dojos and cherry trees

sakura oogami, junior at hope's peak highHR: 320 Dorm: 240, 4th floorroommate: Mondo Oowada

[gummiesbitch]

It wasn’t until now did Hiyoko realize just how much she had sweat in the past few minutes. No matter how strong her muscles had gotten from years of professional dancing, and no matter how dirty she played, there was no doubt in her mind this girl would crush her in an instant. Which was the reason why Hiyoko opted for something other than a physical brawl, and preferably something she actually had a good chance at. Therefore, a dance-off. 

Unfair? Perhaps. She was a Super highschool level dancer, after all! But who cares, as long as she had the advantage. With her heart pounding in her ears and a wicked, but faltering, smirk stretching her face she awaited Sakura’s answer, feeling the weight of every passing second. But out of all the possible responses she could have given, Hiyoko expected this one the least…

“I do not understand what you mean by ‘dance-off,’”

“You…” Her arms dropped to their sides and her spine sank as she stared insultingly slack-jawed at the other girl. “…You don’t know what a dance-off is?… K-.. Kususususu~!“ 

Sakura Oogami’s upbringing was still a complete mystery to Hiyoko, leading her to read into the question more than she should have. “Are you stuuuuu~pid!? Or did all that muscle eat your brain?” The tiny terror allowed herself a step back and raised her arms gracefully, going through the movements of one of her traditional dances as she explained.

“It is the most artful form of competition. Both participants try and out-do one another in talent, poise, and above all, who’s the better dancer!”

“What say you, beefstack~? You still wanna go?”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

So, as Hiyoko moved like a human-faced flamingo adjusting to the gravity of the moon, Sakura made a couple of mental notes.

One, beefstack? She assumed that was a kind of misguided insult. It brought to mind a number of cows balancing delicately atop one another. 

Two, no. Absolutely not. Pigs could fly and Hiyoko could hit puberty and Sakura would still absolutely refuse to agree to any kind of so-called '''''dance-off'''''. It wasn't even to do with the inevitable embarrassment it would bring Sakura, who was sure she would be compared to further kinds of lumbering four-legged animals and called out for her awkwardness and maybe it had a little bit to do with the embarrassment. Only a little bit, though. 

For the most part it was the simple fact that she knew better than to agree to a challenge she could not possibly win. (It was a mite odd thinking that. It had been a very long time since she could not win a fight. Then again, it'd been a very long time since she'd agreed to a fight that didn't involve lots of punching.) Growing up in a dojo, you learn a lot about respect and honor and dignity (and a lot about, well, punching), and some of that means backing down from a fight that you cannot win. 

Which here means not trying to twirl around and look graceful because quite frankly as rude as those hypothetical insults would be they would be kind of accurate. 

Of course. The difficulty lay in actually verbalizing all this. Without. Actually, uh. Verbalizing it. 

Being Sakura was hard. Not like that you dirty piece of shit.

She watched Hiyoko's movement somewhat blankly and cleared her throat. 

"It would do you well not to judge me as stupid," she said first off. "Anyway. Though I feel this would be best settled with a fair fight in some way, I will have to decline your offer. Whatever it is you feel you have won, you have won."

This was far from over you undersized chunk of placental matter. 

[shslgangleader]

dAYUM, GIRL.

Leave the hair out of this. It’s innocent. It’s only crime is being funky fresh.

“Room mate..?”

Whoa, whoa.. Hold the phone. What the hell did she just say? Room mate? He was sharing a room with one he could only assume was a woman. The hell was up with that? Wasn’t there some kind of rule or… Shit. Goddammit. How was this going to work? When he gets back to the room he’s painting a line on the floor. One half of the room for him and one for her. Yep. Shit, they’d need to have bathroom times or something too. 

HOLD THE GODDAMN PHONE.

“Wait. What the hell d’ya mean “sink to my level”, huh?!” 

“Y’got something to say?” Not that he was going to do anything about it because she’s a girl but… 

[ogreamijjj-blog]

It's funky, all right. Funky like Fukawa's laundry at the end of the week. 

Arms firmly crossed, eyebrow neatly arched, Sakura hardly flinched at Mondo's rough words. It's hard to be scared of someone she could probably rip in half with one hand tied behind her back.

(She's good with her mouth, for instance. Wink.)

"I believe I already have said something."

This simple fool.

[gummiesbitch]

Freedom! Sweet succulent freedom in the form of an unclenched hand. Hiyoko immediately retracted a few steps upon release, cradling her wrist gently as if it were a freshly born and bleeding baby bird. A dark sneer crossed her face, but only for a moment as when she looked back up to the now tall and large Sakura Oogami she felt her bunny-print designer underpants become thoroughly soiled.

She had done it, she had pushed the envelope too far and oh god was she in the shit house now. A hard gulp dropped down her throat and exploded in her eardrums as she awaited the final blow. But instead of wiping her existence from this world right here and now, the other girl proposed a fair fight, with fair rules and fair consequences. The room was silent, a result of te commotion they (she)had caused, and suddenly Hiyoko felt very aware of all the eyes on her, waiting to see if she had the guts to take up Sakura’s offer.

“…K..Kususu!” gracefully, as gracefully as one could while trembling like a leaf, Hiyoko flicked her head back and pressed her knuckles to her chin, narrowing her eyes in attempt to mask her extreme anxiety with just being around this woman.

“Kusususu…! So it’s a fair fight you want, i-is it?”

 “Well then…!” 

She inhaled to steady herself before jerking a hand forward, finger outstretched and pointing towards the direction of Sakura’s face. She knew there was no way she could take on this beast in a battle of brawn without sustaining permanent injuries afterwards. But there was no way she would back down either, not in front of the entire student body. She had already made such headway in making her place known around the school, it wasn’t about to crumble down now!

“I challenge you to a dance off!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

The last of Hiyoko's words echoed dramatically in the space of the cafeteria, ringing high in her young voice, funneling into Sakura's ears like well-placed bullets. Or, well, probably poorly-placed bullets, if she was being assassinated, they probably aimed for the temple and hit the ears instead but the point this was not. 

The point was. The point. Was. That in typical Hiyoko fashion she had not outright denied Sakura's outlandish proposition to fight. Sakura had truly hoped she would reject it; she had little interest in facing such a weak opponent, especially one who she was more than likely to accidentally maim. It was just that usually when Sakura so much as looked at another student, they shied away, no matter whether Sakura meant well or meant to pull their heads off their shoulders (this was not often the case). She had assumed that actually intending injury would lead Hiyoko to back away with her tail between her legs, but.

Hiyoko seemed to be fairly synonymous with backfiring plans. 

So the little one had stuck up her chin and pointed a finger and counter-attacked. Which led to where Sakura was now, a mite stunned and a lot confused. She furrowed her eyebrows at Hiyoko's pointer finger. 

As a child, Sakura's daily activities were largely training, training, training,and training -- occasionally with meals and nap times in between. Traditional education was done, for the most part, at home, taught by her father or by herself and cemented with yet more training. Sakura simply did not have the exposure to the common people that most students her age did, and that meant that certain terminology was just completely absent from her vocabulary. 

At least she had been taught to feel no shame about this sort of thing, or she'd be super embarrassed right now, like, dang. 

"I do not understand what you mean by 'dance-off,'" she said finally. She hadn't entirely lost the simmering anger that had risen because of Hiyoko's ladylike antics, but confusion was bubbling to the surface as well.

[shslgangleader]

This Wild Butthead was growing steadily frustrated with this ogre before him. “Think I give a damn?” Classes? Ha! He laughs in the face of your classes. Well. Not really.. He’d go eventually. Get things done… Which would eventually turn into figuring out just what the hell he was gunna do after he graduated. 

But that could wait.

Right now there was the very face of disapproval staring into his very soul. Did his parents even disapprove of his actions like this? Damn. 

You’re starting to make him hella uncomfortable, Sakura. 

“Then lie or somethin’. It’s not your fuckin’ problem so why should you bother with it at all, huh?”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

"Lie?"

Lie?

Lie?

L i e ?  

Preposterous. Unheard of. Absurd. She had half a mind to snap this boy's ugly hair off and cook it for corn on the cob.

"As your roommate, it unfortunately is my problem. As such I am hardly willing to sink to your level and lie to a teacher."

Joke she may not, but sass certainly isn't out of the question.

[gummiesbitch]

One could practically hear the teenybopper’s lungs burst as she wailed even harder. But although it was hard to believe, Hiyoko was a living, breathing human being and like every human, she needed air. For a brief, blissful moment she ceased her screeching and took a moment to wipe away the debris of snot and tears. This was the only reason why she was able to hear Sakura’s words at all.

If you would calm down, you would realize that you are in no danger.

Hiyoko’s only response was an extra-snottily sniffle and another tremble of her lip. She was lying, wasn’t she. This ogre would tear her apart in two seconds flat if no one came to save her and oh what’s this the grip is loosening—

“Uu… Y-You big stupid OAF! You’ll— You’ll— Hic!… Hnn..” Her voice was hoarse from the force of putting so much energy into her previous wailing, which everyone seemed to oh-so-rudely ignore. Probably because no one wanted to go against Sakura Oogami, the walking talking brass knuckles. 

Her eyes flicked from her the other’s face to her own slim wrist trapped in Sakura’s hand. Then down to the mess of spilled food. What a waste of gummies, she planned to eat those. Of course she could go back to get more but the cafeteria workers had been ordered to watch the girl’s candy intake to ensure there was enough for others. “…This is all your fault!” She huffed, and hiccuped one more time before quickly leaning in to take a hard bite into her captor’s hand.

Something she would quickly regret. Eating a lot of gummies and not caring enough to brush your teeth AND clamping down your jaw on a calloused and well-rounded hand isn’t good dental care. So of course Hiyoko jerked her head back and let out another wail of pain, claiming “NOW LOOK WHAT YOU DID!” and “IT HURTS!” and other accusatory things like

“WAAAAAAAAAAH SHE’S STILL KILLING MEEEEEEE!!!!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

She stomped, she wailed, she screamed, she cried, and Sakura blinked owlishly at her and sighed. There was honestly nothing to yell about -- despite her size and obvious strength, she hardly had a reputation for hurting people outside of the wrestling ring. Hiyoko finally simmered down to a sort of quiet, or as close to quiet as Sakura assumed this girl could get, to listen to what Sakura had to say. She was all red-faced and blotchy from the tears and the force of yelling, blood up to the surface of her skin in peachy pinpricks, face all contorted around her exaggerated frown.

You big stupid oaf, she whined, and Sakura hardly blinked because she'd heard much, much worse. Insults to her intelligence were not particularly uncommon. But then Hiyoko hiccuped, a tired cried-out jolt, and Sakura's frown twitched soft because oh no.

That was adorable. Oh no. 

It was still adorable the second sniffly time, but much less so when Hiyoko leaned in and dug her teeth into the meat of Sakura's palm. It didn't exactly hurt, and Hiyoko jumped back in more obvious pain that Sakura had felt, but Sakura still let go of her reflexively, fingers opening into the air. This time when she drew her brows together and pressed her lips thin it was not affectionate.

"You bit me," she said, voice hollow and stunned. "You honestly bit me."

Because seriously, who the hell bites someone if they're out of grade school? It just wasn't fighting fair. It was against every kind of rule. It was enraging.

As tall as she was, Sakura managed to pull herself up taller, straightening out and pushing back her shoulders. Hiyoko looked that much punier in contrast. "I do not make a habit of fighting those who are clearly disadvantaged against me," Sakura said, low but clear, flexing and clenching her fingers at her sides, "but if you truly wish to fight then I am more than willing. But it must be done fairly and according to the rules." 

Not that she expected Hiyoko to win even if she did cheat. Not that she even expected Hiyoko to take her up on this proposition. She would have to be completely unaware of their obvious differences to do such a thing.

Which... made her entirely likely to accept. 

[gummiesbitch]

So wrapped up in her escapades of mini-terrorism Hiyoko didn’t have time to notice that the once still-as-a-statue Sakura had budged from her position. Not until her hand was suddenly enveloped in a rough warmth and jerked forward unexpectedly. Though it was rather light, the mere action caught Hiyoko completely off-guard and she forgot what exactly the weight in her hands was and in a matter of seconds a loud CRASH ripped through the sea of chatter in the room.

Gummies strewed across the floor like a rainbow-colored blood splatter with shards of white porcelain speckled within. A hush fell over the room as students stopped what they were doing and turned their heads in natural curiosity towards the noise. And Hiyoko… Hiyoko just. Stood there. Body askew and leaning forward from her hand’s entrapment, mouth gaping open so wide it might as well have had its own gravitational pull. 

Unless you are offering to help, you might wish to consider closing your mouth.

Was that a threat? Didn’t matter, Hiyoko took it as one. Slowly, as if unsure if she really wanted to see or not, her eyes floated upwards and into the face of what she was certain would be her cause of death, Sakura Oogami. 

…And she screamed. 

She screamed so loudly in that high-pitched whine that nearby students were forced to retreat farther away with their hands to their ears. She screeched, and yelled, and fervently wailed until her face turned puffy and red and snot and tears began to pour down her cheeks. 

“WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH, SHE’S HURTING ME! SHE’S GONNA KILL ME!”

“SOMEONE GET THIS MANIAC AWAY FROM MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

You know how in movies with dinosaurs they always have that scene where the raptor or the rex leans in real close to take a good whiff and then, instead of taking the natural route and biting its prey into chunks, opens its mouth and lets loose this horrible, mind-rending, high pitched screech? Like a falcon was dropped into a trash compactor? Like Wolverine dragged his claws down a chalkboard in hell?

Yeah.

This little girl was a mess in two seconds flat, and Sakura would have been impressed had she been that type of person. Bright red tear tracks, nose running, eyes squeezed shut, the little girl in Sakura's hold had pulled out all the stops. She screamed for help like Sakura had started chewing on her legs instead of just grabbed her hand. Someone was bound to come running soon enough.

And Sakura kind of didn't... care.

Maybe it was a naive hope in the concepts of honesty and justice. Surely anyone who came to interfere would understand that this child was the one in the wrong, and that Sakura was hardly even touching her. Certainly they would understand the strange feeling Sakura was getting that this girl was born from the depths of Hades and had come to earth to bring chaos everywhere she walked. 

Sakura was sweet but she could be kind of dumb sometimes. 

"I am doing no such thing," she said, frown going from hardly-concealed irritation to something almost worried. She knew that this child was hardly worth her time, but -- it's intensely difficult to just ignore someone with a tiny baby face when they were bawling their eyes out. Darn her human instincts. She still had Hiyoko's hand in hers (she was so little that her wrist could fit between Sakura's first finger and thumb with room to spare) but she loosened her grip some. "If you would calm down, you would realize that you are in no danger."

[gummiesbitch]

There’s nothing like a nice compromising situation, is there? No napkins? A big spill? Poor thing. What could possibly make this worse?

Perhaps… one pigtailed imp with a generous amount of gummie bears overflowing her plate laughing her head off at your despair? Check, check, and. 

Check.

Large, haltering snorts punctuated the quiet snickering that shook the girl’s entire body. One could tell she wasn’t even trying to hide it, in fact, Hiyoko had enough gall to step forward and extend her finger to make sure everybody knew just what was so hilarious. 

“Phfffff…! Haha, what the heck are you doing just standing there, you walking land-shark? Was it just so shocking?”

“Are you gonna need therapy? Should I call the school counselor, or would the men in white coats be better for such a big job at hand?” A few rainbow-colored bears spilled from her plate as Hiyoko tipped her head back to continue laughing. There was just something so funny about seeing such a large and overbearing human that, she assumed, ate twigs like her for breakfast. But yet here they were just with a simple spill and just… staring at it. 

Ah, yes, she had been watching from a few meters away ever since the ogre had sat down. Sakura did stand out, just a little. For a split second Hiyoko had wondered whether or not she could manipulate this girl into enlisting as her personal body guard, but there wasn’t an ample opportunity until now. 

“Hey, hey, helloooooo~? Anyone in there?” In a moment of over-confidence she stretched a hand forwards to wave frantically in front of Sakura’s face—or rather, as close as she could get to it. Which was… her abdomen. But hey, close enough.

[ogreamijjj-blog]

While she considered her situation (maybe there would be napkins at another table, or...), there came a spill of high-pitched giggling from ... from somewhere. Sakura couldn't pinpoint it at first; she looked left and right and saw nothing and then finally followed the sound down and down to a point about level with her navel and that's when she saw the girl, a volcanic eruption of blond hair and laughter. There was the kind of cruel smile on her face that only comes from sadistic joy, laughing at others' misfortune. A cute face, a plate full of sweets, an unrestrained scream of joy at Sakura's dilemma...

Open a dictionary within the walls of Hope's Peak High and turn to 'schadenfreude' and you'd get a picture of this little angel.

The little girl started speaking and Sakura practically cringed from the contrast between her tiny beautiful voice and the words it was forming. Walking land-shark? At least she supposed she had never heard that one, before. She watched the perfect darling carefully, waiting for a pause between sentences so that she could perhaps actually defend herself -- but every time that the girl stopped one phrase she went right into another insult. Maybe that was her talent. Super High School Level Rude. 

After another prolonged burst of laughter (during which Sakura simply narrowed her eyes to irritated slits, tensed her hands into fists and reminded herself coolly that it would be hardly fair to hit someone when they were not looking) the tiny sugarlump decided that Sakura was being dumb and so wriggled her hand in the direction of Sakura's face. Her stubby little fingers only reached to about Sakura's ribcage, but it was enough. 

Sakura grabbed her hand right there and gripped it tightly with her thumb pressed hard into Saionji's palm. What a frighteningly small person this girl was -- if she felt like it, Sakura was sure she could lift her off the ground with just this hold. As it was she simply frowned down into the girl's face.

Sakura tugged sharp but gently on the girl's hand to make sure she was paying attention. "Unless you are offering to help, you might wish to consider closing your mouth." 

[ogreamijjj-blog]

…

Some animals are naturally not inclined to be able to form expressions, thanks to the arrangement of muscles on their faces. Sakura Oogami cannot make a face which says ‘girl what the eff are you doin just lying around there I am majorly motherhuggin disapprovin’ but you can rest assured that she has tried.

“Laze around much longer and you will be incontestably tardy.” 

[shslgangleader]

Meanwhile..

Some animals, such as the Wild Mondo, didn’t seem to appreciate being disturbed. A grumble emitted from the male as he lifted himself off the ground. When he turned to Sakura he wore an expression that clearly stated ‘girl why you gotta be all up in my business don’t disapprove a guy for bein’ swaggie’ and he didn’t even need to try.

“Yeah? What the hell’s that gotta do with you, huh? Nothin’. So mind your own damn business.”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Wild Mondo more like Wild ... Butthead. Not that Sakura thought that. Sakura uses bigger words. 

"I was under the impression that most people avoid missing their classes. Apparently, I was wrong."

This is getting into territory which she can express. A furrow of the brow, a frown of the mouth, she wrangled her chiseled face into a clear look of distaste and disapproval. 

Oh, she is disapproving the heck out of you, Mondo.

"My business it may not be, but it cannot be helped if a concerned teacher turns to me with inquiries as to your whereabouts."

[shslgangleader]

Guess who’s skippin’ class today. 

“… Hn.”

I hope you guessed right because if you didn’t you’d get a kick in the face.

[ogreamijjj-blog]

...

Some animals are naturally not inclined to be able to form expressions, thanks to the arrangement of muscles on their faces. Sakura Oogami cannot make a face which says 'girl what the eff are you doin just lying around there I am majorly motherhuggin disapprovin' but you can rest assured that she has tried.

"Laze around much longer and you will be incontestably tardy." 

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Because it is a weekend, she's taking a break from her training, a routine that's already taken hours and hours and has her muscles shaking slightly when she moves. She started back at ungodly-early in the morning, at five or earlier, and it's maybe two or three in the afternoon now, sun starting to flatten out towards the horizon and glaring bright through the school's windows. She's taken refuge from the brightness in the cafeteria, not as full as it is during lunch hours and certainly not as much as it is during weekdays but she's hardly ever accompanied anyway. Eating is one of those things she's associated with being alone. 

Along with, largely, every other thing that she does. 

It's routine, anyway, taking time to relax and drink some protein coffee after a long workout like that, something she's done for years and is hardly likely to stop any time soon, sudden shift that comes with the beginning of the school year be damned. There's still a vague buzz of conversation from other students that she neatly ignores, the lull of gossiping teenagers and conversation from kids who had been raised to acknowledge themselves as special. That is possibly the strangest thing about this school: it's so quietly arrogant, really; even the students who don't carry themselves like they'd been born with silver spoons in their mouths are different from common people. They had all been tagged with the super high school level labels and it fixed everyone to be a bit more imperious. 

She can't really pretend she was exempt. But she is much too exhausted from the long day to be thinking about this sort of thing, so she shoos it from her head and focuses on her drink instead. 

A little too late, apparently. Under the little shakes that result from hours of straining your muscles she loses her grip on the cup and it spills all over the table, a bitter puddle sliding off the edge of the fake wood and dripping into her lap. It's not warm enough anymore to burn her, at least, so she spares a moment to frown in frustration at the spill before she gets up to take a napkin and...

and... 

there are no napkins on this table. 

What is the rule of the universe that dictates that napkins shall always be in abundance except when they are needed. She frowns even deeper. Agh, coffee is going to get on her bag. Is this why people eat in groups. So that maybe one of them will happen to have a napkin on them or something. 

She realizes she's standing in front of a spill and just kind of looking mad at it and that's not helping clean it up at all. Ah. 

[dddonuts-blog]

move in day! [open/intro]

[dddonuts-blog]

Aoi hoped she wasn’t overwhelming Sakura with her words and intentions to hang out with her. It was just really nice to have run into someone with a similar passion to her own! Not a lot of women here, aside from fellow senior Akane Owari, were really focused on strengthening their bodies and competing in such, well, competitive sports!

“That would be enjoyable,”

The swimmer lit up, genuinely glad that Sakura had agreed to work-out with her! Maybe they could become work-out buddies. It was always nice to go on runs with someone else, to work that horrible stair master with someone beside you! 

“Though I should warn you, there are few people who have been able to adequately keep pace with me.” 

Aoi laughed delightedly.

“Good! I like a challenge! Do you prefer to work out in the mornings? If so, I could meet you in the gym around five thirty if you want!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

She was still standing with her bags in hand on the first day, and she hadn't even entered her room yet, and she'd dropped her schedule and met someone and talked to her for more than just a moment and been complimented and treated kindly and they were making plans now and Sakura was coming to the stunning and unexpected conclusion that she was making a friend and she did not know how to move forward with this kind of development and it was in a way rather earth-shaking for her. Asahina was both willing to spend time with Sakura and making the effort to arrange that time and this had really never actually happened before. 

She expressed her shock, naturally, by blinking once. 

Sakura nodded a little stiffly at Asahina's suggestion. "Five thirty," she echoed. It wasn't exactly every day she met someone whose idea of an exercise routine seemed to mirror Sakura's. "That should do nicely."

"However," she went on, glancing down towards the bags Asahina had dropped at her feet. "Perhaps for now we should part ways. I would not wish to make you live out of your luggage for how long I kept you." 

And maybe if she got to her room she could try and reconcile this friendship thing that was spinning around her head. 

"I will meet you in the gym, then." Sakura adjusted her own bags once again so that the handles didn't cut into her palm and shoulder. "And Asahina...

I am glad to have met you."

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Greetings, Ms. Oogami! I hope you're adjusting well! I see you've already made friends with the popular Asahina Aoi! That comes as no surprise. I'm here to announce that you have gained a roommate! Fellow junior, Oowada Mondo will be joining you! He sure is something! Have a nice day!

yeah she's a hottie we cool we cool

"I hope he proves to be a worthwhile roommate. I should hate to room with someone with whom I do not get along..."

[dddonuts-blog]

move in day! [open/intro]

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Dilemma: how does one straighten up further than she already has? It was not that this young lady was intimidating, per se — or at least, not in a way Sakura would consider — rather, it was — or, well —

She was just so terribly nice. And at Sakura’s size and shape and general reputation, she rarely encountered more than a cursory ‘hello’ and a quick escape. Asahina managed to break all those social rules in one fell swoop. 

Sakura turned and reminded herself curtly that the Oogamis neither blink nor blush. 

Ah, right — in the situation that she receives a compliment, the correct reaction is to thank the other party. Of course.

“Thank you,” she said belatedly, looking down towards Asahina’s smiling face, “but perhaps you are exaggerating.”

Sakura did not drop her bags as Asahina did, but shifted them all to one shoulder as she took the schedule (a steep angle from hand to hand, as Asahina was so small, or Sakura so tall). And she distinctly Did Not Think about how downright foolish it was to have dropped her schedule first thing in this school. It was perfectly normal, that was it, she had all her bags and was navigating the halls and surely many students had done the same… She looked it over quickly before addressing Asahina’s questions. 

“Before now, nearly all of my time was occupied by training and formal matches,” she explained, certainly not echoing how her mun was making things up at the drop of a hat. That’d be just irresponsible of her. “Accepting the invitation to such a demanding school as this was thence inopportune. But now I have decided to take some time off for my education.”

Ah, and, of course…

“My name is Sakura Oogami. It is nice to make your acquaintance, Asahina.”

[dddonuts-blog]

Exaggerating? No way! Aoi wouldn’t stretch any kind of truth — especially if it was meant to make someone feel better. She prided herself on her honesty, among other things. When Aoi called this woman, later revealed to be Sakura Oogami, that she had a beautiful body, she meant it!

“I’m not exaggerating at all, I promise!” she chimed, picking up her bags once more as Sakura took the schedule.

“Oh wow! I can believe that! Especially by your fit figure!” Aoi added. “I’m glad you’ve decided to take some time off, though! It’s always important to balance school and your sports of choice! It’s good for your mental health, too, though!”

Aoi was strict with her training, yes, but she also knew how to cut loose and de-stress. She loved having fun, too! As much as she admired Sakura’s obvious strength, she wondered how someone could dedicated their every waking moment to training. She’d have to show Sakura the lighter side of life.

“The name Sakura suits you! It’s great to meet you, too! We’ll have to work out together!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

This Asahina was so much of what Sakura wasn't -- her smile was bright and frequent, lighting up her eyes like spotlights in water; she was small and hummed with energy and she fit in so well in this school environment despite, matched its energetic buzz. She brought to mind a mouse jumping onto an already-spinning wheel. Whereas Sakura -- stiff, stoic, solid --

well, she didn't match. The wild rush of busy places stung at Sakura's skin like needles. At least she could choose to duck her head down and avoid it. 

Unless, apparently, it snuck up right under her and came up with compliments and flattery and how on earth is she meant to respond to that, anyway, those were hardly like declarations of success in a match, or the occasional hushed rumor that she caught the edges of (careful around her, that's the Ogre, she'll tear your arm off, man). They weren't the solemn approving nods that meant good, your training is paying off.

Not exaggerating at all. All right. 

"That would be enjoyable," she allowed herself to say, looking more to Asahina's left than actually at her. "Though I should warn you, there are few people who have been able to adequately keep pace with me." 

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Mun are you ever gonna figure out if she's actually been a student here or is a transfer. Would you get off your butt and do some work for this rp. Holy protein shakes.

[ogreamijjj-blog]

This girl was… frustratingly cute. Hm. Much too thin and weak for an apt training partner.

Sakura nodded once, a detached response to Sonia’s question. 

“I am. But I … do not recognize you. If you are a junior as you suggest you are, then… are you a new student?”

[soniasama]

Ah, Sonia forgot to mention that she was new to the school. That must have been why she was getting curious looks from other students all afternoon. 

“Yes, I am!” she answered, blushing lightly in embarrassment. “My name is Sonia Nevermind and I am princess of a country called Novoselic! This is my first year at a real school, so I am quite excited!”

[ogreamijjj-blog]

...

If you squeezed her she'd probably leak sugar water...

Wait.

"A princess?" 

"In such a case ... I apologize. I have been less than appropriately well-mannered. I am Sakura Oogami."

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Shouldn't she have a roommate.

Ah, well. She can put all her weights on the extra bed.

[dddonuts-blog]

move in day! [open/intro]

[ogreamijjj-blog]

The educational value of Hope’s Peak High was certainly something to look forward to each year — although the looming second period on her schedule frightened her, in a way — but it seemed that the beginning-of-the-year readjustment to Human Beings was always a bit of an obstacle. High school students were simply different than the people she associated with at home (her father, the dojo’s students, a certain young man … ah, nevermind that). They were loud, they were disorganized, they were so gossipy that it always left Sakura with this jolting feeling of not belonging at first. Like she was taking a walk and the ground shifted under her.

But Oogamis knew how not to stutter in the face of new threats. They just adjusted their stance and carried on fighting. 

So Sakura let the rush of conversation wash over her as she carried her well-packed bags — clothing, toiletries, something like two hundred pounds of weights, the basics — down towards room 240. It always just took a few moments to adjust, and she may as well knock out two birds with one stone. 

Until a small and perky voice interrupted her progress towards her room. Sakura straightened up slightly, shifting her luggage in her hands, and turned slightly so as to look over her shoulder.

When one is Sakura’s size, one learns to try and move in ways that are not frightening. Sometimes this means not making eye contact. It has the unfortunate side effect of seeming stand-offish. 

“Oh,” she said. “Have I…?”

She looked down at her full hands, adjusting the handles and straps in her palms, coming to the conclusion that yes, she had. Dropped her schedule. On the first day.

Ah. 

She didn’t even register who it was that had stopped her for how steadily she stared at her bags instead of looking up. How… completely embarrassing. 

“Thank you,” she said stiffly, instead.

[dddonuts-blog]

Aoi smiled pleasantly at the young woman she approached. She found herself very, very impressed with all that she was carrying! She made it look so easy! The swimmer felt like a weenie in comparison! 

“Wow,” she marveled, eyes sparkling. “You’re in such good shape, if you don’t mind me saying! You’re such a beautiful woman!”

That probably sounded really weird, but Aoi could appreciate a lady in top form like this one obviously was. The brunette prided herself on keeping her body healthy and strong. It was amazing to see someone else who, clearly, had that same plan, aside from her swim teammates!

“Sorry if that was out of line or something!” Aoi added with a laugh. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before, though! Are you a new student this year?”

She let her duffle bags fall to the hall’s floor with a soft plop before handing the schedule over to the woman before her. If this girl wasn’t new, Aoi would feel like such an idiot. She had always been fairly popular at Hope’s Peak and felt like she knew a good amount of people — especially those who were there for athletic purposes. 

“I guess I could have checked your schedule, but I didn’t want to be a creep! I’m Asahina Aoi, by the way!”

Maybe she was a senior! If not, that was okay, too. Aoi would be happy to take an underclassmen under her wing! She didn’t look like an underclassman, though, so the swimmer was going to guess senior or junior.

[ogreamijjj-blog]

Dilemma: how does one straighten up further than she already has? It was not that this young lady was intimidating, per se -- or at least, not in a way Sakura would consider -- rather, it was -- or, well --

She was just so terribly nice. And at Sakura's size and shape and general reputation, she rarely encountered more than a cursory 'hello' and a quick escape. Asahina managed to break all those social rules in one fell swoop. 

Sakura turned and reminded herself curtly that the Oogamis neither blink nor blush. 

Ah, right -- in the situation that she receives a compliment, the correct reaction is to thank the other party. Of course.

"Thank you," she said belatedly, looking down towards Asahina's smiling face, "but perhaps you are exaggerating."

Sakura did not drop her bags as Asahina did, but shifted them all to one shoulder as she took the schedule (a steep angle from hand to hand, as Asahina was so small, or Sakura so tall). And she distinctly Did Not Think about how downright foolish it was to have dropped her schedule first thing in this school. It was perfectly normal, that was it, she had all her bags and was navigating the halls and surely many students had done the same... She looked it over quickly before addressing Asahina's questions. 

"Before now, nearly all of my time was occupied by training and formal matches," she explained, certainly not echoing how her mun was making things up at the drop of a hat. That'd be just irresponsible of her. "Accepting the invitation to such a demanding school as this was thence inopportune. But now I have decided to take some time off for my education."

Ah, and, of course...

"My name is Sakura Oogami. It is nice to make your acquaintance, Asahina."