The Yasogami Rush

[jaded]

The roof of Yasogami High School had always been a coveted spot to eat lunch on a nice day for all of the students that attended the school. Because of their lack of seniority, as well as having their classrooms positioned on the bottom floor of the building, the first years often found themselves out-muscled by their competitive upperclassmen. That left most of the battles to occur between the second and third years, the latter having the upper hand considering their place on the third floor. But that didn’t mean the second years would give up so easily. If they were quick enough, they could often secure a spot for themselves amongst the elder clicks before the relatively limited space became too crowded.

Today would be one of those days, Yukiko Amagi decided with determined certainty. It had been raining all the previous week, and if the weather that morning had been any indication, it was going to be nothing short of a warm, sunny day outside. That was why after homeroom she had swiveled around in her chair to divulge her plan to her friends in class 2-2, instructing them to go purchase their lunch and to tell Rise, Naoto, and Kanji of where they would be while she procured a spot for them to sit on the roof. Yukino wasn’t a naturally violent individual, but she was certainly stubborn, and she knew how to use her status as a wanted commodity amongst the male--and sometimes female--population at the school to her advantage when she needed to, which made her one of the better candidates for the task.

It would be easy. She would find a nice spot on the roof, sit down, and let her calm, untouchable presence do the rest. The problem was she had to get to the roof before all of the good spots were taken. Then again, even if she didn't, she might be able to convince some of the older boys to surrender their seats. Was it arrogant of her to think that way, she vaguely wondered until Kashiwagi's overly-flirtatious droning from the front of the classroom brought her unwillingly back to the present.

If anyone had told her she would miss King Moron's lectures just a few months prior, Yukiko wouldn't have believed them. Honestly...How did someone like Ms. Kashiwagi become a teacher in the first place? The woman somehow managed to go off on inappropriate tangents in the middle of just about every class session, material that Yukiko knew for certain wasn't going to show up on any exam.

Well, at least it gave her a chance to rest her cramping hand from taking notes for a bit, she thought optimistically. Yukiko was just in the middle of discreetly clenching and unclenching her right fist when the bell signaling lunch rang. Spinning around in her chair, she placed her hands flat on the desk behind her.

"I'll see you all upstairs," she enthusiastically stated before standing and making her way to the door.

With a hasty lightness to her step, Yukiko climbed the set of stairs separating the second and third floors of the building. The hallways were already beginning to fill with students lazily filing out of their classrooms, and glancing up toward the next flight of stairs, the young innkeeper could see some of her upperclassmen sauntering towards the upper level at an unhurried pace. Silently berating herself for the pause in her step, Yukiko pressed onward.

Stepping out onto the roof was a blinding endeavor, causing the seventeen-year-old Amagi girl to raise her hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight. Crisp, spring air danced around her, playing with her long obsidian hair as Yukiko made her way over to the far--and currently unoccupied--corner of the roof. It was warm enough that she shed her red cardigan almost as soon as she sat down, laying the shirt out beside her to signal to the other students that she was expecting company, but that still didn't stop a few of her male classmates from asking her if she'd be interested in having lunch together, requests that were politely declined.

With that distraction gone, Yukiko flipped open her cell phone and sent her friends a quick text, reminding one of them to please purchase her a bowl of instant fried tofu--her favorite--from the cafeteria downstairs. She hadn't had time to make her own lunch the previous night or this morning because of chores, and hadn't wanted to bother any of the kitchen staff either considering how busy thing had been at the inn as of late. In her own defense, her cooking had improved quiet a bit since the beginning of the year, mainly thanks to the staff's persistent assistance and Souji-kun's willingness to taste test whatever she managed to concoct in the kitchen the night before. After the debacle of the school camping trip, Yukiko had been surprised that the boy had agreed to help her at all, but because of his bravado, she could now at least create edible meals from time to time even if they didn't stand up to anything Souji, or just about any other girl at their school, could make with half the effort.

Yukiko couldn't help but giggle at the thought despite herself, supposing that was just what happened when you spent all of your time training to take over your family's inn. Now that she thought about it, having a cooking staff at your home likely didn't help much in that regard, either. Pushing these amusing thoughts aside, the Amagi girl quickly sobered when she saw her friends appear at the stairwell door, and calling out to them she waved them over.

"Hey guys," she greeted them as she moved her cardigan, folding it quickly before setting it down in her lap. "I hope you don't mind eating here...It just seemed like it was going to be such a beautiful day outside that I couldn't miss it. We've been so busy at the inn lately that I hardly have the time to enjoy the nice weather when it comes around."

[Yosuke/Kou]

Yosuke Hanamura stepped through the door onto the roof with a bowl of instant noodles for himself and Yukiko's bowl of instant fried tofu under his arm only to be immediately blinded by the noon sun. "Ah, goddammit!" The young man cursed under his breath as he began squinting and shielded his eyes with his free hand. "Uhhh... Shouldn't have fallen asleep in class..." Hanamura thought to himself as he began walking over to Yukiko. "Now my eyes are too sensitive. If only Kashiwagi wasn't so dull that might have made a difference..."

"Here's your fried tofu, Yukiko-san." The brunette said setting Yukiko's order down next to her, blinking a lot trying to get his eyes to adjust to the light. "It still needs to sit for a little while longer though."

With a heavy sigh Yosuke sat down a few feet away, propping himself up against one of the vents and setting his noodles down next to himself as his eyes began to finally adjust to the harsh light. He had been awake most of last night dealing with Teddie, who had been staying with him again while he visited. Teddie, of course, spent most of the night being his usual hyper self and making Yosuke do things with him all night. That, combined with Kashiwagi's usual riveting lecture, had practically guaranteed Yosuke wouldn't be staying awake to listen to Kashiwagi not-so-subtly brag about herself again. Of course that was coming back to bite him in the backside now.

[Naoto//Yukiko]

To say the morning had been stressful would have been an understatement.

It had all started that morning when she walked into the classroom and at least six people had rushed forward, demanding to know the truth behind the rumours of where she had been Christmas night. How anyone had found out that she wasn't at home was beyond her, but the idea frightening. Nearly thirty minutes had been spent avoiding the constant questions and attempting to remain quiet as she waited for the teacher to finally arrive in the classroom--and she'd never been more grateful for it. When it was finally time for lunch, the young detective had grabbed her bento and bolted from the room, headed for the only safe haven she could think of: the roof.

It was nothing more than a coincidence at most, but by the time the others had arrived, Naoto had already managed to worm her way up to the higher level of the roof beside the water tower to hide herself. The voices of Yukiko and Yosuke pulled her from her sushi-made daze, and caused her to look down. "...Oh, they're eating up here as well?" The idea didn't exactly come as a shock to her, but it wasn't often that she was able to eat with all her upper-classmen. Souji was a given, and sometimes Chie, but for the most part, she ate with Rise and Kanji wherever they could find somewhere alone.

Smiling faintly, the detective opted not to say anything. There were only about four people who knew about her love of heights, and the two who knew from Yasogami had yet to arrive. She'd simply have to wait and see if they noticed.
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A/N: ...Awkward joining post is awkward.