rakuen | Backdated to Round 2, Day 1

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Backdated to Round 2, Day 1

Characters: Roronoa Zoro, O*P*E*N
Format: Open
This log is: Open! (I'm so agreeable!)
Location: The Jetty, overlooking the water
Summary: Zoro, freshly arrived at the school, immediately gets lost. Please help.
Warnings: Mild language

"At least the weather's nicer here..."

A gentle, rising breeze carried through his hair as he stood at the cemented rise above the water, while the man himself stared quietly out towards the cloudy sky; Zoro would never have admitted it out loud, but despite having been whisked away from any sign of familiar surroundings, he felt somewhat at home as he watched a lonely boat, the only one out on the water, gliding across the silky lake. Perfectly silent, standing as firmly as a statue with his lean, strong arms crossed over his chest, he simply stood there with his lips curled into a slight frown and his chin firmly, stubbornly clentched.

Just what was with that 'tutorial', though? he wondered quietly, his expressions changing briefly as he thought to himself. Mere moments after he arrived by the train, he'd practically been shoved off by the conductor; maybe he had come off as a tad bit rude when he had repeatedly interrupted the man's glowing breakdown of the school they were headed to and its inspiring history, but that was no reason to throw him off.

After learning a bit about himself - things that he suddenly 'knew' upon arriving, like his 'Weapon' - he had slipped on his new glove, shrugged casually, then began his journey, heading immediately for the central building. Apparently, this was the place to go for a good meal, and Zoro's stomach was already growling.

...so, how did he wind up at the jetty? The guy at the booth said I just had to go straight ahead, but there was a building in my way, so I just made one turn, he mentally grumbled.

So long as he was there, he felt, he might as well enjoy the view. There was no way he had already gotten lost; no, someone else had just given him bad directions. He'd find his way when he was good and ready.

"...dammit, I'm still hungry..."

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"What're you doing out here if you hungry?" Huashi asked brightly from behind Zoro, a safe distance (that was, at least two of her own body-lengths) away. She still didn't trust most people here, even with everybody smelling human (well, except for the golden-haired one. He was not human.

"Because somebody gave m-...!" Zoro blurted out, beginning his reply quickly only to cut himself off in mid-sentence. Looking particularly surprised, he suddenly turned his head towards the voice. Surprise immediatedly gave way to his usual look of stern indifference as he turned away again, keeping his strong shoulders and back turned towards the girl.

"...because someone gave me bad directions, and I'm new here," he finally finished, his voice calm and narrowed again.

This place was dulling his senses, he realized. Not only had most of his strength been removed since his arrival, but now he was less able to sense the presence of others around him. Frustrating as it was, though, he kept it from leaking out into his voice and manners; first impressions were the most important, after all, and he still needed to keep himself disciplined.

"But I'm fine, thanks," he added, glancing back at her once more. "I'll find it."

Too naturally stubborn to ask for help, Zoro went right back to staring out at the water.

tail swinging behind her, Huashi wondered why he'd been so surprised. So, okay, she'd been quiet; it could probably even be termed 'sneaking upon', but then she'd been standing behind him for a bit before she said anything, and if he hadn't noticed her then...

"Reeally? Well, you're not gonna find anything by standing here!" Huashi pointed out cheerfully, maybe just a touch teasingly. Obnoxious monkeys, you know.

Zoro's teeth began to grit together a little tighter, and his arms wrapped around his chest a little more closely.

"Oi, maybe I just like the view here. Maybe I want to stay here for a bit and enjoy the freakin' beautiful scenery," he replied; his voice was still calm, but slightly sharper. Not budging, he continued to show her little else but his back.

...at least, until his stomach let out a noisy growl. Zoro's look visibly changed to clear uncomfort then; he hadn't eaten in at least a day, and the effects were starting to show.

"...do...you know where the Main Hall is?" he finally asked.

She had to roll her eyes as he insisted on being silly; standing around enjoying the view when he was as hungry as he sounded? Riiight. Not even she did that, and she'd annoyed Xuanzang lots by attempting to enjoy all the scenery they passed when he wanted to hurry on.

"'Course I do! I'll even show you where it is!" Huashi swayed back on her heels and pointed towards all the buildings behind them, though which one it was was of course impossible to see from here.

And there was no teasing in her words. Nope, not at all. Silly people insisting on things when the opposite was true didn't at alll get teased.

Zoro let out one last deep sigh before he finally turned, facing Huashi at last; as he straightened up to his full height, he reared his shoulders back, spreading his lightly-muscled chest out, and looked down at her, completely no-nonsense.

"Alright, then," he replied, nodding his head firmly. "I appreciate it. But don't think I couldn't have found it on my own."

Zoro started walking then, without waiting for Huashi to come along as he headed towards the direction she had pointed in. He would never have said anything, but he certainly expected her to come along.

Silly man. His attitude was still not making her angry; it kinda reminded her of Xuanzang's, so she just stuck her tongue out at his back and then skipped up, first beside him, and then in front of him, and walked backwards.

She somehow seemed to be able to walk perfectly well like that, and even walking them in the right direction.
"Of course you could have!" She peered up at him with a mischiveous grin. "And it wouldn't have taken you hours either, obviously~!" There was no meanness in her voice, just cheerful teasing. It wasn't as if she wouldn't be able to run away, if he actually got angry.

Zoro may have been frowning, but he wasn't upset; no, it took quite a bit more than just a little poking and prodding at one of his weaknesses to pull off a feat like that. A frown was his usual look, and his usual behavior was simple, cool indifference, and as he walked with Huashi taking quick, spirited steps in front of him, he followed closely behind her and quietly observed the area around them, turning his head lightly and shifting his eyes from left to right and back again. His hands were tucked lightly into his pockets, and as he walked, his posture was firm and strong.

"So, what your name, anyway?" he asked her, finally speaking again. His voice was still calm and casual, never rising out of its usual pitch and tone of confidence. "And what are you...a Player? Or a Weapon?"

"Huashi," she replied, for the first time while they'd been talking only giving a straight answer, voice only tinged with her usual bubbling energy. She locked her hands behind her head and tilted it upwards to look Zoro in the face. It was strange, how normal people here could have haircolours that only demons or the like at home ought to have.

"Aannnd I'm a Weapon this Round! I was a Player last. What's your name?" She blinked up at him, eyes only barely squinted against the sunlight.

Zoro's expressions changed lightly when Huashi, as she called herself, revealed that she was a Weapon. It wasn't disappointment, per se, but the odd look in his eyes and the curl of his lips seemed to suggest that he had been hoping for a different answer. He said nothing - out loud - about it, though, merely shrugging his shoulders as they continued.

"Roronoa Zoro," he answered, emphasizing his imposing first name a little. "Nice to meet you."

It seemed as if they were starting to near the Main Hall, with its tall and imposing stature coming into view, but Zoro suddenly seemed to have it in his head that they needed to turn left, and thus started walking away from their intended target without a single thought.

"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! That's not the way to go!" Huashi lunged forward and grabbed the nearest bit of cloth, digging her heels in. She may not be heavy, but she was easily strong enough to keep one silly human who was only absentmindedly walking in the wrong direction from continuing further. Yeah, no wonder he'd gotten lost, if he couldn't follow someone straight until they came to the destination!

"Why'd you go that way? I wasn't going that way!" She frowned at him, but there was no real heat in her voice.

For an extra step or two, Zoro kept right on going in the direction he was convinced was the correct one, as if Huashi's grip, weight, and strength meant nothing. Zoro certainly was silly, but perhaps, in his own world, he was something a little more than just human. He did stop, however, once he heard her scolding him loudly enough.

"Oi, what's the matter?" he asked, turning his head towards her over his shoulder. He looked genuinely confused. "Isn't this the right way? I can feel it."

Silly man. Shaking her head, Huashi pointed in the direction they had been going, that was, towards the towering main building and the smaller, flanking dorms.

"There. That's where we're going. Now stop being silly and follow me!" Why would he just take off randomly like that? He'd been doing really well, too!

Squinting his eyes, Zoro looked at where Huashi pointed, an incredibly obvious, highly decorated landmark and clearly the first thing anyone else would have noticed, then glanced in the direction he had tried to move in, where there was absolutely nothing of consequence except a few small, plain buildings and the green tops of a forest off in the distance.

"...are you sure?" he still asked, looking back at her with a sense of skepticism. As she continued to insist, though, Zoro gave in, starting to walk again in the right direction. "You've been here longer, so I suppose you know best."

As he moved, Zoro's right hand instinctively reached for the swords that were normally hanging at his side, but finding nothing but empty space, he sighed a little.

"So this is a school...does anybody actually learn anything useful here?" he asked.

As Zoro was once again moving in the correct direction, Huashi had gone back to walking backwards in front of him. This made her miss Xuanzang and Daddy and Yu Long, because Xuanzang always got so uptight when she did this, especially after he'd denied her riding with him.

"Dunno! I've been to some of the classes, but they're stupid. They don't teach well at all!" In Huashi's not-so-humble opinion, that was. Wujing was a much better teacher.

"Besides," Huashi squinted at Zoro and pointed at him. "Aren't you old enough to know the stuff they teach here?" She was rathr sure of this. What they taught here the things daddy was taught by the sage, after all.

"Stupid..." Zoro repeated the word, nodding as if he had expected and agreed with such an opinion. Still, he had no room to cast a vote - having just arrived, it was difficult for him to weigh in.

Her next question caught him by surprise, though, and visibly so; Zoro suddenly looked a bit more puzzled, not to mention a little bothered by the idea. "How'm I supposed to know what they teach here?" he replied, huffing sharply. "I never went to any kind of school like this. It's a bit bigger than anything I went to."

Zoro went on to explain that he only sort of school he'd ever attended was a simple country dojo, primarily meant to teach swordsmanship. The students learned other, more practical skills, from reading and writing to notions of art and caligraphy.

"...and went I got here, they gave me...nghh...this thing," he said, grunting softly as he rummaged in his pocket and pulled out the small PDA he'd been granted on arrival. "I don't even know what it is, so for all I know, there's some pretty weird stuff at this place."

"History... Though I dunno what sort of history, I don't recgonize anything of it! And mathematics," Huashi said the word 'mathematics' slowly and carefully, no as if she didn't know it, but as if she was paying proper respect to whoever had taught her that word and the concept of math first (that was, Wujing. She hadn't listened to Xuanzang).

"Other things I think, too, languages, but I don't know any of those!" She didn't seem particularly embarrassed at admitting what she didn't know. It wasn't as if she needed those languages, normally she would understand people anyway!

Pensively, Zoro raised a hand to his chin and rubbed it thoughtfully, taking in her words as they walked. He may have been a little dim at times, but he wasn't stupid enough not to recognize an opportunity like this when he saw it. Math and science were things he could skip, but languages and other options could really come in handy during his travels.

He smiled a little, and this alone was a rare occurrence. "Is that so?" he asked aloud, not expecting a real answer. "How about a place to train? As long as I'm stuck here, I'm going to build my strength back up."

Huashi shrugged, was about to point out the direction of the gym, but paused halfway and brought her arm down. Considering Zoro had started to walk off for no reason at all before, if she pointed out some new direction, he may start to follow that. So better not do it.

"There's a place, yeah! They call it a gym. But you need to have a Player to use it," Huashi scoffed and shrugged. "I just use the outside. There's lot of space!"

"Hmm..." grunted Zoro in response again. "I don't need space, I need something heavy to lift."

Waving the notion off as he shook his head, as if to shake the idea out of his very brain, Zoro instead continued to pursue Huashi towards the Main Hall. Training was one thing, but gaining strength would be impossible on an empty stomach, so certain things needed to come first.

Moments later, the two arrived at their intended destination. The Main Hall rose high above them almost mountainously, casting an enormous shadow over the surrounding courtyard, and dozens of other students passed them by, coming and going through the large entrance. "Well, thanks," Zoro said dismissively, reaching for the door.

There, Zoro stopped just in front of the main entrance with his hand on the door's handle; his normal instinct would have been to simply go right ahead in and find food, and had Huashi been any other regular person, he would not have really minded whether or not they followed after. He was where he needed to be, and that was that.

Still, he looked at her for a moment with a sideways glance. He was hesitating, and his lips pursed together briefly as he attempted to think of what to say next.

"...so, um...you wanna grab a bite to eat with me?" he asked, sounding strangely awkward.

"Sure!" Food was never wrong, after all, so she bounced up and basically pushed Zoro inside in front of her, both because that was amusing, and to make sure he didn't suddenly veer off from the door and down the steps or anything silly like that.

She wondered, briefly, how he was going to find his way around this place from day-to-day, from dorms to the dining hall and the gym and the classes, if he chose to go.

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Backdated to Round 2, Day 1

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