198/An Inevitable Encounter

An Inevitable Encounter
Date of Scene:	03 August 2023
Location:	Sports Pavilion
Synopsis:	An unintentional meeting between two people at cross-purposes but the same goals...
Cast of Characters:	Koji Silvia, Kyouka Inai

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Koji Silvia has posed:
With it being summer vacation, short of the Self Defense Classes that continue to run here, the pavilion is fairly sparse save for the club or two that has a meet or competition that they're training for. So the normal bustle is not there to cover the sound of someone working a training dummy.

Headphones in, music up, and sweat dripping, Koji Silvia is currently dressed down into RHA track pants, a sleeveless top, and boxer's training gloves, his crosstrainer shoes coming up high as he does a head-high kick on the rubber-padded generic Anglo Male head of his 'opponent'.

There's a deliberate method to his training. Ten kicks with one leg, ten kicks with the other... rest... and then he starts with back-kicks to the abdomen.

Anyone coming closer can hear the tinny noise of hard J-rock blazing in his personal background...

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Even the self-defense classes are optional over break- Kyouka continues to run them, but only a fraction of the students actually show up. And anyway, they are only once a week. So it's no surprise to find the pavilion mostly empty, most of the time. But considering she does teach classes here, it's not that uncommon to catch Kyouka herself in the area, setting something up or checking on some supplies for the next class or something like that.

    Such must be the case today, as she enters the pavilion from one of the sets of doors. She has on her own set of RHA-issues track pants and the matching jacket, open over a white t-shirt underneath. She's carrying a clipboard in one hand, probably with some kind of supply list or order form on it.

    As she makes her way across the huge, mostly-empty space, her grey eyes are absently drawn to Koji working out at the training dummy. She doesn't interrupt him, but takes note, and seems to subconsciously judge his technique, although whether or not she approves is not readily apparent from her expression as she passes nearby.

Koji Silvia has posed:
Two things are obvious for someone experienced enough to train.

The first is that he's still got the rawness of someone who's just learning, but the techniques are solid enough that whoever has been drilling him has got good technique themselves.

The second is that it's not any traditional Japanese martial art. It looks almost like something you'd learn in MMA.

As he finishes up his body-shots, Koji unconsciously does the cellphone swipe-tap motion... but it's in mid-air, and then he takes out his headphones to go over to where his gym bag is, fishing out a water bottle to chug, and then a towel to wrap around his shoulders.

When he comes back up from that, he turns and his eyes pan over the space... and stop on Ms. Inai.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka really has better things to be doing than watching some kid train- at least, when she isn't supposed to be training them herself. So it's not like she's just standing there watching Koji, she's taken note of him and some of his technique as she passes by, but she's making her way to the supply room at the back of the pavilion.

    It's just by coincidence, then, that he looks up just as she's coming back out and catches her gaze. Noticing him looking at her, she quirks one of her brows, offering a slightly lopsided, polite smile. Maybe she doesn't recognize him by sight, having never met Koji formally. Or maybe she's just playing dumb, it's hard to tell.

    "Nice moves, kid." She says, off-handedly, as offering a general compliment from what she had observed.

Koji Silvia has posed:
As much as he can hide it well, no 15 year old can stop that micro-tick that comes at being called 'kid'. It's a reflex that all too many just get.

Koji takes another drink from his water, and then thumbs the nib back down with a *click*, "Thank you." And he adds a curt but appropriate bow for a senpai.

It might even be considered welcoming if not for the sensation of tension settling around him at the sudden presence. Wiping off the sweat from his neck and brow, the young man reaches up to adjust the bun that he's got his long hair in, and then cannot help but say, "It's odd to see you hear this time of day, Ms. Inai. Your schedule online usually says you are taking appointments until about an hour from now."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka would have to be particularly unobservant not to notice the air of tension around Koji as he speaks to her, and she might be many things but unobservant is not one of them. That said, her demeanor doesn't shift- she remains casual, easy going, as if she hasn't noticed the way he is be having towards her.

    The bow is met with slightly raised brows again, as if wondering at the formality given the context, but she is not about to call him out for being too polite to a faculty member. Rather, she taps the pen she's holding against the clipboard in her other hand, her smile a bit lopsided at his words.

    "You keep tabs on my schedule regularly, or what? Either way, it's summer break... no appointments. At least not regular ones." Perhaps thinking of her visit from Himeko the day before. "That schedule is for during normal term."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Straightening slightly, Koji reaches down to his bag and takes out his glasses case, sliding them back onto his face so that the reflection of light partly obscures his eyes, "A lesson I learned a long time ago with school. When you know where everyone is supposed to be, you always know where you need to go."

Letting that little obtuse wisdom settle there between the two, he reaches up and grips both ends of the towel around his neck with his hands, "It might be for normal term, but with everything going on around this place, and so many students still here... I thought you'd be keeping your schedule. Oh well."

Turning back to his bag, he starts putting his things away, "And yes... I am actively avoiding you, Ms. Inai. People don't usually see the school counselor unless they have a school-related problem. You can check my grades... solid but nothing flashy, I always attend my clubs. No one has a complaint about me that I know of. I mean... there was a bit of a problem when I first came here last year, but it got sorted out."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka had glanced back towards the door as Koji returns his glasses to his face, and she actually rolls her eyes just a little bit at his pronouncement, as if to say, 'well good for you, kid' without actually saying anything. "Funny thing about schedules. They often change based on the circumstances." She says, with a bit of a grin, not seeming bothered by his words.

    "Well, you don't need to be actively avoiding me, because I wasn't looking for you." She tells him, with a mild shrug. "Like you said.. you have good grades, good attendance. I have no reason to call you into my office, so I haven't." She smiles at him again, this time with a bit of a knowing look. "Unless you think there's some reason I'd want to talk to you, and therefore you need to avoid me?" A faint tilt of her head. "But I can't imagine what that would be."

Koji Silvia has posed:
His reply is simple and succinct, "My roommate. Darien Shields."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka actually smirks a little bit. Not very becoming of a teacher when speaking to a student, but hey, she's not on the clock here. "What about him?" She asks the picture of innocence. "I did know you were his roomate, yes, Silvia-san. But so far as I'm aware, being somebody's roomate is not a reason for anybody to get called into the counselor's office. Unless,"

    She leans in a little bit, conspiratorial, "You have any juicy info you want to pass along."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Adjusting his stance, the play of light in reflection off his glasses completely obscures his eyes from you, but at the same time the thin line of his mouth speaks to someone restraining something. As you lean like that, he takes a breath, and then says, "I'd appreciate it if you would leave him alone, Ms. Inai."

He exhales it somehow and goes on, "Darien has a lot going on in his head and the things he needs most is to feel... normal. Like everyone else here."

Somehow, even as he says it straight, there's something in his tone that makes him sound like he doesn't fully commit to his own words, "He was happy, or at least as close to happy as he ever gets, until I heard he'd seen you a few times. Now... I'm not sure. The only common factor is you. I know everyone else in play... except you."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka's brows raise at the 'request' to leave Darien alone, and if anything she looks amused more than shocked or offended. "Silvia-san," She says, almost gently, "My job is to help students who have a lot going on in their head. Help them sort it out. You should realize that. And when someone genuinely needs my help.. I can't in good conscience leave them alone."

    "It does you credit that you are concerned for him." She smiles a wide smile, nodding her head. "He's only ever said good things about you, so I know you are a good friend. But I think you misunderstand something which is rather vital to the situation.."

    "It's not Darien that I'm focusing on. He's only in this picture because of who he is choosing to make friends with. I'm not looking to upend his life, or make him unhappy. But I'm not going to let other students, who want and have asked for my help, wander into uncertain waters because one kid who happens to have all the right, or wrong connections might get upset about it."

    A mild shrug. "I don't shirk my responsibilities, Silvia-san."

Koji Silvia has posed:
The thin line of his mouth continues for a moment as Koji stands his ground, "Maybe not, but I think you may have forgotten something, Ms. Inai-senpai. When someone who is to be respected says a thing, it sticks in our minds. It can sit there, making you wonder. Making you second guess things you know for sure."

Picking up his gym bag, he reaches down to grab where he left his glasses case, "The people I know around Darien are good people, especially Usagi Tsukino. They're not just good, they're good FOR him. For once he has people that he can try and relax around and not be Mr. Darien Shields with all day long."

He pauses, and then after a considering moment, adds, "And I know he is interning at Obsidian."

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka nods her head a little bit, in total agreement. "You just need to be careful who you choose to respect." SHe says, with a small laugh, as if perhaps indicating that she thinks respecting her might be a bit of a mistake. But she doesn't actually say that, of course. "I know Usagi-chan is a good person. And the others. Those aren't the ones I'm concerned about. It's for their sake that I involve myself at all."

    She glances down at her clipboard, then back up, a brow raised. "If you know he's interning at Obsidian, then you have to understand the root of my.. issues. But I promise you.. I have his best interests at heart."

Koji Silvia has posed:
Nothing is said, but his expression is fairly clear that at your last statement, his response is, 'But do you?'

He turns, and looks away, "I am not sure if I like you Ms. Inai. You are making the same mistake even I have from time to time. Everyone thinks they know what is best for Darien, and they act on it. That thinking blows up in your face."

Now he looks back at you, one eye still blocked from the reflecting light off his glasses, the other lens showing a faded reflection of the school counselor, "I don't know if you really believe half the things I could or have told you, but that's not important. I was avoiding you because it's not my place to tell you how to do your job. Regardless of my feelings on it. And I've interrupted your day long enough. Apologies."

With that, he starts walking towards the exit.

Kyouka Inai has posed:
    Kyouka, again, seems unruffled by these statements. As if nothing this student is saying bothers her. That could be true, or it could just be that she's got a really good mask. "You're not required to like me, Silvia-san." She says, her tone almost cheerful. "In fact, I'd wager you'd be in the majority with that opinion. The thing you need to realize that makes me a bit different from 'everyone', is that I've got a bit more experience under my belt. I didn't get this job because I don't know what I'm talking about. So you can trust me.. or you can not. It honestly doesn't matter to me. But I think you'll find that the better outcome will result from letting me do my job."

    He says more or less that same thing, and she nods her head in confirmation. "So long as we understand each other, Silvia-kun. You don't need to avoid me. Trust me, if I want to speak with you.." Her smile gets a little bit wider, and she tilts her head in half a mocking bow, "I'll find you."

    He starts to walk away, and she turns back around lifting her clipboard to continue whatever she was doing before. "Have a nice day!" Called after him in a too-cheerful voice.