Mahiru Koizumi

[Mahiru Koizumi roleplaying blog for Rule of Hope's Peak] I'm Mahiru Koizumi. It's nice to meet you... I guess. If you've got a decent set of manners, we should get along swimmingly.

[fiery-photographer]

{Fire Fire | flamingdissidence}

[flamingdissidence]

Leon barely batted an eyelid as the door pressed against his shoulder shook with Mahiru’s aggressive blows. He shrugged, running a hand through his carefully mussed hair to re-position a few wefts of flaming red.

"Yeah well sorry doll, but I don’t see how lettin’ ya out is gonna benefit me either. Least this way I can have some fun."

"I’ll make it simple for ya: my week’s been shitty as hell and this? This is real funny so. Y’know. I ain’t all that inclined t’help ya out." 

He yawned, stretching leisurely and leaning his back against the door, slowly sliding down to be sitting on the floor, leaning against the door. He curled his legs up and bridged the gap between them with folded arms, tilting his head sideways and resting it on them. 

“‘sides, I don’t see how helpin’ or not helpin’ makes me any less or more of a man. I’m manly as fuck. I know that. Don’t think I need to open no door to prove it either.”

[fiery-photographer]

"Manly? You're kidding me." Mahiru breathed incredulously. She was angry that this door stood between them-- she felt a strong desire to glare daggers at him. Doll? She was tempted to hit him. If only. She clicked her tongue in frustration and rolled her eyes, giving up on beating the door with her fist. She leaned her back against it and crossed her arms, glaring into the darkness of the closet. "You're acting like a mischievous, bratty little kid. That certainly isn't manly."

She hardly even got a wink of sleep the previous night and now she was probably going to get in trouble for skipping out on her chores. Of course... She could probably report this to Miss Monomi and get him in trouble if he kept her in for much longer. But mentioning that aloud would probably result in him walking away or keeping her in there for longer. 

She sighed loudly, giving the door a light kick with her heel. Funny? What was so funny about this? Any decent person would have just opened the door...

"For all I know, you're just some scrawny guy who's excited to feel powerful for once." She assumed, wondering if mentioning things that could hurt his pride would compel him to open the door... eventually. 

[danceofpoverty-blog]

{ I'm a Blonde, so Excuse Me | fiery-photographer }

[danceofpoverty-blog]

Walking with a light beat to her step, Hiyoko placed herself between Mahiru and the wall, hands behind her back and fingers intertwined as though she were a saving grace. Though one could mistake her own cuteness for politeness; it was quite possibly the only barrier between her and a harsh punishment. Perhaps it was also because, either due to her luck or her wits, she had yet to run into a blue or red aristocrat. 

It seemed as though her comment had caught the girl off-guard. Was she daydreaming or something? It continued to irritate her, how she seemed more interested in the floor than Hiyoko. But she was determined to catch her full attention, one way or another. And yet, she continued to go on and on about being careful, something she must have obviously learned the hard way. It seemed as though Mahiru was holding back, both her tongue and her mind. There was more to her than Hiyoko knew, and when she realized this, she made it a goal to figure her out.

Then, she said something interesting. She didn’t want to see her get hurt? Why would a complete stranger care about her safety? It boggled her mind and, for a moment, the blonde remained silent. The only answer was that she was manipulating her—well, Hiyoko wasn’t about to lose this manipulation war. “Pfbt, if I were you, I’d worry more about getting yourself to bed than me.”

The conversation bored her now. She didn’t want to keep talking about the same things over and over again, especially to some weird stranger she’d just met. Hiyoko noticed a door up ahead and, without warning, quickly ran off towards it, peeking through the keyhole to see what was on the other side. Though there was no need, she’d recognized the door before on her countless late-night walks for a midnight snack. She’d never had someone else with her, however, and she was worried that the girl might rat her out to some of the higher ups. But she eventually came to the conclusion that she wouldn’t; Mahiru seemed too… what was it, protective of her? She could possibly use that to her advantage.

"Hey, you think there’s any leftover candy in the kitchen?" Hiyoko grinned without looking back at the girl, as though she were planning the perfect raid. "If you help me get some, I’ll pay you back with 2% of the shares!"

[fiery-photographer]

She was pretty concerned with getting to bed. But somehow, she felt equally as concerned making sure that this girl didn't wander off into a troublesome situation. Her guilty conscience would nag at her forever if this were the first night this girl got caught. And it'd be her fault if she didn't try to do something. That wasn't something she wanted live with...

A yawn managed to escape her lips-- she tilted her head back a little and held her hand up to cover it as sleepy tears sprung at the corners of her eyes. By the time she wiped at them, she noticed that the tiny blonde had left her side and was peaking in the door of the kitchen. So instead of angling her gaze back down at the floorboards that squeaked and protested beneath her feet, she watched the pigtailed girl carefully. 

At first, she was just silent. Tired. And knowing that somehow, this was more than she could handle. Her shoulders sunk a little, feeling as though all the good advice she'd just spent a few minutes giving out had been tossed aside dismissively. As though the things she had to say weren't important at all. She closed her eyes and took a breath, attempting to prepare herself for the challenge she was going to be faced with. 

"You weren't listening to me earlier when I said that dilly dallying and being up and about past this hour would get us into a lot of trouble, eh?" A little bite in her voice, but it was soft enough to accompany the sigh that followed. She shook her head and clicked her tongue, arms crossing underneath her chest. "This isn't a good idea. Why don't we go to bed... There'll be plenty of time to visit the kitchen and grab some candy in the morning, right?"

Please be rational. Please... Please... But now, looking at the girl's wide set of orangish eyes, she could tell that she was going to be very persistent until she got what she wanted. And of course, Mahiru's guilty conscience wasn't going to let them go their separate ways that easily. 

[fiery-photographer]

{Fire Fire | flamingdissidence}

[flamingdissidence]

Well. Of all things, Leon hadn’t expected to start his day faced with somebody trapped in the closet. Trapped. In. The closet. This was just too good.

Sneering, he sauntered over to the cupboard, leaning one elbow on the handle and idly checking the nails on his other hand. He had been about to say something, some witty remark - until he realized that he could fuck with her far better than that. 

He scrapped all plans for words, and merely heaved an especially heavy sigh. There was no way she wouldn’t hear.

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru cringed at the sound. There was a thunk and she knew then that someone had heard her. But they weren't doing anything... no. Whoever it was, they were leaning against the door and sighing at their own leisure. It was also a guy, just judging by the sound. And it made her blood boil. She was too tired to deal with this so early... It was dark and she felt like the four closet walls were pressing in on her. 

The door shook lightly under the impact of her fists. "Hey! Be a man and open the door, would you?" She managed loudly through her gritted teeth. He was just on the other side of the door, so she didn't want to risk yelling so loudly that she'd wake someone up. "Good grief... I don't see how leaving me in here is going to benefit you?" 

What on earth would he have to gain by leaving her there... if she yelled loud enough, surely they would both get in some kind of trouble for it! Either extra chores added on... or punished in secret for causing a disturbance and waking one of the higher ups. 

Unless there was a red or blue aristocrat on the other side of the door. By that point, the remark she just yelled would've probably already gotten her into some trouble. 

[fiery-photographer]

{Fire Fire | flamingdissidence}

Mahiru was tired. Her workload yesterday-- on top of meeting the talkative little dancer left her with aching shoulders and dark bags under her eyes that stuck out embarrassingly easily against her pale skin. She needed to get to work, though. She had her chores... She had to clean. The hallways were deserted at the moment, so she briskly walked towards the closet. 

It was always dark and a bit confined... The photographer only had to peak her head in for a moment, though, so it wasn't too much of a problem. The door whined in protest as she opened it and she stepped inside, scanning the shelves for a mop and a bucket. 

Only to be distracted when the closet door closed behind her, leaving her in the dark even to the point where she couldn't see her hand in front of her face. Was this someone's idea of a joke? Or did someone just shut it without knowing she was inside? Regardless, a feeling of unease settled over her and she narrowed her eyes.

She tried the knob and pulled on the door, only to find that it was stuck. She gave the door a bang. And then another. And another. Well... this was embarrassing. Her cheeks flared with frustration. "Anyone out there?" She called out, hoping to reach someone's ears. 

[danceofpoverty-blog]

{ I'm a Blonde, so Excuse Me | fiery-photographer }

[danceofpoverty-blog]

With bright eyes looking up and her feet shuffling ahead, HIyoko kept her focus on the girl walking next to her. She seemed…what was it, nervous? Shy? It was in her nature to tease her about it, or try to get her to open up a bit more. The redhead, however, was going out of her way to avoid eye contact with her. She pouted a bit at this, though didn’t give up in trying to get her attention.

Hiyoko had ducked around to her other side, leaning forward in an attempt to take her attention off the floor and on her instead. It wasn’t fun if you were talking to someone who wasn’t looking at you, after all. 

"Hey, y’know, it’s rude to talk to someone without looking at them!" Hiyoko half-scolded, wanting the girl’s attention on her. It wasn’t anything special, though—the blonde wanted attention from anyone and everyone. If she peaked interest in someone else, she expected said person to return the interest. It didn’t seem as though this girl was, and she disliked that.

She introduced herself as Mahiru, and Hiyoko hopped a bit when she finally smiled. “I know, it must be nice meeting me, huh? Wish I could do that.” A slight, almost devilish giggle escaped her lightly parted lips. 

Hiyoko noticed the faintest hint of blush against her pale skin; although it was dark, it was apparent due to the contrast of colors. “If someone’s out of line, just put ‘em in the corner for a bit! That always works for me. Make a scene, y’know? You don’t have to be invisible, you just have to know when it’s safe to be yourself!” 

Of course “be yourself” meant bossing those lower than her around. Though she wasn’t that high on the hierarchy herself, Hiyoko found that at least pretending to be more than she was managed to get a few of the outcast orphans in this place to listen to her orders. Being bossed around wasn’t something Hiyoko would let the higher-ups do, even if they caught her. The idea of being punished crossed her mind a few times, though as long as she acted sweet and innocent around the red aristocrats, she would be fine.

[fiery-photographer]

"Eh?" Mahiru's olive set of eyes went a bit wide and incredulous at being accused of rudeness. She tilted her gaze down at her feet for a moment as she attempted to recover before turning to look at the smaller blonde-- who'd somehow moved around her. She looked over again and rubbed the back of her neck when she realized the girl was now at her other side. "I'm sorry... I didn't intend to be rude. I'm just tired. But that's hardly an excuse." Rudeness was the very trait she seemed to lecture about all the time. She didn't expect to be accused of it right then and there. 

The redhead gave a light sigh at her next comment. "Yeah, sure." She couldn't help being a little sarcastic. This girl was really something, wasn't she? There was something about her, though, that sort of worried Mahiru. She seemed to be the type that'd play with fire, was the main thing. People who didn't know how things worked tended to get it the hardest... she herself had a few painful experiences to recall. Whenever she spoke her mind or outright refused something ridicules, they'd concoct some sort of torture for her. Now she just kept her head down and got by with her chores... did everything she needed to do very calculatedly. 

"Look... if you make a scene around here-- unless you're a red or blue aristocrat-- you're bound to get punished. Tormented, embarrassed..." She mentioned as evenly as she could, despite how much her blood was boiling at the words she was saying. Normally, she'd say the opposite. She'd agree and say that a girl needed to defend herself when the time was right. But here... that didn't quite apply. As much as she hated to sound like she was just a goody-two shoes about rules, she wanted to somehow get it through this girl's head so she wouldn't get herself into too much trouble before she realized just how things worked around there... "I don't want to sound like a broken record... But I tried to 'be myself' and it didn't work out... You just need to be really careful around here. They can be relentless and I don't want to see you getting hurt." 

[danceofpoverty-blog]

{ I'm a Blonde, so Excuse Me | fiery-photographer }

[danceofpoverty-blog]

She furrowed her brows at the thought of walking back to the dorms. Sleep wasn’t something she wanted at the moment, and she was so used to getting what she wanted that the thought of this girl denying her never even crossed her mind. Adjusting to this predicament of hers wasn’t going to be easy, but she’d find a way to adapt. Perhaps there were still some people who were dumb enough to bend to her will.

It was like she was the queen of the playground. Well, she would be soon. For now, she still had to become its princess. And a princess needed loyal servants. With a bit of tweaking, she could possibly transform the girl before her into a servant herself. In order to do so, though, she’d have to play nice—and playing nice was not something Hiyoko was very good at.

"Aww… Sleep sounds so boring though! …But I guess I’ll walk back with you." Hiyoko paused, moving so that she stood next to the girl and possibly a bit closer than she needed to.

"You’re not like the others, huh?" She made a gross face as the thought of those "higher-ups" crossed her mind. "I guess not everybody is a complete and total douche. And those who aren’t are a freak! I mean, did you see that one mute guy? What a weirdo!” Turning towards the dorms, her shoes noisily tapped against the floorboards. If anyone would test the boundaries of this place, it was definitely HIyoko. A part of her wanted someone to come and find them,but this redhead seemed to mean serious business.

"Eh, but you’re not a freak! At least, I hope you aren’t… You’re not lying to me about that, are you? There’s punishment for lying, y’know." Turning back once more, she kept her arms crossed behind her back and said, "You want to know my name, right? I’m Hiyoko Saionji!"

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru wore a somewhat interested expression as the girl accepted her proposal, eyebrows raising just a little. However, the thing that immediately managed to get under her skin was the quick invasion of her space-- she stood a little closer than the average stranger would. That... And the words that were coming out of her mouth as well. Was it her tone? Or the words she was saying altogether? She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, avoiding eye contact as she tiredly attempted to collect her thoughts. Not like the others, eh.

She stared through half lidded eyes at the floor, cheeks turning just a little red as she fought to keep her expression at least mildly neutral. "There are some incredible people here... I just try to go by unnoticed. It's easier that way." She mentioned, if a little bitterly towards the last part. She crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes as she gave a sigh. "As much as some of them need a good smack over the head-- I can't speak out of line anymore." 

She adjusted her tie and moved to walk towards the dorms with the other girl, staring straight ahead. Already tired, something about the little blonde girl beside her made her feel somewhat overwhelmed. She looked back at her when she began speaking once again. 

"Eh? Well, I suppose that would depend on your standards, wouldn't it? I'm just a photographer." She replied evenly, having recovered from her unease earlier. She brushed her fingers lightly against the camera that hung faithfully at her side, bopping against her hip lightly with each step she took. Mahiru dipped her head in acknowledgment at the introduction, finding it in her to at least give a little smile at this. "My name's Mahiru Koizumi. It's... nice to meet you, Hiyoko." 

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

{ Red Shoes and the Honest Girl | fiery-photographer }

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

At the mention of possibly making something from that heavenly book of pictures of food, Akane’s eyes went wide and her mouth began to water. The food in the book looked so good - and the idea of maybe even eating something from it made her hum in excitement and approval.

"Oh, oh, oh!" She exclaimed, practically drooling. "Can we? And by ‘we’ I mean ‘you’ because I can’t read that shit and make heads or tails outta it!" Without waiting for Mahiru’s answer, she hooked her arm with the redhead’s and pulled her toward the kitchen, a bounce in her step as she did so. 

Food!

Wonderful food!

They were going to get something fancy for once! It was exciting! Only she could be that excited about eating something. Hell, she was happy with any kind of food really, but fancy looking food was a whole different ballpark.

[fiery-photographer]

Before she could even open her mouth or utter a single syllable, Akane's arm had linked with hers and she found herself being dragged away. Being a photographer-- lacking the build or poise of an athlete-- she found herself unable to pull away. Akane's mind seemed set. Mahiru's cheeks blushed a color that rivaled the color of her hair and she opened her mouth to protest, holding up the forefinger on her free hand as she was about to say that she never agreed to this...

But then she caught a glimpse of Akane's expression and her heart practically melted for the other girl. She looked so... happy. Excited. Enlivened. It was hard to catch someone this happy in a place like this. And something told Mahiru that she'd feel as though she'd just punted a puppy if she said no to her now.

She sighed. Damn her guilty conscience. "Alright, alright. You don't have to drag me!" She attempted again to create a little space between them, noticing that some people were beginning to stare at them as they made their way towards the dining hall. "I'll see what I can do. I've cooked quite a bit in the past... I'm no professional, but I'm sure I could make something somewhat similar to something in that book."

[danceofpoverty-blog]

{ I'm a Blonde, so Excuse Me | fiery-photographer }

[danceofpoverty-blog]

Hiyoko lowered her arms, a wide grin on her face, although it was probably hard to see due to the little amount of light. Her dirtied kimono flayed to the side with her swinging arms, crossed behind her back as she gave the most innocent smile she could. Sometimes the girl herself didn’t know if she was playing around or not, and other times she knew exactly how to play her cards.

This girl was much taller than her and, with the dim lights, it was difficult to see. However, she could make out just the hint of freckles dotting her cheeks and nose and just how pale her skin was. Rocking on her feet to some inaudible tune, she poised to perfection, as expected of a dancer—her back was curved at the right angle, straight and tall, and her toes were pointed and her balance was perfect. She just couldn’t sit still; she needed to go outside, run around a bit, and stomp on some ants.

"Bwa? You’re not a ghost? Oh, you’ll have to excuse me, your pale skin fooled me!" She pursed her lips, "But the freckles kinda give it away. What kind of ghost has freckles anyways?" Teasing aside, she flattened her feet, causing her to seem even shorter compared to the girl in front of her.

"Anyway, I was just going to go clobber some ants. It won’t hurt anyone—besides the ants, of course! Who cares if some lame red head honcho comes around? They can screw right off for all I care."

The consequences of such words never dawned on her; she assumed she was safe in the dark of night, and quite obviously, this girl must’ve been no higher than blue. If she were to be caught though… well, she wasn’t, right?

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru's expression contorted into one of slight discomfort at the girl's change in demeanor. The grin and her carefree, nonchalant words. She held herself with some admirable poise-- but her words sounded somewhat vile. She pushed some of her hair back behind her ear, squeezing her eyes shut as she took a deep breath. 

She didn't want to be the subject of a joke. She didn't bother responding to the comment regarding her pale complexion-- the curse of being a ginger most had told her-- and sighed in response. The photographer was almost tired enough to let this girl go waltzing into trouble on her own-- to find out the hard way, just like she did. Even still, though, she felt a twinge of guilt for even thinking such a thing. The protective, caring side of her was telling her to convince this girl not to go blindly wandering into the night and straight into the jaws of an unforgiving monster. Being denied meals, forced to do extra chores… and as far as the aristocracy went, tormented for the sick enjoyment and curiosity of people who felt like they were entitled to something. 

"I'm just saying… you need to be cautious. No one is going to just 'screw off' if they catch you." Her hands found her hips again-- a gesture that tended to make her feel more confident as she spoke. "Trust me. It'd be better if you just walked back with me to the dorms." 

Then again, it seemed like it wouldn't be easy to convince this girl to change her mind. Despite her small stature, she held herself with a certain amount of superiority. Mahiru adjusted her tie, fiddling to disguise her slight nervousness over the ordeal. She was already tired as it was... and she really didn't want this girl to get into any trouble. 

"In the end, it's your choice. You can do what you want to do. Honestly, I'm just looking out for your wellbeing here." 

[danceofpoverty-blog]

{ I'm a Blonde, so Excuse Me | fiery-photographer }

Perhaps wandering about the halls at such an unseemly hour wasn’t the best idea, but the dancer was too engrossed in skipping about the dark hallways to notice just how creepy the atmosphere truly was. Was that a good thing or a bad thing? Nevertheless, she continued her seamless dancing down the hallway…despite the crawling of shadows on walls with the flickering of lights and the dim moonlight just beginning to peak in through the windows with a mix of sunlight; it was at that hour where most of the good little girls and boys were preparing to go to bed. Hiyoko, however, had other plans. She was just too full of energy to go to bed. How lame was it that she had such an early bed time… didn’t having no parents mean no rules?

She found life in the orphanage cruelly boring. The only somewhat interesting part of the day was when she could go outside and step on the sunburst leaves, crushing red ants along with them. Though it was hardly a pastime, it did make the passing days fly by more quickly. Sometimes, she found herself dancing outside in the back, where no one could see or hear her. Even then, she still preferred to have a mirror in front of her when dancing. Because of her vanity? Or perhaps to make sure she doesn’t screw something up? Dancing was the only connection she still had to her mother, after all.

Either way, she found herself nearing towards the main doors, and that was when she realized the darkness settling in. Her small dancing feet stopped on the floorboards when she heard another set of footsteps, causing her to stop dead in her tracks and turn around. Though it was difficult to see, squinting offered a somewhat better view, if one could even call it that. Sputtering as the figure continued to approach, she brought her arms up in defense and screamed:

"Gyaah! A ghost! Go on, go back to the underworld! Shoo!"

[fiery-photographer]

Sleeping anywhere other than the dorms was prohibited. Mahiru was never a rule breaker, really, but after having worked her fingers to the bone earlier-- she found herself fast asleep at a table in the empty dining hall after finishing with the dishes. It was unintentional, of course, and thankfully she hadn't been caught. But now she was out past the time everyone needed to be in their rooms, so there was still a chance that she could get into trouble. The last thing she needed were more penalties and chores. So she padded through the halls, each step calculatedly quiet. 

Just as she was about to think she would be okay, she heard footsteps. Okay... That didn't mean she'd get in trouble, so long as it wasn't someone who was going to rat her out. But approaching closer, the figure approaching gave a scream and yelled. Panicked, the redhead flinched and took a step back. When she registered the words and regained some of her confidence, she took a step forward so she was close enough to see the girl in front of her, settling her hands on her hips as her eyes narrowed slightly. 

"Hey, get ahold of yourself! I'm not a ghost!" She whispered just as loudly as a whisper could be. Her shoulders sunk defeatedly and she checked behind her, biting her lower lip. There were no reacting sounds... No doors opening, no footsteps yet. It seemed that they were in the clear... for right now. 

She sighed with relief, turning to face the smaller girl in front of her. The photographer's eyes softened just slightly at the sight of the girl and she wrapped her arms around herself as though for comfort. "Look, I'm sorry if I frightened you. But we have to be careful or we're both going to get in trouble." She clicked her tongue distastefully. "They can be pretty harsh with their punishments around here." 

[fiery-photographer]

{Encounters} - Open

[fortunespendulum]

Truth be told, Komaeda was more than a bit surprised by the extent of Mahiru’s reply and stalled into silence as they continued on through the halls. It was simple fact that the subject of family would be a touchy one within Hope’s Peak’s walls, as it was, well, an orphanage. By association any memories of life before a child came to live there were rarely ever kindled back into thought as they usually brought nothing but pain and bitterness trailing close behind. He himself didn’t… prefer reminiscing over other pastimes. 

Because of this the lanky male could be seen widening his celadon eyes a touch, eyebrows lifting, as she continued but it withered into a terse smile as quickly as the musings were dropped. "It does explain some things, though memories are as important as the one who remembers them says they are." A light chuckle.

"A favorite season? Hmm," Komaeda’s words stilled again as he mulled over the abrupt question, lifting one arm to press his thumb and forefinger to his chin and flicking eyes downwards in thought. "Winter is nice, and I’m truly hoping for some snow, but then again the more severe temperatures get old after not too long don’t they."

"…spring. Yes I think that would be the best answer. Do you have a favorite?"

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru tilted her head to look at him, glad that he didn’t try to pry any further into her thoughts on the matter. She chewed on the inside of her cheek a little. Sometimes she did want to talk about her memories-- but although some were unfortunate, there were happier ones that she was worried she would forget if she was too fearful to try recalling them. Although she was sure that the people around her would understand what she was going through, she wasn’t quite sure if they had the same opinions regarding talking about such things. And even then, memories were something to discuss with someone you trusted entirely. Or at least, that’s something she believed. 

She smiled a little at his answer. “Spring’s nice.” Spring tended to symbolize rebirth and life, after all. And there were lots of photographs to take-- the weather wasn’t all too cold. When she was asked the same question, though, she didn’t hesitate with her answer. “I would say summer.” 

It might’ve been a sort of common answer-- school usually wasn’t in session and the weather was always nice enough to go and explore outside. Mahiru tended to appreciate every season for the change in scenery, but she was sure summer would always be her favorite. She could travel by herself-- and she didn’t have to deal with some of the nastier girls at school. “I like all of the seasons, really. But I used to travel a lot in the summer.” 

[koizumi-oneechan-deactivated201]

Internet died last night… so I finished my Rule of Rose inspired Mahiru. uvu

[fiery-photographer]

{Encounters} - Open

[fortunespendulum]

Komaeda’s responding smile was a tad cheeky as he moved to trail after Mahiru with the destination of the garden in mind. No he most likely wouldn’t be requesting anything strange in the near future, but it was difficult to let an opportunity for teasing to slip by sometimes. He also wasn’t one to be terribly shy about that sort of thing either. All in good fun, yes? "Of course."

"Yes I’m perfectly fine with staying out of view throughout any photoshoots. Never really been one for posing in general so might as well make it more convenient for everyone," His musings were light but fairly sure in his position on the matter. Camera shy? Maybe, or more just reluctant to draw the focus to himself. There was a time and place to want the opposite but for now he did rather staying, at least consciously, out of the camera’s eye in favor of looking about the garden.

"Winter is definitely on its way but for our purposes less of a chill would be nice. I’m sort of looking forward to the change in seasons but, rather not have to change course for some gloves."

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru blinked, casting a glance at him. "I'm not too keen on posing myself." She ran a hand through her hair and grinned. "That's why I'm in the one behind the camera, I guess. But growing up in my household, it was difficult not to get around without being caught in a photograph at some point." 

"My mum was a professional photographer, you know." Her smile faltered a little as she recalled it. Her mum took plenty of photographs of her when she was little-- before she began to work overseas. She hooked her hands in front of her thoughtfully, watching her shoes for a moment before she looked up once more. Didn't want to go running into any walls in front of Komaeda, after all. "But... that's not really important. Or not really, I mean..." 

Time to talk about the weather. Cover up that little stumble and move on. "Yeah, I'm looking forward to seeing the leaves change color." She mentioned, tipping her head to the side a little. Some of them were taking an orangish tint, but they weren't all quite in that state yet. "Hey, Komaeda. If you had to pick a favorite season, what would it be?" 

Might as well make a little small talk before they reached the gardens. Parents could be a poisonous, dangerous topic to mess with around a place like this, after all. Mahiru saw no harm in bringing up her mum... her father was a different story, of course. But bringing them up still gave her somewhat unpleasant thoughts. 

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

{ Red Shoes and the Honest Girl | fiery-photographer }

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

Success! Akane knew she could count on Mahiru to help her with the obviously important book situation. She stopped waving the book in the photographer’s face and sighed, tilting her head slightly and pushing the book towards the redhead. Finally, she could find out the book was and, more importantly, what the pictures were of and why they never got to eat things like that.

"I can’t understand a word of this." She said, lifting her free hand and tugging a bit at her own earlobe, a habit she had whenever she was thinking, but too lazy to think very hard. Which was almost all the time according to their teachers and other residents. Even she, if she put her mind to it, could have figured out (with a lot of work) that it was a cookbook, but why would she waste precious time and effort when someone could read it with ease?

She clasped her hands behind her back and grinned. “Can you read any of it? What kinda food is that? Why don’t we get to eat anything like that?” She asked, sounding horribly disappointed.

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru blinked once, accepting the book from the other girl. She examined the cover for a moment before holding it in both of her hands, leafing through it and gazing at the pages thoughtfully. It clicked in her head almost as soon as she saw a decorated cake on one page that Akane was interested in the food the book was depicting. It made sense... Akane being Akane. 

"Ah, I see..." The photographed foods did look rather nice... it had been a while since she had anything too nice herself. Either she ate whatever was leftover or she would make something quick enough to suffice whenever she was too busy with chores to even bother sparing a moment to eat a meal. That and they hardly ever had any fancy ingredients to make cute or extravagant things. 

She held the book out, almost like a teacher would at story time, and brushed the tip of her forefinger across the page. "This is a cookbook. It basically gives you a list of ingredients to make the foods on the pages, and then goes on to describe how you would go about making them." 

She smiled lightly. "And the pictures show what the finished result should look like." She pressed her lips together, thinking of the final question. Why couldn't they have anything like that. "... We probably don't have all of the ingredients-- some of them are kind of expensive. Plus, these foods were probably made by professionals-- the photographs might make them look better than they really are. We might have enough to make something in this book, though." 

[vusagiusami]

fiery-photographer

"Good mowning Mahiwu, are you hungwy? I was just on my way to the kitchen, I bought pancake and waffle mix, along with some fwesh eggs from the mawket! If you want I can make you some bweakfast, sweetheawt."

[fiery-photographer]

"Hm?" Mahiru blinked a few times, rubbing at her sleepy eyes for a moment. She probably would have fallen asleep Usami hadn't acknowledged her. An unrestful sleep was to blame for that, though. Her cheeks colored a little naturally at the mention of food. "A-ah, thank you Miss Usami." She bowed her head. 

She tilted her gaze up to meet hers', a little sheepish. "I wouldn't mind giving you a hand, if you need any help." 

[fiery-photographer]

{Encounters} - Open

[fortunespendulum]

"I’m glad to hear. And I couldn’t come up with anything favor-wise at the moment but I certainly would, count on it."

Though Mahiru did come across as somewhat prickly during most occasions it was safe to say that Komaeda could enjoy the spirited girl’s company. It was just nice to have a more lively conversation when most others slunk about with a sort of quiet distrustfulness that permeated the orphanage. Aside from a few tight knit groups or pairs that clung to each other for support in the stressful environment most children preferred to keep their distance from any company. It could get quite boring when no one spared a single word you said suspicion like it was sure to bite them like a rabid dog.

"…oh no that’s quite alright. I’m sure just the garden would make for better photos."

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru gave a business like sort of nod, hands finding her hips. "Within reason, of course." She mentioned, raising her eyebrows. "As long as it's nothing ridicules, I would be more than happy to return the favor." Just because she felt a little more at ease around Komaeda, that still didn't give her any reason to completely let her guard down. She took a moment to give the dining hall another considerate look, just to see that she hadn't missed anything, and then began to move towards the door with a gesture for him to follow her. 

She hummed, tipping her head to the side. "You sure?" She shrugged after a moment. She didn't mind too much... and that didn't mean she couldn't sneak in a picture or two when he wasn't paying attention. (She had a tendency to do that anyways.) Photos tended to hold a certain amount of charm when the subject was lost in thought and unaware that their picture was being taken. "Well, if you insist then." 

She glanced towards the windows as they walked, crossing her arms over her chest. "Hm... It seems like the sun is out today, that's good." She threaded her fingers together, aching just a bit from her chores earlier. They were a little cold too. "I wonder if it's going to be cold out today. It's hard to tell, this time of year." 

[fiery-photographer]

{Encounters} - Open

[fortunespendulum]

Komaeda blinked silently in another display of faint surprise at the request before it settled within his mind to make much more sense. It was a bit of a common trend for most of the children to… avoid some of the higher placed inhabitants of the orphanage’s hierarchy, for ample reason. Not every encounter with the red or blue aristocrats was doomed to be a miserable experience from the start but at the mentioning of one aristocrat in particular the corner of the male’s lips twitched upwards in a nervous smile. The garden especially was quite the danger zone if you wanted to steer clear of them.

"I see no reason to, haven’t been outdoors much myself recently and it is much better to, ah, do that sort of thing with company," Bring along a friend and a potential tormentor usually became unmotivated to even try. He himself hadn’t had all too much trouble past his first year or so in the orphanage but the threat and tales of others still cast a sort of shadow. "And I thought I’d heard about your photography. It would be very nice to see."

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru nodded, pleased that he saw eye to eye with her on the matter. As much as she hated asking for help... or even going out to take pictures with someone else tagging along to begin with, it was always for the better to have someone there. She usually worked alone and did most things independently until now, to say the least. He didn't seem to be mocking her for wanting company, he seemed understanding. Mahiru had always found Komaeda and maybe Hinata as the only two of the guys she could deem at least somewhat trustworthy in this place. They had a slight... air of normality to them that made her feel a little less like an outsider. 

"I appreciate it. If I can do anything to return the favor, just see to it that you let me know. Understood?" 

She smiled slightly with a tinge of pride at the fact that he'd heard of her photography. "I'm no professional, but sure." She held her camera, fingers just about tingling with anticipation. It'd been too long since she dared go outside to snap photos, so this was definitely a nice treat. "I usually don't like taking pictures of men, but I could make an exception for you today if you'd like to pose for a few." 

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

{ Red Shoes and the Honest Girl | fiery-photographer }

Once upon a time, there was a little girl with red shoes

She called herself a prince and a knight and many brave things

The honest girl did not care much for little red shoes’s lies

"Lying will get you hung" the honest girl said

Little red shoes continued telling her little white lies

[theshortfusedprincess-blog]

"Oi! Mahi-mahi!" Akane yelled from across the room, one hand cupped around her mouth and the other waving at the redhead.

It was rare for Akane to actively seek the photographer out, as she usually tended to avoid the girl since she didn’t care much for Mahiru’s attitude half the time. So why was she looking for her now? Simple. She had discovered, during her search for a good napping spot in the library, a book fill of colorful photos of food and strange things she had never seen before.

A recipe book was more likely what it was, but Akane was never really good at reading. (Actually, she was terrible at it and couldn’t even read her own name half the time.) She wasn’t really sure what the book was about, but she knew that pictures of that nature were usually of interest to Mahiru. And if anyone could tell her what the pictures were of, then it would be her. Or, well, anyone that could read.

But, alas, she hadn’t run into anyone else. So, Mahiru would have to do.

She waved the book frantically, loosening the binding as she did so before running at the red head and skidding to a stop in front of her. “‘Ey! You’re good with pictures an’ stuff, right? I need your help with something!” She exclaimed.

[fiery-photographer]

Mahiru almost jumped. She wasn't one to lose her composure at all, or to trip over her own feet... But she certainly wasn't expecting Akane of all people to rush up to her. The little dancer was usually the only one who specifically sought her out on certain occasions, so it was definitely unexpected for her to be approached by the brunette. 

She sighed lightly at the nickname she had grown accustomed to answering. Mahi-mahi... It was... close enough to her name and repeating her introduction over eight times hadn't quite done the trick yet, so she just tended to let it go without correction now. She watched the other girl waving and skidding to a stop in front of her-- Mahiru was so close to stepping into her that they were nearly nose to nose. She took a small step back, settling a hand on her chest to help relax herself. 

"You don't need to yell, you know." Mahiru's voice was tactful and serious, but it was soft enough so it didn't sound much too harsh. She blinked once, olive eyes observing the book she waved around-- right now, it looked like a fast blur of color moving in front of her face. But after a moment, she recognized the object as a book. "Hm? What do you have there?"

She paused at being asked for help, a tiny smile managing to find her features. If there was anything she liked, it was being given the opportunity to do something useful or helpful for someone else. That and if pictures were involved, she was definitely interested. "Alright, then." She tipped her head to the side, "What do you need my help with, Akane?"