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 Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:23 am
""
""
"I think it's your turn, Mayu!"
"So it is.."
The gang of four had been booted out of the house kicking and screaming, Kimiko having not wanted to cook food for more than two people on that day.
"Go to martial arts, get food, walk around," she had said, "Just don't kill yourself." And so they had.
Mayu and Verde had just made themselves comfortable on the makeshift seats the foam mats provided, while the ghosts were busy griping about the apaprent lack of skills the karate instructor had at the sport. Luckily, he didn't speak Japanese.
Stepping up to the training dummy, Mayu began to take her anger and boredom on the poor stuffing-filled thing. She was dragged away screaming by two of the older kids, and pouted as she was once again sat down on the lumpy seats.
She wanted something exciting to happen.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 10:56 am
As part of DS's new education initiative she had pushed everyone who could walk out of the house and towards the nearest community center. Eriol had detatched himself from the group early on, but the rest had arrived without incident. It was a simple matter for Ying to deposit her two "brothers" at their arts and crafts class. It was less simple for her and Yeine to find the room where the martial arts lesson was being held.
"He said to go left, not right," Yeine insisted for the seventh time as they walked by another door.
Ying nodded distractedly. She had never really learned to tell her left from her right, but wasn't about to admit that. At least they were somewhere unfamiliar, which meant they weren't walking in the same circle they had been.
Screams erupted from the door they were approaching, causing Yeine to stop in her tracks. "Maybe that's it?" she asked hopefully.
"Maybe," Ying agreed, and peeked through the open door. She caught a glimpse of kids dragging away a girl with fluffy silvery hair- reminding her of Yeine, though far less furry- before her vision was eclipsed by the teacher.
Since Ying seemed dazed Yeine took it upon herself to speak with the instructor. She bowed, not meeting the adult's eyes. "I apologize for our tardiness..." What was the word Ying had said to call the teacher? "... sensei. We had trouble finding the room."
Finally paying attention, Ying nodded and bowed as well. "Sorry."
The teacher did not seem pleased, but he nodded impatiently and let the girls take seats at the end of the row of mats. Whatever had posessed him to let girls in his class?
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 11:14 am
Miroku was in an uproar after the scene that his young friend had caused. When she was training, she seemed to take on a whole new personality. A much more aggressive one at that, and oh-so-funny to see others to try and interrupt.
"hilarious,>" he commented, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye.
"" Mayu muttered, huffing. She then looked to the little Jumi beside her, tugging on a bouncy curl of green hair gently as she tried to catch the dark-skinned girl's attention.
"Are you as bored as I am?" she sighed, leaning back to rest on the wall.
Verde replied with a perfunctory "yep", and mocked her older sister's movements. Her attention was caught by the sudden arrival of new people, however, and she stood up to greet the new people. Maybe they would be more interesting than this class!
"Where are you going, Verde?" Mayu questioned, before looking up to see the pair of girls that had just arrived. They were pink! Wanting to introduce herself, she stood up and followed her little sister to where the new people had taken their seats.
"Hey!" she grinned, waving a hand. She was much better at starting up conversations when she was bored. "Are you new here? Because I've never seen you two here before."
"" Kuro piped up, eyes following Mayu as she traipsed across the room to join the new arrivals.
"" Miroku laughed, giving his fellow ghost a friendly shove. It was returned quickly with an elbow jab, and he reached up to give his friend's ponytail a sharp tug.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:04 pm
The teacher didn't seem to be particularly friendly, which put a damper on Ying's mood. It brightened, however, when the girl she had spotted approached them. "Hi!" she replied, starting to smile. "Yep, this is our first day! DS-okaasan wanted us to get out of the house and do something... well, she said 'You need to be productive with your education.' Whatever that means."
Less outgoing than her friend, Yeine still waved politely, and let Ying do most of the talking. Still, she was a bit curious, and ventured a question when the Jumi had finished. "Do you like this class?"
Hopefully they did. While Yeine was eager to learn and improve herself, taking a class under a mean or unqualified teacher wouldn't help much. Nor would it be particularly fun.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:33 pm
Aha, she had stumbled upon a talker! At least the class would be a BIT more bareable with people to chat with while one was waiting for their turn at the punching bag.
"I see, I see.." Mayu nodded thoughtfully, and took a seat besides the two girls. Verde happily followed, glad to hear a bit of conversation instead of the occasional lectures the teacher would give on the proper way to throw a punch.
"Kimiko didn't want to deal with us four anymore," she paused to point at the ghosts, "so she sent us to martial arts."
She looked over at Yeine, and pondered over the question throughly. Did she like the class?
"No, I can't really say that I do," she replied, tapping a finger on her chin in thought. "It's pretty boring, especially when you already know all of this stuff and more."
"Very boring," Verde agreed, even though she wasn't the one fighting. She didn't really have a taste for combat, be it with weapons or hand-to-hand. She would have preferred to go to the library instead, but she needed to follow her big sister or else she would get lost.
"Say, do you know what goes on outside of this class?" Mayu asked suddenly, half-musing to herself. She hadn't seen much of the community center outside of the martial arts class, and was getting pretty curious by then. When one had already learned the techniques and skills, they were prone to thinking outside of the box -- or the scroll-covered walls, in this case.
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 12:52 pm
That wasn't quite what Yeine had wanted to hear, but she accepted the answer. Apparently the pair- or quartet was it?- had far more talent than Ying and herself, making the classes more of a practice session than anything else. If she had been more daring she would have asked for instruction from the two girls, but instead she sat still and let Ying take the reins again. Besides, the teacher had started talking.
Teacher or no, Ying was pleased to have found someone with common interests- fighting, talking, and pink. "Outside? Not really." There were dozens of doors that they had passed while looking for the right class, but who knew what went on behind them? "More classes, I guess."
"Karan and Xue went to arts and crafts," Yeine chimed in, directing the bulk of her attention back to the teacher, who was calling for volunteers.
"Yeah, that's right." What Ying didn't say was that arts and crafts sounded more fun than stuffy martial arts. But Yeine had wanted to learn something useful, so there they were. She shifted uncomfortably, unable to sit still for long. "I guess they have a whole bunch of other classes like that."
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Posted: Mon Jul 03, 2006 1:17 pm
"More classes?" Mayu gave an interested look, and gazed towards the exit longingly. "Do you think they're at least more fun than this? I think we passed a painting class while we were walking here, that sounded fun.."
Of course, anything sounded more fun at the moment than sitting on the same spot and listening to the incompetent teacher lecture the students on something that he hardly seemed to know. She was sure that Kuro was muttering curses under his breath at this very moment.
"Arts and crafts?" Verde asked, leaning forward so she could see the two girls' faces. "Where is it?"
She had read up on the world of arts and crafts, and it sounded.. well, interesting!
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Posted: Mon Jul 10, 2006 5:14 pm
Arts and crafts had sounded good to Ying as well, when they were signing up for classes. But Yeine had suggested that they try some formal education to better their training. And while Ying was tempted to disagree, she knew that Yeine rarely spoke up unless she thought it was important. Besides which, the Cathar had a point.
Finding the class, however, was another story. "Um. Well... it's in a big room with a window on the side," Ying said slowly. "But I'm not sure how to get there."
The more practical Yeine frowned, looking at the teacher who was busy with a pair of boys on the other side of the room. "You mean you want to leave? Won't we get in trouble?"
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Posted: Tue Jul 11, 2006 9:28 am
"There must be a directory somewhere inside this building, right?" Mayu said, gaze still fixed upon the door. "All we have to do is find it."
She looked to Yeine, and shrugged. "Well, he already took our money, so it should be no problem if we leave now. Less people to teach and more money for him, right? I know Kimiko has no problem if I leave because I've already been taught all of this, but what about you two?"
It was one thing to leave a class if one's guardian didn't give a care as to if they attended or not, but what if they were expected to stay in the class and learn? There came the conflict between morals.
"Can we go?" Verde asked, tugging at Mayu's sleeve. She had enough patience to fill an ocean, but she could hardly stand being in the class. For one, she had no taste in fighting, and two, the dull atmosphere had no stimulation in it. She needed something interesting to hold her attention, be it a book, painting, or even an ant.
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Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:05 pm
"But..." Yeine glanced from the teacher back to the rest of the girls. It wasn't right to leave in the middle of a lesson. If she were at the academy, or home, she never would even consider it. But the others seemed convinced that this instructor was incompetent, and if that was the case she didn't really owe him her attention... did she? Or was she just trying to fit in with her friends?
As if proving Yeine's point, Ying put on her best puppy-dog pout, pushing out her bottom lip. It was clear when the Cathar caved, and that made Ying absolutely radiant. "Yay! Let's ditch this place and go do something fun!"
Frowning, Yeine shook her head. If Ying was going to let herself be tempted by idle amusement she would have do be watchful for both of them. "So, how do you plan on leaving anyway?"
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Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:23 pm
"Want to go see what other lessons are around here?" Mayu asked, grinning. She waved a hand to motion the ghosts over, and ushered them into the huddle as well. She ordinarily wasn't one to cause trouble, much less sneak out of a class, but the teacher was just asking for it. Her older sister and mother also had.. strange ways of thinking, and she had learned a few things from them.
She looked to Yeine, and thought.
"The ghosts, of course." She jabbed her thumb to the two, and smiled an impish smile. "They'll keep the instructor distracted while we slip out of the room. If I remember right, another group's due to come in in about.." she paused, looking to the clock, "five minutes. We'll slip out when they're entering."
It was a simple plan, but a particularly devious one for the Legend.
"The older ones usually enter first, so you guys will leave first. I'll go out when the younger ones are out, and the ghosts can phase through solid objects so they'll go out after the entire group enters."
Verde nodded, glancing about the faces. Her abilities of absorbing information and memorization had paid off.
"" Miroku asked, frowning. ""
"Or that idea works," the Legend said, then looked to the rest of the group. "Miroku says that we could just hide out in the restrooms until the class ends. Which one do you guys want to do? We'll take a vote."
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Posted: Wed Jul 12, 2006 8:34 pm
They both seemed like good ideas, but Ying could see a way of combining them, in a manner. "Why don't we just ask to use the bathroom and then go on our way? It's not like they'll follow us... will they?"
"But Ying," Yeine protested, "that's lying. And besides..." Her thought was never finished however, and she looked down, avoiding Ying's disappointed gaze. A simple nod signified her assent, though she seemed the picture of defeat.
Brushing her hands together in one businesslike motion, Ying stood. "Are you guys okay with that?"
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:16 am
"Alright, sounds good." Mayu clapped twice quietly, then stood up. She raised a hand and walked over to the teacher, who nodded in response.
"Could we go to the restroom?" she asked, voice slightly hopeful. Please buy it, please buy it, please buy it!
"One at a time," the instructor said, "and only until the other gets back." He gave a pleasant smile. No one would be leaving his class until the bell rang.
Mayu frowned, walking back over to the group.
"He didn't buy it," she said, and sighed. "He said that we had to go one at a time."
Verde spoke up once more, looking to Kuro and Miroku with a sparkle in her eyes.
"They've never been at this martial arts class before, they could cause a ruckus and scare the class out of the room. We'll run out, too, and sneak away while everyone's confused and scared."
"It could work, it could work!" Mayu said, with a kind of giddiness in her voice. "Will you do it? I know Kuro has a dislike for the teacher already."
"" the more solemn of the ghosts grumbled, glaring at the teacher fiercely.
"" Kuro grinned, speaking for his friend. He didn't get a protest.
"Alright, so we've got their approval. What do you think? Could it work?" The Legend looked to the others, then to the teacher.
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:26 pm
Less than enthusiastic, Yeine nodded. Creating chaos wasn't her idea of behaving or education, but by this point there wasn't much that she could do about it. Instead she prepeared herself mentally, hoping to be able to take control of the situation if it really got serious.
"It sounds good to me," Ying replied, eyes glinting. "But I think I can help make it even better." She was fumbling with her purse, a small pouch attatched to her belt that was oddly thick and seemed to be trembling. After fiddling with it she flicked the clasp open and withdrew her hand quickly.
A streak of green and black shot out of the bag like an angry hornet. It whizzed around the girls' heads for a few brief moments, before sensing the opportunity to stir things up a bit. Luckily the lights in the room weren't too bright, and positively gleeful, the gem sped towards the nearest group of students.
Which was exactly what Ying hoped it would do. "She should help make things sticky. Between the three of 'em, they won't know what to do!"
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Posted: Thu Jul 13, 2006 7:46 pm
Mayu raised a brow. Well, that was... odd.
"Miroku, Kuro, go do whatever. Just don't critically injure or kill someone." The Legend nodded to the ghosts, and they nodded in response, phasing into the walls. It was time to cause some mayhem.
Miroku, being the mischevous one that he was, flicked the fire alarm trigger, causing sprays of water to rain down on the students. He then proceeded to bang on the walls and hoot like a toddler in a temper tantrum.
Kuro sighed as he watched his friend, but shrugged and decided to join in. The short-haired one was better at these kinds of things anyway, and it would be best to just copy him.
The silver-haired girl took the liberty of standing up and letting out a loud shriek, which seemed to be the trigger of setting off the students' (and the teacher's) panic points. Upon hearing the tree girl shriek, a wave of screams crashed through the room, and the confused people rushed to get outside of the room. It was almost amusing to see them scramble like ants, pushing and shoving to get to the door first.
Verde quietly observed this, standing up and waving a hand to the other girls.
"Okay, it's safe to leave now," she said, walking up to join the crowd.
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