skyacrobatics

[skyacrobatics]

The clock ticked on and on; students were yawning, nodding off, resting their heads on their desks, already beginning to feel the first stages of boredom kicking in. Akane was one of those victims, whose eyes normally sparking with life were dim and dull from waking up at eight o'clock sharply. At the front of the room, even the teacher had gone headfirst into his magazine he'd been reading, snoring a bit loudly so that the class could hear--and snicker.

What little patience Akane had left over from the beginning of the period was quickly dissipating away; hunched over with little reason to still be in class, she let out an irritated sigh when the clock's ticking signified there was still about twenty minutes left in class. Her frazzled hair hung in clumps at her side, and it was obvious she hadn't taken the time that morning to fully brush through it (as usual). Button-up top scrunched due to her ninety degree twist, Akane didn't really mind that her chest region was probably showing more than the teacher would allow, if she were caught. A few people were staring, but it was nothing she wasn't used to.

Making sure the teacher was still asleep, Akane curved back and whispered to her, "Yeah, uh... sure. I guess'll try ta figure this out. Thanks." Akane turned back to her paper for a second, filled in the "B" circle with dark lead, then returned to the red-head's gaze. She gave a smile in thanks, eyed over her paper again, then marked a few more bubbles. With the harder questions out of the way, now, Akane could return to what she actually knew how to do with little trouble. The teacher, still snoring lightly in his chair, made no notice of her. Around her, students had already begun to finish the work and were now passing it to the front of the row--or left it sitting on their desks for other people to copy off of. 

"Thanks, uhh..." Akane hissed under her breath, trailing off when she realized she hadn't known the girl's name, let alone her talent. Of course she was given a list of the people who would be her future classmates, but Akane had done little memorization on their names and talents, and even if she were to try to do so, it'd probably end in failure. "What's yer name again?"

{ A Plus B Equals....? | readheadedphotography }

Sunlight seeped in through the window blinds, providing some natural lighting, it was almost a crime to sit in here and study. If only she had had more time to take photos of her classmates and the campus, maybe then she wouldn’t be so distracted. Even though she wasn’t the type to focus on getting perfect grades, she knew the importance of studying. Exploring the campus more would just have to wait, after all, Hope’s Peak is a school.

She shrugged her camera strap higher on her shoulder and peaked up at the teacher. He was silently watching over them as they worked on the test he had handed out, talking only now and then to explain something to someone. One of boys sitting near her suddenly stood up, and walked to the front to return the test, causing Mahiru to panic as she realized she was only halfway down the back side of the test.

Quickly, she flipped the piece of paper over and started double checking her work, taking longer on the questions she didn’t fully understand. She flipped it back again, and was about to finish the rest of the page, when she heard movement in front of her and felt someone lightly touch her shoulder. Looking up she saw it was the girl sitting in front of her - Super High School Lever Gymnast, she believed - who was just a moment ago playing with a paper ball.

Not wanting to attract the teachers attention, she did her best to look like she was still working on the test, and listened as the girl asked for help. Mahiru sighed inwardly, if she helped she might get caught and punished, but if she ignored the girl, she would feel guilty about it later. She decided to risk it, and at least help a little.

"I’m pretty sure the answer is… B." Mahiru whispered back to the girl with a wild mass of brown hair. "I’m sorry but I haven’t finished it yet, and would like to before class is over. Maybe sneak a look at your notes for help?"

[skyacrobatics]

Her first thought when she'd made the wrong turn--shit!--was quickly pushed aside by the determination to retake the lead, bounding forward and spiraling at the speed of a bullet over the railing of the staircase, grabbing the length of the bar and rotating herself so that she'd land on her feet, safely, on the first floor. She'd never experienced this much thrill before, even when she was fighting--no, this was a different type of euphoria. Different than the heaven she felt when she was eating, different than the fire that burned when she fought.

It was energizing to say the least, and she continued running, legs pounding against the tile, until she'd finally caught up to the old man (who was definitely a lot faster than you'd think an old man would be). Beads of sweat trickled down her forehead and splashed onto the air, and she huffed with all of her strength left to make one resounding final stretch. The cafeteria was in sight now, and she could see how close he was... judging by her current distance, she wasn't that far either.

There was no way she'd let him win. While she wouldn't count a race as a victory against him per se, she would definitely consider it a loss if she didn't pass him.

"'M not gonna lose ta someone like you, Ol' Man!" Owari yelled, nearly tripping over her own energy and dashing until she met his level of speed, the cafetera a mere ten yards away...

Nine...

Five....

Three...

And then, she practically crashed into the sign--a blackboard with white and pink chalk displaying what was being served that morning--and turned around to see if she had beat him or not. Though her legs felt like jelly under the pressure, she refused to show any weakness and simply bent over, hands on her knees, out of breath.

Blazing encounters || skyacrobatics

[skyacrobatics]

{ A Plus B Equals....? | readheadedphotography }

Classrooms were stuffy, boring, exhausting--why wouldn't you want to dash out of there as soon as the first bell rung? The only sounds were the ticking of the clock, second by second, tick tock, the furious scribbles of lead on paper (or the tapping of erasers on desks for those absolutely befuddled), and possibly the teacher's coarse, monotone voice droning on. Occasionally, Akane let out a frustrated groan and stared almost in a dream-like state at her paper. 

Soon, whatever thoughts of numbers and math that she was trying to focus on was pushed aside by the thought of food, fighting, hell, even stretching and practicing sounded better than this shit. She crunched the piece of lined paper that she had previously been working on into a ball, gripping it tightly before throwing it up in the air casually, catching it before the teacher could notice. Around her, classmates were still working silently and diligently, and she swore she caught someone giving her a nervous look--at least, before her glare shooed them back to their own work.

She never had to do this much work when she was homeless and fostered, at least. And she had all the time in the world to do whatever she wanted, even if that was lying around and doing nothing. Looking around the room for something, anything to do, Akane occupied herself with a staple that she'd taken out of the packet received yesterday.

Then, she glanced at the clock. Only twenty-five minutes left until class ended, and she'd yet to understand anything she'd been taught. The only option left was to copy someone else's work, but who here would...

She turned around and saw a red-headed girl, dotted with freckles, working without distractions. Akane tapped on her shoulder.

"Pst... need yer help here. I gotta check my answers 'n make sure they're right. What'd ya get for number one?"

[skyacrobatics]

Though she'd never show the relief that washed over her when she realized that she was correct in her assumption, Akane was thrilled to see the way his smile lit up when he saw her remove the chain from the shopping bag. It almost reminded her of nearly five years ago, when she once brought a steamy, greasy bag of popcorn chicken from the local fast-food restaurant to one of her many foster brothers--he cheered with glee and hugged her and danced all around so much that Akane sheeped along and danced with him. For a moment, she almost expected the boy (Komaeda, was that his name?) to spin her around--or maybe Akane would spin him around.

Having very little growing up, Akane could empathize the feeling of a gift with him. She instantly recognized the face of gratitude and sincerity before he even had to voice his feelings. So, when he did reply with a dedicated thank you, Akane shrugged it off with a light laugh and a shake of her head. "Not a problem!" she began, chuckling, "No need ta do any of that--" Or, at least, she would have finished that had he not mentioned the magic word. When he did, she stopped her train of thought, crunched the gears in her brain, and her eyes went wide.

"Didja say... lunch? Wouldn't miss that for th' world! We could go ta that sushi place or the new buffet that opened up, or, hell, we could go ta both!"

{ Give a Little, Take a Little | badluck-komaeda }

[skyacrobatics]

Since I'm officially ending a few roleplays Akane is in, I'll most likely start some new ones along the way. So, if you want to interact with her, please send me a message! I may or may not make an open starter, and I have a few ideas ranging from working on a school project together to Akane bothering them (or vice versa!) in class, etc. 

[skyacrobatics]

Waiting was a term Akane knew probably all too well. It wasn't a problem for her to have to wait for something, whether for food, for sleep, for something tangible or something she couldn't grasp with her fingers. Patience, however, was not quite as familiar. She'd get bored or irritated quickly if she couldn't find her way, if something was taking too long to cook (and that ended with her sticking the food in at 600 degrees for thirty minutes as opposed to the recommend 365 degrees for two and a half hours). But, perhaps subconsciously, she didn't mind waiting for the spunky girl, who quickly bounded out the door without a care in the world and ran to the cafeteria for a good whole plate of food. 

All Akane could think about was the food--wait, what if she wasn't clear enough? What if the girl didn't bring enough food? It was easy to mistake portions with Akane's vocabulary: one pound of meat meant fifty pounds, and "a lot of packs of pocky" meant "get me everythin' they have." Of course, she just had to hope that the girl did get enough for her in the end, and if she didn't it wouldn't be the end of the world. Hopefully. 

Still, Akane waited, and when she finally bound through the door with the whopping plate of meat and everything else she could smell from the hallway, her smile could practically light up the whole room. "Nah, you're just 'n time! I got a lil' hungrier, but that's nothin' a whole plate of chicken can't fix, right?" She sat up, grunting a bit when her arm, wrapped in a sling that hung around her neck, suddenly filled with pain.

But she couldn't look like a damsel in distress in front of this damsel, no way! So, she forced her biggest smile she could, crossed her legs, and took the plate from her hands. Despite having to hold the whole thing with one hand, Akane could easily balance it with her strength, and set it on the nightstand next to her bed. Mm, the smell of it was expanding her stomach and making her hungrier by the second. Wait any longer, and she might just pass out. 

"Y' might wanna take some while you can, 'cause before you know it, this whole thing's gonna be gone!" Akane grinned before picking up a chicken leg and biting right into it. Maybe not the most ladylike thing ever, or certainly the most elegant, but she was eating heaven on a bone. 

{ Bitter Wounds Lead to Sweeter Hearts | ibukikisdeliveryservice }

Ibuki paused once again under the threshold, just on the verge of piping up to inform the girl that the dulcet tones she plucked from her guitar were most certainly not just noise, but quickly decided to save it; the rocker may have been easily diverted, highly akin to a high-strung field mouse bumping into maze walls on its haphazard way to the cheesy recompense that awaited, but this time, this time was different. She’d determined from the get-go, she wasn’t going to allow herself to be distracted from her goal; nuh-uh, she’d find that cheese! Er… retrieve that yum-o plate of chicken for her newfound friend!

"Right on! You got it, babe!" There was nothing quite like an invitation to play and a promise to listen for lifting Ibuki’s spirits; any trace of her earlier letdown was now long gone, replaced with a vivified smile that, if possible, shone brighter than the moment she first caught sight of Akane. Those words felt vaguely synthetic in her mouth, as thought they may leave behind a faint taste of plastic, but somehow she found herself oh, so desperate to impresss the tough bodacious babe in any way that she could. Ladies loved the rock-talk!

As the spunky pierced girl turned away from Akane once more, admittedly with a hint of reluctance, she couldn’t stop herself from smilin’ wide and humming to herself as she skipped down the hallway with gleeful abandon. Normally, her thoughts would have bounced all over the place as she made her cheery way towards the cafeteria, but this time, they didn’t wander, not even once, from the first friend she’d made in this awfully unwelcoming place - who, just by chance, happened to be the coolest girl she’d seen in real life (outside of her mirror, of course) - and the errand she was running for her. It was almost too good to be true; perhaps it’d been luck or divine intervention, but she’d merely been in the right place at the perfect time and she’d already been invited to lunch. So far out!

When she burst through the doors like the angstiest character in a lively musical- nothing new for Ibuki - the stares she attracted didn’t even earn a second look from her. As far as she was concerned, she was walking high above the world, and what did they know about all this, anyway? She was practically vibrating as she went through the tedious process of gathering Akane’s lunch request, even paying extra to ensure they both ended the afternoon with a full tummy, then rushed back to her destination with the overly full plate balanced precariously in her hands.

"Ibuki went as fast as she could, Akane-chan, she did! She sure hopes you didn’t get too hungry waiting for her!" 

[skyacrobatics]

When the man first stepped in, Akane recognized him as the man she'd met in the gym--or rather, she'd seen many times in the gym. She'd never seen him like this before, with anger rising out of him like lightning bolts Akane swore she could see. Akane noticed that the girl had taken her attention off of her opponent and moved to attack while she was distracted--maybe it wasn't the most honorable thing to do. But, you snooze, you lose.

Only, the force of the man who stopped them was too much for her to overpower, and just a simple hand on her could stop her right in her tracks. She settled for a low snarl, some of the blood that dripped from her nose seeping to the curve of her lips and trailing off. There was no doubt that she wanted to beat her into the curb, but there was no way she could do it with him watching. Their match would have to be postponed until later.

She didn't say anything, but felt helpless. She wanted to say, "Let me at her! She deserves to be pummeled!" or maybe "Why'd ya have to go and stop us? Let me beat her!" But there was no point in even trying, she decided. Later. Later, she'd finally get her revenge.

"Akane," she said proudly, "Owari Akane. That's m' name. And you better remember it, 'cause it's not the last time you're gonna fuckin' hear it." She almost continued with an "I'd like to see you try!" but at the last minute, decided against it. Doing her best to show no weakness, Akane refused to let her leg limp while she walked away from the two of them and left the girl to scream and yell like a banshee. 

No, this was definitely not the last time she'd see Mana. Akane would give her what she deserved later. 

{ Let Fighters be Fighters | shslsukebangirl }

How he’d been so quick was beyond her, but there he soon stood. A massive man, a strength well beyond her own. For an instance, Mana froze up. She knew better than to take a bite bigger than she could chew, but something of those thundering eyes did make it so she drew to a halt. She pushed against his outspread hand, minding not that his palm rested squarely on her collarbone as she tested the conviction of his strength. It was steadfast and unwavering.

Mana shook briefly before she stopped altogether.

The biting chill returned to haunt her now that the fervent recoil of battle was gone, though the heat of her temper remained. "Deplorable? Dishonorable?!" She spat back, offended more than touched or convinced by his words. And - like the stray wolf he’d compared her to - she snarled with her teeth at show. "Improvement and school aren’t fucking synonyms."

She could have insulted him, but chose not to. This guy… was formidably strong. That compelled respect, but seemed to ring a bit deeper as well. At last, the sukeban stepped away, no longer testing Nidai’s power. Her sharp eyes focused instead on Owari. She licked over her lips, her breath still coming out in ragged exhales. Adrenaline still ran through her system. She’d finish this some other time. "Your name." She tasted her every word, focusing on the throbbing sensation around her eye. That blow was hardly Akane’s full strength and she knew it well.

Mana could hardly wait to get a chance to fight her unbridled and unobstructed.

"Gimme your name. I wanna know who I’ll come back to bust up later." And this she spoke with a grin, a challenge. A spark of life as she knew it. Hell yes she’d get back to Akane later.

[skyacrobatics]

Akane shrugged her shoulders at the correction, as though she brushed off any embarrassment she may have had for such a mistake. It obviously didn't bother her that she had messed up, and one could only hope it wouldn't bother the offended party. She had a knack for appearing rude when, in reality, she was simply a bit too casual for her own good. 

"Oh, this thing?" She nudged the bag in question with her foot, "I'm spreadin' Christmas spirit with it, of course! Ain't that obvious?" It didn't occur to her that Komaeda had no knowledge of what was in the bag, but she didn't give him a chance to speak before continuing once more. "Your presents in here, so uh.... Just a sec." 

With that, she knelt down and began rummaging through the contents, hearing the clanging of objects, plastic against metal, paper, and other such materials. Finally, she brought out what appeared to be a charm attached to a string. Upon closer inspection, you could tell that it was a lucky charm bracelet, with multiple symbols of good luck attached to it. A horseshoe, a four-leaf clover, a strange cat, and other various symbols.

"This is for you! I'm pretty sure it is anyways. Yer the SHSL Good Luck, yeah? Or, at least, one of 'em."

{ Give a Little, Take a Little | badluck-komaeda }

[skyacrobatics]

Normally Akane was embarrassed to ask for directions, especially from someone who was small enough to fit under her shirt. But desperate times called for desperate measures, and this was a dire situation. Her fingers flexed and tightened into pumped fists, ready to dash towards the cafeteria (even though she still had no idea where it was, but that was besides the point).

For once, Akane managed to slow down for a moment and stop her running mouth to think and observe. The boy seemed plain and awkward, perhaps discomforted? Though her pondering was short-lived when the boy had mentioned that he did, indeed, know where the cafeteria was. Her excitement quickly skyrocketed, and she followed him with energy equaled to that of a puppy, tail wagging furiously with mirth.

"Thanks! You're a lifesaver, Nogai." Akane grinned, trotting behind him as she followed him towards what she assumed to be the cafeteria. "I've been starvin' since I got here. I could use a nice, giant plate of food, y'know? Stomach might've caved in and ate itself if ya hadn't showed up!" 

Of course, that wasn't possible. Right?

{ The Early Bird Gets the Worm | Open }

[skyacrobatics]

Sorry for my inactivity! I've been distracted a lot recently but I'll get to replies this weekend.

[skyacrobatics]

{ Starting Over | shsl-lyinggamble }

Having already dumped the contents of her bags across her side of the room, Akane stretched and hung an extra white shirt over the desk chair, kicking her legs and accidentally knocking over her leather case. It banged against one of the desk's wooden legs, the buckle snapping and coming undone. Though it didn't matter to her--she was finally here, and could finally get situated in her own room.

She was told that she'd have a roommate... what was her name, again? Akane couldn't quite remember, as she never was good at recalling names. But screw formalities; her supposed roomie was nowhere in sight, either. It was somewhat early in the morning, though, and Akane wondered where she had run off to. Meeting her new friend would probably be the first step in a long, comfortable school life here, so she had decided ahead of time she'd do her best to make a good first impression.

Instead of that, Akane was standing in the middle of the room, alone. Surely she'd have to come back to her room at some point, and Akane wouldn't budge until she did... though it wouldn't hurt to look around the room a bit, would it?

She investigated the nooks and crannies, finding a bag of chips hidden in one of the desk drawers, a broken lamp hidden underneath the desk, and a mini fridge in the corner. Although, upon opening it, Akane found it to be devoid of any beverages or food, much to her dismay. Other than that, her side of the room was somewhat empty. It must have been vacant for a long time to be this dusty.

Akane trudged over, bounced slightly on her bed to test its springiness. After determining it was good enough to sleep on, Akane rolled onto her back and laid in a position where she could keep her eye on the door, waiting for her roommate to return.

[skyacrobatics]

by おなわ .

[skyacrobatics]

The old man was a mysterious guy to her. He took such an interest in her that Akane could never understand why, and he had an electric aura surrounding him that made her want to challenge him. In fact, challenging him was probably all that was on her mind when she thought about him. She wasn't quite sure what exactly she was getting herself into, but as long as she could fight him, it probably didn't matter.

Feeling the brush of air against her skin, Akane only stopped once to turn around and see just how slow the old man was, immediately regretted it, and quickly turned back around to keep moving. Feet pounding against the hard floor as fast she could, she had a decent head start on him. However, the ground practically shook when he ran, leaving Akane wondering how long it would take for him to catch up.

Still, she marched on, and for a minute even forgot where she was going--the thrill of racing and the pumping of her blood to her legs made her light-headed, and she was so lost in the energy that she'd completely forgotten her real goal. Where was the cafeteria...?

"If that's as fast as you can go, then I don't think I'll have a problem takin' you up on that offer!" Akane called eagerly. While she disliked having a schedule, one meeting couldn't hurt. And she especially desired to face him in a match, hand-to-hand combat, with the whole gymnasium their ring.

She threw herself around a corner, believing it to be the right way, when in fact, she'd taken a wrong turn. Directions were never her forte, and this only proved it.

Blazing encounters || skyacrobatics

[skyacrobatics]

The jarring knocking stifled her groans underneath a barrage of noise. Akane shifted and tugged the covers over her head, pinching her ears in an attempt to block out the noise. But it seemed as though this stranger wasn't going to go away and let her sleep. Throwing the covers off, Akane looked to the clock nearby and checked the time:

Eighty thirty-two. Way, way too early for Akane to deal with this. She quickly threw herself out of bed, trudged along in her pajama pants and low-cut t-shirt, and yanked the door open in an outrage.

"Fuckin' calm yourself! I'm up, I'm up, what the hell do you want?!"

Closed for skyacrobatics | "You sure you didn't want this?"

Knocking. Keiichi Kagome knocked on the door to this dorm. He barely knew this person, but he had come with their gifts. He then used the ability to knock and press the doorbell to pull out a rendition of the Lucky Tar Opening, a small amount of wrapped presents by his side on the floor. “Akane Owari!” He yelled, continuing to attempt to get the girl out of the room. “Akane Owari, open up! I have your presents!!” He was getting rather miffed, Kicking the door too. “AKANE OOOOWAAARIIIII!!” He yelled, now simply beating down the door and making as much noise as possible.

[skyacrobatics]

Stopping in her tracks at a small hill of snow, Akane kicked, sending the white, fluffy slush into the air, landing in disturbed clumps. When she had reached him, she raised her arms up as though to say, "Hold on," and reached into her pocket to pull out a card. 

"You're Komida, right?" Akane asked, without realizing she'd mispronounced his name. Glancing over the card quickly to double check which present she needed to take out, Akane then stuffed it in her pocket.

Dropping her bag to her side, Akane reached out to shake his hand, a smile plastered on her face.. "I'm Owari Akane, 's nice to meet ya!"

{ Give a Little, Take a Little | badluck-komaeda }

[skyacrobatics]

It only took a few glances to see the rejection clearly displayed on her new-found friend's face, a small pout of sadness on her upper lip that quickly dissipated. Her first thought, shit, was quickly pushed to the back of her mind, and Akane thought to try and reassure the rocker that she wasn't simply brushing her off so easily. And to do so, she needed to take a step back and reexamine the girl with a guitar case strapped to her back.

Her piercings and oddly-styled hair were in no way a turn-off for Akane's friendliness. If anything, she appreciated the fact that she wasn't afraid to show off, to wear things that other people might give her a weird look for. Akane herself usually got looks--though more of the creepy sort than the weird. She sure was a rebel-rocker girl, that much she could tell. But the fact remained that she looked sad for even just a moment, and that told Akane there was more about this girl than she realized.

Then, she dropped her case to lean on the nightstand--perfectly alright with Akane. As long as she made a mess of Akane's side of the room and not the other, then they (most likely) wouldn't run into any problems. While Akane hadn't met her roommate just yet, she'd heard rumors, and seen her play cards one time from a distance. She was learning, bit by bit, what was acceptable around her and what wasn't.

"Sounds like a plan ta me! An' uh, thanks for this! I owe you one!" But she didn't feel quite content with her shoddy answer, so she reached out with an arm before the girl could completely walk out the door, a reaction to pull her back before she was out of ear-shot. 

"An', hey, you can play once we've eaten, yeah? I've just got a roommate who probably wouldn't appreciate the noise. But she's a stickler, so you don't hafta worry about her."

{ Bitter Wounds Lead to Sweeter Hearts | ibukikisdeliveryservice }

Ibuki’s spirits, at one moment soaring within an inch of the sun, all at once plummeted into the pits of her own growling stomach (she’d chosen the lunchroom as her destination for a reason!) when her offer to play for someone was denied for what had to be the zillionth time in a row. If only someone would give her a chance to prove herself, she’d show them! She’d show all of them, and they’d all love her, she just knew it!

Akane’s answer had left her in an awkward position- namely, the strap of her guitar case suspended above her head as she nodded slowly, resigned to rejection (for now) and wondering what in the world she was supposed to do next. Finally, she settled on propping it up against her newest friend’s nightstand; if she was about to run an errand, she couldn’t risk damage to her guitar as she tried to get it done in a timely manner. 

It was only then, abruptly brought down from her rush of rock ‘n’ roll euphoria, that she came to appreciate just what kind of cool customer she was dealing with here. Armed with dashing good looks and obviously tough as nails even lying injured in a bed, the girl struck her as some kind of mighty she-warrior; it was almost like feasting her eyes upon a mythical creature never meant for a mortal gaze. She tented her fingers together and focused on them instead, shoulders creeping upwards as she gave a sheepish giggle.

"Heheheh… well, uh… Ibuki was on her way to the cafeteria, y’know! She could get a plate and us two could eat together! If you wanted," she added on as an afterthought, but didn’t give Akane even a moment to protest before swiftly turning on her heel and darting towards the door just as quickly as she had come. As she crossed the threshold, her voice, once again bright and bubbly as carbonated soda, shot back over her shoulder:

"Mioda, as in me, oh, my, it’s Ibuki Mioda! One whopping plate of chicken and rice, coming right up!"

[skyacrobatics]

Note to self: work on Akane's relationships page later.