Leaves Of Different Trees [Ruka]

[Vice Ysal]

The feeling of speeding through the city roads at night was a great one. Beating the red lights, trusting your own instincts to see if you can make the next cut without losing your head to an accident. It was a dangerous game that Vice loved playing and to the ones that knew of his little habit had even given him the title of Adrenaline Junkie with how he often he did these kinds of things. It wasn't like he was going to correct them though, the title seemed to fit him to a T so it didn't really bother him at all. Still though, traffic was practically nonexistent this time of night with the moon hanging over the clouds as lazily as ever so it was pretty easy to cruise down the streets and just enjoying the sheer speed that his motorcycle had allowed him to reach. The black leather jacket he wore along with the black denim pants had been adequate protection from the winds that were whipping against him as he made the sharpest turns. The full black helmet gave him a small blanket of safety which, in his opinion, wasn't really that required. He was already breaking the speed limit anyway and he doubted that cops would care all that much if they saw him with or without a helmet. With a grin on his face, the young man pushed the machine's engine harder and drove through down the straight lane faster than before.

The exhilarating experience soon came to a stop as the economics graduate got nearer and nearer to the barricaded area of the high school that he had studied in not too long ago. It's been almost half a decade since he last went there but he was glad to see that nothing has actually changed over the years. The same scratches and marks could still be found on the school plaque by the entrance. Riding his motorcycle towards the bike areas, the young man took killed the engine and locked the motor cycle to prevent theft. Stuffing the black helmet on the vehicle, the red eyed civilian then proceeded to walk towards the gated entrance. His eyes trying to look for that wired fence that had remained busted for who knows how long. It was one of those things that not everyone knew about which made it a perfect exit for whenever he wanted to skip classes that were of no importance to him.

A small smile appeared on his face when he had spotted it in its rusted and still busted glory. He had grown quite a bite in those almost 5 years but surprisingly enough, the ease of getting through the entrance slash exit was as easy as ever. Stretching his arms around himself and breathing in the cold night air, Vice had to smile wider at the sight of his alma mater being this close again. Maybe a short late night exploration could do him some good. He might even leave a couple of notes on the blackboards for the students to see the next day. He might not have any chalk on him as of the moment, but those teachers always did love keeping them behind the blackboards.

Now his biggest problem was to think of what to draw for said students.

Should be simple enough.

[Luka Kurokawa]

The night breeze was always calming for Luka. It wasn't rare for her to take a walk outside just to partake in it a bit. The moon was always in plain view when she took such walks, so there was always something to look at. Her usual walking route consisted mainly of the residential district. Occasionally she would go as far as the park, but other than that, she restricted herself to mainly the one district. She was nearing the school right now, which wasn't uncommon. The school was quite big; being almost the size of the actual residential part. As Luka was walking by the front gate of the school, she noticed something odd. There was a motorcycle in front of the school, simply parked there. Luka didn't bother worrying about it until she reached it at the normal pace she was going. From there, she noticed something odd about the school gate. Examining a bit she thought she noticed that it might be quite easy to get through.

With a few quick motions of her wrist and a step through the wired gate, she was on the other side quite easily. Now, it was at this time that she realized that she was trespassing. She had well more than half a mind to simply turn back. She almost did too. It was when she noticed that the door to the school was slightly open that she turned around again and continued onward. Moving into the school, she began to go through the hallways. Could someone have been in here? She was contemplating simply leaving as this was no job for her. But then she remembered that she was the Student Vice President. At least, for now she was. It was her duty to see that the students would remain safe. With that in mind, she continued forward. After all, if there was trouble, she was sturdier than the average person thanks to her persona.

Come to think of it, could she even summon her persona in the city? Obviously the effects of enhanced capabilities were retained, but she had yet to actually summon her persona here. While her evoker was with her, she didn't exactly want to try it right now. In the chance that there really was someone in the building, she didn't want to run the risk of alerting them. With that, the girl slowly crept around the building in the dark of the night. It was funny how a simple walk in the park could turn into a little adventure. Come to think of it, that was how it had been when she obtained her persona. This time though, she wasn't hoping for anything interesting to happen. A normal walk with nothing to it would be fine.

[Vice Ysal]

The halls could have been considered creepy if only for the lack of light in them. Long stretching hallways, and the occasional drip drop of the faucets by the hallways added to the whole spooky atmosphere. Fortunately though, Vice wasn't really all that creeped out by them. Travelling the dark was a bit difficult if only because he couldn't see a lot of things and the only thing that really bothered him was how the halls were so narrow. Sure it's been a long time ever since he crossed these halls but had he really grown by that much? Spreading his arms and stretching them towards the edges of the hall way, the young man had to note that he did grow up quite a bit. Filing that little tidbit of information aside, suddenly getting an idea on how to rearrange the chairs in the classrooms and what to draw on the boards the young man would have entered the nearest available room had it not been for the sound of other foot steps echoing in the other wise quiet corridor. Vice walked closer towards the walls and began moving along them instead. He kept his pace even and tried his best to listen to how heavy the echoing foot falls were. He took another turn, the foot falls making a rhythmic beat that probably didn't belong to the security guards that were stationed here.

Those old fogies always had a thing for dragging their feet and waving their flashlights around like it was a gun whenever they thought no one was looking.

Giving his new surroundings a quick look, the small smile on his face carried up into a grin as even through the dim lighting he could still make out the name of the room. Softly entering the place, the young man made sure to leave just a tiny crack open in order to allow the noise he'd be making to travel farther into the hall ways where the other 'ghost' would most likely be. Looking around the music room, Vice had to suppress the urge to whistle when he saw all the high end equipment and instruments made available for the leisure of all the students. He wasn't quite musically gifted but even he knew that these things were damn well expensive. Sliding his finger on top of the grand piano that had been moved to the corner in order to conserve space, the black haired civilian then raised the covers of the keys. Making sure he had a well enough place to hide (namely the janitor's closest that carried the mop and bucket. A place no one ever opened. Ever. ) the young man then gently placed his fingers on the keys that would make the deepest sound.

It didn't matter if he couldn't remember the lessons he had been taught in one of the electives from back then. All he had to do was mash around the keys in some angry spooky manner to try and freak out whoever else was in the building. With that in mind, the young man then began to cause a horrible rhythm to crash through the silence of the school. It was antagonising, and dramatic if anything. It was more haunting than spooky, more painful than scary, and Vice couldn't help but wonder if he was breaking the expensive instrument.

And then he remembered that these things were tougher than nails and thus continued with the crazed frenzy.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka didn't have any sort of lead as to where she was going. In fact, she didn't even know if there really was someone in here so she was very possibly wasting her time here. She continued wandering around for a little bit, seeing if she could get any hint of a lead. Nothing. With a sigh, the girl decided to turn back and head back home. It was late after all, and she would be coming back here in the morning regardless. With that, the girl turned around and began to walk towards the exit. Really, she had gone and broken into the school for no reason. Just what was she thinking? There was nothing here. Of course, as soon as she thought that, she heard the mashing of piano keys. Specifically, it sounded like the keys of the old grand piano in the music room.

She turned around at that point, retaining her normal pace, only in the original direction she had been going. There was someone here, most certainly. She decided that she would find them too. It was her duty as the student council vice president to do so. But now that she was on her way, just what was she going to do when she found the intruder? She didn't even know what their intentions were. For now, she would be walking in the dark; in more ways than one. It was a quick walk to the music room where she had heard the noise, taking less than a minute to reach. She hesitated on opening the door. It wasn't out of fear, but out of uncertainty. Should she be cautious? Certainly. But to what degree? It wasn't a good idea to simply pull out her persona over some noise. She could end up revealing herself if that happened. And for what? Possibly some students causing mischief or perhaps even a security guard that decided to fool around a bit. She could rule out the possibility of the noise being caused by shadows having not sensed any in the room or anywhere nearby for that matter. The intruder was human, or at least organic. Though, she was sure a dog couldn't ride a motorcycle. It was about time she opened the door though.

Luka opened the door like she would any. She didn't slowly peer in and gently open it, nor did she slam it open and jump in. She simply walked in and looked around. Nothing. The intruder must have left the room already, she thought. It was unlikely that they left the building altogether. Not yet, at least. Satisfied with her quick glance of the room, Luka left to wander the halls once more. Would she be the one to find them, or would she be found herself?

[Vice Ysal]

So apparently the target this time around was a tough cookie. Vice carefully observed the only other person he knew to be in the building with a pair of scrutinizing eyes. They weren’t crinkled to give anyone the idea that he was angry or pissed or anything the sort, rather they had been crinkled into something that slightly fenced between respectful and amused. It used to be a thing back in his younger years that people got spooked out at pretty much everything. The girl just proved herself to at least be more mindful of her surroundings and the environment rather falling for the whole piano in the dark routine. On the other hand, it was a bit disappointing to learn that he was either rather incapable of scaring people with the old and tested routine or that he just wasn’t creepy enough to begin with. Still, the weird mop of black and blue hair that framed a pair of ringed eyes was something that struck outside the norm and the male was rather confident that asking around a girl with those specifics should be easy enough in the future.

When the girl had finally left the room, the janitor’s closet slowly opened up to avoid making that obnoxious unhinged sound that it often made and out came the intruder of the night. Normally, the young man was going to go to greater lengths in order to get some results that were more up to his standards but thought better of it.

The question left unanswered for the night was why the girl was actually there to begin with. From what he could surmise, the young girl didn’t exactly look the type to be a delinquent or anything of the sort. Then again, appearances tended to be deceiving and all. Not willing to leave that little question without an answer for just a bit more, Vice decided it was his time to go around and shadow the girl to see what her purpose had been.

Listening closely to the foot falls that continued to echo in the deathly silent halls, Vice then began to try and keep up with the objective of his whimsical interests.

[Luka Kurokawa]

Luka wandered the hallways, void of any lead as to the whereabouts of this intruder. Though, she continued onward. At least, for a time she did. Eventually she stopped, realizing that it was highly unlikely that she would simply run into the intruder. The school was huge and in the event that she neared the person, they could easily hide away without notice. She would be wasting her time. Besides, it was getting late too. With a sigh, she stopped moving in the halls and walked over towards the window. Looking outward, she found herself staring at the moon and stars. The city was surrounded by a large dome that separated them from the outside world. Views of the outside were simply mirages from inside the city. Did that mean that the view of this moon was a fake as well? It was a little depressing to think that the people of the city had technically not seen the sun or the moon in months now. Everything out there in the sky was a lie.

She was getting tired, too. School was in the morning and her walk had led her into a rather bizarre situation. Perhaps it was time to head back? The issue was beyond her power. Well, as long as the person was inside. That being said, she remembered that the bike outside likely belonged to that person. What would happen if she waited outside for the person? She could catch the as they left the school. Actually, that plan didn't sound half bad. She could wait outside in a stake-out while the person was inside. Though, she may be too tired for school in the morning. If that was the case, she was sure that Akira would understand the reasoning behind her missing school and give her an excuse. With her mind set, the girl made her way back to the entrance where she would begin to wait out for the person in question. Boy, did she get into something odd today. Though, this was starting to become a frequent occurrence.

[Vice Ysal]

The darkness was both annoying and useful as of the moment. It managed to hide his physical appearance well enough and it made it easier to go around without being detected. Not to mention that his clothing managed to blend somewhat well with the environment so there was that. The annoying part was that Vice couldn't go as fast as he could lest he risk tripping one some of the stuff that were placed around. The random wet floor sign was the biggest hurdle he had passed and that had almost caused him to trip if it wasn't for some quick thinking. Skidding his shoes wasn't an option either since that would have just made the most distracting noise ever. Passing over that incident and moving on with the sneaking around, the alumnus of the high school finally managed to catch up to the girl who had inspected the music room not so long ago. He had expected something different, not because he was doing something that most people don't even have the testosterone for but mostly because this wasn't an everyday occurrence. Unfortunately for the young man, the sight he had been awarded wasn't really all that much and from the looks of things, the girl was having her own thousand yard stare.

Not exactly the most interesting of things to witness. Having his desire more or less stomped out by that, Vice repressed the urge to vocally admit his feelings on the matter and decided that it should be best to go on ahead and get back to the bike. Tonight's exploration was more or less a bust and with the girl still hanging around, the red eyed civilian had to circle around the longer path in order to reach the entrance he had used to get into school property earlier in the night. Making sure that nothing got snagged along the way out, the young man then threw on it the loose brush in order to somewhat help camouflage the entrance in the event that he would be exploring the place again in the future.

It would be easier to do in the morning, sure, but where was the fun in that?

Right, meeting people around his age.

Shaking his head at the thought, Vice scrambled slowly through some of the less foliage-y area when suddenly the sound of a whistle blew off. Thankfully not a hair trigger, Vice calmly looked around the vicinity and gave out a small sigh of relief to know that he wasn't caught yet. Still, he was curious about it and once more did he stalk towards where his bike had been. Hiding behind some of the bushes and trees, Vice eyed the little scenario that had began to develop:

"Miss! School is off limits for everyone by this hour! I'm gonna have to ask you to leave."

An old yet still diligent and kindly looking security guard called out to the girl with the blue hair and strange eyes. He totted around a flash light, a flash light that Vice made sure to not get hit by, while half walking half jogging towards the, presumably, student who was waiting by Vice's bike.

"If you have any complaints, you can submit them to the office tomorrow. It's pretty late and you may be late for class tomorrow if you stay up much longer."

[Luka Kurokawa]

She managed to get outside just fine, following the path that she had originally taken to get in. The bike would be just around the corner too. From there, she could easily find somewhere to hide while she waited for the bike owner to turn up. Well, that's what she would have done had she not been caught just now. She felt a flashlight on her, turning to find a security guard. He kindly asked her to leave since the school wasn't open. Ah yes, I understand. I'm sorry about that. So there was security on the campus still. But was it security that had been messing around in the music room? No. It couldn't have been. That wouldn't explain the motorcycle parked outside.

I'll be taking my leave now. Luka decided now wasn't the time to be asking questions. She would simply leave, this time. Going back out the gate from before, the girl noticed that the bike was gone. So he had left already. The bike being gone sent a mixed feeling through Luka. On one hand, it was unlikely that the intruder had done anything drastic. But on the other, he had gotten away before she could question them. With a sigh, she decided to retire for the night. There was nothing that she could do right now, after all. And with that, her roundabout walk through the neighborhood had ended.

[Vice Ysal]

When the two figures in the distance had been sufficiently distracted, the old guard even accompanying the girl away and all that, Vice decided to act now while he still had the chance. With a small grin, and a skip to his step, the red eyed male dashed over to his vehicle and unlocked it. Being careful not to turn the engine just yet since the two of them were still near and could possibly spot him, Vice then placed the helmet over his head in order to hide his facial features and rolled the motorcycle away from ground zero.

When everything was finally in the clear, Vice then proceeded to turn on the engine and with a mighty sound the motorcycle once more roared to life. WIth a small whoop, Vice pushed his ride down the sloping hill and sped up into the almost empty streets of Mosaic City and towards his apartment. Today may have been pretty uneventful, but it didn't mean that the following day would be. Then again, he also had work so that was a bummer.

Enjoying the speed and the wind impacting against his torso, Vice simply shrugged away the worries for the night and placed on that same feral smirk of his before revving the engine to its limit. An explosive sound went down the road and soon enough, the black streak that was Vice's motorcycle followed suit.