absolutely nothing to make her feel like she should actually go inside. But she managed to get this far, so she might as well actually get something to eat. After all, she didn't want her sacrifice of waking up at an insane and unreasonable hour to be for nothing. With a sigh, she walked inside the building, fingers already twisting slightly in the hem of her cardigan.

A couple shoves and near fights (prevented only by teacher interference) later, Kaimu managed to get the last of the only decent food on the menu. If they allowed them to go out, he could've gotten better ingredients and made his own breakfast, but as it was, he was stuck dealing with the inconsistent recipes they served.

Today, at least, the pasta seemed not to taste like cardboard - or maybe that was because of focusing on the food, he had already managed to single out a certain someone in the crowd and stare her down. Keita had already moved off with his usual crowd, preferring to eat outside, so Kaimu was left sitting alone (as usual) in the sterile and sun-free environment he preferred.

Of course, he could invite her to sit with him. But, judging by how their previous conversation ended, he assumed she would rather have her spa- wait, would she even be able to get anything good? With just the excuse he needed, Kaimu headed towards her, already softening his expression as much as he could before he spooked her. "I don't mean to be insistent, I'm sorry, but well. Since it's your first day, and I was assuming you wouldn't want to push your way through the crowd. Unless you do, then, go ahead. But, if not, I can order for you. If you tell me what you want."

Aria had barely stepped inside the building before the crowd started to overwhelm her. She hadn't had to deal with this amount of people in one space in years; Unfortunately, the time away from crowds had done nothing to make her feel more relaxed inside them.

Her attention was quickly drawn away fro the crowd and back to the present when the boy from before- Kaimu? -walked up to her, saying something she only really caught the last bit of. She tilted her head, considering the offer. "I- Uh." Calm down, don't stutter. "I mean. That's... very nice of you. But, uhm, I'm not entirely sure what's good." If anything here is even edible. "So I don't wanna inconvenience you or anything."

Kaimu nodded awkwardly, having expected this but not planned for it. "It's all fairly bland, but you want to stick to something healthy. Wholesome. You need vitamins and enough food to get you through class-" He cut himself off once he realized he was doing it, again. He didn't mean to baby her, especially since she was his age and more than capable of simple tasks like eating, but her soft energy, shyness and big blue eyes that reminded him a lot of his sister - how could he not be worried about her?

'Really.' "I-I recommend the pasta. You can have something sweeter for lunch, it might give you some energy for the last few classes. At dinner, something light, like the fruits, before 8 pm." At this point, he couldn't stop himself, so he hoped she didn't think he was being controlling - 'just, she looks like she could use some help.' He could almost hear Keita snickering in his head. "Be careful, most of the fruits are spoiled or near it, so let the cooks know that you'll cause a scene if they give you bad food. You don't have to actually cause a scene, but, it's a good threat."

Aria considered this, tilting her head to the side. "Uh. I guess pasta sounds fine? If you're really okay with going to get me something; I mean, I can do it myself." he already looked kind of.... nervous, almost, about talking to her again; she didn't want to put any more stress on him. Not after he'd tried to help her out last night, and she'd rejected it completely. Now that she was thinking about it, that might even be why he was kind of embarrassed now, since yesterday she told him to go away and today he was sticking his neck out again. Maybe she should accept his help so he didn't think she hated him? But it was rude to make him go get her food... Hey, you know what else is rude? Staring at him as you have a mental debate as to what's ruder.

Aria shook herself out of her head, shifting her eyes to scan the crowd. That's really what made up her mind. "If it's really alright with you, I- I'd like it if you could get my food. I- Sorry. You don't have to. Sorry."

"No, it's fine. I'll be back, stay here," Kaimu gestured to his table, then ducked into the crowd again, only to get himself something possibly edible after stupidly offering her the last pasta meal. Luckily, he'd only gotten one bite in to the food, so he could offer her something decently warm and not half-eaten. She deserved better, but his hands were tied by lazy school cooks. The menu was small, so choosing something was a simple choice between a sandwich or questionable stew.

He returned with his (now, her) pasta and a sandwich of some sort, carrying two bottles of sweetened orange juice along with it. "It's not fully natural or anything," somehow, he felt as if it was his responsibility to apologize for the little nuances of life when the government wasn't happy you existed, "but it reminds me of home, personally, so I thought you might like it." With the disclaimer out of the way, he slid the food and drink over to her.

"You don't have to eat with me. Most kids eat breakfast outside." He didn't want to force her into anything, especially since she looked just as terrified as yesterday. "It's better weather out there, anyways. The air conditioner in here smells stale."

When he returned carrying two trays of food and a bunch of apologies for the standard of food, Aria's last bit of hesitation about him melted away. Sure, he wasn't going to be receiving her life story any time soon, but, despite his mostly terrifying face and height, he seemed to be nice enough. "No, it's fine, orange juice is fine. Thank you for bringing me food."

Aria smiled at him, with a slight shrug. "I'm fine with eating in here." Wait, maybe that was his way of trying to send you on your way? "If- Uh- If you're okay with that. With me sitting with you. I can go if you don't, it's fine, I mean you just met me like yesterday so it's- Maybe I should just go. Uhm. Yeah." Still, she hesitated, before trying again, "If you want me to, I'd like to sit with you. If that's fine with you."

"Yeah, you're welcome, but it wasn't a problem, really." He stuttered out, gesturing to the table they were both hovering around. "I'd like it if you sat with me, yeah - if you're okay with that, that is. You don't have to. But I'd like if you did." He shuffled to get comfy in his own uncomfortable chair, then kicked his feet up as he usually did.

Wait - don't do that. It was impolite (and just really counterproductive) to act that insolent in front of Aria, who probably wasn't a big fan of the 'bad boy' act. "Sorry," Kaimu switched to picking at his sandwich to avoid eye contact. "So, how was your sleep? I hope you weren't up all night, but the classes are pretty useless, anyways. It's just basics; the curriculum here is sorta lame and - never mind, it's your first day, doesn't even matter. Did you sleep well?"

Aria slid into the seat across from him, bemused by the way he kicked his feet up onto the table and almost immediately dropped them back down. She took an experimental bite of the pasta, which she quickly decided was firmly entrenched within 'edible' and would likely never get a higher ranking than that.

She considered the question, using his slight bit of rambling to give her a few more minutes to come up with an acceptable answer. "I mean, I slept about as well as I ever do." She shrugged slightly, taking another bite of pasta. "I'll be fine in... a day or so. Probably."