229/Home Is Where Your Radiant Heart Is

Home Is Where Your Radiant Heart Is
Date of Scene:	07 August 2023
Location:	Radiant Heart Academy
Synopsis:	A new student arrives at Radiant Earth Academy. Chiyo volunteers to show her around.
Cast of Characters:	Miya Sakamoto, Chiyo Sakai

---

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"You have reached your destination," drones the synthetic voice.

A street map on a smartphone display, which at first takes up the whole field of vision, is lowered, giving way to a majestic sight: a building that looks more like a palace than the school it actually is.

Radiant Heart Academy. The one and only.

A girl in her early teens stands facing the front gate; of unimpressive build, she has brown hair tied in a ponytail, the regulation orange-and-blue school uniform, and a dropped jaw; she's so engrossed in the splendor of the view that she seems to have forgotten that she can actually close her mouth.

She remains like that a few seconds, then remembers. She remembers that she can control her facial muscles, and that she should probably breathe. She does both, in that order: her mouth closes, her eyes focus, and she inhales, determined.

Her finger taps and swipes the touchscreen, and hovers above an icon.

Silence. Lips are sucked in. Solemnity is in the air.

Jab.

The icon, a square with a triangle on top, flashes. "Home set to current location."

The girl remains immobile, like a statue. She reaches into her satchel, and pulls out an elegant envelope. She turns it in her hands, unfolds it flap, and pulls out a letter, inviting the recipient, Miya Sakamoto, to attend Radiant Earth Academy. She looks up at the school again.

"A new life," she whispers, incredulous.

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai stands near the gate dressed in a variant of the Academy uniform as they did allow for customization--So long as it was modest and in the school colors. It was something a lot of schools were going to so that students could allow for both economic differences as well as personal style. It's still fairly modest a uniform on her though she went with slightly puffed sleeves in a 1/4th sleeve variant--All to hide the muscles she had from her job off campus. It just didn't look cute enough, she thought. And while Miya appears to be following the guide of a GPS, she's holding a clipboard with a small stack of papers listing names of new students that may show up needing a tour of the large campus.

It was kind of cute watching Miya's reaction to the school, so Chiyo remains quiet a few moments more allowing her the time to just soak it all in.

"Hello!" She finally speaks up in a rather quiet, timid voice. "Welcome to Radiant Heart Academy. I'm Chiyo Sakai, tenth year," she introduces with a dip of her head politely toward the younger girl. "I'm one of the current volunteers to help orient new students like yourself. Do you have any questions, or any where you'd like to visit first?"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
As far as uniforms go, Miya's is a pretty straightforward affair. Someone with an eye for fashion will be able to tell that it's a very affordable no-frills version, that manages to look nice even in its minimalism, in that functional way where the clothes are functional and comfortable, but do not attract particular attention to themselves.

Miya snaps out of whatever mental state she was absorbed in, and turns to Chiyo, startled. "Ah! A..." Pause.

"M-miya Sakamoto. I- I have received an invitation to attend... to attend the academy."

"...the... academy," she says, and extends the letter and, after rummaging some more in her satchel, an ID.

"I was told to be here today, at... this time."

Realizing she's been prompted for questions, she asks, "...Do you have a workshop?"

It's only after that that she notices the suitcase she's been lugging all the way here. "...oh, right. I'll probably need a place to leave my luggage as well. I- my- I'm supposed to be living on the premises."

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
Chiyo Sakai hugs the clipboard to her chest with one arm so that she can reach out to accept the letter and ID. It's just given a breif look-over really, she wasn't a watch dog for the Academy. It was all correct letterhead, and the name matched one on her list. It's offered back toward Miya with a reassuring smile.

"Nice to meet you, Sakamoto-chan! It looks like you're a grade below me. That's okay, though, I know several in that grade too I could introduce you to. If you want, anyway," she hastens to add before it may seem she was acting pushy.

The question of a workshop has her tip her head to the side thoughtfully trying to recall if she'd seen such a thing. "I'm not sure, but it sounds like something that might be in one of the club rooms. The club building is over there," she remarks pointing to an entirely seperate building. That was unusual for most schools since usually club rooms used classrooms after they'd cleared out. It was one of Radiant Heart's shining features to have it's own, seperate building for clubs.

"I'm in manga club and flower arrangement club myself. There's all sorts of athletic clubs, and even an amimal care club, too. I'd check there to see if there's a shop club," she explains.

"As for the dorms, I can show you there if you want to get situated." A little pause comes as she adds, "Ah, I don't reside on campus myself, so I've only been inside a few times. But we can figure it out together!"

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
"I-" Silence. "I'd love to." Pause. "Meet... meet other people from my class, Sakai-senpai", Miya replies, while she receives back the letter and ID, and, after careful folding and re-enveloping of the former, she places both back into her satchel.

"Manga club? That sounds- that sounds interesting. Maybe- maybe I can visit at some point," Miya offers. "Do you have a library? Or do... do people bring their own and people exchange them?"

She glances at the completely separate building, and her jaw drops a little once again. Separate building for clubs. This place is -swanky-.

After another second or two of admiration, she returns to reality, and nods at Chiyo, vigorously. "The dorms! Yes. Good point. It's easier to walk around campus without a suitcase," she notes, before adding, "And I'm grateful for you to check if there is a shop club.

She lifts the handle of the suitcase, and prepares to lug it around on wheels. "So... Sakai-senpai, which way to the dorms?"

Chiyo Sakai has posed:
"Of course!" Chiyo agrees easily. Even if her voice is soft, she can be heard easily out here away from the general hubub. The campus hadn't quite stirred back into full activity yet as Summer vacation was just starting to wrap up. No need to try and be heard over the masses.

"Would you like help with your suitcase, if you're tired?" She offers as she gestures forward down the path that would lead to the dorms. "I'm stronger than I look, really," she assures just in case she might be worried about that. If she was tired she could give Miya a break along the way.

"We have a small manga library in the club room, usually donations from other members when they're done a series. Most of us just pass around what manga we get otherwise, with the newer releases. We usually just sit around reading and eating snacks, or discussing where we think the storylines are going to go."

Here Chiyo smiles again as she explains, "I usually bring a bunch of snacks from my Ojiisan's shop, Nounamu Sweets. I work there with him. We're just a bit off campus so it's easy to find us. Oh, and there's Korma Chameleon for eating at. It's a fusion place but very yummy. Lots of students hang out there."

Miya Sakamoto has posed:
The hubub doesn't seem to bother Miya. She's, once again enraptured, this time looking at the roofs.

When she snaps back to reality, she tilts the suitcase, grabs firmly on the extended handle, and begins pulling in the direction Chiyo gestured towards, "It is no problem, really! I may not look the part, but I exercise a lot. This is a walk in the park by comparison to how I used to spend my days back home."

"A library of old series? Snacks? This sounds fascinating. I will definitely show up at some point to check on your activities."

Of course, as soon as she starts moving along the path, her nose sticks up in the air again, as her eyes wander around. "The Gothic architecture is impressive. Is this kind of stone even native to Japan? It doesn't look very volcanic from here. And even then, Japan has a notable scarcity of stone for construction, this complex must have cost a -fortune- to build."

Realizing she's been wandering off topic once again, she shakes her head, and resumes, "I'm sorry- we were talking about- yes, your grandfather. It must be nice to live so close to school with your family!", she offers. "I'd love to visit his shop and possibly meet him. If he's as nice as you are, he must be a great person to spend time with."