Ryu was content then. Simply sitting and listening to his friends speaking to each other and laughing made him smile, it reminded him that he was, deep down, a teenager and not some pseudo stressful superstar like everybody else seemed to think he was. However such an illusion was short lived as the intercom blared to life and the principals voice, laced with annoyance and impatience, spoke arrogantly through the schools speakers.
"Ahem... would Master Ryunosuke Akura please make hs way to my office immediately. There seems to have been a little... misunderstanding regarding his current position... again. That is all." The intercom cut off coldly and without so much as a single warning.
Ryu could hear a few nearby students snickering as he stood up and frowned at his friends. "I apologise everyone... but it seems I have to go... I'll be sure to speak to you all later yeah?" With that sentence and a light shrug, Ryu took off for the principals office.
***
As Ryu slightly cracked open the office door and peered inside, he heard the gruff voice of the principal order him to sit down and shut the door behind him. Ryu gulped lightly and did as he was instructed.
"Tell me Ryunosuke, do you know why you're here?" Ryu shook his head. "No, sir." The prinicpal furrowed his brow. "Oh really, you couldn't even hasten a guess?" Ryu frowned. "I'm guessing it's something to do with my work?..." "Of course it is Ryu! It always is!" The principal interrupted before throwing down an open letter onto the table. "This, Mr.Akura, arrived on MY desk this morning addressed to you! Now, I have enough mail to deal with without sorting through your damned fan letters but upon reading this particular note, I find a request that you leave school periodically for a small portion of the morning to attend some sort of meeting? Now had you informed me beforehand then maybe I..." Ryu quickly butted in then. "Wait sir... a meeting? I assure you this is news to me aswell... where is the meeting? What's it for?" The prinicpal tilted his head slightly, seemingly surprised to see Ryu's own conclusion. "It says here that it's for some "once in a life time" contract and that you are to meet the producer in the park gazeebo for twenty minutes from now..." The principal paused. "Now look here Ryu, I am not an unreasonable man... I can understand that your lifestyle can be quite hectic and I admire your drive to remain in school regardless... but having mail sent to my office and leaving school before it even starts for meetings and such is not acceptable and poses as a distraction for not just me and you but potentially for the other students. Now, this once I will allow you leave, but from now on you make sure to receive your own mail and to arrange your meetings outside of school hours, understood?" The principal finished, standing upright with hands folded behind his back. Ryu stood up also and bowed gratefully. "Yes sir, thank you for understanding." The principal smiled warmly and patted Ryu on the back. "Not a problem Mr. Akura. Now I'd suggest you hurry, that letter looked very official and you really don't have that much time."
***
Thankfully the park and the school weren't too far apart from each other and Ryu found himself arriving quite a while before his meeting was even supposed to start. So in the meantime he decided it would be best to take a walk. Get some fresh air and put on his "fame face" for his upcoming meeting. He didn't exactly WANT to be doing this... after all these meeting always went the same way, he would get an offer, hear the offer, refuse the offer, then head back to whatever he had been doing beforehand. It was always an awkward experience and he never liked doing it... still he felt obligated to do so... as if it would be almost selfish to flat out refuse to meet those who offered him what they surely though was the ideal life.
As these thoughts swirled in his head and Ryu walked on lost within them he was distracted by a light panting sound. "What on Earth?" He thought before looking downwards. At his feet sat a familiar dog. "Pa...ku?" Ryu sounded out sounding slightly confused... "Well if you're here... then surely that means..." His eyes shifted slightly to the bench that Paku was sitting beside and Ryu jumped back slightly in shock at the red haired girl who lay upon it. How had he not noticed her earlier? He really had no idea. "K... Kaya-chan?" He spoke quietly, hoping to catch her attention... though he didn't get a response. It would seem Kaya was asleep... *Sigh* "Of course she is... I suppose I'd best wake her." He petted Paku's head to reassure the animal that he was no threat before placing his hand on Kaya's shoulder and shaking her gently.
"Oi, Kaya-chan, c'mon now, wake up."