[SS] The Ballad of the Oddities

25th June, District 7

Slowly did the sun fall silently behind the distant building tops as the young boy walked home through the park. It was a Friday evening and as usual, the students were winding down for the weekend, though that only meant for the rule abiding ones, since the more intolerant students were rearing their ugly heads on the weekend. But there was nothing that can be done by this young boy, not unless they commit an offence and the mere presence of him walking through the park with his green sash on display was enough to keep the peace.

So he thought.

"eeeooooeee---"

A siren sound followed by bells toned a familiar warning. "Did someone break a vending machine?" the boy asked while securing his glasses, he wanted to go home to get something to eat and then do some studying but this little obstruction had to be investigated. Sighing the boy didn't delay any further and headed towards the scene.

It didn't take long with his running speed, but the boy arrived at what seemed strange. Seeing the machine in question it was a large red vending machine with all the usual strange drinks and food ready to buy. And it made the most annoying sound only further drowned out by the four security robots at the scene.

"Vending machine #7116 failure"
"Vending machine #7116 failure"
"Vending machine #7116 failure"
"Vending machine #7116 failure"

It was hard to hear being so close to them and the boy covered his left eyes trying to block it out. Doing this as he tried to look around for any possible witnesses, there seemed to be no one around and this is usually the case with these incidents. Normally someone takes their anger out on the vending machine for possibly eating their money and they would run at the first moment the alarm sounded.

Often pointless to take these incidents further, but it only annoyed the boy thinking the damaging public property shouldn't be taken likely. Rubbing his head in confusion, the boy was prepared to call this incident just as he noticed something.

It was a flip mobile device with the blue design and from where he was looking it seemed to be playing something. "Is that an active call?" the boy asked noticing a dim light coming from the screen, seeing this as a possible blue the boy stepped forward in a hurry to reach it before it ends. But the bad luck continues to strike as it the light faded from the mobile.

"Hmm." the boy mumbled in annoyance as he slowly knelt down to pick it up. The boy noticed that the battery hadn't died just what was playing had ended, and what seemed to be an inactive radio station app remaining on the screen. Not knowing how this corresponds to the vending machine incident, the boy looked annoyed that his whole evening has now been sidetracked.

But something felt unusual but it could just be the case the culprit had dropped his or her phone.

"I better figure out the owner of this phone back at the branch." the boy said who watched as others finally arrived starting to deactivating the alarm system and taking this moment of decreased noise the boy took out his own phone to make the call.

"Hey Chief, yeah it is me, Oda. Look there is something I need your help with are you busy?" Oda had asked while looking at the radio application the phone he had found.  

June 27th, District 7

Starved and at his limit, Oda has been awfully busy these past few days. He didn't think it was worth the effort, but putting in Judgement work, while also balancing studies along with managing living standards seemed too much at the moment for this young boy. Especially with Judgement work being awfully busy this past week and kinda troubling. But things have seemed to have quietened down and he had hoped it remains quiet.

Though thinking it's wise to visit a library to study more, Oda thought maybe for once he should treat himself. It has been tough recently and he thought the very least a nice cup of noodles from the vending machine should suffice. Stumbling over due to the lack of energy, the judgement member stares at the very same machine he was at days before and it seemed everything was working perfectly. "There's barely anything in it." Oda said collapsing against the red vending machine in defeat looking out towards the park. It would seem due to some circumstances they weren't able to refill the machine.

"This isn't good I need to eat something fast." Oda mumbled as he continued to lean against the machine while thinking of other available sources of nourishment. As he sat there he also noticed just how busy it was today here in the park in district seven. While it's not typically unusual, today being Sunday you often find a lot of students roaming around since its one of the few days with the freest available time for many. And like usual, the massive amounts of the usual gossip and rumours was flying about with some annoying reminder of what happened almost a week ago.

"Is he that guy being accused of being a lolicon?"

Ignoring that the judgement member had suddenly seemed distraught, the boy had realised a disturbing fact at this time of the day."Oh god no, it's lunch time that means the queues..." Oda thought seemingly defeated by his own thoughts on the lunch rush hour.

Elsewhere in the area, a certain minuscule middle schooler was facing comeuppance for his impatience. It was bright, it was sunny, and despite his disaster of several days prior, Hakusho Tsuru was once more in possession of sheets of origami paper.

Obviously, it would only do that he sit down on a park bench and begin to fold. After all, it was a sunny day. How could a disaster like getting caught out in the rain on a sunny day possibly happen twice? And besides, he wasn't nearly so far from his dorm this time... Those accursed words, "What could go wrong?"

To any other student, the wind was no big deal. Okay, so it was a bit strong. Some lucky perverts even caught a glimpse of heaven. However, other than a few handprints and some shame, no one was seriously inconvenienced. No one except Tsuru, that is. As expected of Academy City's weakest, expecting his hands to keep his grip on the paper was like expecting a snowball not to melt in hell.

As in, it'll happen when hell freezes over.

As if to compound the boy's misfortune, as he stood to chase his runaway paper, he unwittingly caused several more brightly color sheets to be caught by the wind. He looked like he might cry.

The sun felt warm against Minako’s ivory skin. The scents of food and flowers hang in the air, it is oddly comforting. Although it is still a part of Academy City, this district is foreign to her. Minako tucks a thick strand of raven colored hair behind her ear, as she continues to watch people buzz around their daily lives. She stands there as a quiet observer, it is as if no one even seems to notice the Tokiwadai girl among them. As if to prove her rampant thought, an older student bumps into Mina. “Oh, Er… sorry!” Minako’s bell-like voice echoes automatically as she turns around, but it seems to fall upon deaf ears. He never even acknowledges her.

Why did I even come here? Mina thinks to herself, as she turns back around and gazes around. True she feels alone in Tokiwadai, but here it is as if she doesn’t even exist! The girl slowly walks through the area, hearing snippets of conversation here and there. The girl feels like a ghost among the living, however that isn’t a completely new feeling. With a sigh, she decides to just go back to the school, when yet another student bumps into her. Minako apologizes once again, but the sound of her voice is carried away with the wind.

Speaking of the wind, it seems as if it is picking up. And at an alarming rate! Mina barely has time to register this thought, when she feels her skirt starting to billow around her legs. Oh no! Mina quickly grabs the hem of her skirt, in the front and back, as the wind gusts around them. Mild screams of embarrassment fill the air, as do a few echoes of slapping. Mina opens her eyes to see her black hair thrashing wildly around her, only broken up by the blue sky, and a flash of red and gold paper.

Beautiful. Minako thinks, as she watches it swirl around, before it lands a few feet from her. Slowly she lowers her gaze as she watches the paper, to notice a young looking boy, on the verge of tears. Her stomach clenches, as she notices other bits of colorful paper within the boy’s hands. Suddenly Mina springs into action, grabbing and stacking as many of the colored pages as she can, as they seemed to pool in the area. A few times, she winces as her hand is narrowly missed by pedestrian feet. Once she has them gathered in a nice pile, she picks them up and walks over to the boy.

“Here you go.” Minako says softly, as she holds out the papers in her right hand, a soft blush creeping upon her face. “I don’t know if this is all of them, but…” her voice dies down as she looks into his face Mina offers an encouraging smile as she pats the top of the boy’s head, like her father used to do to her when she was always upset. “Please, don’t look so sad. It will be okay.”

A sharp sigh left Kita as she made her way through the park. "Last day before it's back to it and there's barely anything to do...", she thought as she weaved her way through the crowd, the lively, chatty air stifled by the rhythmic beat of her black and blue headphones. She was trying to enjoy the last of her Sunday before she had to return to her usual, drab school schedule, with only a few performances on the side to keep the days interesting. In her right hand and slung on her right shoulder was a small, brown bag and inside was a deck of cards, which she almost always with her. More importantly, though, there was a bright red apple, a small token to help stave off the inevitable hunger that would come after walking around the park for what felt like an eternity.

     After walking down the path a little further, she saw to her left a vending machine and next to it leaned a tired looking boy. The first thing to jump out at Kita, besides the black and red coat which most likely did not help his apparent situation, was the green armband. She stared at the boy, oddly shocked that she would be seeing Judgement members in the park on a Sunday afternoon. Then again, she thought, it was the park on Sunday afternoon and she wouldn't be surprised if she saw an alien walking past her. So, she steered her thoughts in a different direction. 

     "The boy is a Judgement member, so maybe I shouldn't...but..." A small, cheeky smirk plastered across her face for a second as she remembered a little something slung over her shoulder. "I'm sure he won't mind." She began walking up to the boy, hiding her grin with a look of concern that wasn't too far off. She actually wanted to help the boy, as he was clearly in distress, but hell. Why not have some fun with it?


     "Excuse me, sir?" she called out to the boy as her walk became a jog and she lowered the bag from her shoulder to her waist, making sure the contents didn't fall out. "Are you alright?"

Oda was completely out of his senses, sitting there against the vending machine. The height of the summer days was fast approaching and he took the bold decision to be exposed so earlier on today in the most unfortunate circumstances. Hunger mixed with heat exposure was not a kind mistress but the young judgement dog had thought this through. Sitting there trying to manage is body temperature by panting away, Oda had realised something while observing the trees near him. That once the time struck past 1 pm the sun would have moved enough for the tree's shade to cover where he was sitting and only then will he able to recover to full strength.

 "Excuse me, sir?" a sudden voice sparked Oda's awareness. Immediately the dog looked up with frightening eyes as some sort of defence mechanism before seeing a girl with brown long hair approach him. The way she did told him a story that has yet to define himself, but the judgement member remained there for a moment as she approached and listened with a calm expression.

"Are you alright?" she said and yet Oda's eyes drifted to the bag in her hand that was lowered to her waist. Immediately seeing this had removed any traces of hostility from his eyes as what seemed like a cute girl bringing him food had the adverse effect of pacifying this normally unruly dog.

Though his first thought was ways to persuade the girl to share her treasures in the bag, so much so he suddenly found the strength to stand back up from just seeing this cute girl with a possible source of nourishment. However standing up it came clear to the dog just who was before him. She was smaller than Oda, but she held herself in a way that she was clearly older than the dog.

"Hello Senpai; thanks for the concern but I'll be alright. Is there anything I can help you with?" Oda said with a slightly disgruntled expression as his stomach suddenly rumbled. Despite his own problems, the boy realised that only possible reason a girl would approach him was because he was in judgement and most likely needed help.

It took Tsuru a moment to realize he was being talked to- He was furiously reaching for any paper that fell within his extremely short reach. It only registered when he noticed that a hand was holding out a whole stack of papers to him.

With a sniffle, the boy wiped the moisture from his eyes. "Th... Thank you, onee-san"

With a careful grip so as not to lose them, the miniscule boy takes the papers from the girl. So grateful he is hardly able to express it, he puts them away such that they papers will not crumple. Well, all save for one blue sheet.

His actions were not swift nor slow, but steady and methodical as the boy folded the paper over and over again. That said, there is such a things as TPO, and should he really go straight back to origami once his papers are retrieved!?

Well, regardless of how it must feel to be the other person involved, the paper in the boy's hands continues to morph. One fold, then another, finally taking the form of a small flower.

"Ano... " The boy says to the girl, having finished. "This is...
For you. Umm... In the language of flowers... It means... Umm... Thank you." He offers the origami bluebell, the only thing he can think of using to communicate his gratitude.

Minako removed her hand from the young man's forehead once he brushed the tears away. Onee-San... A small twitch of humor upon her lips, well at least it wasn't Onee-sama. That honorific often echoes through the halls late at night from a certain wing of Tokiwadai's student dorms. It often leads to disaster, on some level. "You're welcome." A soft smile still lingering on her lips as she watched him carefully transfer the papers. He seems so delicate with them. Mina thinks, as she watches him pull out a beautiful blue sheet, almost the exact same shade as her eyes.

Minako watches in wonder, as the boy begins folding the paper. Every movement seems measured and precise. The young woman is spellbound by the movements of his hands. Watching the paper transform is amazing! Almost like seeing a caterpillar morph into a butterfly. Finally, when he was all done, sitting in his hand is a breathtaking bluebell flower!

"Oh wow!" Mina whispers softly, as she looks at it she holds up one hand momentarily. "One moment please." Minako reaches into a bag slung around her shoulder, digging for... aha! With a fluid movement, she removes a couple bobby pins. Gently she takes the flower and places it under the upper right side of her headband. Finally securing it in place with the items she produced from her bag.

"Thank you... Origami-Kun!" Mina smiles more warmly at the boy. "I... I shall wear it...with honor." The Tokiwadai girl fidgets with her bag nervously. Why can't I just get over my nervousness? Minako scolds herself mentally. "I... I'm Kuramoto Minako." The young woman says with a graceful bow. "Where... did you learn Origami?" Mina regains her posture but grinds her left shoe against the pathway absentmindedly, her heel swaying back and forth. Seeing someone so young, and seemingly helpless and the warm sun gives her an idea. They say friendship has to start somewhere. "Would you... like to get a drink?" Minako asks softly "My treat."

Kita saw the seemingly disgruntled boy stand upright and face her before a verbal rock smacked her right in the face.


"Hello Senpai; thanks for the concern but I'll be alright. Is there anything I can help you with?" Her eyes widened slightly, her cheeks reddened, and her face stiffened slightly. "Sen...pai...That came out of literally nowhere..." she thought, a bit creeped out that THAT was his initial reaction. She would've needed some time to recover, but she realized that she was in the spotlight. So, she quickly regained her posture, stopped her music, and took off her headphones. She was talking to a Judgement member after all and had to be careful with how she started.


"Ah no...I'm good for now I just wanted to check on you because you looked like you were in-" Suddenly, his face became disgruntled and Kita heard what sounded like grumbling. She put on a friendly smile, but had to hold back a smirk. "...trouble." "Jackpot..." she thought. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow, taking on a much more casual stance. Despite the verbal cheap shot from earlier, the boy's circumstances made her feel a little more in power. "I'm not sure if you'll be alright. People who are alright don't lean on vending machines and look generally desperate." In an attempt to further poke the bear, she adjusted her posture, making herself more comfortable, and, more importantly, slightly jiggling the bag to try to divert his attention. "You sure I can't help in any way?"

Unaware of the girl's embarrassment for being called 'Senpai'. Oda looking dazed he wasn't completely aware of everything that was happening. Probably due to the lack of fuel in the tank, but it didn't stop it from noticing the obvious. "Ah no...I'm good for now I just wanted to check on you because you looked like you were in...trouble." his eyes narrowed slightly but his mind continued to wander as the girl continued.

"I'm not sure if you'll be alright. People who are alright don't lean on vending machines and look generally desperate." the girl continued as an arrow shot deep into Oda's heart as he felt the pain of those words. He had looked so pathetic in front of an elder classman and she then moved the bag in her hands to catch his attention. "You sure I can't help in any way?" she asked cornering Oda in his responses.

Though he wondered for a moment why he was hesitating, this was a dream come true and he should enjoy every moment. "A girl is actually offering me food." Oda thought as he tried to compose himself.

"If it's not any trouble." Oda responded with a respectful tone giving into his temptations and accepted the offer. Though he forgot some simple courtesy and continued. "My name is Oda Taichi. May I ask what I should call you? Senpai?" Oda said continuing to address his upperclassman with respect.

Tsuru was happy to hear that the girl liked the flower. He had to admit, he was rather nervous since it was such a simple piece- He would have rather liked to offer a nicer one, but couldn't risk the wind blowing it away again. Well, she liked it, so wasn't it okay? He ended up not worrying about it too much. It was a bit strange to see a girl pin a paper flower to her hairband... But it was cute, so wasn't it okay?

Tsuru already had a rather good impression of this kind girl. Nobody else in the park had even noticed his dilemma, let alone helped.

Well, being called Origami-kun was a little odd.

"Ah... I... I'm, Hakusho Tsuru. N-nice to... m-meet you, Kuramoto-nee-san."

The small boy matched the older girl's shyness, stutter for stutter.

"Ah... I was... Umm...  Taught by my teacher... Back... In grade school"

Which may seem to be an odd choice of phrasing for a boy who looks like he should be wearing a randoseru.

The older-than-he-looks middle schooler is at first taken aback by the idea of getting drinks, but... He has no real reason to say no, right? "Oh, uh... Okay."

"N-Nice to meet you too... H-Hakusho-Kun..." Minako said softly, as she twirled a dark strand of hair around her finger. He is just as shy as I am. So, I'm not alone... Mina thought to herself, as she listened to his explanation... wait... "G-grade school?" Minako stuttered, not in shyness but in disbelief! "But... you look so... young... Not that I mean disrespect! Ohh." Mina's voice falls into nothingness, as she hunches her shoulders, and looks around. The area is fairly busy as it is lunch time. Multiple lines for vendors and cafe's seem to spiderweb around them. A shiny glint of metal catches her eye.

"There is... a vending machine." Minako gestures past a small crowd, straightening back up "Lets go there." Minako walks in silence, hoping that Hakusho would understand that she is nervous, not upset with him. "You are rather talented... at Origami Hakusho-kun." She continues to twirl her hair nervously when she finally approaches the vending machine, only to see two people right beside it. A boy, that looked older than her, with dark hair and glasses, and an older girl with dark red hair.

"Er... e-excuse me..." Mina stutters softly. "B-but are you... in line? For the machine that is." Minako quits twirling her hair, and shifts nervously as a soft rosy blush graces her face once again. "I don't want to... cut the line." At this point, Minako brings her hand to her face, where she nervously chews on a bit of her thumb nail. Her eyes fall down, looking at the ground before her feet. Talking to people just makes her so nervous.

After her question, she noticed a tone change in his voice, as he looked to be composing himself. It seemed that he was indeed in need of some help as he replied. "If it's not any trouble. My name is Oda Taichi. May I ask what I should call you? Senpai?" There was that word again, although she let it slip this time. He seemed to simply be acting respectfully, after all. She then immediately remembered one small detail. "Ah, of course, how could I be so dull?" Keeping the bag level, she took a step back and, with a smirk, bowed in an exaggerated manner, with one hand on her chest and the hand holding the bag extended to the side. "I am Kita Tsukiko, a simple student studying psychology. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." 


She began straightening herself once more and before she was about to continue, she heard a soft, almost shy voice approaching her. "Er...e-excuse me...B-but are you... in line? For the machine that is." Turning to address the voice, she saw a girl approaching the two of them, a boy not too far behind her. The girl had black hair was blushing like she was about to turn into a cherry, but what smacked Kita in the eye was how pale she was. Pale as a sheet was undercutting it. The boy was small, almost adorably small, and like the girl, had extremely pale skin. "I don't want to...cut the line." The sheet cherry girl started chewing on a bit of her thumb and she started to look at the ground. "Well, someone's not nervous at all." 


Kita smiled and looked at the vending machine to check if it was even available. "Surprise surprise. It's not." She looked back at the two ghastly and completely confident newcomers and shrugged. "Well, best of luck getting anything in the vending machine. I think someone forgot to refill it. Speaking of which! I almost forgot." She turned away from the group and started rummaging through the bag, acting as though she was going to grab something from it. However, she was really creating a clone of the apple she had with her and searching her deck of cards before finding the perfect card. The joker. Folding it in half twice, she grabbed it, and the fake apple and pulled them both out, making sure the apple covered the piece of paper inside. "Unfortunately this is all I got in terms of food."

"Ah, of course, how could I be so dull?" the girl in response to his own words started to present herself. "I am Kita Tsukiko, a simple student studying psychology. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."  Oda nodded slightly in acknowledgement of her words as he felt his stars have aligned for the first time in his life. But even in great moments, there are interruptions.

"Er...e-excuse me...B-but are you... in line? For the machine that is." a soft voice had said barely catching Oda's attention. He had noticed two people were approaching them, one a girl who was leading while a boy followed slowly behind. Both of them seem pale and it reminded the boy how he was when he wakes up in the morning. Thinking it was the same for them Oda had seemed to react slowly to those soft words. "I don't want to...cut the line." the young girl said taking just a moment for Oda to react. He startled feeling like he was being rude, Oda jolted out of the way and apologised.

"Sorry!" Oda said bowing his head slightly while rubbing the back of his head.

"Well, best of luck getting anything in the vending machine. I think someone forgot to refill it. Speaking of which! I almost forgot." the kind Senpai continued as she turned for a bit after seemingly rummaging through her bag.

"Unfortunately this is all I got in terms of food." Kita said as she offered the apple much to Oda's surprise. This was more than enough, just a single piece would've been delightful but a whole apple only really marked the sad thoughts in the Judgement member's mind. "I really need to get a hold of the food situation." Oda thought but it didn't stop him taking Kita's kind offer but something else had derailed it. And only came to him as he took the apple for Kita. You see even in perfect times there was always interruptions.

He had noticed something.

That girl and boy, they seemed to be in the same plight as him and as judgement member, he couldn't put himself before others. No, it wouldn't feel right and the sudden reality hit Oda hard. After taking the apple from Kita he reluctantly offered it to the girl and boy who seem downtrodden about the vending machine.

While this at first seems rude by offering a gift to someone else, the moral obligation was right. There was no way a Judgement member could overlook the plight of others. But something seemed rather off. "I'm sure our kind senpai doesn't mind that you two share the apple? She's very thoughtful of others and I only want to follow her example." Oda said as a strange underlined tone which seems to be sending a direct challenge to Kita from the Dog of Judgement.

Well, Tsuru had rather expected such a reaction. Even though he's already a middle school student... Because of his body, unless someone already knew, there was no way they would guess. "It's... It's fine... I'm used to it..."

Or so he says, but there's a definite sigh behind his voice. It's not Minako's fault, but it does dig in to his complex regarding his appearance. If only he'd have a growth spurt like his classmates... But then, expecting Tsuru to do anything properly is... Yeah.

It seems the girl senses his discomfort, because she changes the subject to the vending machine, and promptly  praises his origami work. "O... Okay," and "Th... Thanks," are the respective awkward responses.

In front of the vending machine, Tsuru sees a person he recognizes... Well, it doesn't seem he's been recognized in turn. Which is rather strange, you'd think someone would remember toting another person around the mall until they needed medical attention. Especially given that that happened literally two days ago.

Not that Tsuru held a grudge, or anything. It wasn't really a positive impression that he had, but the older boy had meant well, and had at least noticed that Tsuru was in trouble. It just so happened that he was then dragged off by another, who was... Not nearly so attentive.

Still, the trauma gave Tsuru a strong feeling of, "I don't want to get involved with this person." Which was why he was currently hiding behind Minako, hoping that not enough of himself was showing to be recognized.

Minako felt the cool brown eyes of the red haired girl appraising them, she couldn't help but shift nervously. "Oh... er... Thank you for the information..." Well, the machines were empty. Crap. There goes that idea. Mina's inner monologue was interrupted by the impressive, yet sudden, bravado the dark haired boy presented. Quickly Minako's gaze lifted from the ground, and her hand fell from her mouth. "N-n-no thank you." Mina lifted both hands in protest. "I'm not... hungry... I just..." Minako felt her blush still upon her cheeks.

"The... the thought is kind... but..." Mina's voice fell softly into the wind. "You seem t-to need it more than us, J-Judgement-sama. I just wanted to thank my frien---" Mina started to gesture towards where Hakusho-kun had just been, to realize he was gone. "H-Hakusho-kun?" Mina blinked in surprise, turning her head to see him cowering slightly behind herself. A curtain of dark hair fell over her shoulder, temporarily blocking the other two from view. "W-what are you d-doing... b-back there?!" Her voice colored with shock, and a slight tone of incredulity at the potential indecency that could be taken from this situation. Her blush returned full force at this point.

"D-do you want some apple? Or.." Mina tried to swallow, as a thick lump seemed to be stuck in her throat. "Or do you want to go someplace else?" Her eyes widening at the implication that could be taken from this statement. "For something to drink I mean!" the Tokiwadai girl finished quickly, as she grabbed his arm and tried to maneuver him beside her. With a small sigh, the shy girl flips her hair off her shoulder, where it cascades down her slender back.

It took all of a few seconds for the ball to be in Oda's court. Literally. In one move, he took the false apple, and the folded up joker, into his hand. While the illusion was supposed to be the center of attention, it was supposed to still be in Kita's hand and so now she had to act and she had to act quickly. While her face held an innocent smile, her mind raced in a mild panic. She wasn't thinking about what anyone was saying, although she still heard their voices. After all, she knew that Oda absolutely knew that the apple was not an apple. Especially when she caught one sentence of his, which immediately confirmed her hypothesis. 

"I'm sure our kind senpai doesn't mind that you two share the apple? She's very thoughtful of others and I only want to follow her example." Through the sea of garbled voices, she recognized that his tone had completely shifted. No longer was he the respectful boy that she met. He had some passive aggression in his heart and, all of a sudden, Kita felt something new. The new pent up pressure she felt wasn't annoyance. This was legitimate spite. "Ohohohoho! I see what this is! Well then, I guess it's time to get to the punchline early."

Keeping her smile, Kita reached over to her bag and grabbed the real apple as silently as she could, making sure to keep the fake apple in her sights as the shy newcomers talked. Then, with the apple in her right hand, she spoke, her tone as flat as Oda's as a sort of counter to his sarcasm. "You know, it wasn't very nice to take things out of my hand, Oda Taichi. But don't worry, I know just how to deal with that in a way that makes a good point." She closed her eyes and snapped her left hand's fingers, causing the fake apple to disappear and revealing the folded up paper, now representative of her spite. With the real apple now in her hand, she started tossing it between her hands, making sure to keep it out of Oda's reach. To top it off, she gave Oda a mild smirk. It wasn't the best retort, but she was sure that despite him having spoiled her fun, she still had the advantage and at this point, she had only one thought. "Your move."

The moment he had originally taken the first apple, it became clear to the Judgement member something was off and it wasn't due to the texture. It was mainly due to the missing factor of the sweet smell of apples. Such a common fruit as an apple was often sweet, its aroma often easily picked up by someone like Oda who enjoys good food.

And fruit like an apple were one of the best and simple foods in the world. It requires no preparation to consume and only requires you to buy them. It along with rice and other simple foods were one of the many things Oda had relied on to survive. And so it became obvious to the Judgement dog that something was the moment he realised there was no smell.

So he issues a challenge for Kita to admit what was up by offering it to another, though his focus on this task had made him feel bad. He had failed to acknowledge someone he had noticed, the little boy with the girl that interrupted them originally was the same boy who was friends with Fremea.

Though despite his casual rudness, that wasn't the biggest blunder to occur here.

It will be done by Kita who just basically admitted to rule breaking. "You know, it wasn't very nice to take things out of my hand, Oda Taichi. But don't worry, I know just how to deal with that in a way that makes a good point."

What followed was a display of power abuse that basically summed up to her faking an apple and teasing it in front of Oda and the other two. Especially when it came to such obvious rule breaking, the apple in his had turned into a joker card.

Putting it in his pocket Oda turned silent.

There was no immediate reaction, no angry shouts or glares Oda just stood there as Kita teased her supposed superiority. He was flabbergasted by the thought process of this upperclassman and suddenly he stepped forward and reached with his long arms grabbing Kita's wrist as she was tossing the apple around.

His sudden movement without keeping eye contact and her blindness during her superiority complex had given Oda the advantage. He didn't grab her roughly, his hands being large had enclosed around her wrist trapping her hand in his light grip. And making sure the apple didn't drop to the floor due to his actions, he attempted to catch it once he was up close.

Then he glared at Kita with a furious expression.

"Abuse of your ability... Let's have a nice chat about the rules that Judgement enforces...  BUT FIRST WHY DON'T YOU APOLOGISE FOR FOOLING A BOYS HEART!"  Oda shouted in anger as he demanded Kita to apologise for actions!

Years of evading troublesome stuff had given Hakusho Tsuru a certain sense. A sense that he should be doing all in his power to not get involved with the two arguing senpai. Unfortunately, all of Hakusho Tsuru's power... Amounts to not very much, and he had a sinking suspicion that life would not be so easy.

Well, at least there was no sign of Kirikami Naoto. Now there was a person Tsuru was unsure he would survive another meeting with. As expected, he's no good with people who have strong personalities!

Off in the distance, the attention of an unrelated third party is attracted by the sound of Oda shouting. Well, even if Oda is the one who made him look up, it is Minako his gaze lingers on. 'Hmm? What's going... Tokiwadai? Crap, that blush is too cute... It's cheating! But wait, why is she blushing?' The high school boy in the prime of his youth takes in the context. 'Is it the small boy behind her? She is looking at him...


But, no matter how I look at it, isn't he just a small boy scared by that loud delinquent... No, by his armband, a Judgement member? Yeesh, they'll take in anyone these days... Wait, that's not the point! Anyways, that she's looking at the kid doesn't necessarily mean it's him... She could just be looking away from the other two... Which would mean... Plus, what did that Judgement guy shout, again? Something about fooling with a young boy's heart...? In which case, this situation would be...

Tanaka Tarou, completely average bystander and honorary member of the FFF Inquisition, sends Oda Taichi a glare that can only mean he has misunderstood something.

Completely unaware of the turmoil in background, Tsuru asks innocently, "Err... Kuramoto-nee-san... Are you okay? Your face is really red... Do you have a fever?" Unaware, of course, that it's because of him. But who can blame him? Even to the impartial bystander, despite his mild misinterpretation of the timing, Tsuru did not appear to be doing anything that would cause embarrassment.

"Un. Let's go somewhere else, Nee-chan."

This served two purposes! Not only did it solve the problem of getting involved, but Tsuru was quite concerned for this presumably feverish girl. Getting a cold drink from a working vending machine, preferably in the shade, was clearly the best choice!

Its a good thing her focus was occupied, otherwise she would have died of embarrassment at the murmurs of the people around them.  "N-no!" Minako said quickly. "No fever. I just..." Mina cleared her throat again "Yeah. Let's go to..." Her sentence broken off, because she sensed a change in the social atmosphere. The signal was being received loud and clear!

Minako had completely missed the aggressive exchange between the two unknown people before her. Perhaps it was because she was worried about where Hakusho-kun went. Or perhaps she was focusing on the inner monologue battering inside of her own mind. However it was clear that something was wrong when the girl seemed to change her tone, from light and playful, to cold and flat. The apple in Judgement-sama's hand vanished! The girl blatantly used magic in-front of Judgement!

The nervous blush from Mina's face rapidly vanished, as pure white hot anger coursed through her veins. Her hands drop to her sides, where they slightly shake. This time when she spoke her shyness was forgotten, her voice shaking with anger not nervousness. "How... How dare you?!"

Mina brushed away an angry tear from her face "Judgement-sama could have used your help. And you... and you... play these games with him?!" Mina's eyes sparkled with a zealous fury. "If you didn't wan't to help him, you could have just said so." Mina took a deep breath, she needed to make sure she didn't accidentally use her ability. The raven-haired beauty despised confrontation, but she would not back down.

While Oda's rage at the situation was palpable, given how he silently put the folded poker card in his pocket, Kita was holding in laughter. Even when Oda stepped forward, grabbed her wrist, and caught the apple, Kita was about to lose it. "Abuse of your ability...Let's have a nice chat about the rules that Judgement enforces...BUT FIRST WHY DON'T YOU APOLOGISE FOR FOOLING A BOY'S HEART?!" Kita's smirk widened at that last part. "Fooling a boy's heart? Wow, does he seem fragile." What came next though, caught Kita off guard. The new girl, as shy as she was pale, suddenly approached Kita, practically steaming with rage. "How...How dare you?!" Kita lost her smirk. For a split second, she was surprised at her rage. The girl wiped a tear off of her face. "Judgement-sama could have used your help. And you...and you...play these games with him?! If you didn't want to help him, you could have said so!" Kita didn't know how to initially react. The girl's righteous verbal assault came out of nowhere and Kita wasn't sure how to feel. At first. After registering everything that she and Oda had said, she felt something swell inside of her. After a few seconds of this new pressure building and building she...

Laughed hysterically.

She didn't care that her laughter was going to attract everyone's attention. She was sure that everyone's eyes were already on them. This situation wasn't what she initially wanted. This was better than what she ever initially wanted. She crumpled to her knees, barely able to hold in any amount of breath. "I'm sorry but this is too rich, how you two are talking about people's hearts being broken over an apple. For a moment, I thought we were in a romantic comedy!" Regaining her composure for a split second, she used her free hand and placed it on her forehead in a mocking manner, while across her face was plastered a smirk that could only be accurately described as a shit-eating grin. 

"My apologies, dearest. My guilt for my insidious actions weighs upon me so-" She couldn't even finish her sentence. Their reactions were completely genuine and too perfect. Especially the sheet-like girl's reply to her little trick. After trying her hardest, she calmed down, simply chuckling while trying to regain her breath. "Come now, did you really think that I was going to take you two seriously when you try talking to me about that crap? Especially after you had just taken the apple out of my hand, and then complained that it was fake?! I don't know about you, " Kita looked at the new girl, a smirk still plastered on her face. She then shook her head in the direction of the clearly confident boy standing behind her before continuing. "And your ever so confident second in command." She then turned her attention to the star of this whole ordeal. "But you. You, my good sir, seem to be rather delusional and I just think that's adorable!" She knew that she was going to get into quite a bit of trouble for this. Even so, she started standing up. As she was half way up with her feet spread far apart, she attempted to turn her wrist and pull her arm across her body to free her hand. Even pulling her hardest, though, she was certain that he was still going to be able to hold onto her. "This will be an interesting next few minutes."

Oda smirked slightly as he suddenly let go of Rita's wrist and with her pulling she was bound to fall. While this would be a suitable punishment for Rita for tricking his stomach, the judgement boy had no intention of causing meaningless harm. He caught her straight away by grabbing her arm and pulling her steady onto her feet before only letting go when her footing was secured.

"It's true when I get very hungry, I do get really delusional." Oda said admitting his folly while hiding his dream of getting food from a cute girl. Turning attention away from this fact he continued onward to address this very strange situation.

"It seems at least for most of us we share a goal. How about I treat you all to some food, by this time the lines should be smaller now." Oda said thinking he may be delusional but never showed that fact. His ability to keep up an expression of joy or content along with others was a trick of his he often practices.

"How about it? A friend of Tsuru is a friend of mine!" Oda said finally acknowledging the young boy who seems sorta different from a few days ago. "Though you have no choice in the matter, you can either enjoy a snack with us or you can find yourself at the local judgement branch for abuse of power." Oda said who gave Kita a smile but it was really passive aggressive and the respect he once gave had suddenly vanished.

... Well, it was worth a shot.

Minako's outburst seemed to have reminded the other two that they had company. Which was exactly what Tsuru had hoped to not have happen.

He just kinda stood there as the older kids... He didn't even know how to describe what was going on? Kuramoto-nee-san was getting angry at the other girl, who was... Hard to describe? She was... Part laughing hysterically, part dripping sarcasm, part righteous indignation, and... A hint of flirtatiousness? Meanwhile, the familiar Judgement-senpai... Was this the legendari "Kuuki Yomenai!?"

'Don't drag me into this!' screamed Tsuru's soul as said Judgement-senpai, who must have somehow learned Tsuru's name in the aftermath of the previous day's events, blatantly drew him into the conversation. Before offering to buy people food, isn't there something else you should do!? Tsuru was amazed by the boy's ability to completely ignore everything that had just been said.

As a result, 'Judgement-Senpai' was mentally downgraded to 'KY-senpai.' There is truly no better phrase to describe him with.

Well, so goes his heart, but a decided lack of the thing known as a 'spine' keeps Tsuru from promptly unloading how he feels on said KY-senpai. Instead, he just mentally accepts that it's going to be a long day, and prays that his ribs will be intact at the end of it.

Oh, and an additional prayer that he didn't just jinx it.

Minako stood her ground, her hands clenched, as she could feel the tension building in the situation until... The girl started laughing at them! Mina felt her righteous determination deflate against her will. The Tokiwadai girl was ready for anything, but that! In her shocked state, her hands un-clenched and for a moment she was dumbfounded! She heard the words the red haired girl was saying, but Mina was too shocked to even come up with a retort!

The unknown girl still laughing, as she made claims about Mina and Hakusho-kun potentially being delusional! Mina felt her anger flare up again, as she opened her mouth to protest, she was cut off by Judgement-sama's sudden, yet strange, request at them joining him for lunch! Was this how Hakusho-kun felt earlier? Minako's body went from rigid, back to her usual shy tendencies. "I.. er... don't want to intrude..." Mina said softly, still taken aback.

However, a friend of Hakusho-kun's was a friend of Judgement-sama's? Perhaps it wasn't intrusion at all. "We... er... I will join you, if..." Mina felt her eyes cast down to the floor once again "Hakusho-kun wants to go... and if... well..." Mina twirled a strand of hair nervously "You let me pay for Hakusho-kun and myself... I mean, I don't want to offend you... but..." Mina felt herself blush slightly as she continued to ramble on. "But... I did offer to treat Hakusho-kun, as a thank you. I'd like to keep my promise." The girl straightened up once again, this time however her posture was casual. She raised her deep blue eyes towards Judgement-sama and the unknown girl, (Mina currently dubbed 'Trouble-san' within her mind) carefully eyeing the latter. She would need to keep her guard up around this one. That was certain.

As Kita pulled in an attempt to free her wrist, she felt his grip loosen, sending her stumbling backwards. Shortly as she started to fall though, she felt his grip re-tighten and she quickly decelerated and she was about to regain her balance. Feeling his grip loosen again, she heard Oda reply to her little rant. "It's true when I get very hungry, I do get really delusional." Chuckling a little, she let Oda continue. "It seems at the least for most of us, we share a goal. How about I treat you all to some food, by this time the lines should be smaller now. How about it? A friend of Tsuru is a friend of mine! Though you have no choice in the matter, you can either enjoy a snack with us or you can find yourself at the local Judgement branch for abuse of power."

"Sounds like a lovely proposition...and like I'm in check." Kita looked at the girl, who went from fuming with rage to as nervous as when she came in. She then looked at the mysterious pale boy, who she assumed, based on Oda's response, is named Tsuru. After thinking for a moment, she smiled legitimately and looked back at Oda. "While I would love to have a chat with Judgement, ask them how their day was, talk about the weather, etc.,  I think I'll take your offer. BUT!" She quickly raised a finger into the air as she exclaimed this. "I have one condition." 

Her pointing hand then opened and extended towards Oda, beckoning at the same time. "I would like that card back. I'd prefer to not buy a new deck just so I can keep my jokers on hand. After that, we can then enjoy lunch, I'll talk, you'll laugh, and we move on with our lives. If you're not sold, then I'll even do better! As an apology for my little trick, despite me wanting to just have a little fun on such a drab, hot afternoon: " Stepping back, she took another exaggerated, but humbled bow at Oda.

"You can keep the apple and lunch is on me."

He was acting unusually casual for what was being said in front of him. The offer to buy lunch for everyone was a genuine offer, and he wasn't sure he could even afford it. But Oda wasn't someone to take back his word, though it seems luck has returned to his side. Not only he gets to keep a delicious apple, but it seems a particular troublemaker will also be getting lunch. And not forgetting the Tokiwadai girl was offering to buy herself and the Tsuru kid lunch.

Which means he didn't have to spend a single yen! If he weren't trying to keep appearances right now, the Judgement dog would be jumping for joy. And as the group made their way to the nearest outside ramen fast food stand, Oda had made a point to stand behind the others as they approached and the stand owner saw it all. There was this enormous smile finally cracking to the surface, and he could've sworn he had never seen someone so happy.  

But that smile faded as soon as it appeared, the casual nothing seems to be the wrong expression had returned. The dog of judgement looked around and thought, "Nothing appears to have happened yet."

Looking around he saw a few students still chatting around the stand, it was open and was located at the end of the park. It was like a small open kitchen surrounded by side tables able to serve twelve customers at the time.

So Oda and the others could occupy one side. And as they did a seemingly loud discussion occurred with the owner and two students.  

"What are you kids flapping about broken machin---" the owner said as the discussion became slightly out of range. But this had made the dog worried they wouldn't be able to order and looked towards the others with a desperate sense of urgency. An expression that was basically saying...

"Come on lets order, we need his attention!" Order thought but didn't say it unless it came off as rude. This ramen stand was rather cheap and it offered all sorts of options Shio, Shoyu, Miso and Tonkotsu types and more!