A Moderate Lunch

[Matsu Qiang]

Remembering how the heavy lunch had slowed him down the other day, Matsu Qiang made sure to portion out a more moderate helping of rice and vegetables before taking his meal to one of the low tables in the mess hall. He rubbed his chopsticks together for a moment before digging in.

[Bayushi Jiro]

There was an audible gasp, the clatter of a bowl, and a quiet thump against one of the joists of the paper wall separating the main mess area from the area where the food was laid out. The shadow of a hand, stretched out, palm flat against the wall, trembled and shook on the paper, its attendant arm led up to a young man's shadow partially fused with that of the joist.

[Matsu Qiang]

"Eh? W-wha?" the Matsu said, momentarily startled at the sudden clatter. Leaping up from his lunch, he ran over to investigate. Qiang looked around the corner into the next room to see what was going on.

[Bayushi Jiro]

As he rounded the corner, he could see the lad with the classic Scorpion good looks, his eyes open wide, jaw tightly clenched, and body taut with tension, attempting to create as much space between himself and the food table as possible.

[Matsu Qiang]

The Lion glanced swiftly at the table that the Scorpion regarded with such unease, but could see nothing that inspired such strong emotions.

Finally he ventured, "What's going on here? I don't see anything!"

[Kaito Haruki]

"Excuse me, I'm just going to grab a couple of steamed buns real quick, and some rice, . . . oh and a big salad. Really need the energy if I'm going to go through all these scrolls about lettering. Man is the competiton rough here, gotta be ready if I am finally going to surpass", he pauses as he notices who was blocking his path just happened to be one of the boys confounding his rise to the top "Bayushi-san. Man is it humbling to see this moment."

[Bayushi Jiro]

At the sound of another student's voice, Jiro willed himself into composure. He swallowed, and slowly stepped away from the wall. "It...there is nothing wrong." Float above it, he told himself. "Nothing at all."

With a determined, if shaky, step he approached the table and gathered up some chopsticks. Approaching the chicken dish with pupils blown and jaw clenched, he gathered a bowl and then began to pick the pieces of chicken out of the rice, setting them back in the communal bowl with shaking hands.

The Kaito, he ignored, barely.

[Kaito Haruki]

Turning around, Haruki then notices the boy in the lion garb, a paw on the other side shows his family. "Matsu-san, nice to see meet you. Would you mind if I joined you? It would be nice to have some conversation while eating."

[Matsu Qiang]

Qiang raised an eyebrow at the Scorpion's lack of explanation, but said only, "I thought I heard a noise back here. Do you know what it was?"

The Lion glanced at what Jiro was doing curiously, apparently wondering why he was taking food from his own dish and putting it back.

Turning around, Haruki then notices the boy in the lion garb, a paw on the other side shows his family. "Matsu-san, nice to see meet you. Would you mind if I joined you? It would be nice to have some conversation while eating."

"Not at all," the Lion replied. "I'm Matsu Qiang. I thought I heard some kind of commotion back here, but still need to finish my lunch."

[Bayushi Jiro]

As Jiro placed the last piece of chicken back in the dish, he took a quick step back and quietly responded. "No, Matsu-san, I am unaware of any noise." In normal circumstances, this might have been enough to fool someone, but the residual quaver in Jiro's voice belied his cool. "But it was kind of you to check." He smiled a little weakly.

Sincerity=9

[Matsu Qiang]

"How peculiar," the Lion commented. He was obviously skeptical, but seemed disinclined to push it.

Turning to Haruki, Qiang suggested, "Well, back to lunch then?" He glanced back to Jiro momentarily. "You're welcome to join, too, if you want."

[Kaito Haruki]

Haruki moves towards where Matsu-san set his lunch. "I'm Isawa Haruki of House Kaito by the way."

[Matsu Qiang]

"I'm honored to meet you," the Lion replied. "I'm Matsu Qiang." He glanced at the Scorpion for a moment, in case he were moved to introduce himself, but didn't pause long enough to make it awkward if he didn't.

"How is school going for you so far?" Qiang asked curiously, between bites of rice and vegetables.

[Kaito Haruki]

"It's been going great, I'm learning a lot about a variety of subjects. I'm pretty sure we'll be real contenders for the Topaz Championship by the time we're done here. How about your training, how is that going?" He starts to eat his steamed buns while he waits for a response.

[Bayushi Jiro]

"I'm honored to meet you," the Lion replied. "I'm Matsu Qiang." He glanced at the Scorpion for a moment, in case he were moved to introduce himself, but didn't pause long enough to make it awkward if he didn't.

"Bayushi Jiro," he said, sounding stronger now that his back was to the pile of chicken. "It is a pleasure to meet you both, Matsu-san, Kaito-san. Thank you for your invitation." He followed the other two to a seat.

[Matsu Qiang]

"Welcome, Bayushi-san!" Qiang said as the Scorpion joined them.

"Anyway, combat training is going pretty well," he replied to Haruki. "I did pretty well at the hand-to-hand test. I'm gonna try and put some extra effort into studying battle tactics, though. I want to make sure I do well on that test."

"Which subject is your favorite?" he asked both of the others.

[Bayushi Jiro]

Jiro found himself smiling at Qiang's enthusiasm. "...I think the jiujutsu test has been my favorite thus far, Marsu-san. though I was pleasantly surprised by the athletics competition."

[Kaito Haruki]

"I find the information found in those scrolls the monks brought to be quite enlightening. I hope they come back before this training ends, I do look forward to their conversations."

[Matsu Qiang]

"I did enjoy the jiujutsu test," Qiang agreed. "And I did learn a lot from those monks. I'm sure that will help a lot with the reading test this afternoon. Did you two study for it at all?"

[Bayushi Jiro]

"No, Matsu-san. Unfortunately my practice time is increasingly taken up with tea. Tea and the Game of Letters, anyway. And just a hint of swordplay, not that I imagine that I'll be tested on it."