#danceofdespair

♔ » Oh, how he wanted to open his mouth to talk back, to tell whoever was speaking to him to kindly shut his trap and let him rest. It had been so long since he had a proper rest, and this beating, this assault, this exhaustion that came with it seemed to provide the perfect opportunity for him to pass out into nothingness.

Perhaps for good, but he would not allow that. No, just a day or two, and then he could wake again. Blood left an awful taste in his mouth. Blood decorated the tile beneath his face. Tears slid down his cheeks unheeded, with Byakuya completely unaware they were there at all. Blue eyes focused on nothing, the glasses that helped them to see shattered just an inch or two from his hand. The worst of the pain came in his head.

A dull throb of an ache reminded him of a musical tempo, and he tried to focus on the beating of his heart as opposed to the agony. It only barely worked, keeping him conscious, if not unable to respond coherently to the surrounding world, and to the girl kneeling beside him.

No… I mean yes! Of course I did! I always get what I want!

well then, i'm glad you did.

please don't insult me after i tried to help you. that's awfully counter-intuitive.

thank FUCKING god

oh. well…that’s okay, i think. did you achieve your goal, saionji? did you get what you wanted?

Group projects were usually an annoyance to Peko, due to the fact that in most circumstances, she would be the only one amongst the group that was willing to do any work. She would carry a majority of the weight on her own shoulders while the other members of the group dilly dallied or chatted with their friends. Even in a situation like this, where everyone was allowed to pick their group partners, Peko was lost. 

She had a few acquaintances, people she could be "friendly" with. But in this particular situation, she was left with no one. Everyone paired up with their friends rather quickly after their teacher explained the assignment... and, as it seemed, Hiyoko Saionji was the only other one without a partner. Peko sighed, deciding without much hesitation to pick up her things and move across the room towards her to partner up before their teacher could notice and announce that they were the only two girls in the class without a partner. That kind of acknowledgment could be a little embarrassing to some, after all. 

"Saionji. It seems that we're going to have to work together." She mentioned calmly as she approached and settled down into the empty desk beside the tiny dancer. She had never really spoken to the blonde girl much in the past... Peko constantly heard infamous stories of her ridiculing people and making them cry on a daily basis. Still... The ever present shinai on her back along with a cool and collected demeanor left her with no weariness towards interacting with the pigtailed, childlike girl sitting next to her. A girl of such a small stature posed as no threat to her physically, at least. 

Verbal insults could be easily ignored as well. So she supposed that Saionji wouldn't be a complete horror to work with. The question was whether or not she would do her share of the work. She didn't know the girl enough to measure whether or not she cared much for her marks regarding classwork. Peko leafed through the handouts on her desk, scanning the requirements for the assignment and measuring silently in her head how they might go about splitting the work. 

It seemed research heavy... And they would have to create a poster and presentation to go along with it. She looked up at the smaller girl, raising her eyebrows just a little. "How do you suppose we should split the work? Is there anything in particular that you want to work on?" There was no telling what sort of remark Saionji would retort with. But, Peko supposed she couldn't go wrong by suggesting that Saionji pick what she wanted to do first.