Karma (Akira)

[Reika Hanae]

A couple of hours ago, she set up a complex, but inconspicuous rig that would drag someone into the bushes and cover them with a strange, sticky liquid when triggered.  She had hoped it would get a guy, but the target didn't matter that much in the end.  It took most of lunch to set up, but it's not like she needed to eat then.  She could eat whenever she wanted and no one seemed to notice.  Unfortunately for Reika, a small piece of wire was caught on her shoe and she didn't notice.  It wasn't connected to the right pieces to trigger her trap, but it was enough for her shoe to get caught on the rope on the flagpole that would pull the flag up and down.  Life being what it was, that's exactly what happened and, while she wasn't exactly a normal person, her sense of balance wasn't that different from a human's.  When she started to fall, she grabbed the nearest thing to prevent her from falling.  That thing was the other part of the rope meant for pulling the flag up and down.  When she tugged on it, her foot went up and her body continued to go down and she continued to flail like any normal person would.  After a bit of accidental squirming and pulling, her body somehow managed to get half way up the flag pole with her body tangled up in a series of flagpole rope and wire, enough so that she couldn't pull herself down and dropping from this height wasn't exactly an option.  At least the unknown liquid was just sitting in the bush instead of being part of the rig.

After a bit more struggling to pull herself out enough to lower herself back down, and only succeeding in getting herself even more tangled up in it she just went limp.  Reika couldn't even manage to get herself right side up let alone free her body from one of the ropes.  At this point she was just grateful that the universe had enough courtesy to have the ropes wrap around her leg in such a way that her skirt stayed up.

After a few minutes like that the blood started rushing to her head.  That was around the time the students that went to eat outside the school for lunch started returning to the school.  There were a lot of whispers and giggles, but no one appeared to be making an effort to help her.  Most of the emotions she tasted were more based on mockery than actual concern anyway.  Reika just sighed.  She got the feeling she'd be stuck like this for awhile.  A few minutes later, the bell rang.

At least she'd have a good excuse for missing class.

[Akira Nakajima]

The boy moved with light steps. A weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Was it guilt? Nope. Rarely did he feel guilt, and rarer still would an emotion like that have had an easy fix. Was it stress? Somewhat close. It was much closer, however, to soul-rending boredom. It was the sort that wiggled some squiggly unmentionables into the finer depths of one's soul and then proceeded to do the naughty-naughty to a person's mind. This was the kind of boredom the boy had been dealing with and was, thus, relieved of. Now, what could provoke such feelings, one might have wondered? Simple. Paperwork, the spawn of the truest evil in existence. For once in a very long time, the boy could safely say that his desk was cleared of every piece of the hellish demons, and it was a feeling of liberation. It would be short-lived, he knew, but it was still something to enjoy while he could.

After all, he knew that, once he returned to his office, there would be one little paper on his desk. It never failed. Like event flags in an H-game, when one was ready to quit, or thinking that they were done with a chapter. One more, right at the end, appeared. That was why the work was truly an evil and foul existence! He could have gone on for hours, mentally or verbally, regarding the evils of paperwork and deskjobs, but, there were two things stopping him from doing so. Firstly, it was a job that needed to be done, and it was one that he had assistance with already. Secondly? The boy was presented with a truly interesting scene before him. And an unexpected one, at that, given that classes had resumed.

”Is this the newest fad, or are you just the sort to hang out and enjoy the sights?” The president asked with a cross of the arms, raising an eyebrow and shifting his weight to one leg. He seemed genuinely amused, but in the good way. The boy harbored no ill will towards this girl. And, as for her technically skipping class, not only could she not be blamed for it, but he didn't really care. Freedom of the students, and of all people, was his motto, after all. ”You know, I can't help but think you might be in a bind.” He noted after a moment, lips curling into a playful smile. It was as close to an oddly-worded “Need a hand” as she would get from the pony-tailed, straight-laced president, though.

[Reika Hanae]

The area cleared, classes started and she could already feel the boredom emanating from the building.  Reika hated that taste.  It was so bland.  Another person walked past her much to her surprise.  Unfortunately his emotions didn't taste any better.  Fortunately, he might actually be interested in helping her.  Maybe.  It was a little hard to tell.  She hoped that once he was finished making fun of her that he would indeed get her out of this bind as he implied, but maybe she was just being optimistic.  

"Naw, nothing like that.  I was just on my way to class and I got a little tied up with something else.  It happens you know?  I could use a hand if you don't mind being roped into helping me.  I mean, the bell rang a little while ago, so you might be caught up in your own responsibilities."

[Akira Nakajima]

”Ah, well. Got plenty of responsibilities, yeah. Should probably be running right along and doing them and all that.” The boy nodded sagely before just staring at the girl. ”Fortunately for the both of us, taking care of the student body is within my responsibilities, though. So, let's see here. You're in quite the predicament. Before I even try to get you loose, I'll see about lowering you, though. Wouldn't want to crack your head open on the pavement. Or the pavement on your head. Whichever.” With a slight laugh, the boy shifted closer to the pole, taking care to take in the details. He wasn't quite sure if bullying could get that far in a place like that. The student body wasn't that bad, was it? Was it a personal mistake? Definite possibility, if only because he didn't want to think that he had to deal with major bullying next. That was an entire tome of paperwork on its own.

”Now, really, this is more of a two-man job. However, I couldn't stand to leave someone hanging after they asked me so considerately. So! Gimme a moment. And, you know, kinda tilt your head a little. I'll be letting you down slowly, sure, but you'll need to guide your body, y'know?” Pausing to fiddle with the ropes, the boy smiled towards the victim of. . . whatever it was. ”So, hang out here often?” He asked as he started to let the rope slide. It was slow. Dreadfully so. Then again, it was a young lady he was dealing with. If it was a boy? Shit, he'd've just let it go. They'd be fine.

[Reika Hanae]

"Ah, that is fortunate because I am a student and my body could use some help right now," she sighed.  "Fortunately for the pavement, I don't think my head is quite that hard.  It might be a little hard to clean up though, which I guess is unfortunate for the pavement in its own right."  When he started to tug she felt herself stretch a bit.  "Ah, wait--"

Her legs started to go up, and her shoulders started to go down.  Unfortunately, she was caught on both sides of the rope, which was why she wasn't able to lower herself down before.  The wire that got her caught up in the ropes to begin with was also starting to get tighter around her legs and torso, almost painfully so as he continued tugging.  At least with someone else pulling both her hands were free to extract herself from parts of it as long as he didn't pull too quickly.  Even though it'd probably be easier, her legs were just too far away to untie, so she would have to make do with undoing the mess around her head and shoulders.  It took her a sec, but with her body being pulled away from her she had more incentive to get it done now.  It was amazing what a little desperation could do for the mind.

Eventually, Reika was hanging upside down, one of her shoulder free, the other caught in the rope just below her feet and the rest of her still completely tangled in a couple of wires.  Her hair looked more like a TV antenna caught in a bunch of string than actual hair at this point.  Still, because the ropes were no longer caught together she was able to be slowly lowered to the ground even if she did have to cling to the rope for dear life because she was afraid of falling on her face.  She was a little afraid of heights too, so what was basically controlled falling was a little on the terrifying side.  She didn't even make an effort to hide it either.  She continued clinging to the rope even when she was as low as the rope could take her since her hands couldn't quite reach the ground from there.  She was content to let this guy handle untangling the rest of her so she didn't faceplant into the pavement.

"Not too often.  It's a little restricting you know?"

[Akira Nakajima]

While the boy had originally started with the rope that had been attached to the flag itself, planning on lowering the whole setup and then proceeding to work on her at a safe pace, various circumstances forced him to directly fiddle with the restraints on the girl. She looked more like a tentacle victim than a girl bound by wires and cables as the process continued. That was. . . sorely amusing. If he used his imagination, the wires could have been little wriggly tendrils trying to do the naughty-naughty. Of course, where others might have found that erotic or exciting, to him, it was more of a “How cute” or “That's funny”.

”Sometimes, it takes a little bit of restriction for someone to fully appreciate their freedom. Like a person being released from prison, for example. Once released from those stifling circumstances, they have a renewed respect for what they once had.” The boy spoke while he worked, careful about where he pried and poked. Regardless of the fact that he was dealing with a girl, he did have an image to uphold, as well as an ethic to work with while fulfilling his role. ”So, try to keep a positive perspective on all of this, hm?” He provided the new perspective before working with a certain length that spanned down to her other shoulder.

”If nothing else, hey. Philosophical hour with yourself staring at the ground. That's got to be worth something, right?” With the minor jokes and lighthearted approach at keeping her mind preoccupied, he continued. It'd likely still take a bit, unless he found a cornerstone knot.

[Reika Hanae]

As he untied her, she grabbed onto the pole and got ready to flip over back onto her feet.  She could taste a strange flavor coming from his mind as he did so.  It was too weak for her to place just what the feeling was, but it was enough to make her wonder just what the hell he was thinking about.  It didn't take too long for her to get untangled enough for her to carefully grip the pole and rotate her body upright again.  It wasn't the most graceful maneuver, but it at least kept her skirt down.  Reika brushed herself off and examined her body for anything notable once she was safely on the ground again.  There were a couple of bruises on her arms and legs, and likely on her torso as well, but she didn't want to lift her shirt to check that right now, but it wasn't anything that wouldn't go away after a few days.

"I think the blood was rushing to my head too much for me to get any real thinking done.  It made me kind of dizzy you know?  As for whether I'll appreciate not being tied up like that...well, I suppose we'll see won't we?  At least the view was nice."

[Akira Nakajima]

"There's the spirit. You have to stay positive about the oddest of circumstances you find yourself in." With that, it did seem that the issue had been resolved. For the most part, anyway. There was still that nagging little detail- that all-important question that determined the origin of the issue in its entirety- that needed to be addressed, if only for future reference. If the girl had been up to something bad, that was okay. In fact, he'd have preferred that the whole situation was a result of her actions. Otherwise, there would have been bullies involved.

"So, if I may, how did you end up in such an uncomfortable position? I mean, I can't imagine that you ended up like that entirely of your volition, yeah?" With his hands having completed their work, they slid into his pockets. He was relaxed for the most part. Compared to the situations he had been in before, addressing a girl who had he just helped was more of a "same old, same old" than anything else for him. Even if one were to exclude his Shadow-slaying history of late, they'd find that Akira had had a unique and interesting list of accomplishments and deeds while working in that role.

"Unique" and "interesting", indeed. Hell, some of the stuff he dealt with before bordered on surreal. The student bodies he dealt with in the past encompassed some really. . . special individuals.

[Reika Hanae]

"Well, it's better than being bitter about it.  That's just way too much effort," Reika stretched, clearly enjoying the fact that she was no longer stuck in one position.  "Uh..."

Reika looked up and rubbed her chin.  It wasn't that she was trying to make up some excuse for how she got up there, it was that she honestly didn't know.  The wire stuck on her suggested that her lunch time project probably had something to do with it, but she wasn't sure how.  Did someone find it, or was she just really unlucky today?

"Well, I can't say it's one of my hobbies no," she paused for a moment again, tilting her head.  "But I'm not really sure how it happened.  One moment I was walking and then I tripped and then I was halfway up the flagpole.  I uh, grabbed the rope to brace my fall, so I guess I got stuck on it somehow and that pulled me up?"