Let's Start Over... Aoi X Umeji

- Rebellious For Once -

The following day, Shiromi and I got to school early, like we usually do, to go over official business and take care of doing our rounds around the school. That's how it usually was; I'd make sure the budget of the school was in order with her, and then we'd split up and walk around the school for the half hour before classes.

I walked by the locker banks, scanning the area, when my eyes met a pair of golden ones from across the row of lockers. The person those eyes belonged to waved me over; it looked like he had something important to say. I checked the time; 7:16. I had time to kill before class, and my rep's high enough that my teacher won't care if I'm late one day. So, I walked over.

"Well hello, stranger," I started, leaning on the locker next to his, "funny seeing you here, at this hour. It's RIDICULOUSLY early, seeing as you always get here at 8:00 at the earliest."

His eyes widened a little, and he looked at the clock as well. The way he looked at it seemed a little fake, however; as if he already knew how early it was.

"Oh, damn, it's that early?" He muttered under his breath, raising an eyebrow at the clock. "Well, I mean, the others are already here, so I guess it doesn't matter too much." There was a slight smile on his face as he stuck his bag in his locker. "Anyway, I talked to Osoro the other day, and she wanted to know if you'd want to hang out with us today?" He looked over at me, one eyebrow raised.

I thought it over a little. My grades were all in the mid 90%, so skipping out one day shouldn't affect that or my reputation too badly. No one other than Shiromi had noticed me today, so I could just say I got sick from the stomach bug going around, and they'd believe me. Everything was stacked in my favor.

"You know what?" I said at last, smiling a little, "What the hell. Sure." I watched Umeji's eyes light up a little, as if he'd been looking forward to my answer.

"Oh, uh, alright..!" He shoved his hands into his pockets, closing his locker with his foot. "Did you wanna walk over there now, or did you have anything you still needed to do?"

Nothing really came to mind that I needed done, so I shook my head. "Nah, that's kinda the benefit of getting here earlier," I said, straightening my eyepatch, "It helps, since I help Shiromi in the mornings."

He nodded in response, gesturing over to one of the doors that were farther from the main entrance. "Well, c'mon then; if we're lucky, we won't get caught."

We navigated the halls, trying not to get caught. Usually I was on Hall patrol, so there wasn't any REAL risk. But it was pretty fun pretending there was a chance of getting in trouble.

            We managed to get outside without getting spotted and made our way to the incinerator. Only two other people were standing there; Osoro, her hair as messy as ever and that usual tattered jacket draped over her shoulders, and a shorter guy with messier blonde hair and red eyes, a red t-shirt under his uniform.

                "Oi." The two of them looked towards us after Umeji spoke, both with chilled expressions. I returned the glance, crossing my arms. "Aoi, meet Osoro and Gaku. Osoro, Gaku, meet Aoi."

             The boy, who I assumed was Gaku, nodded in my direction silently. Osoro did the same, smiling a little.

           "What's up, Blue?" She gestured for us to walk over to the two of them. "C'mon, we don't bite."

           I looked over at Umeji, who nodded to confirm that this wasn't a trap. We both walked over to join the group.

"So," Gaku started, leaning on the wall, "Sorry about the fight the other day. Didn't know you'd get caught in the crossfire."