Snippet #2618813

“Oh thank goodness,” Johnny breathed in relief. Was his lack of skill in the language that obvious? He suspected so; it would be unusual if he was, in fact, skilled in Japanese after a month of reading his dictionary. Odder still even with some notes from a father who hasn’t been near the country since said father was a child.

Johnny was about to continue with the conversation, ask questions about the ‘word on the street,’ when the video feed flashed into existence. He silenced himself as he saw the image of an older man with very laid-back attire, not unlike a modern hippie.

The principal? Johnny thought. He looks like no principal I’ve ever seen.

The principal spoke in Japanese. It was Johnny’s ultimate test for the day, to identify as many words as he could, and discern a meaning from them. There was the introduction, where “Dr. Gorou Endo” fit in the typical place for a name in an introduction. Johnny also caught the words ‘welcome’, ‘seniors and juniors’. He caught very little on the encouragement for the seniours, For the bit directed towards the juniors, Johnny caught something about “meeting new friends”, as well as “exploring new possibilities” and “continuing.”

Continuing, Johnny thought, Yeah… I know I need that, man.

Almost as quickly as it happened, Johnny blinked away the thousand-yard stare. He missed the closing statement of the speech, but he guessed it would been a repeat of “welcome back”, followed by “Have a great year”, or something like that.

Johnny determined that it was a typical “welcome, or welcome back, to school,” speech that he heard in Jr. High thrice before.

A very lovely-looking teacher rolled up the projection screen before standing at the podium. Johnny couldn’t help but notice a familiar-looking set of eyes, as if she knew things she preferred keeping under wraps. Johnny knew that gaze well, so he easily identified it. The teacher did a hell of a job hiding it regardless, and she delivered her instructions as professionally as he usually does.

Johnny caught ‘folders’, and everything about how the “juniors should remain seated”. He did catch something about ‘team names’ and ‘partners’. Partners? As in year-round partners? Forming teams that run throughout the year… Johnny felt a sort of giddiness in his stomach at the thought of the idea. Teams… friends and rivals… pushing him to be the best he could be.

Moving, he was certain, was a good idea after all.

Team names, though… Johnny kinda hoped for “Wolverines”. Red Dawn, if anything, taught the foreigner how awesome a war cry that word made. Way better than “Eagles”, or “Cheetahs”.

The blonde girl said “Sayonara”, which was a common enough phrase for Johnny to understand.

Johnny nodded and replied, “See ya.” in his more native language. For a second, he watched as the blonde locks waved behind the girl. She was certainly easy on the ey-

Wait, no. That's impolite. Damnit. Johnny willed himself to relax, if only for half a minute. The one who remained taller than the foreigner approached. “Johnny Farelli?” came the fellow giant’s first words. “I’ll be your Senior, Ryou Giou.”

Now that Johnny got a good look, he noted the slick black hair, the long face with the strong jaw, and the silver eyes that hid only the details behind an obvious darkness. With a little work, they could easily look like twins. “Charmed,” Johnny replied in his deep, almost smooth jazzy voice as he stood and extended his own hand. His own grip was practically identical to Ryou’s; strong and firm, but not overbearing. His lean fingers were lightly calloused- especially by the fingertips. That made his hand feel stronger than it already was.

“We’ll be…” Johnny glanced down at the folder along with Ryou. Apparently the team name was written on the folder. Ryou continued, “Cheetahs.”

Cheetahs… Johnny returned to his previous thoughts. While Wolverines would make an awesome war cry, the animal itself did not seem to represent them. Wolverines were small, yet savage and cunning. Cheetahs were lean and fast- both were values that encompassed the foreigner better. Back in his previous schools, he was easily twice as fast as the next-best athlete. It was practically a given which team would win before the team picks were even finished.

Johnny waved off the offer for another name, “It’s all good, dude. Cheetah’s fine by me.”

Ryou announced and handed Johnny his schedule and map. The map seemed a little complicated, especially with a few glyphs he couldn’t read (ie: almost all of them) but he could tell from the images where he was, and which rooms belonged to which building. Thank goodness good old universal numbers were used. “If you have questions, ask away.” Ryou added.

Johnny was glancing over his schedule as the offer to answer questions came up. “Nah, I’m good man,” he said as he looked up to meet Ryou’s eyes like a polite Junior… or… was eye contact not proper in Japanese culture? Or... wasn't it Chinese? Is that aspect even similar? Crap, I didn't think this through.

The sudden uncertainty made Johnny look away, where he then spotted the blushing girls sneaking glances at the two giants. A smirk formed on his face as he stifled a light laugh- if only to hide his earlier uncertainty, and the thousand-yard stare that comes with it. “Jeez, I didn’t think I’d get such looks so soon,” he quipped before glancing back to Ryou. Johnny knew with Ryou being the senior, the girls were probably looking at Ryou more than Johnny. He reached out and patted the slightly taller boy’s shoulder. “ Hey, if you need a wingman, I’m your guy,” he said with a wink and a white grin, completely unaware that Ryou had a very personal and troubled past. (God what a douchebag, Johnny is.)

Johnny often played wingman to many a friend in Jr. High. This would be the first time he played wingman to someone almost as fit as him, and slightly taller. The notion sounded pretty slick... unless that's not how Ryou rolled. Damnit...

—

+1 Popularity to Arietta
+1 Popularity to Ryou