The sunny blue skies of Sekai-Ryouri had been dyed orange since the earlier proceedings, and still on the rooftop was the winner of the class competition, Rena Koboko. She had been on the roof for hours since her victory, and the wind never did end up dying down. Between getting to look at the city below, and scrolling on her feed Rena was finally able to find some semblance of peace in a day that had been so hectic by her standards.
That is, until the door leading back inside was flung open. Rena whipped her head around to where the noise came from, and her eyes immediately narrowed at the duo within the doorway.
"And this, is the roof!" The voice speaking belonged to the blonde who Rena had struck earlier - Itsuki Saito.
"Woaaah…" And the man with him was Arthur Roma. Itsuki had opted to show him around the school, though the roof wasn't necessarily an area in which Roma needed to know about on his first day. Roma somewhat had a feeling of that much, but it was something Itsuki knew for sure. A devious smirk began to grow across his lips as he looked out and into the corner, seeing a lone Rena Koboko there with a piercing glare towards the two of them.
"Ah?" The blonde begam. Taking a step from his brunette tag-along, he slid in Rena's direction, similarly to how he did back in the classroom a few hours prior, "Koboko-chan???~ I wasn't expecting to see you up here at all!~ What are you up to?~ Thinking of better dishes to wow all the teachers?~ Trying to 'reach new heights,' hmmmm?!~"
Rena met Itsuki's obnoxiousness with the same stoic expression she had worn all day, though it was unclear whether it was due to the evening light, or a lack of interest in his words, but her eye lacked the glow it had just a moment ago.
A silence befell the rooftop for what was an uncomfortable full 30-seconds. After it had passed, the boys watched as Rena's raven black hair went blowing in the warm autumn breeze for a second time, and Roma finally was able to break out of the awkwardly tense standoff. "Thanks for the tour, Skiyo." He told Itsuki, who gave him a look of complete confusion.
"Skiyo?"
"Now then." Roma stepped past Itsuki, showing that he had no intention of correcting himself when it came to referring to the blonde. Instead, he approached Rena, noticing a small amount of space on the floor next to where she was.
"You didn't try my food," He told her, taking a seat next to her, crossing his arms and legs as he closed his calm brown eyes, enjoying the winds that blew his brunette bangs back into his own face, "I had made plenty."
"I will not eat your food." Rena stated flatly, closing her own eyes, and sighing, clearly annoyed since her moment of peace was interrupted by not one, but two unwelcome guests. When she opened her eyes again, she saw Itsuki just before her, wearing a smirk that had been rubbing her the wrong way entirely, "Hey Koboko-chan, why don't you-"
Without warning, the woman almost literally sprung to her feet, refusing to do so much as hear out whatever nonsense he had to say. With a huff, she began to walk past him, though to her shock, she felt her wrist suddenly get grabbed.
"Hey! I was tal-"
Despite the fact that Itsuki was attempting to explain himself, Rena had no plans on listening in. She grabbed his own wrist, and ripped his hand from her arm, following that by kicking the man dead in the ribs.
"UCK!" Itsuki coughed, unaware of how far back his body was sent, and thus unable to warn or evade Roma who was just behind him. Roma had been paying attention, but didn't expect this turn of events, so when Itsuki came all but literally flying at him, it was too late for him to react.
With a thud, the blonde crashed into Roma, making both of them grunt and growl about while she herself started to walk away again.
"K-Koboko!!" Itsuki called out again, rolling off of the brunette and coughing a few more times, clearly shaken up by both the impact of the kick, and crashing into Roma at the wall, "Y-Your new roommate… I heard that you and the director were talking about it…"
She initially was going to keep walking, but at the mention of the director, her footsteps ceased, and she began to turn a bit, "You were eavesdropping, you mean. And no, I told him that I didn't want or need a person in my room."
Roma was still dazed from having a whole person kicked at him, but he regained his composure just enough to listen in to the conversation that they were sharing. Though his face was still strained, he gleaned up towards Rena, "What… dorm room are you in?" He asked weakly, though it was met with a scoff. She did turn to him at least as she answered.
"The very first one. Because I am at the top of the school, I get the best room." Rena stated, glancing down towards Roma who was slowly starting to stir as well.
"Room 1001 by chance?" He asked, tilting his head a little as he wondered if there were 1,001 students, or if the rooms were numbered in this fashion for the sake of style.
"...it's you. You're in my room, aren't you." Her delivery treaded between being a question and a deeply disappointed statement, but at its conclusion, she brought her fingernails to her forearm, beginning to pinch her pale skin yet again.
Roma took note of that this time. It wasn't the first time she's pinched herself, and confusion was slowly becoming concern- if only slightly. Roma still winced from the mild injuries he had just sustained, but began to smirk a little himself, "You got an itch, or like a pain kink or something?"
In response to the question, was another pinch, but even despite it, her expression remained the exact same, "No." The girl hung her head and sighed for a moment, placing a hand on her hip and turning halfway towards the door, looking at Roma from over her shoulder, "You need to leave. Find another room. Stay with Saito. Not me. No."
Itsuki couldn't help but snicker a bit at what was the closest thing to a flustered reaction he'd seen from Rena, "What's the matter, huh? You might even get laiiii-"
Without warning, a small paring knife came whizzing past Itsuki's head, shutting him up… momentarily, When he turned and saw what he had nearly been attacked with, he crawled back in fear, starting to hyperventilate a little.
With the blonde finally taken care of, and the brunette too overwhelmed with all the events that had transpired in the past 5 minutes to speak, Rena turned away again, starting to walk to the room that she was not going to share with anyone.
"I refuse. I will not. I don't need, nor want, someone in my room."
~
"..."
"..."
Less than an hour after their exchange on the rooftop, Rena looked across the room to see Arthur Roma standing in the doorway, bags in hand, completely disregarding everything that she had said. Aside from the initial wordless 'fuck you's' that they exchanged, Roma's eyes glanced his new roommate over. She wore a black, long-sleeved nightgown that fit her… mature frame rather well.
Roma couldn't help but gulp. He was so wrapped up in making her public enemy #1 that he had overlooked her looks - at least past face-value… Well, somewhat. She certainly passed the face-value test, but the gown she wore was certainly managing to raise his heart rate.
…which is why it was too bad the moment wouldn't last. After about 15 seconds of staring at one another in silence, Rena came to her feet, walking out of the room, and to the shared balcony, not wanting to see him at all.
Roma watched her leave, tearing his eyes away when she was out of his field of vision. He let out a huff and kept his thoughts to himself, not wanting to cause another conflict between them already. With a glance to the large windows within the room, he only gave the sun about a half hour until it was fully set. He nodded to himself and approached the uninhabited bed on the right side of the room, beginning to unpack his items and make himself at home as well.
~
When Rena finally returned to the room, the first thing she saw was Roma on his bed, doing a series of flips and other foolish acrobatics. Like he did prior, she opted not to comment on it, sitting on her own bed and glancing towards her alarm clock.
"Enough." She spoke, opening her dresser and taking out a small journal, beginning to write in it while she addressed her hyperactive roommate, "The lights will go out in five minutes. Go to sleep."
"You don't want dinner first?" Roma asked Rena, his chest heaving from all the activity he had just finished doing. A small sweat broke on his face, and he couldn't help but smile after all the fun he had, crossing his legs while he gleaned over at her, "I can make some of those ra-"
"No." Rena cut him off the same way she did all of her instructors, moving some of her hair from out of her face as she continued to write. Roma was curious as to what the book entailed, but she was so cold and distant that he knew better than to take a chance and glance over for himself. After a moment of thinking, he finally came to terms with the fact that she'd just be… unapproachable. 'What can ya do?' He silently asked himself with a shrug, crawling out of his bed afterwards, and grabbing his bag, taking it to the front of the room where the television was.
At that point, he pulled out a gaming console from home, and went ahead and hooked it up to the TV, making sure the volume was low so that he didn't interrupt her slumber…. Assuming she'd have one. Regardless, just as Rena had warned, the lights above them began to fade and turn off completely, leaving the two of them in the dark, save for the TV illuminating the room. Roma focused on the game in front of him, not noticing Rena beginning to move around a bit, taking the book she had and placing it on her nightstand.
Typically, one would rest after that, but Rena got comfortable in her upright position, pinching the skin on her forearm yet again while she looked out and up towards the stars and the moon.
And she remained like that… for a number of hours. On a number of occasions, Roma wondered if she was even breathing. The lights had gone off at 10, but it wasn't until 12 midnight that the brunette came over and jabbed the unsuspecting woman in the arm.
"Anyone there? Wake up!"
Unsurprisingly, Rena didn't care for the physical gesture too murch, shooting a look towards him. "Go to sleep." She hissed out, though her tone was the exact same, if not a little strained from silence after such a long period.
Roma had thought he was home free for a bit, exhaling since that was the extent of a rebuttal she got in against him after he punched her… though he nearly shit himself when he saw a paring knife get chucked just past his ear and landing in a wall as well.
"Where did you even-"
Rena didn't even have to speak to silence him, simply glaring the same way she had been all night.
Roma sighed a little, and glanced away from the woman, "Are you… y'know, okay?" He asked sheepishly, a little embarrassed to show any sort of concern for her after all the threats she had made in just the last 24 hours.
"Go to sleep." Rena muttered, lying back down and pulling the bedsheets over her shoulder, "I'm trying, but knowing you're awake is keeping me up."
Whether it was his purposefully being a thorn in her side, or having some other ulterior motive, when she made her demand, Roma actually turned away and left the room, leaving her within by her lonesome.
Despite her words though, she did not sleep. Those golden eyes remained opened, and narrowed with apathy, not particularly thinking of or about anything.
After no more than 15 minutes, Roma returned, setting a small mug on her nightstand, and then one on his own. After a sip of what was inside, he lied down, willing to call it a night.
And Rena was still awake despite it, Apples, cinnamon, chives, nutmeg - she could smell all of the seasonings used to flavor what was a small mug of tea. They weren't bad but they weren't enticing enough for her to indulge either. Still, just like prior, she had slowed her breathing to a point where there was an argument as to if she actually was or not.
After another 10 minutes, she could hear gentle snoring from the other side of the room, meaning that Roma had finally fallen asleep. She huffed as she came to the realization, ripping the sheets from her back and looking towards the door, 'Now…'
After her exit, she scurried through the hallways, pinching herself all throughout, and it wasn't until she ascended the stairs that she finally stopped. With the twist of a handle, she found herself on the school's roof, just like earlier.
She silently approached the fence and rails that kept the students inside, biting her lip when she had finally made it. She approached the chained links and stared down at the city below. Sekai-Ryouri's campus was large, but by this point, there was minimal movement and nightlife, save for the occasional group of delinquents looking to find trouble.
'...' She didn't even realize that she had slowly begun to ascend the fence as well, only stopping when she felt the cold rod at the very top of the fencing.
Rena remained in this position for a very, very, long moment, and her thoughts were so disjointed, that it was difficult to even guess a coherent thought running through her head…
~
Roma rolled onto his other side, still predominantly asleep, but weakly gleaned towards Rena's side of the room. Though his brain was only 10% functional at the moment, the fact he couldn't hear her snoring was a bit worrisome.
…but he could rest easy. He could see the faint outline of her frame within her sheets, which was more relieving than he expected at first. His eyes slowly shut as he simply brushed it off, assuming she may have been a quiet sleeper. Regardless, there she lied, meaning that she was in a safe place, and thus meant that he had another day and opportunity to humble her.
~
"Here's the information on the new transfer student that you asked for, sir."
In the wee hours of the night, there was an exchange being held in the Director's office. The tall, and formally dressed man took the envelope offered to him, briefly scanning over the information provided.
"...Arthur, hm? Another one, how coincidental." The deep voiced male spoke, continuing to glance over the sheet, "Transfer student from America, and the best culinary student under the age of 20 that they have to offer. I can't say that I'm surprised that he ended up here."
"Do you know of his parental situation, sir?" His assistant asked, though it was met with a scoff.
"His parental situation is what made acquiring him so easy. Perhaps he could be a catalyst to The First Seat's further development. And if his potential is as high as its being implied here,"
He put the envelope down, placing his elbows on the table, and clasping his hands together, just in front of his face,
"Then perhaps, he may be suitable to be under my tutelage."