Simple and Clean

         “Hagakure-kun! If you scam Ryuji, I swear I’m going to sacrifice you to those aliens you claim you saw!”

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☠ - “Don’t get me wrong now. Much as some ramen would speak to my heart. Last thing I wanna run in doin’ is getting ya tired off the bat. I– savory, huh! Wait I might just the ticket on that then. How about that one pizza joint?” His eyes immediately brightened at the idea.

“Not only does it has that kinda flavor that punch ya in the soul. I swear I never knew the aftertaste of anything could hang on being that damn good! We can go n’ grab two boxes even!”

What was it called again? Bizza shack? Domino.. no no, wait, Jenga! There we go it was called Jenga!

          “Pizza! I can’t believe I didn’t think of that!” Ah yes, the food of the gods. One of the best things that could have ever been given to mankind, second only to donuts. Donuts always came first. At least at this point they could both get what they liked on it.

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☠ - “Hell, sounds like a plan to me. Where’s your stomach hopin’ to grab a bite at? I tugged ya along to Ogikubo’s the last time so y’know! Not trying to run a monopoly on the options, I’ll cover for us.”

          “Ryuji-kun! Hey! We should go get something to eat, yeah?”

Too much.

He could handle a little yelling; Iruma blathered as if she was deaf often enough for Hoshi to get used to some loud conversations, but there was something so…. overbearing about all of this. Maybe because it was all the focus was purely onto him- the prisoner had never been too fond of reporters. Teeth dug ever slightly into the candy in his maw before it was removed, the furrowing of his eyes as he gazed up at the girl who had still been talking was but a hint before being closed entirely. 

“Slow down, you’re talking too fast.” Was the blunt truth of it all, hand in pocket shifting ever slightly from the unease in his gut. This wasn’t a big deal, calm down. “Say what you want in one sentence. Blurting a bunch of things at once just starts to sound like nonsense.”

          While Asahina had certainly given up in her pursuit to enjoy time with him on the court, there were still other ways to bond! One of the ways that came to mind was certainly the fact other games to enjoy. She was just excited to bond, was all. Before at her previous schools, making friends was rather...difficult for people who couldn’t and refused to keep up with her. At least here, even with people like Togami and Fukawa who did nothing but bully her. They could keep up with her. They acknowledged her. And then of course she had Naegi, Sakura, Leon, and a bunch of others too! Even Sayaka was her friend!

          And having a class that made her feel so welcome was something she wanted to extend to the newer students as well. Hoshi being one of them! He was always off on his own, and that made her sad.

         “One sentence...?”

          A bit of a hard task, but not one that was impossible. Standing silent for a moment, the athlete tries to come up with the simplest way to get her point across.

leon stares at her, slack-jawed, for a long couple of seconds, and then his sides just… split. he laughs with the kind of abandon that one associates with childhood, and it reads all across his boyish face, his bared teeth and wide lips. ‘hina. you crack me the fuck up!’ what makes it all the better is that he knows she’s serious, knows she could put any of his teammates on their asses in seconds – he wipes at his eyes dramatically, reaching over to lean an elbow on her steady shoulder, stomach buzzing with the pleasant strain of hysteria. 

‘  nah. i’m a big boy, don’t worry ‘bout it! if i wanted to throw down with a couple of sweaty losers, i’d join the wrestling team.  ’  it takes him a little bit of effort to keep from being offended – he knows, logically, that she’s thinking of him, not trying to imply he can’t look after himself, but the part of his brain that acts like a caged bird beats itself against the bars all the same. to quiet his paranoia, he turns to his friend and grins, giggles popping and fizzing between his teeth.  ‘  it’s totally whatever. so, what, i’m michael jackson and they’re the other four members – lucky break for me!  ’  he’ll be done with that team soon, anyways, once he hears back from the scouts he’d been in talks with.  ‘  i’m fine. stick to throwing punches with oogami for now, ‘kay?’

         “Did...I say something funny?” All she can do is just run what she said through her mind again. Asahina can’t remember saying anything funny. But...if Leon was laughing again, that was fine for her. He had looked so bothered earlier, and by no means did that suit him. In the end, she’s just glad he’s feeling better. Maybe she was good at this help thing!!!!

          The athlete can’t help but let out a little chuckle of her own when he mentions the wrestling team. She tried out for it once. Just one time. It didn’t end well for her opponent when they grabbed her somewhere she did not like to be grabbed in a thought to be funny. Needless to say, she snapped. Asahina did make the team, but decided not to join. One, for fear of that incident repeating itself, and two, it cut into her practice with all the other sports she participates in. As much as she would have loved to have another sport under a belt, it just wasn’t worth it.

          Training with Sakura was much more fun! She took her seriously and even indulged in after training snacks!

          Working out with Leon was fun too! She didn’t understand the bodies needed for rockstars, but if it got him in the gym occasionally, she didn’t care!

@lepuretta· said: “ i don’t know why you let them bother you. ”

‘  nah. me neither.  ’  he towels off his hair with a little more ferocity than necessary – the red strands he leaves behind only flare his temper more, but he huffs a breath and moves on. he’s been angry before and he no doubt will be again.  ‘  jus’ pisses me off, y’know? i bust my ass playin’ for ‘em, and they still act like i owe ‘em shit.  ’  leon’s never really been friendly with his teammates, but it seems that today is the straw that broke the camel’s back.  ‘  thanks for comin’, hina. sorry you had to hear ‘em all talk like that. sleazy fucking bastards.’ 

         “...I’m always going to come to your games...but...” For once, the athlete wasn’t even sure what to say. Leon was her friend! He was a nice guy, if not a little wild at times. But still a nice guy and a relatively good guy too! He obviously didn’t care for baseball, yet still went and helped his team. Whether he liked it or not, there was a part of him that cares, she thinks. And for them to just be so mean to him like that...bothered her. Their comments to her didn’t really faze her. Once Sakura showed up to give her the usual afternoon shake, they all clammed up instantly.

          But for Leon...

          A small tilt of her head, and she just stares at him. Clearly she’s thinking about something. She wasn’t usually a violent person, but if anyone knew her best friend, the Master of Martial Arts...and knew just how much of a pro athlete Asahina was in multiple sports...they wouldn’t mess with her. Or Leon. Ugh. Just thinking about it made her angry! How could they do this to someone who’s helping them out so they don’t look like total losers?!

⚔ ⚔ — 

      ❝ Hm? You want to … carry me? ❞

     The swordswoman blinked at the odd request as the swimmer girl’s bubbly personality wavered her answer. Aoi hadn’t lied saying the offer was strange, but their quest to become stronger was bold.

     Though the logic behind how saying she was light did confuse her.

     ❝ I … suppose it wouldn’t be too bad if it’s only for a few seconds. ❞      ❝ I could help you exercise with a few other techniques if you would like. Or would you just prefer … the benchpress? ❞

         “--Carry you? No. I just want to bench press you. I mean...I could carry you. That’s probably safer anyway given my hands...are kinda small. You might fall if I tried to lift you while laying down.”

          Now that she was thinking about it, it was really only beneficial if she had a spotter with her. Neither Sakura nor Mondo were around either. So...maybe it wasn’t a good idea now that she was putting more thought into it.

          Looking to Peko, she gives a small tilt of her head. A look akin to a confused puppy as she tried to comprehend her own thoughts. Sure other techniques were fine, but she’s simply trying to build muscle and endurance in once. An uneven weight distribution that is the human body would provide an excellent challenge!

   in truth, celestia had merely wished to practice a little more on a look she intends to wear at a later time, without messing up her own face. in fact, the gothic makeup looks quite laughable on the features of the amiable swimmer. thus when it is requested that it be removed, celestia does it without a fight where there COULD have been one. she can simply play it off on being a kindness, rather than her selfish nature. 

              “ it did look OFF on you, i suppose some people aren’t suited for the gracefulness that makeup can offer them. there is nothing to do about that. “

     and then the offer to do her hair. it is almost laughable in itself as well. after all, other than these clipped on curls celestia has rather short hair – not much to do with it. she HAD tried when she had initially cut it short. unfortunately hair was not her forte. 

           “ and if i allowed you to touch my hair – what might you do? “

         “...” Asahina was more than grateful to have the make up removed. It felt strange having it on her like that. Even more than when Ebisu puts it on her for those formal events. And he only put a little bit on her. It felt like Celeste was literally coating her face in it. Why couldn’t she have asked Junko for this kind of thing? Or even Sakura? Sakura liked more of this girly stuff than she did...

         “Ehehe...yeah I’m not really graceful, am I?”

          A bit of a shot to her already wilting self image, but nothing that can’t be laughed off and forgotten about easily. More importantly, what would Asahina do with Celeste’s hair? Simple things, of course! She wasn’t into all the fancy dos like most of the other girls. Then again...would she be okay with simple?

Compared toher, he still had a lot to learn and he wasn’t too confident in his ability toswimming in the sea. The waves can be treacherous, dragging you away from thesafety of the shore without you realizing. He didn’tmind playing or swimming at the shallow waters, but to go ahead and reallyswim at her level … Hinata was just an ordinary person, he was aware of hislimitations.

❝ I never said I don’t want to go. I’m just not so sure if I can keep up with you if you decide to get serious about swimming, but I still would like to go to the beach with you.❞ that distinction was important: of course he’d love to hang out with his friend and have fun!

         “Great! Don’t worry, Sempai! I’ll make sure you can keep up!” Whether that means she plans to slow down, or drag him with her, that has yet to be seen.

          But more importantly!!! He agreed to go with her! How wonderful! Asahina wasn’t much of a show off, however, she was fairly impressed with her new swimsuit that she had gotten. The material wasn’t made for competition, but casual play. Her friend from Shibuya picked it out for her. Skulls weren’t really her thing, but the color was so nice on her she had to buy it!

          Hajime needs to get his swimsuit too! Which means Asahina is going to be dragging him around to get that too!

Confusedgaze locked on his friend, her initial prompt instilling confusion beforeeventually unveiling her great plan: swimming on the beach.  Ensnared by his friend’s arm,  there was no other option than follow thegirl. ❝ W-Wait a minute! ❞the protest made itsway out of his lips ❝ It’s not that I don’t want to go to the beach with you,but I don’t have the experience to swim in the sea.❞ that was literally his mainconcern: Hajime actually enjoys the beach, having fond memories of his previoustravels and playing by the sea, breaking watermelons and messing around.But at the same time, he was aware that you need to be a pretty experienced swimmer to swim at the beach and it could still be dangerous.

         “You don’t? But...you swim with me all the time, Sempai.”

          How absolutely confusing! Since when did Hajime not have experience to swim in the sea? Didn’t he go to the beach all the time with her? Spending the day, enjoying the sun and also playing in the water? Well...fine. It was a little saddening, but she wouldn’t force him to swim if he wasn’t comfortable. His safety was vastly more important after all! They can still have fun other ways, and Asahina can always just do a little diving by herself and bring him back things she can find!

         “--Hey Sempai! This is going to sound really weird? But....can I bench press you? I’ve seen the way you move, and that means you’re light on your feet, right? And that means you yourself must be light!” She’s rationalizing things the best she can. Someone reward her.

          The poor senior in choice was the ultimate swordsman of the school. Would Peko mind if she tried to lift her for a bit? Asahina was very confident in her strength!

         “I promise I won’t drop you! And I’ll even like...give you some of my candies as a thank you!”

         “--Sempai!!!! You know what we have to do, right?! Summer is almost over! Which means we have to get in our last few swims at the beach! You’re going to come with me, right?”

          Poor Hajime was being dragged with her again. Was it because everyone else refused her? Or simply because she enjoys his company? If anything, it’s a mixture of both. Not that she wouldn’t invite him along with her regardless, but she wanted her other friends to join in too! Why wouldn’t they come? Why was Hajime the only one who wanted to spend time with her in the water?

          ...Anyway, she practically latches on to his arm. Gentle tugging, she’s trying to get him to follow her in the direction she wants to go.

         “C’mon! The water doesn’t wait!”