“T-Th-Than-nk y-yo-you f-fo-or s-sa-savin-ing m-me.”
To Akira's pleasant surprise, Mai seemed very thankful about her actions. Akira was completely baffled by Mai's response. Most girls would have been angry. Though Mai directly had thanked her, and this brought Akira a sense of relief, but also restored her easygoing nature to it's proper order. Thank goodness.. I was afraid that she would think I was creepy.. Akira thought to herself, glad that this turned out for the better in the end. She really needed to be more careful, because her actions as a boy and as a girl would all come across differently. A girl could get closer to a girl than she could as a boy.. and she often forgot about those social rules.
“N-No o-on-e d-did.”
"That's good." Akira nodded her head, a bit relieved. She didn't know anyone here, and getting into a fight wouldn't have done good towards her reputation, though if someone had been bullying this girl, Akira knew that she'd throw her reputation out the window to defend her. Ever since her mother died Akira felt the need to protect those she cared for, especially the women in her life. I'll do my best to keep you safe.
“Ah! I-I’m so-sorry. I-I di-didn’t m-mean to-to l-lau-gh.”
Akira laughed as well, waving her hand at Mai dismissively, "It's alright. I'd laugh at me too.. I mean look at how short I am.. I guess it's because I hate milk." She chuckled, not offended by the laugh at all. Though she figured that if she were a real boy, her ego might have actually been shot a little. Sure, she was small, but she knew a bit about fighting and she was actually very athletic. Though there was no way that Mai would know that simply by meeting her. These uniforms did well at hiding Akira's muscle, especially since she was rather short and skinny for a male student, "I'm stronger than I look though, so don't worry." She chimed, a slightly cocky grin on her face.
"Oh. Ah I di-didn’n’t r-real-lize I-I wa-as ig-noring y-you.”
Akira put her hands up in a defensive manner, shaking her head, "It's not that." She explained in a rather desperate manner. She didn't feel that way at all, and it was finally becoming obvious to Akira that this girl was simply timid all of the time. She wasn't used to interacting with timid people, so Akira knew she would have to try her best to be subtle and respectful to Mai's boundaries, but subtle just wasn't wired into Akira's nature. She was very blunt, and not to mention very affectionate, reckless, and twice as much curious. She rubbed the back of her neck, feeling bad for giving Mai the wrong idea. She would have been more careful if she'd of known her actions would cause Mai to feel guilty. Akira's eyes turning toward the sky for a moment, pondering how to explain the situation, "It's just, it's really hot out today... I unbuttoned my jacket and it felt nice when the breeze hit, that's all." She reassured Mai with her signature goofy grin plastered on her face.
She then turned to directly face Mai, a sincere look on her face as she continued, "Besides, I don't mind if you're quiet sometimes." She added, looking around to make sure that no more delinquents were rushing towards them. Was this going to be a constant thing? She figured this school would have been delinquent-free considering it's tuition cost and reputation. Though she figured there were plenty of delinquents with heavy purses. Immediately a frown formed on her face as she thought of rich people, seeing as Akira was not particularly fond of the upper class. Her biological father, Watari Miyuu, left her mother and he was quite wealthy. She couldn't help but believe her mother would have still been alive today if her father had never abandoned them.. and she's held a bit of a grudge ever since towards those who qualified as the wealthy 1% of society. She never voices this, but her grandmother constantly urges her to marry someone rich and it really irks her to no end. She would never do that, ever. It was half the reason she took up the persona as a boy. She couldn't attract guys if they believed she was one as well. Friendship, that's all she was after. She didn't mind befriending rich kids, but she definitely would never fall in love with one. Love is reckless, and a gamble. A gamble I'm not willing to make.. As reckless as she was, she was not fond of gambling, especially if it would cause problems for her family in the future.
“M-May I-I cal-call y-you Akira-kun?”
Akira had gotten so lost in her own thoughts that she'd completely missed Mai's struggle to get these words out, but thankfully the words were loud enough to jar her back into reality. Akira blinked a bit as she let herself take in Mai's words. A light blush crossed her face, considering she'd never been called so familiarly since she'd left Britain. Akira found herself nodding her head shortly after, not taking a lot of time to think on it. It wasn't a big deal, Mai was a girl too, "It's only fair, ne?" She responded with a kind smile. Then she noticed something in Mai's hair, tilting her head for a second before it became clear as to what it was.
"Hold still, you've got something in your hair. I'll get it, okay?" Akira informed Mai in a calm tone, gently reaching forward and plucking a cherry blossom from the short ebony hair on Mai's head before presenting the pink little blossom to her as evidence. She didn't want the girl to think it was a cheap trick to touch her after all. Akira still wasn't used to the beauty of the Cherry Blossom trees, it was her favorite part about moving to Japan. Akira examined the blossom with a complex expression on her face, but quickly released it, "All better."
Just as quickly her expression returned to her outgoing and hyperactive one. For a 'boy', Akira was very expressive, and released her thoughts very freely. She wasn't afraid to talk about her feelings at all, even in front of a new acquaintance like Mai. I hope I can become close to this girl.. It's been too long since I've had a friend. Akira despite being bright and cheerful, wasn't very popular among other people. Sure, some people liked her around her neighborhood, but she wasn't anyone's favorite person. She was considered a bit annoying, especially since she was a hyper and cheerful boy. There were always social stigmas, and a cheerful girl was seen as cute, while a cheerful boy was seen as a slacker and a bit dumb in Japanese society.