Brand New World (Jace/Yumi)

Jace just felt more and more out of place the more he stood around, blushing as he stood unable to stop thinking that he looked as out of place as he felt. It was strange, in France he'd managed to navigate cities with relatove ease, heck even after moving to Japan hed been able to go places without being paralyzed by anxiety the way he was right now. But, in a way, it made sense. This was his first real Yuuei moment, his first chance to make impressions on his now peers, and his first showing given he'd impulsively signed up for the calvalry battle when asked if he'd wanted to participate, as usual having not questioned his decision at the time as it seemed to be a good way to meet someone. But now the stress was hitting him, and suddenly the weight of all his decisions was almost literally weighing him down, as he felt lost at sea both in raging emotions and the crowd around him as its size intimidated him into silence.

And so he stood, unable to leave, and unable to join other people, leaving him stuck and alone as he stood in the alleyway. And it left him highly depressed, staring at the ground wishing he could possibly sink into it. And that was why he didn't notice her at first, the mostly appropriately dressed female student bouncing towards him when she managed to spot him. It wasn't until he heard footsteps he'd actually look up, and even then he wasn't expecting someone to actually be approaching him. So when she grinned at him as she did just that, Jace's eyes shot up in surprise, his brown catlike pupils going wide in surprise at the approach. He actually looked around to make sure that this wasn't one of those things you see on TV sitcoms a lot, where the person you think is approaching you is actually approaching a person next to you. But that wasn't the case, as Jace was mostly alone, most of the people having moved on to the festival attractions instead of getting stuck right past the gate like he had. No this girl, this cute girl he couldn't help but notice, very much meant him in her approach. And Jace really, really wasnt sure what to do in this situation, blushing heavily when the girl bounced up to him with an enthusiastic hi. He didn't even know this girl but she was acting as if they'd known each other since childhood, it was kinda embarrassing. And then it became kinda weird when she asked him about his name, his eyes once again raising when she mentioned it. Uhh...Y-Yeah...I-I, umm, am... Jace wasn't really sure whether it was smart to answer her, but when he did her eyes lit up and she introduced herself. As his class president.

Today was holding too many surprises for the meek boy, as when she stated who she was his eyes once again went up in shock, the messily orange haired boy staring at the girl now. Jace didn't know what really looked presidential, but did at least notice that she was dressed very nice, her ponytail smooth and tidy, as were her clothes and everything else. As for Jace himself, while he didn't look disheveled as he wore his well fitting uniform, he also wasn't exactly tidy with his orange hair going all over the place, with no attempt at all in trying to comb it out, instead its waviness spiked in several places like bed hair even though this was just how it naturally was. And on top of his looks, meeting the class president was sorta intimidating, while he didn't know exactly what she did she was definitely important right? So he blushed even harder, and actually averted her gaze at first, staring at the ground until she extended her hand. Jace hesitated, before gingerly accepting it. O-Ok...That sounds nice, thank you..


Having someone show him around didn't seem so bad, and she did seem nice enough. But unfortunately he couldn't help but keep thinking, and as he did a thought occurred to him. What if she was being forced into this? She said the teacher had mentioned him, so what if she got roped into this for being class president? And didn't actually want to be here?... And at that Jace drooped down again, once again depression showing on his face. T-Though, if you don't wanna be here I'd understand...There's lots stuff to do in the f-festival....

Jace hadn't had many interactions with people since moving to Japan, his chronic shyness and anxiety more or less keeping him holed up in his room at home, only really having interactions with his parents. So it was no exggaerating to say that when Yumi decided to lean in right next to him to try and figure out what was making him uneasey was the first time someone had gotten this close too him in years. And Jace reacted to it about as well one would expect, suddenly stiffening up in full alert as her face ended up directly in his line of sight, off to the side slightly as she lowered herself to meet his height. Jace couldn't really respond to her question of if he was alright, only letting out a few stammered chokes as his face blushed a deep red, before very vigorously nodding an affirmative, once again trying to avoid her gaze.

Even in France when he could have been considered socialish this would have put him off guard, so having her this close in his current state was debilitating. And since he had been slightly broken by this interaction, he didn't really manage to pick up on Yumis less than Japanese tendencies, though while he might have realized that she had foreign traits as a foreigner himself, its unlikely the ginger boy would have been able to place them as American since his knowledge of American culture only came from movies and the like. Still being able to relate with someone with even just foreigner characteristics would be nice for the French boy, though that would depend on him recovering from the critical blow Yumi struck, Jace still blushing like a madman and having trouble conveying words.

But, he eventually got some out, even shaking her hand once offered, though he was still recovering as his face still burned red. And it stayed red after what happened next, but this time instead of being from awkwardness and shyness, his blush was more appreciativeness from Yumi enthusiastically denying his worries. It even had a visible effect, his tenseness from earlier starting to dissipate as his body relaxed. He also raised an eyebrow curiously at her interrupting herself with a snap of her fingers, but not saying anything, and of course when she winked at him he embarassedly looked at the ground, though he couldn't really blush much more than he already was. Everyone in class.... He murmured back what she'd said, thinking of the class. He didn't really know much of anything about it, how big it was, who was in it, whether they'd be nice or not. It was kinda intimidating when you thought about it, and the fact this girl was making it her duty to meet everyone impressed the shy boy, and made him realize how nice she was being by being here, even if she seemed to enjoy it.

While he'd been lost in his thoughts, Jace hadn't quite noticed Yumi signaling him to walk away until after she'd already started walking, and he stumbled before rushing to catch up and walk with her. He didn't walk directly next too her, keeping a little bit of distance, but was more comfortable than he had been earlier with the girl. Which is why he got surprised when he noticed the nervousness in her voice instead of his for once, the bold girl with seemingly no doubt was unsure on which activity he wanted to do. For a moment Jace just looked at her, head tilted in interest from her hesitation, before he looked at the festival grounds, absentmindedly licking his lip in thought. It really did look like a lot of fun. But...I haven't actually seen much of the school yet... And he was curious what the cafeteria was like.

As Yumi backed away Jace was still blushing like a Christmas light and looking like he was about to faint, but he soon looked at the ground as she stood back. He felt bad, he didn't mean to push people away but he always managed to do so, and his face went from rigidly nervous to looking depressed as he had been before, though his blush wasn't even close to ending. And this made it even worse when she mentioned how she was doing so far, joking she's probably not doing too well, all because of how Jace was reacting. Even if she meant it half jokingly and laughed it off, Jace still couldn't help but feel guilty, and so he said something.

No-no!...I-I mean, well...Y-You're doing great. This, uhmm, it's nice... He actually did more than say something at first, yelling out no to Yumi due to working himself up with guilt and worry, wanting to make sure not only she didn't blame herself but also didn't dislike him for thinking he was some jerk unable to appreciate others efforts or such. But as with most things with Jace, this was more panic based than logic, as she gently talked to him about the cafeteria and how they could get something too eat. This sounded great to the orange haired boy, as he hadn't eaten all day since he knew there was going to be a festival with festival foods, and his eyes perked at the mention of snack, and he once again nodded along, though this time it was less terror based and more vigorous in agreement.

And this was when she stuck out her hand for him to take. Jace stared at it for a moment, trying to process everything that was now happening. This was uncharted territory for the boy, he'd never actually held someone's hand before other than his parents, and he really wasn't sure what to do. He blushed deeply, still just looking at the hand, but while he saw that they were a crowded area he still couldn't get himself to take it. Which is when he accidentally bumped into someone. Being jostled back, he looked back to see who had smacked into him, but they were lost in the crowd. And when he turned back to Yumi, his heart raced as his eyes went wide as he realized that she too, wasn't immediately visible. Panic started to build in Jace, breathing heavily as he believed he'd gotten lost, until he finally saw Yumi, having just missed her in his first glance. All in all his time lost lasted around three seconds, but it was enough as this time he immediately latched onto her hand, letting out a sniffle due to the adrenaline and panic still running through him.

Soon though it passed, and Jace couldn't help but feel like a little kid as Yumi led him along. It didn't help he didn't really look fifteen, often getting mistaken for younger. But other than his intense blush that still hadn't died, he did nothing as they reached the school and entered the cafeteria. It was big, much nicer than his old school's. And on top of that it was empty. He listened to Yumis description, swallowing instinctually as she mentioned the juice fountain, which sounded great. Still though he fought his hunger and thirst, and continued with Yumi where she found an empty table and gestured at the seat next to her. Jace stood only for a moment, before he actually did sit next to her, having learned his lesson about rejecting her offers. Still, he wasn't really sure what to say, and the awkwardness on his face was visible as he tried thinking of something. But instead, as he opened his mouth his stomach let out a loud growl as the smell of food hit the air, causing the boy to blush and look away embarassed.

Getting lost had been a terrible feeling, the fear and anxiety coursing through him, having to fight back tears and even letting out a slight sniffle as the adrenaline still coursed through his veins from the idea of getting lost in a crowd such as this. He hadn't honestly expected that holding her hand would actually make him feel better, and perhaps on its own it wouldn't have. But when she gently squeezed his hand in return, suddenly things just felt...better. Slowly he managed to get calm, and even stealthily rubbed his eyes when he was sure that Yumis attention was elsewhere, and slowly that squeeze of reassurance was enough for Jace to actually calm down after his little mishap. Also also let him feel childish near the end, having to be led by hand like he was still in middle school instead of high school. But that didn't last long as soon they arrived at their destination, the Yuuei Cafeteria.

And when Yumi offered to get him food, Jace wanted to turn her down, wanted to let her know it was ok or something that didn't force her to go out of her way as she was. But the boy was hungry, and also didn't have a whole lot of money. He'd been expecting cheap, unhealthy, festival foods, not an actual meal that would actually put a dent in his wallet. So when she offered, he simply nodded again and blushed as his stomach growled once more, almost as if sensing relief was near. T-Thank you...I'm sorry... He couldn't help but feel bad she was treating him, shed already been doing so much for him. As they got their food, Jace ordered the lunch meal, a healthy well balanced meal of rice, vegetables, and salmon. It looked delicious, and the boy was close to drooling, but was snapped out of it by Yumi asking why he'd applied. Jaces eyes actually lit up at this question, he surprisingly hadn't been asked this very much, not even in the chatroom and it seemed to actually excite the boy.

Because I wanna be like the heroes on TV! The boy couldn't hold back his excitement verbally either, accidentally blurting out his reasonings rather loudly and probably earning him a few looks from the few patrons and staff. He'd realize his mistake though, and blush as he queieted himself. I mean...You know, how the people were always fighting villains and helping people in the news...Even in France it was a huge thing. Though it wasn't legal there either...At least, not till recently like here...But they were so cool! He seemed to be working himself up again, though this time he wasn't yelling loud enough for the entire room to hear. They did the right thing because it was the right thing to do, even if it could have gotten them in trouble. I always wanted to be like them, and then I got a quirk and... He quieter down again at this part, but this time he looked slightly sad instead of embarrassed. My...Parents moved me here cause they thought watching all those "vigilantes" was a bad influence...Connerie.. Jace added more than a little venom in referencing the people he seemed to idolize as vigilantes, at least as the news said, and that wasnt even including the vulgarness at the end, French or not! Still his expression lightened. Then the school opened and...I thought I could be like them... The boy couldn't hide the blush, obviously embarrassed by his answers, and decided that he should probably change gears before she laughed or something. What about you?...Yumi...Senpai... Jace wasn't exactly used to such honorifics, but he did at least know when to use them, and had a pretty good understanding of when to use which ones thanks to calligraphy, and senpai had been accidental. This address really only made him blush more though.

Jace's blush only deepened from his classmates giggle from his uncharacteristic outburst, though he didn't freak out or whine at least as he knew she wasn't actually laughing at him. Or, at least not in a mean way. Still it was definitely kinda embarassing, and he managed to mostly reign himself in as he gave his more detailed explanation. And to his visible pleasure, she was a very active listener, nodding along as explained how he'd more or less been influenced by the people he saw on TV, and even added commentary after Jace was done. And as she started off in agreement with him, even comparing the vigilante movement to the legendary badass that was batman, he got rather excited again. Yeah, right!! This time Jace reflexively covered his mouth with his hands after yelling, his second outburst today making him feel like he was on fire as his entire face turned red. Thankfully he wasn't actually literally on fire, but it didn't help much as he felt as if people were certainly judging him now. Which is why he didn't remove his hands from his mouth as he listened to Yumi explain further, about the negatives of vigilantism. And that's where his face fell slightly, his hands falling from his covering his mouth to his sides as a look of slight dejection came over.

Yeah....I know... It was a point he'd heard constantly, from lots and lots of different people in order to make sure he didn't go running off to be one. And he did know it was true, even if he wasn't exactly crazy about it. But even given the circumstances the orange haired boy was taking the criticism strangely personally, and it showed in his reaction from her gentle criticism, having stopped eating as he moped. But still...They usually mean well, and that's important... It was rare for the French boy to have someone actually on his side regarding this issue, and thus while he knew that Yumi was speaking the truth, he was still somewhat sad even she had to bring the harsh nuances of reality unto him instead of just having someone agree with him without a 'but' afterwards.

But while the boy poured, he didn't actually hold it against her, still inquiring about her views and addressing her in a manner he found more fitting. And the change of topic seemed to be enough for him to get over his slight depression from before, as he watched the girl inquisitively as he slowly started eating again as well, though he was eating very quickly given his hunger, in a roundabout showing just how volatile the boy could be with his moods. But for now he was doing ok, as he now nodded along with the girl, listening as she talked much as she had him. Though while she had been understanding, Jace had a look of curiousity as she how she became a hero, even tilting his head as she went over her new motivations. And when she finished, for a moment the boy just stared, still a curious look on his face and his mouth only slightly agape as he took everything in. And once again, he couldn't stop himself from blurting something out. ....You're really cool Yumi-Senpai... And his eyes raised as the words escaped his lips, and blushed again looking towards the table with renewed interest. I-I mean...That's, uhmm...That's really noble and impressive...I-In its own way... He still blushed as he finished off the food in front of him, still avoiding eye contact.