ALL FALL DOWN

— that explains her uniform. “i happen to know quite a few people who attend shujin.” while talking, he maintains a sharp focus on his sketching. he wants to do justice to his subject, after all. “some are second years, too. perhaps you know of them? kurusu, sakamoto, takamaki…” he trails off. his cherished friends…

     “i attend kosei high, myself. i’m sure this will come as no surprise, but i am an art student.” he pauses for a moment; preoccupied by sketching. after a few seconds, he realizes that he has not shared his own name. “ah… pardon my rudeness. my name is yusuke kitagawa.” 

             ❝ Yeah, I know all of them. Ann is my best friend.                            The other two I don’t talk to quite as much.❞

   THAT WASN’T UNUSUAL, though. She didn’t really talk to that many people besides Ann, but since the two of them were spending more and more time with her recently, Shiho would probably end up seeing them more as well.

                                  ❝ I... expected that. ❞

   Shiho wondered for a second how the three Shujin students had met him if he attended a different school. She decided that it wasn’t her business to snoop around, so she didn’t ask.

             ❝ I’m Shiho Suzui. It’s fine if you can’t remember my name... ❞

                                          my ꜱᴄᴀʀꜱ mean that                                                          I am ꜱᴛʀᴏɴɢᴇʀ                                                        than what tried to                                                                     ᴋɪʟʟ ᴍᴇ

[Frankly, Akira was astounded by the fact that there was anybody in Shujin that overlooked the rumors. Even Ryuji acknowledged them once they had escaped that “Palace,” though he subsequently grew frustrated when he learned how exaggerated the gossip surrounding him was. Either way, Shiho’s attitude was a rare one, and the raven was somewhat grateful for that. It’d make this conversation a bit easier, at the very least.]

[As Shiho mentioned a similar case to his own, he tilted his head slightly out of intrigue; it shouldn’t have been all that peculiar to hear that someone else had been heavily affected by gossip, but she was quick to dismiss it and avoid the topic altogether. Perhaps she was attempting not to dredge up those rumors again?]

You seem like you’re the only one who does. Everyone else was almost eager to spread gossip without looking into what really happened…I guess it can’t be helped, though. [He gave a somewhat dejected sigh; Sojiro was right about how his record would follow him no matter where he went…but he didn’t regret his actions. Not in the slightest.]

[Regardless, despite the fact that she was looking away, Akira nodded as she brought up his interest in the team; apparently, his and Ryuji’s interrogations were attracting attention. That was to be anticipated, however, since they might be the first ones to truly delve into the abuse behind the scenes.]

…I am, though. Speaking of, actually…if it’s alright, would you mind telling me how you got those wounds? It seems like those same sorts of injuries are shared by other team members…I’d like to know why.

             ❝ Maybe I am... either way, don’t let those rumors get to you. ❞

   SHIHO WONDERED WHAT HE MEANT by ❛what really happened❜. Obviously, the rumors weren’t true, but the way he said it made it sound like something happened, rather than the rumors being entirely fiction. Maybe she’d bring it up later, but right now he wanted to talk about something else.

        ❝ I got them from volleyball practice, same as the rest of the team.                         A tournament is coming up so we’re all working hard.                    I guess we’re too busy worrying about the match                       to pay attention and we end up getting hurt that way.❞

   The lie escaped her lips as easily as it had the last time she said it. Come to think of it, it had been a while since someone asked her about her injuries. Everyone else who went to the school had gotten used to it by then. Either that or they were too afraid to say anything.

   Besides, it wasn’t like it was all a lie. The team was going to play in a big match soon, so their nerves were up pretty high. No one wanted to lose -- for more than one reason. A couple other team members got so caught up in it that they bumped into each other during practice. That wasn’t how most of her wounds were caused, though.

— there it is again. that certain type of modesty which surely masks an inner fire. yusuke watches many people around shibuya - it’s one of his favorite hobbies, in fact. his instincts regarding painting subjects are never wrong…      well.      mostly never wrong.      in an instant, his sketchbook is out, his pencil ready. “well then, please hold still.” it’s no painting, but yusuke is capable of sketching portraits very quickly. he could always create a painted piece based on the sketch later on, after all.

     it’s only as he regards her for his sketch that he recognizes the uniform she is wearing. “oh! you attend shujin academy?” 

   SHE MADE SURE to not move a muscle, as instructed. He jumped right into his artwork && she couldn’t help but wonder what it would end up looking like. Shiho wished she could watch the process -- a different time when she wasn’t on the other side of the sketchbook.

                           ❝ Yeah, I’m a second year. ❞

   Hopefully talking wouldn’t count as moving. The way he said it made it sound like he knew someone else that went there -- most likely not himself, judging by his lack of the school uniform. Either that or he heard about something on the news...

“See? Y’gotta stand up for yourself.”

He shakes her hand vigorously, offering her a broad, beaming grin.

“Y’gotta let ‘em know you got an awesome name like Shiho Suzui an’ not Welcome Mat.”

   A SMALL AMOUNT of pain shot up her arm, but she didn’t say anything. It was probably just an earlier injury acting up, so saying something wouldn’t help, and would probably make him think he was the one hurting her.