New in Town (Open)

[Dazzle]

Upon arrival in Tokyo, Dazzle expect to see bright colors, strange exotic food, and a giant monster wreaking havoc on the city. However, it was like any other city, just with its unique perks. The same went for To-Oh University.

Dazzle felt that he had more or less seen everything Munich had to offer. He applied for a temporary exchange to To-Oh in order to see what the rest of the world had to offer. This was his chance to see the world, emmerse himself in a new culture, and learn a bit in one fell swoop.

Dazzle was surprised to see how much To-Oh was like many of the other prestigious Universities he had went to. The beautiful common, the elegant halls, the students cramming for that big exam; they were all the same. Dazzle felt good at these kinds of places. This was where he knew he could excel.

Although To-Oh didn't seem that foreign to Dazzle, he seemed very foreign to To-Oh. The students were surprised to see a big, lanky, European wandering around campus in a daze. With his height, he was a head over the crowd, showing off his shaggy blonde hair. Students turned heads as the man in a flannel shirt, torn jeans, and military-issue boots wandered by.

Dazzle needed to go to the admissions office in order to check in and receive his accomodations, which were advertised to be a small apartment in the area. As he was walking across the commons, Dazzle saw a very appealing tree with some shade. Deciding it was best to take a break and avoid his arch-nemesis the sun, he went a stooped underneath the tree.

Dazzle pulled out a book on Japanese with the intention of brushing up on phrases necessary to talk with the admissions secretary. Dazzle noticed a group of girls looking in his direction, obviously talking about him. Or he was just paranoid, which he realized was also very possible, as he felt like nearly everyone was talking about him. He simply turned back to his book and began practicing phrases silently to himself...

[Youkai Chi]

The gossip of a new student, the only reason this being news was him not being of the country and transfering after classes had already started, was quick to reach Chi's ears, first heard from eaves dropping, hearing it again when she approached a few of her friends discussing it.

"What's the big deal?" she asked, leaning against the wall, a 'Don't f.uck with me' air about her, her expression and posture adding to most of it, her sharp hazel eyes also adding to it, the cat like yellow more clear in the light. She sighed and closed her eyes, listening to her friends continue to talk about him, mostly about if he was cute or not, it all eventually cying down to a low humming murmer to Chi, her used to dealing with her friends quick back and forth chatter, anyone who didn't get in on the conversation of the very begining guarenteed to be confused, and unless you had the proper attention span and mently capability to be able to quickly catch and interpret the chatter, if you were not amoung the people talking, you would also get lsot rather easy.

Chi looked up to see the tall, frail looking young man, a light colored eyebrow raising with her suspition.
"That him?" she asked, her friends suddenly falling silent at ehr words and looking over.
"He certainly has the accent," Chi said, not even waiting for her friend's answers, "And he obviously knows very little Japanese."

She pushed ehrself fromt he wall,m her friends parting to let her pass, her going over to the pale person sitting down, obviously trying to propperly pronounce the words of the foriegn language.
"Hallo," she said, trying to speak to the guy in his own language, her knowing some German, but hoping he might know English, her knowing it as well as her first language, "Was gibt's Neues?"

<<If you dont know shes saying "Hi, What's New?" XD>>

[Dazzle]

Dazzle still had his head buried in a book when he noticed a girl coming to approach him. Now there was a familiar sight: a girl with a more independent mind. With her borderline insane style of dress and her mannerisms, she seemed a lot more like the girls he knew back home. He wasn't exactly sure if that is a good thing or not.

"Hallo," said this girl, looking down at Dazzle sitting beneath the tree. "Was gibt's Neues?"

The shock of hearing his native language at first startled Dazzle, but he then remembered that he was at To-Oh, and that most of the student body was probably somewhat fluent in multiple languages.

Dazzle stood up, looking like a giant in comparison to the girl, and said with his best Japanese accent, "‰½‚à, ‚ ‚È‚½H" (Nothing, you?)

That was Dazzle's typical response when asked what he was doing, and a lot of the times he was telling the truth. However, this time, he was just trying to avoid conversation in Japanese. Although he knew the basics, he doubted his ability to freely converse with someone more fluent.

The girl was about to answer when Dazzle quickly interjected, in English, "Do you speak English?"

[Youkai Chi]

The girl looked at the boy, somewhat grateful he had responded in Japanese, but noticed it was far from fluent and well practiced. She was unable to hold abck a sigh of relief when she heard him ask if she spoke English.

"Yes, I do," Chi said, though, strangly enough, it had no accent to be heard as she spoke the words. She smiled weakly and looked the young man up and down, still wondering exactly who he was.

"What's your name?" she asked calmly, her hazel eyes fliskering with a curiosiry that often fueled her charisma when around strangers. She smiled slightly, thouth her smiles were rare when not caused by a close friend.

<gah, so short ._.>>

[Dazzle]

"Uggh...Introductions," thought Dazzle, who always found it very hard to get off on the right foot with people. He tended to pick his words carefully during introductions, but he also has been told that he often pushes people away. As of right now though, he wanted to get a good start at To-Oh, and that started with the students there.

"You can call me Dazzle," he said, "And that is not supposed to be as flamboyant as it sounds. It's just my nickname from back home..."

His eyes shuffled around. People were still looking at him, which he really did not like. He really didn't care what they thought, but he can not tolerate staring or talking behind his back. He knew the student body here was gossiping away about the new guy and the girl that walked up to him, although they probably wouldn't even talk to him or get to know him. Not like it really mattered, he was going to be in competition with them for being top of the class anyway.

Although he's been told he's a good public speaker and could even make a great politician if he groomed himself and stood up straight, he could not stand being the center of attention. When things like that happen, he blacks out and doesn't know what he is saying, although the end result is often favorable. Still, he would prefer to remain conscious at this point in time, so he had to really focus on the task at hand.

"Well," he thought, "Step two of introductions is to ask her name...Gah...This process was so hard...Making friends is always a burden..."

"So, what's your's?"

[Youkai Chi]

She stared at him with the strange curiosity that suddenly seemed to overwhelm her. What was it? The fact that he wasn't Japanese? No, well, that had to play some role in it. She searched through her mind, trying to even explain it to herself, but nothing, no explaination, seemed to surface.

"You can call me Dazzle..

Dazzle, hmm? the girl though, her even imagining herself in her mind having her index finger to her lip in thought, trying to think of where he would get such a nick name, but she had literally no room to talk.

Blood Demon

The meaning of her name had always brought her grief or others to fear her, and occasionaly respect, some people easily believing that the young girl was named properly from her birth, her obsession with vampires, them being 'blood demons' themselves, and often seeming as crazed, cold and evil as a demon, though most of this was displayed in acts of revenge against, more often than not, the men that only cause her trouble in her life, whether it be her falling for them and them dropping her like a rock, cheating on her, or, on one occasion, a relationship turned physically violent. Though the girl, after being touched the one time, quickly ensured the man got what he dished out three times as worse.

She looked up to his eyes when he asked her for her name. "Youkai Chi," she said, bowing foreward before standing straight, her 5 foot 5 inches height setting her nearly a foot taller than the man, though this was far from discouraging to the young woman.

[Dazzle]

"Youkai Chi...Very interesting name..." thought Dazzle. It did match her appearance fairly well, but hopefully not her personality. She seemed nice anyway, as he normally did not judge by appearances or names. It was a person's actions that determined character, not what they look like, where they came from, or what they call themselves. In that sense at least, Dazzle was very tolerant.

"Youkai Chi..." he said aloud, his voice trailing off, "I guess we both have very original names then." He flashed a quick smile, although he quickly returned to his normal sternness. She didn't ask him how he got his name, which was usually one of the first things people asked. Either that or they called him "gay" immediately after the introduction. Although not a homosexual, Dazzle was often frustrated in having to explain how his nickname has nothing to do with which way he "steps up to bat."

"Now what?" thought Dazzle, "I never know what to say next...Maybe I'll quiz for her intentions..." It wouldn't be a bad idea to know why she was here, although Dazzle was under the impression that she probably just introduced herself out of pure boredom or curiousity. Still, he wanted to check for any malice or other intrests that she might have, as he did with all people. He was not about to let his guard down in a foreign country, especially with a possible academic rival.

"So, what brings you to the tree with the weird foreign kid under it?" he asked Chi with a very "distant" sounding voice, as if he really didn't care if she answered the question at all and wasn't about to pay much attention to the response.

[Youkai Chi]

I guess we both have very original names then...

Atleast one thing se was gratefull for, so far anyway, was that he wasn't taunting her for her name. Chi weakly smiled, and listened to him question why she had come over. She herself wasn't even sure, to be honest. She couldn't help but let the edges up her lips perk up a little more at the way he worded it.

"Eh," she said, her hands in the pocket of her baggy black jeans, the fingerless gloves and some of the accesories on her wrist now hidden from veiw of others. "Weird kid sees weird foreign kid," she said, "And thougt 'Why not bring another weird person to the most random, and yet the most awsome, group of wierdos in the school?'."

And to be honest, they were basically the most random, whether it be the assortment of the people themselves or the way they acted. She still smiled, it growing ever so slightly as she answered him, her eyes slitt flickering softly.

[Dazzle]

"Very interesting..." thought Dazzle. Chi was apparently one of those "outcast" types that different people like her and him are often grouped into. However, unlike many other "weird" kids, she seemed really outgoing, which was generally a characteristic of more "popular" people. People do like to associate themselves with "kindred-spirits" of a sort, so maybe she thought that they were somehow alike.

Dazzle was not a fan of "groups" of friends. He never really had a lot of real friends; he just had a lot of people he knew pretty well. An invitation to join was of these groups wasn't particullarly appealing, although it would be a good way to get to know the campus and about the student body. He decided that hanging out with Chi and her friends for a while couldn't hurt. Still, he wanted to mess with her just a bit...

"So, what makes this group of quote-'weirdos' so awesome," said Dazzle with a smile, "What would make me want to hang out with you guys instead of say, the water polo team?"

Dazzle was grinning at this point, as he wanted to make it clear that the was just joking. To-Oh seemed like a very interesting university, and the fact that is had bohemian delinquents running around made it even more fun. Still, he knew he probably wouldn't have time for a lot of friends if he was going to make Dean's list and possibly the top of his class. From what he heard, there was some extremely tough competition this year.

[Youkai Chi]

She heard his question, Chi almost ready to ask him if he was trying to joke or not until she saw the smile on his face, it flashed toward her in what appeared to be a teasing manner.

"Well," she said, leaning back ever so slightly as she crossed her arms over her chest, her head having to be turned back to look up at the tall man, "For one, none of us are these rich bitch preps you see running around most places like this. And we never run out on eachother, no matter what. Anyone fucks with one of us, they are basically fucking with all of us," she said, a smirk now to be seen, "And most of us are not too friendly when people mess with us."

She and her friends had had a few ordeals with betrayals by so called friends, but they had learned, at this point, how to easily distinguish the sinscere relationships from the fake ones, and where also a rather close group that rarely let outsiders even get close to the core of the group, this basically consising of Chi and her life-long, or close to it, friends.

[Dazzle]

Although a little socially awkward, Dazzle never really saw himself as much of a delinquent, except with perhaps his looks. He just kind of kept to himself and his books. Chi and her crowd seemed a little rough around the edges, but from his experience he found that those were often some of the nicest people he ever met. She seemed to know her way around the school too, including who to avoid, so she could also be very helpful in getting assimilated into the school.

Much of the crowd who was gossiping had already gone to class, while others turned back to their own conversations. With eyes off of him, Dazzle felt a lot more comfortable. However, he also knew that he would also have to introduce himself to all of Chi's friends. First days were always the hardest...

"You make it seem like it is a jungle out there," said Dazzle, still slightly grinning, "I mean this is To-Oh right? The most prestigious University in Japan? I simply assumed all the students here would be very mature and hard-working...I wasn't really planning on running into much trouble..."

[Youkai Chi]

Chi souldn't help but laugh in responce of his words, "Not much trouble?" she said, a hand on her stomach as her laughs died down. "This place may be filled with some of the smartest people around," she said, becoming more serious, "But that doesn't mean it's excluded from the reality of the world.

She sighed softly, and looked down, crossing her arms over her chest once more, "We may not be seen as as inhumane or as cold as life outside of here," she said, looking up at him, black hair covering one of her eyes, "But people are still as cruel and use weapons to hurt people, though, obviously, not litterally things like firearms. Reputation is the only thing that really matters when it comes to the students, and it effects some of the teachers. You can be the world's smartest kid but if you got a rep fucked up with people's lies or whatever, you won't last long. It's not as bad as it was, say, in high school, but now you got to deal with trying to be an adult, which is something pretyt new to most of us, ya know?"

[Dazzle]

Dazzle found Chi's outlook on life rather pessimistic, although he more or less agreed. The world was rotting from the inside out, and in his opinion, not even Kira could change that. It seemed like the majority of the population was lazy and immature. It was rather funny, how the same personality types from kindergarten applied to real life. There were class clowns, trouble makers, bullies, and of course, the elite of the class like him. One thing he always remembered was that the class always seemed better when the other kids were put in "time out."

But this news was somewhat comforting to Dazzle, as those who were busy being failures would prove to be little competition for him academic-wise. Dazzle could also care less about his "rep" and what people thought of him. You can't argue with facts, and if he managed to blow everyone else out of the water, one couldn't help but to admit his excellence. Finally, being an adult was nothing new to Dazzle, he had been overly mature since a very young age. Although willing to joke, he had always known when it was time to get serious and work, and had always had the talent of rising to the occassion.

Dazzle smirked at Chi's words, because as far as he was concerned, he had nothing to worry about. Her warning fell on deaf ears with Dazzle, but he wondered if that was how she really felt about herself. Beneath that rebellious exterior, maybe she was actually concerned about what people thought. Or maybe she feels inferior unless she blatantly defends herself from such "dangers." Either way, it wasn't really Dazzle's business to be wondering about this, at least not yet.

"Thanks for the warning," said Dazzle, still carrying his slight smile, "But I think I can handle myself here...Still, it'd be cool to hang out some time...I'm sure I will see you around campus sometime..."

"Assuming that you are even in as advanced classes as me," he silently thought to himself.

He looked at Chi, who although could be rather intelligent, did not really come off that way. But hey, who was he to judge, he looked like a bum who was in the previous employ of the German armed forces. Like the rest of the students at To-Oh, she was competition, but he hadn't heard her name anywhere as a top student, so he wasn't worried.

"I've got some stuff I have to take care of down at the admissions office..." said Dazzle, thinking about the check owed to him by the school for his exchange program. "Would you mind showing me the way there, assuming you are not on bad terms with the people there too?"

[jity]

((*Blows dust off thread*))

A boy with a book in his hand and a lollipop in his mouth strode down a path in the commons, seemingly oblivious to the world around, however, still managing to dodge people and obstacles alike. In truth, Jake was enjoying the ability to read manga in its original form, a translation, in his eyes, being an interpretation, the equivalent of having the book read to you. Still, he went with something simple at first, picking up a first volume tankôbon of Naruto.

Masashi Kishimoto’s a better writer than the English versions let on. Gotta remember to look at the original before judging, next time.

Something picked at his brain, though. Something in the outside world wasn’t exactly normal. What could it be, though? He closed the book, focusing his ears on the offending conversation.

”I’ve got some stuff I have to do down at the admissions office. Would you mind showing me the way there, assuming you’re not on bad terms with people there, too?”

That was it; it was in English! Pure, native English! (Well, with some German, granted, but he was willing to compromise.) He immediately walked over, the volume of manga already replaced in his bag.

“Hey, guys,” He said in English, “And I thought I was the only fluent one here!” He smiled, finding a quasi-comrade in the similarities of their language. “Name’s Jake Walsh. Walsh Jacob, if you prefer.” His hands dug into his pockets, needing to do something themselves whilst his mind preoccupied itself with other things.

((Meh, short.))

[Claw]

Watching from atop the To-Oh gates, a young woman looked down at the rushing students below. Wind blew in her face, causing her to let out a sneeze.

“Stupid pollen…” She growled under her breath, brushing the incriminating dust from her shoulders.

Glancing out over the University grounds, Claw couldn't help wondering what it was like to old enough to join in the ‘fun‘ of such a prestigious school.

Yeah right.

“It's not as bad as it was, say, in high school, but now you got to deal with trying to be an adult, which is something pretty new to most of us, ya know?”

Claw twitched as the voice reached her ears from across the grounds. She took a closer look at the trees just out of view, her blue eyes coming to rest on a familiar bob of violet hair.

“Youkai-neechan? I thought she wasn‘t out of class until later...”

Jumping down from the gate, Claw made her way over to her friend, despite the odd murmurs of ‘What’s a 14 year old doing a To-Oh?’ that echoed around her. She always snuck in to see Youkai anyway. It wasn’t her fault she was born eight years too late.

As she approached her friend, she realized she wasn’t alone…two other boys were talking with her. In English.

Been a while since I heard that language… She smirked behind her mask. She got a little closer, the stopped behind the closest tree.

Claw didn’t like interrupting, or talking to new people for that matter, so she simply stood there, waiting for the conversation to slow so she could say hi to Youkai.