Artist

Sachi Nanjou Room # Tracking tofightreality

[tofightreality]

do it for the vine, ryugazaki-kun || rei + sachi

[ryugazxki]

Rei lifted an eyebrow at her, his blush returning as he blinked at her. “Worried about me? Why were you worried about me? You were the one who had gone to a new, unfamiliar face all by yourself. I was the one who should have been worried.” And he had been worried. He’d fretted himself into a state of sickness thinking about her and how she was doing, giving little thought to his own health in favor of worrying about hers. “But I’m glad you think so. I’ve been working hard in order to be the best I can be for the rest of my team!” He lifted a hand to tap at his own chest proudly, puffing it out slightly in the process.

Sachi placed her hands on his shoulders from where she stood on the bleachers and Rei’s own arm dropped to his side again as he gazed up at her. The smile playing at the corners of her lips was contagious and Rei felt himself mirroring it. “Yes. It’s more than pretty good.” His eyes lit up as he watched her laugh, crinkling at the edges as his smile widened further. “It’s good to see you again, Sachi.”

[tofightreality]

Sachi watched Rei for a long time in silence as he spoke, studying his body movements and facial expressions. It was the first time in over three months she'd been able to see him like this. "Because you're the more worrisome out of the two of us." For a moment, Sachi considered elaborating - he had probably been lost and even a little lonely without her. "You know me, I'm able to adapt to anything. I could probably move to Tokyo today and be perfectly fine in a big city all alone." A self-assured grin graced Sachi's lips. "That's just like you, though. You always want to do your best for everyone. Try being a little more selfish, you know?"

Ah. His smile. There it was. She'd missed that smile. "It's good to see you too, Rei. Although to be honest I thought you'd be here a little sooner. I was starting to think you'd stay in Iwatobi. I'm glad to see my plan worked after all. I was starting to feel a little lonely." With a playful pout, Sachi winked. "But now you're here and on the swim team. Maybe the plan worked a little too well! You're getting more adventurous without my meddling."

[ryugazxki]

[ Happenstance ] — Rei & Sachi

[ryugazxki]

She had obviously heard his voice - Rei saw the way her shoulders tensed up at the second call of her name. She did not stop, however, moving instead to turn the corner and walk off in a different direction, away from the corridor of classrooms. His expression dropped into a frown. Did she… not wish to speak with him? No, that couldn’t be true. It might have been a while since they’d last spoken but Sachi was his best friend. There was no way she’d avoid him, even after so long apart.

With a little splutter of disbelief, Rei started after her again, this time in silence. He knew she knew he was following her, he could see the way that she glanced quickly over her shoulder before exiting the classroom building. Where is she going? He glanced over his shoulder uncertainly. Surely the bell was about to ring. Rei Ryugazaki had never been tardy for a class in his life. Did he risk following her further and breaking that record or retreating and returning to his classroom.

Sachi didn’t seem particularly willing to speak to him - she was already halfway to the flower gardens when he looked back over at her. Taking a hesitant step forward, the door swinging shut behind him, Rei made up his mind. He tightened his grip on the strap of his bag, striding after her with quick long steps in an attempt to catch up to her before she escaped him again. No sooner had he reached where she now stood, her body turned towards him, when the shrill ringing of the bell sounded, signalling the beginning of next period. So much for making it to class on time.

Sachi was looking at him now with an expression of shock on her face that was only slightly too over the top to be believable. He narrowed his eyes slightly. She had heard him. Lifting a hand to push his glasses up, Rei fixed her with a look of disapproval. “You knew I was following you, Sachi, or else you wouldn’t have changed your route so quickly.” He frowned, lowering his gaze ever so slightly. “Did you not wish to speak to me? Because I can go back in side if that’s the case…”

[tofightreality]

She knew that look on his face. He didn't believe her at all. She'd received that same look countless times before. Sachi should have known better than to lie to Rei - he always found the flaw and picked them apart piece by piece until Sachi had no choice but to admit she'd been lying. And now here she was in that situation all over again. Except this time, it involved a lecture that would come the moment he realized she'd skipped class. Yikes. "Uh, well, about that..."

Ruffling her hair, Sachi looked down at her bag. She could have said she'd changed her route because she'd forgotten something. It would probably be a bad choice to lie to him now considering that her little stunt had made him late to class. There were two options here: she could explain her situation and tell him that she'd talk to him after class so that he could attend it. Yes, that was certainly an option. But after careful consideration, Sachi found an option that suited her much better. Not only that, but it proved to be better the moment she heard him utter a certain collection of words.

"I want to speak to you." She knew what that subtle movement of his eyes meant. Glancing from Rei to the windows of the school briefly, Sachi sighed to herself. If they were seen by a teacher, it could end up with Rei in trouble. She could handle the mark against her, but Rei would panic. And so, Sachi reached out and took hold of Rei's hand tightly. "Just not here." Taking a few steps backwards while facing him, Sachi turned on her heel quickly and began walking. Pre-empting the protest that she knew was coming her way, the artist took a deep breath. "You're already late. Might as well make an afternoon of it."

With his hand firmly grasped in her own, Sachi led him to a garden with higher hedges - shielding them from prying eyes for the time being. Once she was sure they were safe, Sachi released him before placing her hand on her waist. "You're going to model for me." It was nostalgic - the same demand she'd made time and time again when they were children.

[tofightreality]

do it for the vine, ryugazaki-kun || rei + sachi

[ryugazxki]

Rei visibly bristled, face turning bright pink as he let out a squawk of protest at her words. “I was eight, Sachi-kun! I was eight years old and worried that you’d leave me behind by myself in the shallow end.” It wouldn’t have been much of a surprise if she had. Sachi’d had a natural curiosity about her when the two of them were young, one that Rei shared to some extent. He had been able to control this urge in favor of staying in safe and familiar waters, however. Sniffing indignantly, Rei pushed up his glasses with one finger. “I learned to swim this year. Not to long ago, actually.”

He lowered his eyes, a nostalgic little smile playing at the corners of his lips. It had been a while since they’d last spoken like this. The familiarity of the way that they interacted and behaved around one another almost made Rei’s chest ache. He did not often think back to the time he’d spent alone after she had left Iwatobi. They were not memories he liked to remember. And yet here he was, thinking back on them with a little smile on his face. “I was a mess for the first little while. Things… things didn’t feel the same without you there.” His smile widened as he looked up at her again. “You’re looking well, too. I’m glad. I’m glad you’re here too. It’s good to see you.”

[tofightreality]

Sachi smiled to herself briefly at his reaction - a quick flash of something sincere before, as always, it turned into a grin of amusement. "I never left you behind for long. I always waited. You just needed someone to give you that extra push so you'd take the step on your own." With a chuckle, Sachi took hold of the railing and leaned back. Allowing her head to fall back, she gazed up at the rafters with a gentle smile. "I'm glad. You're growing pretty strong on your own now. I was worried about you."

Returning to a more respectable position, Sachi had enough time to catch that look in Rei's eyes. Sure, she could sit there and wallow in guilt and sadness for leaving. Instead, though, the female leaned over the railing and braced her hands on Rei's shoulders to keep herself from falling over. "Hey now. Stop looking so sad." With a playful wink, Sachi pushed back in order to bring herself over the railing once again. "There's no point on dwelling in the past, you know. Things were rough for me too. But I'm here now and you're here now, so isn't that pretty good?" A laugh. She didn't want to see Rei looking so sad - especially if she was the cause of it. "So, what, did you follow me all the way to this school?"

[tofightreality]

do it for the vine, ryugazaki-kun || rei + sachi

[ryugazxki]

Sitting at the pool’s edge, the last thing Rei Ryugazaki expected was to be spoken to by someone who was not a member of the swim club. People did not often come to watch their practices and if they did, they were not there to see him. There weren’t many people who knew he’d joined the swim club - he supposed the majority of people assumed he was far too focused on his academics to bother with sports. So hearing his name called in a bright, familiar voice from just behind him made him turn curiously, glancing over his shoulder to look up at the bleachers behind him.

"Sachi!" He said, face breaking out into a little smile as he got to his feet. He shook the excess pool water from his hair before making his way over to where she sat. "Naturally I am, or I wouldn’t be here." He said matter-of-factly, pointing at his own chest with a proud little smile. "I swim butterfly."

[tofightreality]

Sachi leaned against the railing that separated the bleachers from the tiled walkway around the pool - one elbow balanced on the railing in order for her to prop her chin in her hand. He looked good. Not in the physical attraction sense, of course, but more on the side of his emotional wellbeing. At the very least, he looked happier than she'd seen him in quite a long while. "When did you learn to swim, anyway? Last time I saw you in a pool, you were clinging to the wall and telling me not to swim out too far because you wouldn't be able to reach me."

He swam butterfly? Sachi fixed Rei with a look that seemed to say 'you would' before shaking her head with a grin. "Well, well. Look at you. I bet you could actually beat me in a race now." Glancing over her shoulder briefly to ensure her sketchbook was where she left it, Sachi returned to facing Rei. "You look like you're doing well. That's a big relief. I was pretty worried that you'd be a mess once I left." Covering up her sincere worry with a teasing smile, Sachi leaned back and stretched with a laugh. "Never thought I'd see you here, though."

[tofightreality]

do it for the vine, ryugazaki-kun || rei + sachi

Some people went to the swim club meetings to swim. Others went to watch their fellow students swim and cheer them on. Still more went to oogle muscles. Sachi Nanjou's motivations were none of the above. Instead, she went for one reason only: drawing practice. It was close as she was going to get to studying human anatomy that didn't involve an embarrassing afternoon involving a space heater and a group of people staring at a nude model for hours on end. Color her surprised, then, to see one Rei Ryugazaki climbing out of the pool.

Leaning over the railing of the bleachers, Sachi grinned before barking out a greeting. "Rei! Are you on the swim team now? I thought you couldn't swim."

[ryugazxki]

[ Happenstance ] — Rei & Sachi

Rei Ryugazaki was most definitely not a people person.

He never had been, always preferring solitude over the company of others. Whether this was born out of a desire to hide his own social awkwardness or simply because he really did not value human company was a mystery, one he would never admit to aloud. Those friends he did have were all members of his club, the only extracurricular activity he bothered himself with. Grades came first to Rei and school was for learning only. He did not see why he should waste his time making nice with his classmates when he wouldn’t even remember all of their names in ten years. Why do that when he could occupy his time with more productive pastimes like learning, something that would benefit him for the rest of his life and put him in good standing for university.

That was a worthwhile use of his time.

Rei had not expected to encounter anyone he knew at this school. Iwatobi was a very small place and the number of high school students who looked for education out of town was very small. So to see the back of a very familiar head of long dark hair in the hallway so soon after he’d arrived came as quite the shock. He had been leaving his chemistry classroom, head bowed in an attempt to avoid conversation with others, when he had glanced up and caught sight of her. Rei recognized her almost immediately, so familiar was her face. They had not seen each other in a long time and Rei would never have expected in a million years that he would find her here of all places. What a strange but happy coincidence.

"S-Sachi-kun!" He called out, voice coming out louder than he’d intended. Ignoring the startled looks of other students at his sudden outburst, Rei made his way down the hallway, eyes fixed on the back of her head. She had picked an unfortunate time to appear before him - the bell had just rung and students were beginning to leave their classrooms, standing in clustered little groups as they met up with friends. Sachi had not turned when he’d spoken. Presumably she had not heard him. If he lost sight of her now… would he find her again? Luckily she seemed to be walking relatively slowly and it did not take long for him to catch up to her. "Sachi-kun," he repeated, quieter this time but still loud enough for her to hear. "Sachi, wait!"

[tofightreality]

Ah, what a wonderful class Sachi Nanjou had just attended. A very informative class on the English language that she totally went to and knew how to speak in addition to her native Japanese. Yes, English sure was a breeze of a language that wasn't difficult at all and she could totally ask for directions in English and understand them and carry on a conversation without any problems. Sachi was such a good student, always attending those classes without fail.

Ha, yeah right.

The entirety of Sachi's time when she should have been in class was spent exploring the various areas of the academy. With her sketchbook tucked safely under her arm, Sachi had done her best to try to find somewhere to settle down and sketch. Unfortunately, between dodging teachers and other students, she'd barely had any time to relax. Sachi was under the impression that, eventually, she'd find a good place to hide away during the times where she was meant to be attending class. The garden outside seemed like a perfect place to settle in and sketch. If she was honest with herself, she could use the practice.

Sachi had barely noticed that the bell had rung until the hall was swarmed with students. Over the din of her compatriots, she did hear one voice she recognized. A voice that made her heart leap into her throat as she glanced down at her messenger bag. She'd packed it with art supplies but hadn't bothered to bring a textbook just in case of this very incident happening. Perhaps she could sneak away before being caught. However, all hopes of that option melted away the moment she heard Rei call out her name. Shit. Turning on her heel, she quickly walked in the other direction and headed for the door.

He was still behind her by the time she reached the flower gardens. Distantly, she could hear the bell ring for the next class. Great. Turning around, Sachi lifted a hand in a wave and plastered a shocked look on her face. "O-Oh, Rei. Hey there. I didn't hear you! When did you get here?" I'm dead. I'm so dead.

[buridans-ass]

[shi-ne]

[tazrnily-moved-deactivated20151]