Keiko Misao's Story

Keiko clutched the strap of her handbag uneasily as it hanged upon her timid shoulder, eyes closing tightly as a bunch of students naturally swarmed around her- not for her but for the bus. The whole beach excursion on her account had been spent staying cooped up in her cabin reading books both for school and for leisure though she wouldn't consider herself a nerd by any means. She just had to spend her time doing something rather than blanking out, or so her doctor had encouraged during the last visit to keep her mind active and possibly stir up some locked memories. Students continued chattering away, so happily and joyous while timid Keiko continued grasping her bag for dear life at each passing moment. The environment and atmosphere was so loud her ears started ringing, she really hated crowded areas but had no choice but to stand there too nervous to even turn her head to look for an opening to escape the commotion. Her eyes remained sealed shut and her heart raced in panic. Keiko knew she wasn't in any immediate danger but the close contact, unintentional rubbing of elbows and shoves had her very uncomfortable. Actually, the more she thought about it any enclosed space she was afraid of whether it was enclosed by four walls and a roof with no windows and fresh air or bombarded and being surrounded by a swarm of people. She valued space and a sense of freedom more than anything in the world.

So far her start at highschool had been neutral. Keiko didn't feel overjoyed or miserable as a junior at Airdalen Highschool, it was just another part of living and learning in order to better one's self off education and eventually seek higher studies or employment. The future isn't what Keiko was afraid of but, it was the past and all that she had forgotten. It haunted her every day to not know who she truly was, to have lost her identity and her memories. The students continued more loudly in their gossip and chattering that Keiko's little bit of thoughtful peace had been easily destroyed as she accidentally stepped on some toes. "Uh-- I'm sorry!" she quickly apologized, bowing her head in respect to whichever student she had supposedly stepped on only to find they weren't listening. She had been completely ignored. Keiko bit her lip and turned her head away only then realizing she had dropped her bag somewhere in the crowd but had been distracted by her clumsiness and apologies to notice when and where she had dropped it. People's movements and shuffling made it even worse to keep track of. She couldn't tell if she had been slightly moved away from her bag or the other way around. Nervously, her fingers fidgeted with each other and her eyes turned side to side hoping to spot her bag. As she crouched down still a nervous wreck, the unmistakable shade of sky blue could be seen in the distance between student's shoes. The only challenge now was to retrieve what she had lost if possible.

---

I'll wait.. was Keiko's deduction as the best solution to handling the situation of her adventurous handbag. There were far too many students in the area and more toes were bound to be stepped on. While she had her own manner of grace, it was near impossible to be graceful in such a tightly packed space where there was little to no room to breathe. So she stayed crouching for some time, her eyes locked on her handbag as time went by. Annoyingly, some legs and shoes had gotten in the way of her view of her property and she was sure that at some point someone had nearly stepped on her in her blockage of a crouched position but she stayed firm in her spot and stubborn. She had valuables in that bag, her mobile phone being one of them even though she had no family or friends to call, along with her wallet and saved up money from her part-time weekend job which she had no choice but to take on. It was hard having a case of amnesia, it also felt extremely lonely having no one to feel a deep connection with but all she could do was try to get by, make a living until the time came she would receive all the answers she could ever hope for and discover just who was that girl she stared at beyond the mirror.

Her eyes squinted as she started to notice that the shoes were all heading towards a single direction, too focused on her bag to realise that the singular movement almost forming an organised line was because the bus was almost leaving. Instead she thought of the opportunity of a vacant space more happily, her handbag would be with her again shortly as soon as the shoes of the other students was out of sight and she wouldn't have to worry about getting through a crowd which already had made her very uneasy. Her eyes could only squint more as she made out a pair of unidentifiable casual black shoes make contact with her bag as she bit her lip sadly, only able to hope that her things weren't about to get plummeted by a stampede of sorts. Now that she had a chance to really think about it, it wasn't that far fetched if the singular organised line sped up a little bit. I don't think I can afford another bag.. I really liked that one. She thought, going so far as to say liked in past tense as if the bag was already lost and destroyed to her though her eyes looked on and could only confirm the opposite, that the bag was still in one piece.

Instead of more shoes, she spotted a hand reach down and grab her bag by the strap leaving her almost breathless. Noo, why my bag? she thought, biting her lip a little harder a little afraid to lift her head to see who had taken it as her mind imagined up all types of people. Maybe it was a thief like the ones in books who steal from the rich to give to the poor? But then again, Keiko wasn't rich as well.. and she wouldn't count having a part-time job as something luxurious and that handbag wasn't the most fancy or even branded, it was just all she could afford. While it was a pretty sky blue shade, it was also obvious that it had been used over and over again, the zipper metal piece thin and gaining rust while the strap itself was becoming worn out like it could fall apart at any given point if someone would tug it hard enough. What was the most strange was that the bag was nearing her view rather than fading away into the distance out of her grasps and that included the pair of black shoes.

"Oi. This is your bag. Take it." Keiko was surprised as her eyes looked on at her bag, realising that it was being returned to her instead of stolen. How am I supposed to react to this? she thought troubled, one of her fingers moving mindlessly against the ground in front of her shoes. It was becoming uncomfortable to continue crouching but she was still afraid of facing the person who was up there above her. She continued to notice strange shifts in movements just by looking on at shoes as guidance. It appeared people were moving around them rather than going between them, making the little incident seem more personal than she would have liked though she welcomed it, it was better than crowds. After a few hesitant seconds, she slowly and nervously raised her head reassuring herself that she was going to look at the clouds and sky instead, the beautiful sun- not that she would be facing another human being like herself. The male (Aeon) presence was quiet enough to allow her to fool herself.

Upon looking up, she was in a daze, looking through him (Aeon) rather than at him, still trying to fool herself that looking directly at the person was not her intention but that the intention was to actually admire the sky behind him, the scenery and the beauty of nature that continued on peacefully even though her memories and past life had not. It was hard, very hard and at some point it even felt rude so eventually her eyes focused in on the male student (Aeon) who had been kind enough to help an unfortunate stranger like herself. "Keiko thanks you.." she said once before shaking her head to correct herself. "Sorry..I-I mean, I humbly thank you for your kindness." she stammered, reaching out slowly to take the strap of her bag out of his hand that for a moment, her fingers brushed his but it was an unconscious action as she was solely focused on retrieving what was hers.

The male (Aeon) student was handsome to some degree to have managed to cause the consequent stutters but Keiko simply stood up and bowed her head a second after, her hand starting to fiddle with the collar of her polo shirt as her auburn eyes dully stared at the man's (Aeon) black shoes as she straightened up her posture. Her plain, dark, black jeans felt strained as she stood up after the long time of crouching around. "You seem bothered by this.. Keiko apologises for getting in your way." she said in a monotone, flicking her collar to the side so it was evenly balanced. She had deducted that he was bothered by her on a hunch. In a strange way, she felt that she could see a bit of herself in him. The male (Aeon) wasn't like the others as was her, it appeared some students had gotten tan or some other signs of obvious exposure to the sun's rays but her and him (Aeon) weren't like the rest in that way. He must have been like her, having stayed inside somewhere rather than out having fun with the others. She may have been wrong to conclude such nonsense but it helped her feel better. Besides hesitation and a bit of stuttering, her tone was lifeless and empty like a doll without a soul to the regular outsider as her thoughts continued to tick in her head. As much as she liked to think she could relate to someone, she wouldn't have been shocked to hear she was wrong.

---

I said something incorrect? Keiko was thoroughly scared, shaky, fidgety and confused as the student who returned her bag (Aeon) didn't reply to her words for a while. She wasn't a confident person and decided in the eerie silence that she had said something wrong and shouldn't have said at all, particularly to a stranger. What she said wrong though, she wasn't entirely sure. It was just a feeling, and even though his (Aeon's) expressions weren't giving away as much as an ounce of a reaction nor were his general movements if there was any to be noticed in the first place, she sensed from the silence itself that she had said something he didn't expect to hear and was therefore presumably silent as to how to continue the conversation if a conversation was going to take place that is. At least, that's a reason that would bring her to silence as it did back then when she didn't expect her bag to be returned so nicely. Of course this student (Aeon) wasn't her so there was no telling if what she thought was the truth, it was only a guess, an estimation, a poke into a matter that couldn't be confirmed except from the very source itself.

Maybe I-I was rude because I didn't ask for a name, I said my name a few times without asking for a proper way to address him.. was that rude? I-I wouldn't want to be rude to someone who was kind enough to give my bag back.. Her eyes shifted from side to side lost not knowing how to handle situations like this. She hadn't talked to anyone her age, holding an actual conversation come to think of it since she got out of the hospital. Keiko wasn't sure if this bag return even counted as a conversation considering the two of them had said so very little but a conversation with someone her age would have been nice. The boy (Aeon) finally spoke up which startled her out of her thoughts, "Misao Keiko. If that is your name, I will be your Senior partner. The name is Belrose Aeon."

"Y--" she was prepared to reply straight away because that's how grateful she was that it didn't remain such an awkward atmosphere yet it just got more awkward as he didn't wait for her to complete her words and walked right past her like nothing had happened, like he didn't know her. Keiko stood still as Aeon passed her by as still as could be. She honestly didn't see that coming yet she smiled softly as her head lowered depressingly. Of course.. that's how it is. I don't even know myself, why do I expect people to want to know me? Keiko easily compared it to just moments ago when she was apologising for stepping on toes and had just been ignored. Keiko was generally trying but time and time again just accepted the cold shoulder treatment, having nothing to say to respond to that behaviour particularly in this case since Aeon wasn't even going to wait a few more measly seconds to listen.

She clutched her bag's strap tightly with both hands as if an act to reassure her and her nerves before plopping it on her shoulder. It was just another encounter with another person, nothing more or less. Keiko didn't expect that the two would become friends or close, especially not after that first impression Aeon had received of her or that she supposed he had received as someone who was 'just in the way'. It made absolute sense. There's nothing to be expected here.. she deducted, a hand brushing through her brown hair that shone as orange in the sunlight.
"Don't just stand there." Keiko's body slightly quivered as she found herself startled and surprised again. She had just finished deducting that nothing was going to happen, yet something did. Aeon huh.. she thought over, confirming that name in her limited memory before turning around and managing to catch a glimpse of his back before he vanished inside the bus. She smiled again softly to herself as she slowly made her way to the back of the line. It was startling, but a good startle if she could call it that.

Eventually, she stepped onto the bus with her handbag dangling over her shoulder, swinging back and forth as she walked at a naturally slow pace. Although she had long, slender legs she liked to take her time with small steps to admire her surroundings especially as she had very little to connect to, very few dots to link when it came down to the nitty gritty of her memories.
The bus already felt crowded and cramped by the time she had entered, and so her claustrophobic feeling of being unable to breathe like it would be in a tightly packed tin of sardines started to resurface as her shoulders budged slightly inwards, giving off the impression she wanted to keep to herself. The quickest way to deal with this fear was to take a seat, the nearest available seat possible and avoid the hassle of standing around in the aisle and being pushed to and fro especially since two girls (Momo and Sera) had briefly held the line up in front of her making her more nervous by the second about the pushing and shoving.

Keiko sat down at the first free seat her eyes set upon and sighed, leaning her head back against the headrest and using the back of her hand to wipe her forehead under her fringe having a peaceful moment to herself. After the relief though, she soon turned to the window and found she had forgotten to check who she would be seated next to since she was too busy trying to escape the crowded frenzy. It was a boy with shaggy dark brown hair (Kei) wearing headphones, seemingly lost in his own world which reminded her of herself again and how she sometimes got lost in her books. It strangely made her smile, again trying to relate herself to someone like she did to Aeon before and leaning down in front of her to place her handbag underneath the seat in front of them. Keiko this time though, knew better than to expect a conversation to break out and if things were to remain this peaceful the whole bus trip, she would be fine with it also.

Unexpectedly, her own peace was broken as the person sitting in front of them leaned their seat back without warning, the back of the seat bumping against Keiko's head as she was trying to place her bag underneath. "Ah--k" she rubbed her head but just sat up normally, the idea of confronting the incident not even passing her mind.

Kei was glad to see Momo and Sera arrive on the bus, he wasn't sure if anyone would be late but Sera seemed like one of the more likely candidates to not really care, though he knew Momo's wild side could very well lead to the same thing. They had both made it so it wasn't important and he was happy to just sit there and leave it be. Sera however, apparently being in a good mood as usual, made sure he turned around by flicking the back of his head. The male turned his head and removed one of his earphones, smirking a bit, "Hey." He nodded in her and Momo's direction before turning back around, though this time he decided to leave the earphone out in case more conversation was directed at him, and to avoid being flicked again. That being said it wasn't like he didn't want to talk anyways, especially with those two sitting behind him, it would certainly be interesting. The addition of someone beside him was unexpected, he hadn't figured anybody would take the aisle seat next to him but even more unexpected was the person. The girl (Keiko) was not one he had seen before and he couldn't really figure out why she would choose to sit by him, his appearance and reputation not exactly friendly. He wasn't displeased about someone joining him though and tried to make himself appear a tad more friendly, glad he had taken one of his earphones out, and making sure not to stare too long. Of course when she was hit by the chair in front of her his usual self took over and he leaned forward, his hand tapping the person in front of them who turned only to get a rather nervous look on their face when they saw Kei. "You hit the person behind you, just a heads up." He wasn't trying to be intimidating but at first glance, and to the student who knew nothing but his reputation around school, he was. The male simply turned to the girl (Keiko) and swallowed, "Um... I'm sorry." He seemed sincere enough and with a polite little head bow he turned himself back around, leaning his chair back up a little to give her more room.

Kei, being the idiot he was, forgot to introduce himself. He was slightly overjoyed, which wasn't at all noticeable on his face, that he could say something so easily to another person, and forgot completely about common courtesy. It didn't help when Akira walked on the bus, his eyes followed her slowly as she walked past him and down the aisle in the direction Silas was sitting. He didn't follow her the entire way, turning back and facing the front with a barely audible sigh. As much as she didn't want to cause her trouble it was killing him a bit how much she seemed to hate him. He just had to deal with the repercussions of his actions and let it be, if he were lucky the situation would eventually resolve itself, or at least calm down enough for him to approach and make a suitable apology. He refused to sink down into some ridiculous fit of depression about something he couldn't do a damn thing about at the current time and instead just switched to a different playlist on his phone, something a little more upbeat. It was then that he realized the girl sitting next to him was still a stranger, despite his intervention when she was hit with the seat. So quickly he turned to look at her. "Sorry, I realized I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Kei." He held out his hand politely, being a bit formal but not knowing how else to go about it. Sure he could try to play it cool like Sera or Silas would but he couldn't do that, and he didn't have the cute and bubbly personality like Momo, he was just Kei and that left him with few options aside from the direct approach.

Keiko zoned out after the bump on the noggin, staring at the opposite side across the aisle at a pair of giggling school girls. The two looked so happy and full of boundless energy; they knew who they were, knew they had each other as close friends and probably knew where they were headed in life but Keiko had not a clue of who she was, who she is and where she was going to be. Her head started to ache the more she thought about it, knowing she couldn’t possibly force her memories to resurface out of pure will power and luck. The doctors had taken her out of hospital when she was deemed well enough and toured her around the place she had been found at but nothing had come to light, her head would throb with a great amount of pain to the likes of which she had never faced before. Over the past few days, some little scenes had filled her dreams that felt like an instance of dejavu though she couldn’t determine if those events really happened or if her mind was imagining them up the way most dreams take place. Maybe it was just an unconscious attempt to fill a hole of emptiness and detachment but held no real trace of genuine answers.

"You hit the person behind you, just a heads up." Keiko stopped zoning out, hearing her seatmate (Kei) speak up but the words weren’t directed at her. The person sitting in front of her turned around sheepishly, taking a bigger gulp than was supposed as normal before responding, all the while looking at her instead of the person (Kei) she was sitting with, "Um... I'm sorry." The boy apologised with a slight head tilt which Keiko mimicked not quite understanding what was going on until he had pushed his chair up more. Ohh…. She lightly slapped her forehead emphasising that she had just gotten the gist of what was going on and smiled softly at her seatmate. “That was very kind.. Keiko is happily grateful.” She said maintaining her smile even as her hair tie that was too loosely tied fell off, undoing her ponytail.

”ACK!” she shrieked as her hands started to fuss around in her seat trying to locate the hair tie. She had found it fallen in the center of the bus in the aisle and so she reached down to retrieve it with imperfect timing. Two people one being a strapping blonde boy (Silas) and the other being a bashful girl (Akira) walked past, thankfully not stepping on her hand. Keiko turned to see where the girl’s (Akira) eyes were wandering to find out the cause of her blushing to see that she was looking at Keiko’s senior (Aeon) that she had only just met a few moments ago. Well.. that makes me wonder a few things.. Keiko turned back around to her seatmate (Kei) to also find his eyes too were focused on a person, the girl (Akira) who had just walked down the aisle. L-Lub.. triangle? Keiko sounded out the words in the back of her head, unknowing that her lips were pursing, following along just with no sound coming out.

"Sorry, I realized I forgot to introduce myself. The name is Kei." The boy (Kei) seated beside her on the bus offered his hand to which she awkwardly guided the palm of her hand into his, as if she was still learning what a handshake was. She gently shook it once, her eyes inquisitive to the gesture before smiling again like she was earlier when she thanked him. “That’s a-alright, I’m pretty forgetful myself..” Incredibly. ”Keiko… I think my name is Keiko” She ended up saying a bit too honestly and bluntly then realizing a tad bit too late how strange what she said must have sounded to someone who had no idea what she had been through. ”Ahah…” She tried to laugh even lightly to cover it up as a joke but she was terrible at acting. ”Yeah… Keiko… your name is ‘Kei’ and I got ‘Kei’ in the beginning too, how… bizarre.." she said struggling with words to continue the conversation with the same uneasiness she had when she had slipped up by being so unsure of her own name. “Um… may I release now? Not sure the average amount of time that constitutes as a polite handshake..” she thought aloud, her fingers wiggling as their hands were still linked. Her seatmate (Kei) didn't have the same effect on her as he seemed to have on other students like the boy sitting in front of her. Keiko didn't have an inch of fear of him though she had not failed to notice he was rather well built and athletic. She didn't judge, like she hadn't judged Aeon although their meeting could have turned out better.

The girl seated next to Kei was an interesting one, especially the way she (Keiko) approached the handshake as if it were the first one she had ever been a part of. Not that Kei was the most socially experienced person alive, not by a long shot, but being inexperienced shaking hands was interesting. Then again perhaps it was not as interesting as he thought, he wasn't sure where Keiko was from, though she looked Japanese, at least partially. Strange or not it was kind of cute in a newborn baby way, how the girl looked so curious and how she smiled afterwards. For someone like Kei who was use to being the one confused by social situations it was a bit of a relief. It allowed him to not think about whether or not he was doing it properly, because if not neither of them would know the difference. So he simply smiled back and listened to her rather odd introduction, once again finding it odd but not letting it show. “That’s a-alright, I’m pretty forgetful myself..” At least I won't be the only one. ”Keiko… I think my name is Keiko” Kei wasn't sure what the girl meant by she thought her name was Keiko but he wasn't about to pry into more personal stuff on the trip, he had involved himself in the affairs of others more than enough for one trip. [b]”Ahah…”[/b] Her laugh was awkward though which made it harder to simply make it seem like he hadn't noticed. Regardless he did his best and just remained silent, another small smile as she began to speak again. ”Yeah… Keiko… your name is ‘Kei’ and I got ‘Kei’ in the beginning too, how… bizarre.." "That's an interesting coincidence isn't it..." Kei wasn't exactly sure why is was bizarre, a lot of people had similar names, some even sharing the same Kanji, but if she found it bizarre who was he to disagree. "Nice to meet you Keiko." He continued on and didn't mention her slip up, feeling a sense of accomplishment at moving past the moment without alerting her to what seemed like an accident or slip up she hadn't intended. He was as stoic as ever so it didn't show on his face but a social victory, even if he only thought it a victory, was a rare occurrence in Kei's mind.

“Um… may I release now? Not sure the average amount of time that constitutes as a polite handshake..” Kei came back to from his little moment of victory and looked down, releasing his hand from Keiko's with a quick, "Sorry, they generally only last a couple of seconds if that." When they lasted longer it was generally awkward as it turned more into holding hands than a handshake. With Keiko's lack of knowledge on the subject it wasn't bad though, it was just fine. So Kei counted his blessings and leaned back into his chair a bit, getting comfortable and keeping one earphone out so he could hear and talk, not only to Sera or Momo, or whoever else wanted his attention, but to his new seatmate Keiko. In the spirit of that he turned to her, looking at the girl curiously for a moment and then finally speaking. "I haven't seen you before. Are you a Junior by chance?" Kei hoped he wasn't wrong about her grade, that would be more embarrassing than anything, showing how little he knew about those in his own grade. Not that it would be all that surprising when he thought about it, he wasn't exactly the guy to go to if you needed to know something about some classmates. It would also be interesting if she were a Junior, he could introduce her to Momo and Sera. Kei did chastise himself a moment later for thinking that, not that he couldn't or didn't want to introduce her to other Juniors, it was part of his responsibility to help those younger than him, but he didn't want to meddle. Besides, with the girl sitting next to him and in front of Sera and Momo it would eventually happen. Momo would probably become curious and be her friendly self or perhaps Sera would realize the girl was kind of cute and decide to investigate. Regardless he could keep his hands clean of it unless he had to do something, that would be for the best, a bit of peace on the end of the trip. Yes, between making Akira mad and telling Devone to talk to him if she needed to he would most likely find himself in hot water before long. He just had to pick those two people to get involved with, as if they weren't volatile enough.

Keiko knew she wasn’t getting off to the best possible start in socialising with other teenagers but she was trying her best in the end. She had spoken to two people today being Aeon her senior and her seatmate on the bus being Kei which was a vast improvement from speaking to hardly anyone but doctors about a past she couldn’t remember. "That's an interesting coincidence isn't it..." Her eyes gleamed with such childish delight at the agreement she received even though it was over such a trivial matter. Considering she had been ignored a few times and could barely keep up with her senior, it felt like a worthy accomplishment to have someone agree with her in some way, no matter how minor and simple. "Nice to meet you Keiko." “Ah wah thank you!” she bowed formally and twice repetitively a little overwhelmed at such kind words at a first meeting. Aeon had definitely not been as welcoming as Kei but she wasn’t going to compare and complain, people were different in her eyes for sure. She could barely understand herself and her own differences but she was sure of it. As the handshake remained intact, she noticed he had rough but sturdy hands though instead of being intimidated, she was a little intrigued to how strong Kei really was. Keiko had pictured strong people much differently after all the tv shows she had watched but Kei was not like them when it came to attitude and behaviour. A gentleman fighter..? she thought, her lips pursing the shape of her thoughts unconsciously yet again almost like a gold fish. Keiko could be very odd but that was due to the fact she didn’t feel like herself or even know herself.

Keiko’s thought bubbles popped as Kei released his hand from her grip continuing on with an apology, "Sorry, they generally only last a couple of seconds if that." ”Oh we went over the time limit.. Keiko apologises dearly!” she said, bowing her head again once in respect not knowing she was overreacting over another trivial matter. As her head lifted up, she quickly put on a smile as if she was ready to take on the world. ”Keiko will remember that! Mhm hm!” she said enthusiastically with an expressive nod, the gleam in her eyes returning like a lit up candle until Kei dropped her a question to think about. "I haven't seen you before. Are you a Junior by chance?" Keiko stopped facing Kei and leaned back on her chair pausing for a moment. It was an easy question but her amnesia did make it hard to process information sometimes. “Y-y-es.. that’s it. I’m a junior.. just started high school.” Keiko accidentally pointed out the obvious without realising as her index fingers poked together wondering if being a junior was why people like Aeon weren’t taking her seriously. If that was the case, there was nothing she could do about her grade unless she miraculously got moved up ahead of her age but then she wasn’t even sure what she wanted from high school. Keiko only knew it was a stage of her life that she had to complete called ‘receiving education’.

Her eyes looked around at the other students a little impatiently. As happy as she was to meet people, she was also eager to get off the bus as motion sickness was likely when in a travelling vehicle for a long amount of time and she didn’t even know how long the trip was going to be. All she knew was on the way to the beach, she was lost in her book which had turned out to be a bad idea as she was starting to feel motion sickness from focusing on the page of a book while moving about. This time though, she was definitely not going to be doing any long reading having learned her lesson before already on the trip there. As her brown eyes settled on the floor, she noticed there was something in the middle of the aisle not far from where she was seated but it was still hard to see what it was unless she got closer. Keiko waited for Kei’s responses before excusing herself, getting up from her seat and fidgeting with the curious object she had discovered. It was a family portrait of a woman, a man and a boy. Immediately Keiko felt sad as she didn’t know her family and whomever the boy was, he was very fortunate compared to her. She really wish she knew but the more she tried to force the answers in her head, the more it hurt to try to remember and she was gaining nothing in return. Sighing, she looked about the bus for a boy that matched the photo which proved to be not difficult as the redhead (Jonathan) appeared to be seated to someone she was already acquainted with even if briefly; Aeon. Keiko walked towards the boy’s (Jonathan) seat and bent down slightly to hand over the photo to whom she thought it belonged to with a sweet smile that seemed suitable to the moment but was actually her disguise for the grief of not having a family to even call family. “I think this is yours classmate?” she said, placing it on his lap and avoiding the gaze of her senior (Aeon). She wasn’t scared of her senior but she knew well enough he didn’t like being bothered. He (Aeon) was also wearing earphones so maybe he hadn’t noticed she had dropped by to begin with.

Jonathan Fenix

SAIL - AWOLNATION

The small book Jonathan had pulled out was a light brown travel-sized journal, one that had belonged to his mother before she had passed away. As his eyes read each word that were in her handwriting, it was as if each entry was a memory that were unfolding in front of him. While he flipped through the pages, he had noticed something land on his lap, which had somewhat startled him.

“I think this is yours classmate?”

Looking down at it, he quickly realized that it was a family portrait of him and his parents, and he wasn't sure where it came from. Quickly looking up from the picture that was on his lap, he met the eyes of another student (keiko), which he had believed to be a sort of brown in color, her hair being a shade darker than the journal's backing.

Yes, but where did you find this, did it fall to the ground?" Jonathan quickly asked the student (Keiko) as he removed the picture from his lap and placed it back into the journal before placing it into his bag.

"Anyways, thank you for finding it to me." He continued, finishing up on thanking the girl for returning the family portrait to him before it was stepped on or lost. He flashed a quick smile to express his gratitude, but tried to make it look not as awkward as possible, before he broke the eye contact to avoid a slight blush that he felt coming to his cheeks.

Taking a small breath to calm himself, and at the same time trying not to disturb the blue-haired boy (Aeon) next to him, he turned back towards her, "By the way, name's Jonathan. And you are...?"

Keiko had noticed the classmate (Jonathan) was reading and felt a little down that she had disturbed him. She knew she didn’t like being disturbed when she herself was reading but she had already placed the photo down before realising, not wanting to stand in the aisle too long in case the bus drove off while she was still standing and not in her seat. “Yes, but where did you find this, did it fall to the ground?" The red head (Jonathan) rushed in hiding the picture away in the book he was reading and plopped it in his bag making Keiko a tad bit curious. She had expected the boy (Jonathan) to continue reading but it appeared his interest in his book had subsided for the moment. ”Ah..yes, it fell.. right here!” She accurately pinpointed the spot she had found the photo by crouching and pointing her finger to where she had picked it up before skipping back to the boy she had helped. ”Did you see, did you see?” She asked, energetically like a child with her hands clapping together with a slight bounce before they entwined in front of her chest.

"Anyways, thank you for finding it to me." Keiko’s lips tugged into a small smile as the boy (Jonathan) flashed a smile her way before looking away making her think it was time to return to her seat. She was happy though, she had talked to three people today. She was on a roll of meeting people her age despite not doing much while at the beach. She brushed back her hair behind her ear, side glancing in her senior’s direction who was still lost in his own world of music. It must be lonely, yet he refuses to open up to people. I wonder why.. "By the way, name's Jonathan. And you are...?" Keiko blinked, her finger poking the middle of her chest a little confused. “Who is.. me?” She asked, her face going blank for a few seconds as she pondered the question herself. “Ah, Keiko!” She quickly gave out her name with a slight head bow as if to apologise for her delay in answering. “Keiko… Jonathan.. Keiko, I will remember that.” She muttered to herself still head bowing until the teacher got onto the bus startling her as she stayed by in the aisle, feeling as if all the wrath was directed to her compared to the other classmates sitting down and having the seat in front of them act as a barrier. Erghhheh! Incoherent babble entered Keiko’s mind as her hair became less lively and bouncy to a flatter look when the teachers’ spat was over. She had no idea there was a party last night and it made her sad that nobody had invited her but she understood why no one would. Keiko had kept to herself until today, all because of a bag, a seat position and now a photograph. Keiko rubbed her head as if she had received a beating with pouty lips that quickly transitioned to a smile as she decided to get moving before the bus was crowded with moving people for the new arrangement. “Bai bai Johnathan, see you again.” She said cheerfully with closed eyes then mumbling a quiet bye to her senior Aeon too even though she knew he wouldn’t hear it before stopping by her old seat mate. (Kei)

“Hiya, it’s a shame.. but I’ll see you around Kei-k” She said bowing her head cheerfully then paused realising her error in addressing the guy’s name when pronouncing it like ‘cake’. “Cake…” she mumbled as if caught in a trance before her head started to hurt and her hand grasped the top of her head, the intense pain causing her eyes to become watery. She lost her balance, falling onto the ground with her legs sprawled out to the side trying to ignore what the other students were saying. Nobody could understand what it was like for her to lose her memories and have them come back to her in brief painful flashes to the point it was becoming a normal occurence. When the flash ended, she opened her eyes as if nothing had happened, took out a notebook from her bag on the seat and wrote down the keyword ‘cake’ with a girly pen that dangled a pink diamond that flung around as she wrote, at least one step closer to remembering something important.

The girl sitting next to Kei had been as odd socially as he was and it was nice, but as she seemed to go off on her own little adventure he simply turned and stared out the window, leaning back and relaxing a bit. He liked meeting new people, Keiko definitely being interesting in many ways and he was sure as the year went on he would make plenty of friends and meet quite a few interesting people. His peace didn't last long though, Ms. Roselle's voice ringing out. “Alright you lot!” He had learned over the years that she was never in a good mood and she rarely spoke without it being about some sort of punishment or hellishly boring lesson plan. “Drinking I hear… Late night partying is it? Was it fun?” [i]Of course she was the one who had to find out, this isn't going to be pretty.[i] “I should give you all a well-deserved 5 HOURS DETENTION or a PERMANENT SUSPENSION from Airdalen but because of my—“ The punishment she mentioned at first gave Kei pause, he knew what that would mean, a permanent suspension was an expulsion and he couldn't have that. Luckily for Kei and all those involved with the party Mr. Drone stepped in to save the day, even if he had thrown himself right in front of Ms. Roselle's rage. He took a long deep breath and waited for the final verdict, whether his intervention would be enough to save them all or if they were all still in her cross-hairs anyways. “Fine then.. bus arrangement.” Kei let out a miniature sigh, that sounded better than any of the alternatives and he could live with moving seats, no matter who he was assigned to sit next to. Besides, it was only a drive and it wasn't like he knew Keiko well yet anyways, or really at all.

“We’ll have to do this in alphabetical order then.. and from now on in Mr. Drone’s classes and mine.. you will also be paired up in alphabetical order AND be seated in alphabetical order. No buts no ifs and no bloody exceptions.. you’re fortunate this will not be included on your school record though we may have it reported at the very least to your parents.” She made it sound like sitting in alphabetical order was a horrible punishment, to him it was nothing and as long as they didn't drive in circles for some obscene amount of time he would be fine. He could simply sleep anyways, as he figured most of them would do, especially after the nights festivities. To top it off the part about his mother being called didn't matter to him, as long as she didn't hear of something horrible she wouldn't care, and a party was nothing. So as far as that part was concerned it was nothing, at least not for him, though he figured others may have a different opinion on that particular thing. Takeda and Trander “Hiya, it’s a shame.. but I’ll see you around Kei-k” Kei's attention left the new seating arrangement as Keiko addressed him and he smiled, her oddness not changing but it was almost charming. Hearing his name pronounced like cake made him chuckle slightly, though seconds later when she went down he got up and reached down only to find her standing moments later and going to write something in a notebook. "Keiko..." He muttered, she seemed to be in some sort of trance, not paying attention to him or anyone else. He was incredibly concerned about the little incident and while he wanted to ask her if she was alright he wasn't exactly sure what happened and she didn't seem to be paying any mind. "Uh, if you need anything don't hesitate to come to my seat..." He spoke finally, moving away from the seat but looking back with a concerned expression. When he sat down in his new seat it took him a moment to move from thinking about Keiko and the odd happening and to his new seat partner, looking over at the man next to him to realize it was Bishop. "Hey Bishop." He said with a quick nod, not being rude but still being slightly occupied and finding himself zoning out a bit past the general greeting, though Bishop wouldn't be a bad person to talk to, or someone to sit next to seeing as he could probably catch some sleep if it came down to it, not fearing drama next to the Junior.

Jonathan Fenix

The girl (Keiko) had that burning spirit of a hyperactive kid, shining brightly as Johnathan watched her point at the spot where he assumed the family portrait had landed, while energetically speeding through her words like a rabbit on crack. When he had introduced himself, however, the girl had paused for a good couple of seconds, as if she had momentarily forgotten her name. "Who is.. me? Keiko... Jonathan..."

He had heard part of what she had muttered to herself, picking up what her name was. When Ms. Roselle entered the scene with that evil smirk on her face, Jonathan knew something was about to go down. "Alright you lot!..." She went off into a verbal onslaught, a tantrum that could rival those made by his father at times, yelling about a party and drinking and detention and... a new seating arrangement?! Then he heard his name at the top of the list... that he was going to be paired with a Belrose. Why the hell am I getting in trouble for some bullshit that I wasn't even part of?! Jonathan muttered to himself, with mental frustration starting to settle in, before realizing that the girl that he had just met minutes ago spoke to him once again.

“Bai bai Johnathan, see you again.”

Quickly changing his train of thought, which had effectively burned away the frustration inside him, he smiled back to the girl as she started off towards her seat again. "See you later, I guess." he called back to her, however his words had probably landed on deaf ears.

As the students began to move around, rearranging themselves with their new seating partners, Jonathan quickly scanned each face, hoping to correctly guess who was this Belrose character, but with no such luck.

His head now turned in the teachers' general direction, Jonathan opened his mouth once more.

Excuse me, but who's Belrose?!"

Akira sighed as she heard the annoying and mind-jarring voice that belonged to none other than Ms. Roselle. She slammed her palm over her face with an annoyed huff, but she was confident Ms. Roselle couldn't possibly hear her from the opposite end of the bus. Yes we were drinking, you're brilliant, bloody brilliant Ms. Roselle. Did you deduce that all on your own? Someone give her a damn cookie.. Akira thought bitterly to herself. Then she laughed a bit. Five hour detention? Please do! I'd love it. Then I won't have to attend work or listen to Gran's nagging. She thought with an amused grin on her face. Hospitality? Do you have a forgiving bone in that heartless body of yours? She mumbled mentally. Oh, and when do you shut up? She shot back to Ms. Roselle in her head. Akira just wasn't in the mood for a lecture today. She'd gotten enough of them lately for a life time. She didn't need them from a woman who was PAID to be here. Then her eyes widened. You idiot! Seating arrangement!? Then she blinked a bit, How do you assign seats in a gym class? Isn't a seating arrangement beyond Mr. Drone's comprehension level anyhow? She wondered, snickering aloud on accident. She ran a hand through her hair trying to stop her antagonizing thoughts. Tell my grandmother anything you want.. All I have to do is tell her I was flirting with rich boys and I'm off the hook. She rolled her eyes behind her closed eyelids. She couldn't believe the greed of that woman. Money isn't everything, I'd rather like them for who they are, not what they own..

Then the names were read off and she raised an eyebrow. Silas and Kaoru? Are they insane? She shrugged her shoulders. At least Sera doesn't get to sit with him either.. This is going to be interesting however.. Then her only remaining prayers. Anyone but Devone or Kei.. She begged mentally, repeating the words in her head. Not Devone or Kei.. Not Devone or Kei, Not Devone or Kei... Then she heard Devone's name along with Sera's. Alright, almost home free. Anyone but Kei.. Anyone but Kei.. Anyone but Kei.. she kept praying her head. Then she heard Varthur and Yumi's names. Crap, please.. I'll do anything, not Kei, please, anyone but Kei... "Misao and Miyuu" She heard Ms. Roselle's voice ring, for once almost heavenly. She nearly pumped her fist in the air and screamed, 'Yes!' but she contained her excitement, "See ya Sy." She told Silas with a wave, "Get some ideas, being blindly at your mercy is nerve wracking.." After giving her piece, Akira proceeded with getting up and moving a few rows up as the new seating arrangement called for. I wonder who Misao is? That really doesn't tell me much about them.. She took the window seat, leaning her head on it. Ms. Roselle can kiss my ass.. I don't get to sit with my best friend.. so I am at least getting the side of the seat that I want. She can give me detention if she likes. The brunette just looked around, trying to get an idea of which of the students was her new seatmate. I wonder if they've heard about me.. if they know I've.. She was too caught off in her own thoughts to even realizing the girl collapsing onto the floor of the bus.. (Keiko)

Then she decided to have a bit of fun, even if it did draw a little attention to herself. She wanted to find out who this person was..and they were taking forever to show themselves. "If Misao doesn't come sit down by the time I get to three.. I'll just lay down in our seat.." Then she began counting, "Ichi (1).." She chimed with a smile, obviously being playful. Then she opened her mouth for the next number, "Ni (2)..." and she drug it out as she got closer to three.

Keiko Misao

"If Misao doesn't come sit down by the time I get to three.. I'll just lay down in our seat.."

Keiko stood up with her bag over her shoulder and notebook neatly tucked away inside as she looked to the girl (Akira) seated by a window who had mentioned her, clicking her pen with wide eyes that refused to blink as locks of her hair shifted with light breezes passing through the left opened bus windows as her body remained firm except for the continuous pen clicking. Wha.....? "Ichi (1).." The girl (Akira) with short brown hair and a tomboyish presentation of herself initiated her count down as Keiko stared on still confused by the brunette's hurry. "Ni (2)..." The girl (Akira) continued yet seemed to purposefully delay the count from reaching three. Keiko didn't really like drawing attention to herself which was another reason why the beach excursion wasn't the best outing to promote interaction with other students for her. Having attention made her uneasy as did crowds or anything else involving a large amount of people which started to make her wonder. In another life.. in my previous life, was I like this too? Keiko started walking towards the girl (Akira) at an average pace, more confused than intimidated by the aspect of having her seat being laid down on with no space for her to be. As her footsteps paused reaching the girl (Akira), she tapped her shoulder with a finger before her arm rested back at her side. "Misao Keiko." she provided her name, with the same expression she had when she first heard the brunette's (Akira's) voice.

Keiko tilted her head to both sides partly stretching her neck that felt stiff before gracefully plopping into her seat by the aisle, removing the bag from her shoulder to shove it underneath the seat in front of her as she did before sitting with Kei. Aeon, Kei..Jonathan.. Miyuu. Keiko covered her mouth slightly as she stared down her lap with a light blush hinting at her cheeks realizing something. She had so quickly met three boys she could call by their first name and was pretty sure in Japan, the custom was to refer to people by surnames unless you were well acquainted. At least I know my sexual orientation.. she joked though the joke still stung. It was a horrid gut-wrenching feeling not knowing who she really was. It also made her alone, with no family to recall and barely able to relate to people. Keiko closed her eyes heaving a deep breath as her chest rose and dropped accordingly before opening her eyes again attentively with fluttering eyelashes. Keiko being observant, could hear Kei coming from behind where she was seated but Aeon and Jonathan were question marks in the meantime. Keiko cleared her throat quietly, double checking her bag was stable where she had placed it then continuing to just observe the atmosphere of the bus as if she didn't quite belong there to begin with. No.. I really don't.

Keiko was aware she had made herself look suspicious and almost untrustworthy with the slip ups revolving around her name, identity and the bad habit of talking in third person as if she was not her. On the other hand, she couldn't help it. The detachment seemed to serve as a little get away from the reality of suffering from amnesia and with nothing but books to occupy her mind, it was a constant topic of reflection. Someday.. she placed her hand on her heart as if reciting an oath. Someday, I will remember who I am and if not.. Her eyes blinked slowly focused solely on her goal as the pupil of her eyes expanded surrounded by a deep enriching brown shade. I will go looking to reclaim what I lost.. Her hand gripped at her shirt tighter for a lingering second before releasing the material and turning to her new seatmate (Akira) being the first girl her age she had communicated with despite a given name not really being sufficient to serve as communicating. The bus hadn't left its parking and the bus being crowded felt smaller and smaller, like the sides were closing in on her the more Keiko thought about it, but observing others was a good distraction. Keiko liked to learn if it would get her mind away from her personal fears.

Akira smiled warmly when she noticed the girl who obvious was Misao. She held her hand out to the other girl, grinning like a goofball. She obviously was in a much better mood than the past two days.. However the reason for her higher spirits was a little unclear, "Nice to meet you Misao-chan." She smiled. Her accent was a bit off. Although she did have a few of the physical characteristics, it was clear she was not born in japan, "Sorry if that was embarrassing. I just love meeting new people." She replied with a sheepish laughter. She really didn't think her actions through, but she pull all eyes on the other girl. It was pretty rude when she thought back on it. Oh well, she doesn't seem traumatized.. so I guess it wasn't that terrible for her. We'll get over it then. She comforted herself before looking out the window for a moment, then back to Keiko, "Miyuu. Akira by the way. Though you can call me Akira if you want to.. I don't mind." She sweatdropped with nervous laughter. She almost forgot to supply her own name, "I haven't seen you around before.. are you a junior?" she asked curiously, brown eyes looking over the other girl. They had a lot of simular traits.. brown hair, brown eyes.. it was kind of weird. Though she shook it off. They really didn't have much else in common.. Her hair was long while Akira's own was short as a boy's. This girl looked completely feminine.. while she on the other hand looked ridiculous in makeup, at least she thought so anyhow.

Akira noticed her behavior and put her hand on the other girl's shoulder, "I don't know who your senior is.. but if you ever need anything.. you can call me if you like." and she offered her hand out, "I'll put it in your phone...you have one..right?" she asked tilting her head. Shit. What if she doesn't? Then you were completely inconsiderate and rude.. She bit her lip for a moment before continuing, "It's just..that look on your face.." she trailed off, "I know the feeling.. So how about we be friends? We can keep eachother from feeling that way.." She smiled assuringly to her. She's a lot like me.. the look on her face.. it's so sad and lonely.. I wonder why.. Akira then pulled a box out of her bag, tearing it open then offering it to Keiko, shaking it slightly, "Pocky? It's strawberry flavor~." she asked with a friendly smile and a pleasant chime to her tone. She wanted to make this girl feel more comfortable. She looked like she was so...lost. Hell, why not.. if I can't help myself.. I might as well see if I can help her. Though I wonder if I should actually be doing this.. will people treat her poorly for befriending me? Will it put her in danger with Devone? Would Devone lash out at a girl like her? Akira ran her free hand through her hair with a sigh. I'm going to have grey hair before I graduate if I keep thinking so much. Then she peered over at the seats around her. Infront of her was Yomi and Varthur. After giving Keiko time to take one of the strawberry covered buscuit sticks, she reach up and tapped Yomi on the shoulder, "Oi, I saw you last night and that was no place for an introduction, I'm Miyuu, Akira. Though you can call me Akira if you want to." She replied brightly, ignoring the bad vibes she recieved from Varthur before the seating changes, then she offered the box of pocky to Yumi, "Want a piece?" she grinned childishly.

Akira then turned back to Keiko, "We can share what's left afterwards." she winked at her playfully. To those who knew her, Akira's picture was definitely next to the word bipolar in the dictionary.. her anger issues caused her fuse to be.. irrationally short.. though she could be extremely sweet when she tried hard enough. She eventually turned to the seats behind her, noticing Bishop and Kei. Kei.. Her eyes widened and she zoned out for a bit. She'd acted pretty shallow the night before.. pretending to not be angry with him anymore to win a bet with Devone.. She broke away from her thoughts however when she noticed she'd been facing them for almost an entire minute without saying a word. She shook her head to be sure she wouldn't get lost in thought again before holding the box of pocky to them this time, "Want some?" she asked laughing nervously, "That's a bit embarrassing.. I didn't mean to gaze off into space like that.." she felt her cheeks heat up, "Sorry about that." Her brown eyes lingered on Bishop for a moment as she waited for them to respond or take a piece, but they would glance at Kei every now and then. She didn't want to forgive him, she wanted to hang onto the grudge, but it was becoming harder to cling on the grudge the more she was exposed to him. She didn't have any friends anymore except Silas. Sure she was trying to befriend Yumi and Keiko, but she didn't have them yet.. and Varthur was mad at her for some reason she still wasn't certain about. Honestly it was getting on her nerves. Who is he to be the nice guy when he has a right to be mad at me then a total prick when I can't even think of a reason he should be mad at me at all!? On the bus.. he had every right.. but why'd he get mad at the party..? She shook her head blinking when she felt the box of pocky slip from her fingers, catching the box of pocky at the last second, "Whew, that was close." she was blushing much darker now, "I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing.."

Keiko Misao

I want to go home.. even if it's lonely at home.
Keiko decided on her own, in her little head where she was granted privacy compared to sitting on board a cramped bus full of noisy classmates. Not to say that she was grumpy, just uncomfortable for the time being. She was still happy to have met people but she wouldn't preferred to socialise in a much more relaxing and less tense atmosphere though little did she know, for most other classmates, this was a less tense atmosphere. Keiko would've preferred socialising in a small club with shared common interests or inviting someone over her apartment, class maybe since it was more organised and there was more space as well as a limit to how many people there were in attendance sharing a single room. However, this excursion had been compulsory and she didn't want to have faked sick and lie just to miss it. Even if she didn't contain her memories or recall who she was, at the very least this experience could serve as a new beginning to becoming better, someone more honest perhaps.

"Miyuu. Akira by the way. Though you can call me Akira if you want to.. I don't mind."
The girl named Akira seated beside her introduced herself seemingly nervous but Keiko didn't understand why she would be. If anyone, Keiko believed she should be the nervous one.
"I haven't seen you around before.. are you a junior?"
Keiko nodded complacently, distracted momentarily by her own thoughts before managing to place a little smile across her lips as she stared back. Akira appeared to be analyzing her as Keiko noticed the girl's eyes move from her hair and back to her eyes. As the girl Akira observed her though, she also ended up analyzing her seat mate back without the intention to do so. Wow Keiko stopped staring as Akira did, feeling a light weight placed on her shoulder only to turn her head slightly and find it was Akira's hand plopped upon it.
"I don't know who your senior is.. but if you ever need anything.. you can call me if you like." "I'll put it in your phone...you have one..right?"
Keiko nodded, the same nod as before as she shuffled through the items in her bag though her mind was tumbling through questions like why this girl Akira was acting so nice to her. Is it because she noticed the same things Keiko did, their similarity in looks? Keiko hummed a little tune as she located her phone successfully and handed it to Akira without a second thought. Although Keiko questioned people, she was willing to believe in people quite easily and maybe part of that was because she couldn't really recall a negative experience besides a feeling of alienation, being different and not associated with everyone. Besides that though, she was fine. She wasn't being picked on or bullied, or targeted in some way so she wasn't afraid of getting to know anyone or place her trust in their hands.

"It's just..that look on your face.." "I know the feeling.. So how about we be friends? We can keep each other from feeling that way.."
Akira said with a soft smile that made Keiko's eyes widen. She wasn't sure if the girl really understood what she was feeling as it was a very sudden thing to say to someone you just met but then again, Keiko also knew she had started a tendency to observe people, and hope to find similarities with them. Maybe Akira was trying to do the same too?
It was a really big question, whether she was understood or not. It was a nice feeling though that someone was trying to, even if it was a random bus seatmate.
At the sound of something jingling about in a box, Keiko turned her attention back to reality to find a box positioned in front of her held by Akira.
"Pocky? It's strawberry flavor~."
"I don't know if..." Keiko started, about to say she didn't know if she liked that flavour but instead of continuing on, slowly pinched two fingers in like chopsticks to grab a biscuit stick that was covered in pink for the most part which she assumed was the flavouring. Keiko nibbled the top of the stick curiously like a mouse to find that it tasted really good, the so called pocky being devoured in a second afterwards and missing out on the discussion between Akira and those seated in front of her because she was distracted by the fondness of the snack that she had to write it down in her notebook to buy some more in the future, hopefully on her way home.

"We can share what's left afterwards." Akira winked over at her as Keiko mimicked the gesture slowly, trying to copy it to the exact detail. As she wasn't usually the winking type, it felt like an experiment or a baby copying a parent. It was really that foreign a gesture for her to do. Keiko had managed to notice that Akira was staring at Kei her previous seat mate for quite a while before offering some pocky to the boys (Bishop and Kei) too. How generous... Keiko noted, finding the snack pretty delectable that she wasn't even sure she'd share if she owned a box or two.. or more.
"That's a bit embarrassing.. I didn't mean to gaze off into space like that..""Sorry about that."
Keiko watched as Akira's face glowed red and it was apparent it was because she had stared at Kei for so long which made Keiko look over at Kei too to try to understand the reason. It was obvious the two knew each other but there was some kind of unexplained tension hanging between them that Keiko couldn't comprehend yet. Maybe later? she reassured herself as she stared over at the blonde boy (Bishop) seated besides Kei.
"Hello..."
Keiko murmured over to the blonde (Bishop), wondering if any of the boys could hear her or Akira's voice would overwhelm her at any moment since the girl was a lot more lively and was more well acquainted with them. After practising how to wink a little earlier, Keiko thought she'd try it out and winked at the blonde (Bishop) since the gesture seemed to work well on Akira and make her look cute, Keiko wanted to try it too. Although her expression changed in an instant as the box of pocky almost fell to the ground.
"Wahhh!"
Keiko had shrieked in a panic as if her life depended on it, only to sigh with great relief as the box was caught. That would have been such a waste of a delicious snack! Her cheeks puffed up at the outrageous thought.

"Hey, Kei..... How's it goin?" Kei shrugged, "Fine, ready to get back and still a bit worn from last night." He wasn't exactly looking to strike up a lengthy conversation but he wasn't going to be rude, Bishop wasn't a bad guy. Of course he was a bit exhausted, or more precisely still a bit hungover even after his sleep and breakfast, though it wasn't as bad as it was when he woke. That being said part of him wanted to ignore everything around him, including his new seatmate, and just get some additional shuteye, his sleep not being that bad but limited by its location and with the night they had all had it was hard to feel ready for more without a bit more recuperation. Even with boxing he got to eat well and a full nights sleep in a comfortable bed, even if he was physically tired. "Want some?" When Akira's voice rang in his ears Kei felt a tad reinvigorated, turning to see if she was really talking to him of his own accord. The fact that she was made him wonder if she wasn't as mad at him because of the bus incident, if she had cooled down a bit. Regardless he was glad that she was looking at him without a sour expression, much less talking to him. Of course something was still off, not just on her end but on his, he didn't feel as excited as he would have been several days ago, whether it be because of his current state or just the past day he wasn't sure. He still wanted to get to know her though and talking, whether it be nothing special or not, was progress to getting back on that path. "That's a bit embarrassing.. I didn't mean to gaze off into space like that.." The tension was slightly broken with some of Akira's nonsensical talk, saying something he had no clue about and then blushing, it was as cute as ever in an awkward almost odd way.

"Sorry about that." Kei didn't say anything, he still wasn't sure what she had done so he ignored it and reached forward, taking a single one of the offered snack. He wasn't a big fan but he just wanted to take one to be polite and keep the ball rolling in terms of talking to Akira, even if his response was only a, "Thank you." He gave a small smile, though it changed to surprise when the box slipped from Akira's hand and he thought about reaching out and grabbing it but Akira was quick enough and beat him to it. "Whew, that was close." The deeper blush and her continue Akira like personality, at least the good side of it, almost made him laugh but he didn't want it to be misconstrued and cause another blowout so he held it back, and continued to hold back by only giving a friendly smile to her next comment. "I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing.." It was all made easier with Keiko's outburst when Akira almost dropped the box. He just finished his bit of the snack and looked over to Keiko, she was still as strange as ever but it was an interesting and nice kind of strange. "Looks like we didn't move that far apart." He turned to Akira after that and gave a final, "Thank you for the snack." Before turning back around, he wasn't being rude but he couldn't just strike up a conversation and instead he got comfortable in his seat, not closing his eyes or trying to go to sleep but letting himself zone out a bit, waiting for either something else to happen or for them to reach their destination, though he hoped it was the latter, he was ready to get back and let things settle down.

Bishop Trander

"Fine, ready to get back and still a bit worn from last night." Bishop smiled softly and nodded understandingly. He noticed that Kei looked especially tired as himself, so there was a mutual want to get some rest between the two. Bishop adjusted his posture against the window of the bus to get comfortable and sighed in the process about to get comfortable. But a swish of brown hair caught his eye, and he turned to see the senior Akira starring at.... Him? Someone behind him? He just sat there, his eyes wide now feeling a little bit awkward. He could have sworn one of those branch ball thingy's you see in westerned rolled by in the process. And true to Akira's nature, she snapped out of the possible starring contest and handed out a pink box of pocky. "Want some?" "Hmm? Uhh, sure yeah." "That's a bit embarrassing.. I didn't mean to gaze off into space like that.. Sorry about that." Bishop laughed a tiny bit, noticing Kei was quiet for this certain interaction. "It's no problem... Thank you Akira." He was kind and gentle as always.

"Hello..." Bishop turned to the gentle voice that spoke to him, finding the source came from the girl sitting beside Akira. He smiled in his usual kind way making eye contact with the new girl (Keiko). "Hi, how are you?" "Wahhh!" Bishop jumped at the girlish squeal, and noticed Akira's new firm grip on the box. "Whew, that was close. I need to pay more attention to what I'm doing.." Bishop sweatdropped along with the senior (Akira), but he maintained a smile. "Crisis averted right? Hehe..." He took a bite of the pocky then blinked realizing it was strawberry flavored. His eyes shifted over to Keiko and snickered a bit seeing the silly look on her face. He personally thought it was funny, but stopped before the girl would think he was laughing at her.

His seatmate seemed to settle in, along with everybody else on the bus. "Thank you for the pocky Akira." He nodded and took another deliberate bite at the sweet treat looking back to Keiko. "Oh! I'm sorry. I never introduced myself.... My name is Bishop. What's yours?". He spoke with genuine interest, glancing over to Akira hoping to give the body language off that he wasn't just forgetting about her.

"Crisis averted right? Hehe..." Keiko nodded her head agreeing with the blonde boy but in a serious manner. She really did consider wasted food a crisis, not just food she was really fond of, taking into considering that there are so many suffering and in poverty. She may have lost her family, memories and everything that defined her as a person and as an individual, but she was still thoughtful and considerate of others, in ways that were maybe a bit more extreme than the norm.
"Looks like we didn't move that far apart." When Kei recognised her presence, Keiko stiffened and gave another nod, but more firm added with a small nervous smile. She knew she wasn't responsible for the sitting location and it was all coincidence, but being so near him again made her feel like a stalker. Perhaps she was just overly conscious of the impressions she was setting to others.
"Oh! I'm sorry. I never introduced myself.... My name is Bishop. What's yours?" Keiko's eyes were averted over to Bishop. "Keiko.. Keiko is happy to make your acquaintance!" The first time she expressed her name, it came out hesitated but the latter enthusiasm made up for it.
As a girl, Keiko naturally compared the boys she had met so far in her mind. Aeon.. Jonathan... Kei..Bishop. Aeon would be the hardest to get to know, the one she considered would always give her and perhaps everyone else as well, the cold shoulder. Jonathan she barely had a chance to talk to, but the family portrait remained constant in her mind and the impression she received from him bringing it during a beach trip, made it seem like family was very important to him. It was cute. Kei she found to be mysterious, yet a gentleman. She couldn't really tell what kind of person he is except for the fact he is very kind towards everyone and Bishop whom she had just met, was very cheerful and easy to get along with, making her assume he got along with everyone and was likely popular or excelling at something; studies or sports maybe even both.
Somehow, she got embarrassed at her own thoughts and started to shy away from the ongoing conversation.

As the bus halted, she swore she could see a boy (Shin) watching from one of the school buildings. What was odd about it, was the classroom he was in looked pretty empty. I wonder if he got left behind? The view was too far to recognise him, but judging from the hair alone that she could glimpse at, she assumed it was a boy. He looked pretty lonely up there. Keiko listened attentively to the announcements delivered by Mr. Drone as the Class president nominations were mentioned especially. This is a tough call, I've barely met the other juniors. She counted her fingers of people she had already met, from the trip on the bus alone and it made her wonder just how much she missed at the beach by staying put in her cabin. It was a bit of a sad realisation but then again, she didn't bring any swimwear and would naturally be left out of the activities with her peers regardless. Although, she did hear a lot of noise coming from outside during night time. It sounded like there was a lot of fun going on, but she had just continued reading her books without peeking.

Keiko didn't like the fussy lines but she slowly got up from her seat and waited to join it because it was a step closer to home. As she waited, she looked out the window again but not at the boy (Shin), but out towards the crowds. There were so many students that she wondered who would get nominated knowing surely it wouldn't be her. As she looked around more, her eyes settled on a student who stuck out like sore thumb from the rest. The girl (Devone) was in all meaning of the word, beautiful. The way she moved through the crowd made her look like a queen, with such poise and grace and the right level of feminine and authority put together. Although her black hair was very common amongst the crowd being in an asian country, she still had all the qualities to stand out. Keiko was a little jealous at how confident this girl (Devone) looked to be, when she was always unsure of herself. "Who is that.." Keiko stared on, not asking the question to anyone in particular but as she asked, she almost swore for a fraction of the second, that the beautiful girl (Devone) had a devious look on her face that gave the vibe of someone you wouldn't want to mess with.

"Keiko.. Keiko is happy to make your acquaintance!" Bishop smiled kindly to Keiko finding the odd way she introduced herself to be rather funny, which intrigued the blonde haired boy even more. He grew a little curious about Keiko wondering if that was on purpose or maybe it just slipped out. She seemed to get lost in thought which made Bishop wonder even more. <This girl is curious...> He started to think heavily as well and before long he had succumb to sleep, the silent killer.

Bishop and slowly opened his eyes seeing students already getting up to leave the bus. "Wha-?" He would jerk to a sitting up position and looked around seeing Airdalen in front of his window and sighed rubbing his head. "I don't know when I fell asleep..." Suddenly he felt a mental smack on the head hearing his mother scold him from somewhere out in space. "Japanese!! You'll never get better at it if you don't speak it Bishop." The junior grimaced again and tilted his head down scratching his head feeling an itch. "Right Japanese..." He mentally faced palmed himself. "I mean... Japanese...Aahhh..." In his mind, he could see his mother crossing her arms holding a ladle and nodding her head. "I need some sleep..." Bishop moved to stand up and in thinking of his own faulty speaking skills, he forgot about the low head room right above the seats in the fancy charter bus and smacked his head on the hard plastic. "YOWWW!!" Bishop immediately collapsed back into his seat and shut one eye in pain rubbing his head. "Fine, i get it mom! More Japanese, ugh..." Bishop scooted out of his seat, then carefully got up to leave.
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Back at the Trander residence Kimiko, Bishop's mother was setting down with some juice watching the news. She would suddenly have a violent sneeze knocking over the glass and rubbed her nose. "Oh my... It appears someone was talking about me." She would giggle effeminately while covering her mouth with a hand. "It appears the universe is on my side yet again... A mother always knows." She giggled again, somehow knowing her son was scolded without actually being.... Scolded, about practicing Japanese.
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Bishop grumbled stepping off of the bus and winced seeing the bright light on the beautiful sunny day. He stepped over to where the bags were, and suddenly regretted having brought his surfboard. He grabbed the huge piece of.... Whatever surfboards are made of, and headed into the main school building. Walking through, he got several looks from people. One, he was in a rather un-kept and dirty looking school uniform since he forgot to pack another change of clothes except for his trunks, and a tank top. on top of that, carrying a surfboard wasn't all to common in school. He walked by two people he had never seen before, two seniors it seemed to be. One was an elegant looking male with a deep purple hair and the face you swear you saw before. Where again? Oh!! Mr. Swato! Yeah like a young much more intimidating and handsome- maybe even beautiful, Mr. Swato(Aeon). The other was an extremely lovely looking girl with silver hair, and red eyes that captured the attention when you looked at her face (Cassiopea..... C-Cassiopeia. I think i got it right :S) who was, well.... Talking the fellows ear off.

"Excuse me..." Bishop tiredly called out to the silver haired senior (Cassiopeia[?]) He scooted by the senior making sure to not have his surfboard scratch the girl's arm and moved on his merry way. He would glance back to make sure he didn't nick her arm at all with an apologetic smile before turning back around. He wondered around not entirely sure where to go until a hand grasped his arm forcing him to stop. "Bishop Trander?" "Hmm?" He turned to see another senior looking down at him. The person was lean, had a swimmer's body and smiled genuinely to him. "You're the new scholarship swimmer from Okinawa right?" "Uhh, yes." Bishop perked up a bit, fully facing the young man standing before him to be polite. "I'm Kenshi, I'm the swim club's president... Or rather, I'll be running for it once again this year. I just wanted to find you and let you know that we have a club meeting on Monday. We're expecting to see you there. I wanna see how good you Americans are in person." The man chuckled along with Bishop, the friendly yet competitive vibe growing around them. Bishop liked that a lot, it built group morale and was fun to be around when everyone was pushing at something they all had a common interest in. "You'll see me there! Guarantee it!!" Bishop winked and gave Kenshi a thumbs up. "Good, see you around then." The too waved good, and departed their own separate ways.



Bishop walked around not entirely sure where to go, but found a steady stream of Juniors heading to one room and decided to follow the school of students as they funneled into a single large classroom. <I don't know how everyone is going to sit in here..."> Bishop did the dance of a thousand pleases (That's tip-toeing precariously around people trying not to stomp anyone's feet) holding his surfboard close now feeling rather foolish. He eventually managed to go tot he back of the class, and leaned it against the wall finding a seat much to his relief. He sighed reclining back as he waited for the nominations to be announced so he could get out of here and go to bed. But he had no idea that fate would be thrusting an interesting opportunity to him in his near future.

Kei was not exactly thrilled about what had just happened in the classroom, mainly because he was terribly confused but also because nothing seemed to make sense. Yesterday was like a plot whole in the story of his life, people who hated him then were suddenly putting him up for class president and people who hated each other were making a semi-scene in the back of the classroom. Perhaps that was simply how things worked though because Kei didn't know what else to think. Of course he liked to think he had paid more attention despite not talking to people the last few semesters, that he would have realized friendship and relationships of any kind were randomized mazes of what the fuck but apparently he hadn't been. So he just sat there for a moment staring off into space and trying to wrap his head around everything that had just happened. It seemed he just didn't have the brainpower to do that though and instead of figuring it out he just became more irritated and more confused. Thus was life. So instead he just waited, ignoring the fact that Akira had essentially vouched for him and the little Silas and Devone scene in the back, as well as the overly enthusiastic Mr. Drone that if anybody had been watching would probably been doing something annoyingly mind-blowing. He buried his head in the sand so to speak and until the bell rang he was doing anything but contemplating the many mysteries of human interactions.

When the bell finally did ring Kei waited for a moment, letting a few others file out before he himself stood from the seat and got his stuff together. Home, that was what was on his mind, he didn't care if clubs had started yet, he could put them off for one day because a good meal and sleep sounded much better. Yes, a good meal, he had been wanting something good to eat since that little family style place he had shared a meal with Devone, something more than under-seasoned and overpriced food. As Kei walked out of the classroom he began to think about all the different meals he could make, stuff they had in the fridge and things he could go out and get on the way home and everything sounded good. He wore a smile on his face at the thought, his stomach rumbling since he hadn't eaten in quite some time, at least nothing substantial or delicious. It would be welcomed, though something happened as he made his way down the hall. Instead of snapping out of his day dream Kei sunk deeper into it, his thoughts of food clouding his entire mind and before long his eyes shut closed, the Senior slumping up against the nearest locker and sliding down the side of it. It was the strangest thing, he had seemed tired and he certainly hadn't felt ill but he was out, though at least he hadn't crashed to the ground, it would be unfortunate for whoever he had fallen on.

---

Kei snapped awake what seemed like moments after his sudden drowsiness, his eyes popping open and him pushing himself up from his prone position on the floor. "What in the hell..." He groaned groggily as he made his best effort to get to his feet, a bit of unsteadiness at first but he kept his balance. "Where..." He looked around only to find himself in one of his least favorite places on the school grounds, the Science Lab. He shook his head and rubbed his forehead as he tried to figure out why he was in the Science Lab alone and without any of his stuff. It really made no sense and the longer he thought about it the less sense it made, he wouldn't have gone there willingly, he definitely didn't think people would carry out a practical joke in which they had to lug around his giant body, and there was nobody else with him. It made absolutely no sense and Kei grumbled angrily to himself, looking around for a clock, his phone having died on the bus and being useless despite him still having it. That just made things more confusing, he hadn't been out for long and yet he had made it all the way to the Science Building. "I can't catch a damn break can I..." He muttered, knowing that every single day something seemed to have gone wrong and it kept becoming worse and worse. Tomorrow I probably get hit by a bus... Yep that would be just his luck as of late and really increase his mood because the way things were going he wouldn't die, just be terribly crippled after the bus smashed right into him.

It was just as Kei was about to rip his hair out that he walked over towards the window. "Oh... People outside and running around... That's where I'm going to go..." He turned around, not looking very closely about what was happening outside and moved towards the door but as things went he stopped, a noise catching his ear, the sound of a snore. His eyes narrowed and he went towards the sound, searching around the area and finding nobody but he could still hear it. Then he figured it out and began to open up the various cupboards in front of him, swallowing as he finally found the source, Keiko, the girl he met on the bus. Now things made even less sense to him than ever and he took a deep breath, "Simple... That's how my days use to seem... Simple..." He took one more deep breath and reached out, slowly pushing against Keiko's shoulder to try and wake her up, "Keiko... Not the place to sleep." He didn't know her that well but he continued to shake her shoulder, he would have been laughing at the cuteness if he wasn't so irritated and confused by everything else. "Keiko..." He said again, pushing against her shoulder, he wasn't going to leave her but he wanted her to get up, he really didn't feel like staying there any longer than he had to, even if he didn't have somewhere that important to be, though food was still on his mind, it wasn't going to leave unless something more pressing came up.

"I'M A VIRGIN! OR OR DO YOU WANT TO ROB ME? I AM A HIGHSCHOOL STUDENT WITH NO JOB..WELL I WORK AT A BAKERY BUT I'M NOT VERY GOOD AT IT OR OR DID I DO SOMETHING BAD? WAS I A BAD PERSON TO YOU? I AM SORRY! I'VE HAD AMNESIA FOR A WHILE SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT I DID WRONG OR EVEN WHO I WAS BEFORE BUT I WILL MAKE IT UP TO Y---Wait.." Kei sighed as Keiko freaked out, shouting about a little bit of everything and he couldn't have been less surprised, why not, why would his day suddenly get easier? Exactly, it wasn't going to get any easier and he was tired of expecting it to. Of course he did find himself a tad embarrassed, a girl he had only met that morning had just yelled out that she was a virgin, the other stuff he had been accused of before due to his general attitude and appearance. Being a thief had been assumed, people saying they were sorry when they hadn't done anything, all of that, but a girl yelling that she was a virgin, that was new. Kei reaching up and scratched his head, the arm that had been pushing on her shoulder removing itself as quickly as possible in order to stop the confusion from becoming more than it was. That is just not the kind of thing you tell a random stranger, ugh. Kei was good with a lot of things, high pressure situations and keeping his head straight enough to get through anything, but women and sex talk, all of that was odd for him, uncomfortable even. Not that he was completely innocent but there was no tolerance built up for that sort of thing and he chose to ignore it as best he could. It still didn't stop his cheeks from flushing for a brief moment, one he hoped didn't get seen.

Keiko seemed to be trying to figure out what was going on in her own clumsy way, moving around and hitting her head, something Kei couldn't do anything about. Keiko had seemed very interesting since he met her on the bus, not the usual kind of person and the situation where the confusing girl was confused, that was just something completely out there. "Ohh, cake!" Cake... What? "I mean Kei, hey!" Oh, cake is me, glad to know people remember my name... He would like to have had a Silas attitude about things, think perhaps he was just so delicious looking that he made people think of cake, all mouth watering and desirable. Reality for him wasn't so sweet though and he just took a deep breath, putting on a smile and moving back a bit to allow Keiko room to escape the cupboard, leaning against one of the tall science desks. "Ah wah.. Keiko doesn't remember... science class.." Kei didn't remember science class either and he knew both of them being in the same room was more strange than anything, it was something weird. "I don't remember science class either, I have no clue why either of us are here. In fact I woke up on the floor over there..." He signaled with his thumb and crossed his arms afterwards, his mind still trying to reason out why he was in the science classroom and not grabbing some food or near his house already. He couldn't leave Keiko and go on his way though, whatever caused them both to wake up in a classroom wasn't normal and he had a duty as far as he was concerned.

Before Kei could say anything else or ask Keiko a question he was startled by a shrill scream and he turned his head, it came from outside. "What the hell is going on..." He moved over to the window as calmly as ever and looked out, this time taking a much closer look at what he had believed to be people running around and heading home. It wasn't so simple. Kei couldn't exactly tell what was going on but it was chaos and he had never seen anything like it outside of a movie. He saw the source of the scream after that, a female classmate running from a few other students. His first thought was bullying but that wasn't it, there was something more, something worse and he couldn't figure it out, not from there. So he walked back over to Keiko and gave her a serious look, "Something is going on, I have no idea what it is but waking up here suddenly and whatever in the hell is going on outside makes me think this isn't just some practical joke, and if it is then it is a wildly elaborate one." He rubbed the back of his head and looked back towards the window as another scream, a different scream carried itself to them. Not knowing was the worst thing, for all he knew some crazy game of tag could be going on, though after what he had seen, even if not up close made that wishful thinking. "Keiko, this doesn't make any sense, so what do you say about us going and figuring out just what the hell is going on?" He wanted to figure it out but he wasn't going to leave Keiko alone and what he had seen made that all the more final, he couldn't do that and live with himself, just in case something more serious than a game was going down.

Keiko's eyes widened as she clasped her hands together in glee, so much so that you would think with the way she was swaying that she had grown a tail to wag and floppy fox ears to express her happiness. Of all the things to be eyeing, she was staring straight past Kei where a lunchbox full of bento was laying on the table behind him. Looks..soo.goood. she thought with starry eyes as she was very hungry. "I don't remember science class either, I have no clue why either of us are here. In fact I woke up on the floor over there..." Keiko squeaked as she snapped out of her daydreams of nomming bento. It would have to wait as Kei reminded her how strange the circumstances were. She tilted her head as her eyes wandered over to where Kei was pointing. "That can not have been comfortable.. but Keiko envies you! Floor much better than cupboard, yes?" She asked, actually anticipating an answer as her eyes drew their attention back to the lunch box behind him. So...yummy..

As if it was wrong for Keiko to daydream about food, another thing snapped her out of it. A scream that sounded much like a girl's was heard, stealing both her and Kei's attention away. "What the hell is going on..." Keiko breathed in, one hand clenched in front of her chest telling herself to remain calm and play soldier. Kei was the commanding officer and she was the soldier awaiting orders in this odd predicament. As odd as that sounded, she was just trying to think of this situation as a game instead so she wouldn't freak out. In truth, Keiko was very scared. She was always scared of things that didn't make sense or of things that she didn't remember like her past. Keiko had always been afraid that her past would come back to haunt her or that she wouldn't have anything left to remember. It wasn't easy being unsure of everything, especially who you really are.

"Keiko, this doesn't make any sense, so what do you say about us going and figuring out just what the hell is going on?" Keiko saluted Kei and responded in all serious, "Aye commander...... oh wait, aye is for pirates." She slumped her shoulders disappointed with herself before standing up straight and re-doing it. "Yes commander!" She then proceeded to slouch her shoulders and smile cheerfully with closed eyes although her hand remained firm in salute. "Keiko will follow-" her face froze in horror before putting on a stern face, as if she was cranky. "Kei, 'hell' is not a nice thing to say... Keiko doesn't like that word. It makes her think of bad things..." After explaining, the fear she was feeling deep inside started to show as her eyes looked to the side and her body started shaking. Both of her hands were clenched in tiny fists in front of her chest trying to control her shaking but she couldn't. She had a really bad feeling and was sure something in the air didn't smell right. "Be careful.. if you head out first.." she said timidly.