Shiro Tsuru no Ie

It didn't take very long for Naoki's blood sugar to come back down to the norm; such was the beauty of having an insulin pump to easily correct highs. Long gone were the days of constantly having to poke himself with a needle every time he needed insulin. Now, all he had to do was change the infusion set about every three days, and give himself insulin when needed. The only disadvantage of constant insulin was the risk of too much, resulting in low blood sugar. Like most 'seasoned' diabetics, though, Ki knew his body well enough never to have an extreme case of high or low blood sugar. Frankly, anybody who didn't have constant contact with him wouldn't even know he was diabetic at all. And that's the way it should be, I hate when people fawn all over me because I'm 'diseased'...

Shaking his head as a dog would to rid itself a particularly irritating flea, Ki ended his rather bitter thought tangent. The austere individual that he so duly wanted to punch introduced himself as a Shin'ichi, though the importance and status of such a name was something he knew nothing about. Perhaps he heard it in passing once upon a time, but in all honesty, Ki was raised in a middle class family where nobody cared what kind of money they made as long as everybody was well-fed and happy. He was really unimpressed by this fellow student, though it seemed that the one called Masako was already caught up in Kouji's whiles. It was hard not to, but he knew it was wrong to judge others so quickly. Ki had a problem with reading into things just a little too much.

Following Ichirou shortly after, Naoki thought he had the right idea in addressing Kou-sensei first. His suspicions about the teacher being a footballer were confirmed, and he was even the coach! This would be a great chance to get on the team.

"May I also say, konichiwa, Kouhei-sensei, and konichiwa, Yukiko-sensei," Naoki said politely, bowing slightly to each as he addressed them. "I am Ryusaki Naoki, and I, too, wish to play on the football team."

Both Kouhei and Yukiko smiled at the students, but before either could answer, they were interrupted by the appearance of a first year girl, whom was obviously lost. Her stiff bow to either teacher surely didn't go unnoticed, nor would the presence of what seemed to be her pet wolf, but to Ki's surprise, neither teacher deigned to reprimand her.

"Oh, no need to be sorry, onna-chan with the pretty wolf," Yukiko-sensei replied to her with a smile breaking across his face. "Instead of leaving you wandering the grounds when its supposed to be dinnertime, I will personally escort you to Shiroi Hana no Ie. Besides, I heard that your den mother is none other than Hattori-kohai!"

"Nii-san, we haven't seen Hattori-kohai in years, what makes you think she'll remember you?" Kouhei-sensei joked as Kiko-sensei stepped forward to the lost girl and bowed.

"Now, onna-chan with the pretty wolf, will you allow me to politely take your arm so I can escort you to your proper dorm?" Kiko-sensei asked, proffering his arm in an almost comical manner regarding polite escort. "When I get back, you chibis better be washed up for dinner!"

"As for you two," Kou-sensei said, turning back to Ichi and Ki. "You will have to wait until after orientation tomorrow to sign up for my team. Though, your eagerness shows much of your individual characters. You guys might find this funny, but it turns out you two are going to dorm together! If you would, I'll take you two up first, since you two actually listened to our instructions."

Kouhei-sensei said the last part rather loudly, and Naoki thought it was directed at that Shin'ichi snob, but he could have been wrong. Nodding in response, Ki kept his mouth shut as Kou-sensei led both himself and Ichi up to their room.

"Ichi-kun, we get to live together!" Naoki said happily, genuinely grateful to know that he would be getting along with the person he'd be living with for the next three years.

The entrance of a girl into the boy's dorm was not lost upon Ichirou. He as more than a little surprised, but before he could comment on it or anything of the sort, the taller of the two teachers, Yukiko-sensei, had already started to lead her out toward the girls dorm. While her presence by itself had been quite surprised, it was what was with her that had held most people's attention. There was no way that was a dog. It couldn't be. No dog was that massive. Well, okay, maybe a Malamute or a Husky. It was either one of those breads, a mutt, or a wolf. But it couldn't be a wolf; they wouldn't let someone bring a wolf to school. That had to be true.

After Yukiko-sensei had gone over to the girl, Kouhei-sensei addressed Ichi and Ki-kun, who had gone over to introduce himself only a little after Ichi himself. Of course, Ichi hadn't known that Ki-kun was going to play football too! As questions buzzed suddenly in his head, Kou-sensei started to lead them upward, and told them something else; they were roommates! Ichi grinned, thrilled to have a fellow footballer as a roommate has much as he was happy that Shin'ichi kid was not going to be his roommate. He responded to Ki-kun, "I know, that's great! So, what position do you play? I play attacking midfielder," he winked, "so I hope you aren't a playmaker too."

"I must say you have a very impressive amount of personal items Kouji-San," Masako had said while taking a sip of the green tea which was offered. Kouji watched this boy carefully. He had already called Kouji by his first name earlier which was highly rude. It left a rather sour taste on Shin'ichi's tongue. However, this never reflected on the face of the young man. He was far too refined to show such distasteful expressions. So, Kouji remained cool and stoic in his appearance.

"It is a donation for Akamori. I bring with me gifts from my Father's company Adagio in order to insure that the students here have the utmost pristine musical apparatuses. My own personal assets are nothing more than two trunks awaiting to be moved into my dormitory," Kouji stated while pointing languid fingers towards a pair of aged and antique looking trunks.

"My name is Kotoa Toshi ... "

Kouji's gaze wheeled over towards the female who was foolish enough to mistake the female's dormitory for the male's. Kotoa Toshi. For the first time since arriving, Kouji's facial appearance changed. Now he wore a smirk, though it was faint, yet with the young man seeming quite cold and unemotional, it had an immense impact. "Excuse me, I have some business to attend," he said to Masako before simply walking away. Kouji's attention was now held elsewhere and a goal was set in his mind.

"Toshi-Chan," he said with amusement in his voice though somehow it did not seem malicious in the slightest. Kouji placed his hand upon his chest and gave the girl a low bow—lower than any had seen for years, even his father. After rising and straightening his posture, the young man continued his introduction. "I am pleased to finally meet you. My father and your father were great rivals in the business industry. I am honored to meet the daughter of Kotoa-Sama."

Kouji's gaze then moved over towards the teachers in their presence and gave them a slight nod of his head. "I am going to escort her to the proper dormitory. I am sure that you have much to do in the Shiro Tsuru no Ie House, and need to continue getting the rest of the students settled into their rooms," the young man challenged their authority. Kouji knew that the Head Master would have spoken with them on the condition which the young man attended the school. He could do as he pleased. Akamori desperately needed his name in the record books and to lose such a valuable student would render another gaping hole into the reputation of the school. Kouji planned to use this to its utmost ability.

Still with that sliver of a smile upon his lips, the young Shin'ichi turned back towards Kotoa and offered his gloved hand for her to take.

"If you would allow me to do this, naturally, Miss Toshi."