[OPEN] Life anew

As Katsuo rode his way into the school grounds through the front gate, he couldn't help but notice the peacefulness and the fresh air that surrounded him, making him feel even more delighted to be arriving at the school which from now on would be considered his new home.

"Dad said that he'd take care of the luggage, and mom went to sort out the remaining paperwork concerning my transfer. It's a pity Kamiko-nee-san couldn't make it... I hope she's doing well at Osaka by herself..."

After thinking some more about his relatives, Katsuo rode his way through the courtyard, looking at every building in astonishment

"It really is huge. I guess it wouldn't be so impressive if I wasn't down here, oh well" He said pointing at his trusty new companion, which he grew used to the moment he first sat on it. "It's good that every set of stairs has a proper slope next to it... but I don't think I will be able to go up very quick, my arms have never been strong, so I'll have to train somehow" He muttered as he rode in front of the main building entrance, on his way towards the male dorms. Wait

"Which way were the male dorms again? Aww man, I can't believe I forgot asking about that... such a pain..." He hung his head in resignation as he thought of a way of getting there without troubling anyone more than necessary

Chiharu saw the new arrival on her way to meet someone, and decided to approach the stationary person. The warm wind swept by, causing her scarf to flail in the air and her skirt to press against her leg as she was walking forward. She stopped not far from him, clearly in view, and just observed. With a tilt of her head, a slightly raised brow, and a soft smile, she simply stood there.

Sumiko comes out of the library not waking the small isolation she wanted since it was over run with students studying. she quickly scanned the courtyard seeing Chiahru in the distance and headed her way there but as she got closer Sumiko saw someone else walking: it was no one she had known. She went behind a tree not to far but not to close either and observed carefully before going in blindly.

Katsuo looked up at Chiharu from his wheelchair, looking troubled but somewhat calm. He opened his mouth to say something, but then just stayed like that for a couple seconds and closed it again. He hung his head and sighed. "This is harder than it looks" He thought to himself. He then looked back at her, with a lost-guy kind of look and asked softly "I'm terribly sorry, I just arrived here and I don't really know my way around yet... If you would be as kind as to point me in the direction of the boys dorms, I'd be more than grateful" He ended the sentence with a smile and a kind inclination of his head

Her smile widens ever so slightly as she shrugs and motions with her head for him to follow her. After which she begins walking towards the building opposite of the one she walked out of.

He follows her, maintaining the silence. As he's steering behind her, he notices her scarf and wonders why she's wearing one in this heat. "Nevermind, I'm not asking" He tells himself. After a few minutes he decides to break the silence "Thank you for going out of your way to help me, I appreciate it. If there's anything I can do for you, just let me know" He said, smiling honestly and warmly.

She turns and begins walking backwards as she asks, "You could tell me why you talk to yourself."

Smiko slowly follows them both staying hidden and not making any noise, for now at least.

"I uhh..." He stumbles with words a bit before looking back at her and honestly answering "Pardon me, I was wondering about why you were wearing a scarf at this time of year, but I thought it would've been a bit rough on my part, as I don't even know you... I'm really sorry, I should've kept my mouth shut..." He again bowed, slightly lower than the previous time, apologizing continuously, not losing the calm expression, but proving to be overly concerned.

"It's comfy."
Chiharu turns around and positions herself to walk alongside Kastuo despite seeming to not be paying much attention to him.
"Y'know, you don't have to apologize, I don't care about what you say. I just want to know why you said it."

He smiles and looks at her "I don't really know much about which things I can ask and which I don't. I 'd rather be careful not to pry into someone's private life than bother or even hurt them with a poor choice of words" He keeps smiling even when Chiharu isn't looking directly at him "I wasn't really sure if it was okay to ask about the scarf, so that's why I apologized. I'm sorry if I'm being annoying..." He then stops talking and, smile still on, begins looking at the ground, more specifically at his feet.

She looks down at Kastuo with a playful smirk as she says in a slightly exagerated tone, "What's annoying, is that you're not answering my question."
As she continues, she begins to relax and aid her explanation with a small amount of hand movements.
"Why do you talk to yourself? Like, in a general sense. As in, why do you ever do it?"

"Oh, that" His smile turns into a giggle and returns to normal before replying "I generally think out loud, it helps me focus on what really matters. I normally overthink things, as you just saw, and telling myself some of them makes them seem more... important. In this case, I wondered about your scarf, but decided that not asking was better, thus telling myself that I wouldn't, precisely" Satisfied with his own explanation, he nods to himself.

"Cool."

...

Upon arriving at the door to the boys dorms, Chiharu pushes the automatic door button and walks through the newly open door unceremoniously.

He follows her into the building, and lets out a relieved sigh "Alright, here we are. My room should be that one" He points at a room not too far away from the entrance, still on the first floor "They said that having a wheelchair it'd be easier for me to be here than on upper floors. They have everything sorted out... That's nice for a change, don't you think?" He asked Chiharu with yet another smile on his face

In the common room near the entrance hall Hawke looks up from his guitar and notices Chiharu and a stranger walk in.

"Oh, hey." He says as he gets up. "This school is usually great for sorting things out quickly; I guess they have to." He says, smiling at Katsuo and offering a hand, "Tiberius Hawke."

Katsuo returns the smile and shakes his hand firmly but kindly "Nice to meet you Tiberius, I'm Katsuo Noboru. I just transferred here, so I hope we can get along well. Do you by any chance live here on the first floor as well?" He then lets go of his hand and looks at Chiharu "Thanks again for all the help, I mean it. If there's ever something you think I can help with, don't hesitate and ask me, alright?" He smiles warmly at her, like she had just saved his life

*Shrug*
"Sure."
Confident that Katsou is in good hands, she continues on her way down the hall. As she leaves she does a short wave without turning back around and says, "Have fun."

"Well, hello to you too..." Hawke mutters after the retreating Chiharu.

He turns back to Katsuo, "I live on the second floor, apparently having a useless leg isn't enough to stop me climbing stairs" He says, shrugging.

Although... a wheelchair is slightly more problematic than a bum leg.

"You're a new one, are you? I transferred here from England back in Feburary - I still feel like a bit of an outsider in the Japanese culture."

Distracted, Katsuo looks back at Tiberius and answers abruptly
"Oh, right, I'm a new student here" He looks around the common room with brimming curiosity "I was never told there were common rooms in the dorms... It looks rather nice, do students normally gather here?"
He continues to gaze over everything in the room, looking for something that might catch his attention

[I feel bad for not replying. Do forgive me.]

"Kinda. Although during summer it only ever seems to be me... I usually come down here and play guitar for a while, change of scenery does wonders to the creative juices."

Speaking of guitars...

Hawke slides over to a chair and grabs his guitar by the neck and slings it over his back and returns to Katsuo.

"Where be yer room?" He asks.

[Don't worry, I've been somewhat busy myself, as you can see ]

"I see... right over there, at the end of the hallway" He points towards his room, which is slightly open "My parents must have left my things in there already, I'll go check the gates in a while to say goodbye. It's been nice talking to you Tiberius, I hope we'll see each other some other time"

He smiles and bows a little, turns around and leaves for his room