To the Rescue (Yuri)

'Okay... how did I get into this mess?' Hana asked herself for probably the third time in as many minutes. It was right after school, she'd just changed out of her uniform, and she was going to find a little shop to do some brainstorming at; new locations were always good for inspiration, after all. She shut her eyes tight, and backed into the wall as three other girls closed in on her. 'I swear! Just because I can draw doesn't mean I'm rich. Is it because I still look like a little kid? Gah I hate my life sometimes.'

"All I'm asking is that you give us a bit of money, so your precious drawings don't get ruined." The largest of the three girls had managed to sneak up and take Hana's sketchbook from her as she exited the school grounds. Now, she'd decided Hana had protection money of some sort. Hana had at first tried to jump up and grab the book from the tallest girl, but after a hard shove, they'd started closing in to intimidate her. It was working.

'Like hell you are, you stupid witch. My drawings were fine until you started threatening them!' Hana frowned, realizing the situation. For all she knew she was going to get beaten up. Or worse, her sketchbook was going to get ripped to shreds because she'd already handed them the tiny amount of money she'd brought with her to buy a drink with. "I told you... I don't have any more..." Hana didn't think they'd believe her. They were far too stupid and greedy to show any kind of reason.

"Maybe you should go get more then." The girl grabbed the front of Hana's short dress with her fist. "I'll be tearing up one page per minute until you do." The girl reached into the book and slowly, painfully, ripped out the first page before stuffing the rest of the book under her arm and holding it out. "Starting with this one."

The book under the bully's arm, hardly a moment after it was placed there, was suddenly missing.

The reason for that, as made evident by a single glance, was the red-head that now stood behind the bully with that book in hand. She still wore her uniform and was only an inch or so taller than the victim of this scene, but the expression on her face showed no sign of intimidation; sure, the bullies might have had height and numbers to their advantage, but Yuri--the one now interfering with their extortion--had handled much, much worse than a few high school girls who thought they were tough. They didn't know what tough was.

By the looks of it, they weren't. That was why they'd targeted someone who obviously couldn't fight back.

"I think you've teased her enough, don't you?" Yuri said, placing the book under her own arm. Her tone as she spoke was civil, polite, and not at all dissimilar to the way she'd have addressed anyone else, but her words did well to contradict that tone. She was obviously taunting them when she continued, "I mean... I get that it'll be expensive to fix that horrible nose of yours, but there are easier ways to make money..."

Spoken with a smile. Yuri figured she could provoke the three with words, get their attention off of Hana so the girl could run away, because Yuri was just one girl, right? Surely the bullies would've thought she'd be easy to deal with. Judging by the slight head-tilting gesture of her head, she might have been sending a "get out of here, I'll handle it" message to Hana. Perhaps the girl could take comfort in the fact that Yuri looked like she knew what she was doing.

If it came down to the physical confrontation she expected it to, Yuri was no pushover.

'Huh?' Hana blinked at the sight of the redheaded girl coming to her rescue. It was like one of her mangas, only... she hadn't planned it, and it was real. 'The heck is going on?' That seemed to be a question Hana had asked herself more than the last couple of days. One thing was for sure - Hana suddenly wished she wasn't so small and weak so she could look as heroic as this girl.

"Give that back, it's mine!" the bully demanded angrily. 'Irony' Hana thought to herself as the girl rolled up her sleeve. "C'mon girls, let's teach her who's boss." 'Well, that was fast.' Hana blinked as the three girls converged on the other girl. Hopefully she could handle herself. 'And here I'd thought it was mostly boys who were so readily violent.'

The bully was obviously not a very experienced fighter, even from Hana's view. She was taller than some girls, and honestly a fair bit uglier. Fukui had a high percentage of beautiful women, at least in Hana's eyes, and this one was almost painfully average. Maybe that was why she'd taken up bullying. She'd heard that was why people did that sort of stuff - insecurities. Hana was insecure about several things, but she wasn't so dumb. The bully threw some sort of half-cocked punch with all her might - the kind that might hit a tiny nerdy girl like Hana simply because she'd just flinch and not move, but certainly one anyone with any sense could counter.

The other two girls also moved in, probably hoping to start kicking the redhead while she was down. 'You bunch of cowards. You're probably hoping she's just going to run away. I hope she makes you pay for hurting my sketchbook!'

Wonderful, provocation successful. The apparent bully victim, however, didn't seem to have taken the "get out of here" hint, so Yuri made a "shoo-shoo" gesture with her hand. Come on, kid, she thought, as if trying to will her words telepathically into Hana's brain. I'm giving you a chance here, get moving.

A half-step backwards might have implied that Yuri didn't want to fight, but evidently the bullies did. That was fine, she could handle that. She really wouldn't like the way she'd have to handle it, but it wasn't like she could just ditch the poor girl and not intervene. She did have a conscience. "Look, let's just rewind for a sec, forget this ever happened, an-" Yuri started. She was interrupted, however, by the bully's fist striking her square in the cheek.

With her words transitioning into a subtle "oof," Yuri stumbled back a couple steps, one hand lifting up to cradle the cheek that had been struck. She definitely could have dodged it, but she didn't, and now she had the bruise--and likely the bully's boosted ego--to show for it. Her expression and posture shifted to a more defensive set, though her priority, of course, was protecting the book under her arm. "... Tch, cheap shot. You hit like a girl."

Intentionally ironic in her taunt, she was; as long as Hana was still around, she'd need to keep the bullies occupied. In truth, Yuri saw that punch coming from a mile away and, if she were elsewhere at the time of confrontation, would've dodged it really easily. But on campus, she was not the tough, never-to-be-messed-with person that all those boxing lessons and years of mingling with thugs had molded her into. To protect her reputation, she had to feign weakness.

A normal high school girl wouldn't have been able to take on three others alone. Since she couldn't help out by going on the offensive, lest she have others know she could actually fight, she figured she'd have to take a few hits until the bullies got bored. Or until Hana took off, whichever came first.

Slipping the book into her bag for safe keeping, Yuri raised her arms in a half-assed defense and inched back again as the three girls started to surround her. Hey, might as well have fun taunting them, at least; this time, it was directed at the two others. "Nice minions, by the way. I didn't know bodyguards worked on street corners."

'Ouch, that last one stung.' Hana blinked. The girl had taken the hit, surprisingly, but she certainly didn't seem much worse for ware because of it. 'Oh, right, I suppose I should be moving.' Hana would have to locate this girl soon to get her book back, but for right now she supposed getting out of the situation was a good thing.

"Thanks," she stated quietly. She wasn't a physical person. She wanted to help, but... Hana was a small, cute girl. Not a fighter in any way. Hana slipped around the entrance and hid behind a bush, panting. She wished she had her book; at the very least she'd have something to clutch while she calmed herself down. She'd been more scared and upset than she'd let on. 'Wait... am I...?' Hana wiped a hand across her cheeks. Yeah, she was crying. She hadn't meant to, but... She was worried about the girl, not to mention her book that had so many important drawings in it.

'I hate this. I'm seventeen. I'm picked on like I'm twelve. Hell, I look like I'm twelve. I'd never be able to help someone who was in trouble like that girl did.' More than anything she was just upset. It wasn't fun. Today sucked.

Out of harm's way at last. Yuri was worried that Hana would stick around, stubbornly insisting something like "I can't just leave you!" or any other expected tropes that were usually present in situations like this. In fiction, anyways. The self-preservation instinct in real life was not so easy to overcome as manga stories made it seem.

"... Did you just casually call us prostitutes?" the girl on Yuri's left replied, looking roughly as irritated as the one she'd snatched the book from. The girl on the right only matched that expression once the left one spoke, implying that the right girl didn't get the joke until it was explained. In response, Yuri gave only a vague shrug, and watched Hana disappear from sight.

"Yeah, what are you gonna do about i-" she started, interrupted again by another fist to the cheek. This time it was from the one who spoke up, and again, though she could have evaded, she let it connect. This one was a tad stronger than the first, though, prompting a stumble toward her right where another of the three immediately followed up. Yuri considered blocking that one for once, but decided against it, and... actually regretted that decision a little.

The girl on her right--the one who didn't get the joke--was apparently not as weak as she was slow. Yuri's flinch was genuine as she hopped back and grabbed at her side, wincing uncomfortably and now wary of the one who'd just given her a jab to the ribcage. Made sense, she guessed, that a least one of them could actually throw a punch.

"You wanna take that back?" said the girl in front of Yuri; the one that still held a page of Hana's book. It was crumpled now in an angry fist, but it didn't seem ripped.

Wiping at her mouth with the back of her hand, Yuri replied with a frown. Now that Hana was gone, she could have stopped the taunting, but... well, these three were just so easy to poke fun at. And they kind of deserved it. "Not used to someone making retorts, are you? You gonna cry about it?" Following that, Yuri stepped forward and sent a fist of her own in for a half-baked attack.

It was evaded, of course, by a step to the side. Yuri felt something hit her shin and lost footing, fell to her hands and knees, and released a quiet yelp when a kick to her side flipped her onto her back. The three bullies surrounded her now, convinced they'd done a lot of damage, but Yuri hadn't reached anywhere near what she could take. That was made obvious by the awkward smirk on her face as she stared upward, and her insistence on taunting still. "Heh... You guys really a-oof..!"

Another interruption, this time by a foot planted on her stomach. "Looks like we'll have to shut you up," said the bully that held the paper, which was cast aside onto the ground like a piece of trash.

... I'm way too nice, Yuri thought, grateful at least that no one was around to witness this embarrassment. Or so she thought, anyways.

Hell, to anyone watching her mock them so persistently, Yuri might have looked like quite the masochist.

It had taken a few minutes, and she'd had to recover enough to dry her tears, but Hana had eventually crept back to the scene. She had to check on the other girl, even if she couldn't do anything about it. If nothing else, maybe she could get some help, right? Things had really spiraled out of control.

The small girl found a spot she could climb up and peek over the wall. Yeah, she really felt bad then. What she saw was the redhead on the ground getting kicked by the three bullies. If she'd had anything on her, she might have helped. She'd literally taken nothing but that book with her though, like an idiot. 'What's wrong with those girls? What's wrong with me? I spend all day drawing heroines and I'm nothing like them... at all...'

The redhead, for some reason, couldn't keep her mouth shut. She kept taunting the girls, and the in return they kept responding with dumb violence. What would people like that even come here for? 'Maybe I could... no...' Hana had thought about tackling a girl from behind and trying to pull her away, but she imagined herself just hitting the girl like she was hitting a pillar and sliding down in a comedic fashion.

There was nothing Hana could do... literally.

The foot on Yuri's stomach lifted up, gave her a painful stomp, then retreated a moment later. It wasn't long before she felt hands on her upper arms lifting her from the ground and, before long, she was being held up against the wall by two of the bullies while their leader pounded away at her face and torso. She wasn't allowed time to make any more snide remarks, the repeated fists and feet that assaulted her cutting off her speech each time she opened her mouth to talk. Evidently this was lasting longer than she assumed it would. At least it was the "leader," the weakest of the three, who was doing the punching and kicking. No way were they strong enough to do any really bad damage.

Even so, by the end of it all, Yuri dropped to her knees and hunched over forward when they finally let her go. The wind had been knocked out of her at some point, so she needed time to catch her breath and spent the next few moments coughing; thankfully, the trio of bullies appeared satisfied by now. "Weak little bitch," spoke their leader, providing one last kick to Yuri's side. "Better watch your back from now on."

Following that threat, and a wad of spit shot down at the kneeling red-head, the three finally took their leave. Good, it was over... Damn, how she wished that would've taken place off campus, where she really could've taught them a lesson. Still, Yuri didn't consider that a loss, even if she hadn't actually struck any of them. She accomplished what she came to do, and there were any number of... other ways she could get back at them...

"Mmff... Wonder where that girl went..." Yuri mumbled to herself when she finally caught her breath, sitting up and leaning back against the wall to take a rest. Nothing was broken, fractured, or otherwise severely damaged, but she was definitely going to have a number of bruises. Her bottom lip and right cheek were bleeding very mildly, and she found herself rather thankful that the idiot of that trio hadn't been the one hitting her.

Incidentally, just in case Hana hadn't actually left the area, Yuri called out: "You can come out now! Y'know, if you're still there!"

Instinctively, Hana flinched a bit when the redhead addressed her. At first she'd thought the girl knew where she was or something, but then she said 'if you're still there.' Hana quietly climbed down the wall. 'Worst day ever,' she thought to herself as she nimbly hopped down. She might have cared more about the fact that she was wearing a short dress if anyone else had been around. Seemed like the main entrance was being avoided with those bullies hanging around. 'Oh well, at least maybe now I can get my sketchbook back.'

Hana appeared from behind the wall that was connected to the open gate, her arms hanging limply at her sides. She was already drained from the way the afternoon had turned out. At least it was over; bullies sucked. "Thank you," she told the girl quietly, eyeing the bruises that were visible. She wanted to ask to have her book back, but that seemed rather rude after she was saved and all.

In return, Yuri almost flinched when she spotted Hana. So the girl did witness that embarrassing scene after all.

Well, no undoing that now. Yuri lifted one hand, offered a half-wave in greeting, and modestly shook her head in reply to the thanks. "Don't worry about it," she said, soon reaching toward her bag, pulling it over, and unzipping it so she could dig inside. She still had that book that was taken before, so when she pulled it out, it was offered right back to its owner with a smile. If it weren't for the bruises and minor cuts, her expression would've made it impossible to tell she'd just gotten her ass kicked.

"If you wanna thank me, though, be more careful from now on," Yuri added, free hand pushing herself up so she could rise to her feet. Moving didn't seem to be an issue and, frankly, she appeared unfazed by the beating she'd taken. She'd gotten in worse fights before. "Are you here looking for a sibling or something that goes to this school? What's your name?"

The tone Yuri took as she spoke was that of someone speaking to a kid, for obvious reasons; the girl she was talking to looked like one.

Hana's thankful expression turned obviously more annoyed at the girl's question. She could read into this. She looked like a child, and she was assumed to be under fifteen. 'Ugh. I hate my body and the assumptions people make. Maybe I should just stay in the uniform all day so no one will confuse me for a twelve year old.'

"I'm a third year student here," she answered simply. "My name is Yomohiro Hana. I'm a manga artist." 'I don't care which you call me as long as it doesn't involve me looking like a kid.' She took a couple of small steps forward, smoothing out her dress.

Yuri was obviously taller, more womanly, pretty, and apparently heroic. She would have a lot to tell Mako about later... hopefully leaving out the part where she was small and weak and couldn't help someone who got beat up for her. Just 'This girl rescued my book from some jerks' would do. Possibly with the added 'She'd make a perfect manga heroine in the future.' In the meantime, though, she took the book gingerly, as if it were her injured child. "Thank you," she uttered again. 'This girl saved my book and got all bruised up for it...what should I do about that?'

Yuri had to pause for a few seconds, skeptically eyeing the girl's figure upon receiving that last response. She felt like that might not have actually been the case, but there wasn't any particular reason that she could see for the girl to lie about it... Well, that aside, she had an introduction to take care of. No use lingering on the age thing.

"Yomohiro-san, then?" she replied, barely avoiding the -chan honorific. It was almost a reflex, given the girl's looks, but she caught herself beforehand and spoke naturally. No need for details, she'd be fine giving just her name and year. "You can call me Tokisaki. Second year, so... huh, I guess that makes you Yomohiro-senpai..?"

Eyes tilting upward in thought as Hana took back the book, Yuri briefly considered how awkward it would feel to call someone that looked like that "senpai." The thought only lingered for but a moment, however, tossed aside by her gaze returning to Hana and a modest wave of her hand. "Don't worry about it, those guys need someone to tell 'em off once in a while." Following that, a pause.

With a slight wince, Yuri took a step forward, circled around Hana, and leaned over to pick up the crumpled piece of paper from earlier. She went to work un-crumpling it and offered it to Hana again. "Er... Sorry, looks like I didn't manage to save this one. Hope it wasn't too important."

"Yomohiro-San is fine..." she shrugged, having finally returned to her normal, mostly emotionless state. The girl introduced herself as Tokisaki, a second year. Hana's eyes examined the girl's features quickly. 'Yep. Another grown-up looking girl to make me look and feel like a child.' Tokisaki also insisted that someone needed to tell the bullies off every once in a while. 'Yeah, and look at all the good that did. You're all bruised up and I bet their egos are as big as ever.'

All the drawings Hana drew were important. It didn't matter who it was she drew or why she drew them. They were part of her collection. 'Yeah, that happened a little early for you to save it.' "That book has had a hard week," she told Yuri with a sigh. The edges were frayed, not from the bullies, but from a certain Taerin who had grabbed her and caused her to drop her sketchbook. She thumbed through it to make sure it was the only missing or damaged drawing. "Keep it," she decided finally. "If you want." The drawing was a sketch of the love interest of the main character in her manga. It was practice, but it was as good as any she drew.

"Bullies aren't normally a problem for me," Hana admitted. "I think they're convinced I'm rich just because I'm published." 'And they're probably some super spoiled brats for some rich guy who sent them here. They think they're invincible.' 

Nodding once, just to fill a void of silence in consideration of all she was replied to with, Yuri lowered her hand with the rolled-up paper still inside. Admittedly, she felt pretty bad for the girl... She was totally aware of what it was like to be the one people picked on, which she'd learned during her time spent locked up. Took forever to work up the courage to stand up for herself and even then it was difficult for a while, but if she hadn't, she would have been a much different person than she was today.

On some level, Hana kind of reminded her of her former self... before all the prisons stuff.

"Well, don't worry about them too much," Yuri replied to finally break that brief quiet, a gentle shrug preceding her arms crossing over her chest. The way she moved and the expression on her face was not the normal appearance of someone who'd just gotten the stuffing beaten out of them, and her words were no different. "They try and mess with you again, you just come see me. I'll teach them a lesson or two about picking on someone they think is weak."

A really... unusual statement, considering her condition, but Yuri looked totally genuine in her declaration of protection. She knew she couldn't do anything on campus, but that was where she'd do some digging at a later point... If she just "happened" to meet them off campus, for example, and they just "happened" to get into another confrontation like that, there would be no reason to hold off on actually teaching them a lesson. Either their pride would hurt too much to tell anyone on campus, or people on campus wouldn't believe Yuri capable of doing something like that.

Now... she just had to find their names, or something, and all sorts of information would become available.

But that would come later. "That alright with you, Yomohiro-senpai?"

'So apparently I'm someone who needs protected. I got caught unaware and was panicking over my sketchbook, you know...' Hana didn't portray her thoughts in her expressions. She was still rather thankful for the save, truth be told, though what a girl who got herself beaten up was probably not the best person to go to if she was surprised again. She wouldn't be. She was actually pretty aware of her surroundings despite the way she got absorbed into mangas and the drawings of mangas. It wasn't that Hana didn't know how to stand up for herself. It was that her sketches were literally her life when it came to making money, and that she basically cared about two things lately: Her mangas, and Mako.

"That's fine," she nodded simply as she clutched the book in her arms protectively. Next time one of the bullies tried that she'd whack them good with the book before they could take it... right? "You did save my book though," she decided aloud as her mind raced, trying to distract her with thoughts of wroking a Yuri-like character into one of her current projects. "You can just call me Hana-Chan." Either way it didn't make a big difference, but it wasn't like Hana had anything too special to give the girl for saving the book.

Mako would probably be both concerned for Hana and extremely excited at the idea of such a character, now that Hana thought of it. It was extremely easy for the pair to turn anything into a discussion about stories and art. They could do it during a completely serious other conversation. Her thoughts returned once again to Yuri standing in front of her. She was an odd girl. Odd enough to be a fantastic fictional character, apparently. Maybe she should do a little more manga research. "I could... buy you a drink for your trouble," she suggested almost out of nowhere.

Finally pocketing the paper that apparently now belonged to her, Yuri half-turned to her side and took a step to begin walking. She hadn't looked at whatever the picture was yet, but she'd get to that a little later; for now, she only waved for the girl in front of her to follow. "Sure, that'd be great," she replied, not usually one to turn down free. Besides, it'd be a good opportunity for her to question the girl about those bullies, learn a few things, and very carefully plan to teach them a lesson about how not to treat their peers...

In any case, there was a vending machine not far from their present location, so Yuri was leading in that direction. "What kind of manga do you draw anyways, Yomohiro-senpai?" the girl asked, one hand pocketed as she walked along, expecting Hana to follow. Maybe she didn't hear the permission she was given to use Hana's first name... Or, more likely, she just felt like "-senpai" was a better fit for someone older than her, despite the reverse appearance of it. "You said you were published, right? Any titles I might have heard of before?"

Not much time was spent reading manga for Yuri, but she at least dabbled a bit here and there, as any girl her age would. Regardless of whether or not she was interested, though, this was just a placeholder question and only intended to pass some time before she asked about those bullies. It was a shame that she couldn't include the girl on whatever she was going to do, but alas, no one on campus could know what kind of person Yuri really was... Reputation was a powerful thing, and she wasn't going to risk damaging hers.

Hana took off after Yuri, following her without much hesitation; she'd invited the girl for a drink, after all, and she assumed that's where she was going. It wasn't long before questions were asked of the quiet girl. What kind of manga did she draw? Were there any titles that Tokisaki-chan might have heard of? 'I don't know... do you read manga magazines?' Hana thought to herself as the pair walked. She shoved some of her bangs out of her face a bit. "I publish a sort of..." How to explain this to someone? "...Action-yuri manga?"

It was a complicated thing. A weird mix of near-future Japan modern day Japan and of course a secret love between two best friends, both girls. Things were just starting to get interesting in that department after all these months of doing work for her publisher. "It's called Rogue Hearts." She could explain more if the girl wanted. Had it been Mako, there would have been an almost unnecessary amount of detail thrown in about exactly what the plot was about, who the characters were and why they were in love. For a stranger who might not even care about Hana's work though... Well, it would come if asked.

The pair made it to the vending machines and Hana bought whatever Yuri asked for, as well as one for herself, and took a sip. 'I think I know how Mako and I can use her on the new project...' she decided while she watched Yuri curiously.

"... Action... yuri?" replied the girl, settling on a bench with a can of green tea. She got the "action" part down, but the look on her face said she was a little confused about something--ironically enough, the part that involved her own name. There weren't many genres of manga that she actually bothered to look into, and really, she got enough of "that" sort of entertainment from the pictures she snapped on a regular basis.

Popping the cap open and taking her first sip, Yuri nodded in pseudo-comprehension and, rather than requesting clarification, responded with: "Published on its own? Or is it in one of those manga-compilation magazine things?" The title she didn't recognize, but if it was something written by someone who attended Fukui Academy, she was kind of interested in seeing what it was all about, if only for curiosity's sake. She wasn't even aware that studying manga art was an acceptable entry into this school...

Then again, photography was, and that was literally just point-and-click most of the time. For Yuri, anyways.

"Yes," Hana nodded, not sure how this girl hadn't understood for a moment. Then it hit her 'How can you not understand what yuri means?! Come on, really?! You're in Japan for gosh sake!' Hana, of course, was a bit too polite to say the things that went through her head. Nothing good came from being critical in a casual environment, right? And she was standing there drinking a vending machine drink with a girl who had gotten beat up to save her sketchook. Of course this was a casual environment.

"Yuri manga. That's where girls fall in love with each other and stuff." She could have probably stated that more professionally, but this was the easier way of explaining in relation to her own manga. Hana had a thing for yuri manga, herself. She wasn't just limited to one gender for her own preferences, but considering she was in love with Mako... well, she had a bigger appreciation for girls at the moment.

"It's part of a compilation magazine thing," she answered, using Yuri's own wording for her explanation. "I'm not quite popular enough for my own thing." She wasn't really mocking Yuri. It was more that she was amusing herself while she stood there imagining how she would use a girl like Yuri in her manga ideas..

Nodding slowly amidst another sip of her tea, Yuri pointed her eyes upward in a brief moment of thought. "Haven't heard of it," she replied after lowering it again, resting it in her lap and returning her eyes to Hana. She figured it wouldn't be its own publication, just wanted to clarify. Filling time until she asked about those bullies. "Not really much of a regular reader myself."

Yuri rolled her left shoulder for a moment, working out a kink that a particularly annoying hit put in it. Adrenaline always made hits taken in a fight seem like no big deal; it was the aches later on that were the real irritation, and she was finally starting to feel that after a while. She'd have to put some ice on it or something, probably even invest in a little makeup for once to cover up the bruises on her face. No way she'd be able to attend class like this and not be bombarded with questions.

No teachers needed to solve this, of course. Yuri wanted to take care of that herself.

So, on that note, she finally swapped the subject for the moment with: "Say, have those three been giving you trouble a lot lately? Or was this a new thing?"