STRENGTH.

Raise your head up high and wear your family name on your shoulders.

[ichijokes-blog]

oh god, sorry for my absence! i just got back last night from my con and i’ve been dead tired lmao. i’ll get to those replies/starters in a bit! 

[ichijokes-blog]

     Where Satonaka is green, Amagi is red; highlighted by the hue that would usually contrast but otherwise fit nicely. How’s he supposed to judge especially with Daisuke’s browns and his blues? It’s unique and yet it fits in a way he doesn’t know because he hardly knows anything about her. Other than being friends with a few of his friends and being the heiress of the Amagi inn, she’s a mystery as far as he knows.

     But that can all change at the drop of the hat if he takes the initiative, he assumes. Making friends of acquaintances was never difficult to him which is highly ironic considering how he can never drag people to the basketball team permanently: hook, line, and sinker. Well, that’s a bitching reserved for another day.

     “Amagi-san!” His voice is somewhat distant as he jogs over to where she stands, not a touch out of breath as he reaches her -- keeping a few steps back to keep the respect of personal space. The basketball star’s lips are in a smile and there’s a twinkle of interest in his blue eyes as he finally decides to beat around the bush and get to the point of why he wanted her attention in the first place.

     “Are you busy? If not, would you want to hang out?”

[gooselullaby]

“Hai! I got dinner for me, Big Bro, and daddy!” There was a sense of pride as she spoke. It wasn’t often that she went out and bought dinner for everyone. Sometimes it was just herself when her dad would call home and not show up, or perhaps on those nights where they simply had left overs. But she made it to JUNES by herself. Bought dinner by herself. And now she was going to go home when she was done talking to Kou.

“So wait…you’re going to go buy food for your basketball?”

[ichijokes-blog]

     “Whoa, for your family?” That’s so nice for her. “Nice.” There’s a sense of respect that nestles itself inside him, draping itself heavily under the small amount of jealousy that plays at the back of his mind.

     But he breaks out into laughter from her question, his other arm reaching to press against his stomach. 

     “Haha, no, not for my basketball -- it’s all for me. Man, but what if balls could eat?” What kind of food would they like?

[ichijokes-blog]

     While he usually carries himself with grace at every crook and turn, it all falls to shambles as he notices the familiar green and yellow jacket of Chie Satonaka. He can hardly ever string together a coherent sentence without a hint of a stutter and he’s always so damned red in the face (it’s embarrassing, especially when people always point it out to him). 

     And today -- of course -- isn’t an exception much to his chagrin.

     “Ch-Chie-san,” he takes a brief pause to suck in a breath and smile almost sheepishly, crossing his arms across his chest in attempt to look more confident than he feels. “What are you doing? Uh... training again?” How cool.

[ichijokes-blog]

     “You aren’t from around here, are you?” His chipper tone twists with curiosity peppered here and there, blue eyes showing intrigue as he gives him a quick glance over. Yep, by the style alone he couldn’t be from around here. But that only leaves one question that will surely lead to more: where’d he come from?

[ichijokes-blog]

man i’m still new but i want to start stuff already. (whispers) anyone want a starter or something?

[gooselullaby]

“Ichijou-san!” How nice was it to see a familiar face at the store! With her basket in tow, she stops to smile up at her Brother’s friend. “I love it here!” Peering around him, she looks for any sign of shopping. Seeing none, she figured he must have just gotten here. Or he could be headed up to the foodcourt to meet someone.

“Are you here to shop too?”

[ichijokes-blog]

     “Somethin’ like that,” he says easily enough, motioning to the basket hooked onto the crease of his arm. Food’s been getting low in the fridge, but luckily he’s been given allowance to stock up a little. As much as he loves Aiya’s, it wouldn’t do to eat there every single day; man, he can feel the judging stares of his family just from the thought of them ever finding out that the ‘Kou-sama’ they know loved to get Hui Guo Rou every chance he got.

     Sheesh.

     “So whatdja got in your basket? Food?”

[ichijokes-blog]

     Little pig-tails and bright brown eyes -- ah, this had to be Narukami’s cute little sister he had the honor of meeting quite a few times. 

     “Dojima-san, right?” His usual smile is affixed on his lips, crossing his arms over his chest. “At Junes again, eh? You must really like it here.” He thinks he remembers hearing someone saying something about that -- her or Narukami, it’s a little fuzzy either way.

[ichijokes-blog]

man i’m still new but i want to start stuff already. (whispers) anyone want a starter or something?

[ichijokes-blog]

[ichijokes-blog]

There’s sweat making a heated trail from the back of his neck down his back, chest heaving from the exertion but he doesn’t stop. His lithe digits grip tighter on the basketball, touching the material of the rubber before it lets it drops to the ground in a bounce. He dribbles and dribbles passively as the sound echoes throughout the empty court, eyes on the hoop as he moves with a start from the center line to the free throw lane.

His heart is in his throat and adrenaline makes a course through his blood as he bends at the knees, jumping up, up, up and throwing the ball across with a graceful flick of the wrist; a harsh breath leaving him from how many times he’s done this. And he watches as the ball sails through the air as his feet hit the ground, holding his breath as it grows closer, closer, sinking into the net with a satisfying ‘swish’ that leaves his heart running faster and faster – much like anytime he does this; always.

Teeth show as his thin lips stretch into a grin, tired yet gratifying laughter puffing from his chest – relieving the fluttering that was once in his stomach.

At least in this court – all alone despite wanting more people to join the team – he can be free. Released from all obligations that tie him down – from all responsibilities that tie him down, stamped with the name ‘Ichijou’ that’s both a blessing and a curse. Here he can be Kou – captain of the basketball team – leader of his passion despite how drearily boring he actually thinks his name is.

[ichijokes-blog]

Kou has a habit of calling everyone by their last names as a way of respect. If he calls you by your first name, then that means he only knows your first name or he trusts you. Seriously. If you’re a good friend of his and he trusts you completely, then he will slowly transition to calling you by your first name.

[ichijokes-blog]

Kou hates not having anything to do. If he has a day away from school, he’ll mostly throw himself into all sort of activities. Hanging out with Daisuke, throwing himself into more tea ceremonies, calling up other friends to chill, going to Aiya’s to eat ramen and chat with other people — he finds himself doing these things if he’s bored. If he can’t find anyone to hang out with, he’ll probably spend his time trying to perfect basketball techniques, dabbling in other sports, doing some homework ahead of time, studying and other stuff.

[ichijokes-blog]

Kou’s pretty experimental and he likes trying new things. He likes getting himself out of his comfort zone and trying things he doesn’t think he’s good at. Actually, he tries to work on things he knows are a weakness so he can perfect them. All sorts of sports have been tried and he’s pretty good at all of them. Flower arrangement, etiquette, formally making tea and playing a flute are things he has perfected for the sake of the Ichijou family. As for weaknesses, most of them are in the area of Arts. Drawing, acting, crafting things and pretty much anything that has to deal with creativity are things he is terrible at, which is why he did so terrible in the play Romeo, Juliet and Hamlet and made Yumi mad. In his defense, he honestly did try his best.

[ichijokes-blog]

Kou constantly panics that his family is always right around the corner. He feels like he had to be the poster child all the time, well, with the exception of school. There, he can be himself. This paranoia ties in to some of the choices he makes and even the way he thinks, choosing to suppress things inside of himself that he knew his family wouldn’t approve of.

[ichijokes-blog]

When Kou is a sleep, he tends to stay very still and doesn’t move very often. Because of how active he is throughout the day, he’s usually out like a log when 10 o’clock comes around. He’s pretty consistent with the time he falls asleep as well.

[ichijokes-blog]

Because he started living himself at a young age, he pretty much took up dishes that his parents have made. Most of what he makes are traditional Japanese meals, but he will only cook when he knows he’ll be home alone and even that’s not very often. He won’t cook if he’s having company over, well, unless if it’s his parents. He’s seriously embarrassed about the type of shit he cooks. It’s a shame since I can see him being a pretty good cook and he puts a lot of effort into it.