Mad As Rabbits [Junpei]

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Sitting cross-legged on the sofa in his dorm's living room, Sebastian smiled to himself as Dust explored his lap and climbed up his shirt to sit on his shoulder. The sandy coloured gerbil was the flightiest of Seb's two pets and was taking the longest to settle into their new home, but slowly and surely the female was starting to get more confident and Sebastian felt better about keeping her out of the cage for longer periods of time.

With Storm still in the tank so that Sebastian could focus purely on the jumpier gerbil, the blonde laughed as Dust nibbled at a lock of his long hair before running around the back of his neck and clambering back down his shirt onto his lap. Sebastian held his hand out flat and Dust hopped onto it, sniffing his skin and taking a tentative nibble, seeing if any treats would appear. Seb reached into his trouser pocket, retrieving a sunflower seed and was just about to hold it out for the rodent when a loud BANG sounded from the window as a ball slammed against it.

Dust reacted quicker than Sebastian, the gerbil launching away from the sound and scurrying across the carpet in fear, her owner not far behind. Seb tried to get close to the gerbil without spooking her more, not wanting Dust to think he was chasing her, but it was hard when the rodent was bolting away from the sound... out of the dorm door and into the hallway. A short distance behind the scurrying gerbil, Sebastian rounded the corner into the hallway just in time to see one of the other dorm doors open, Dust bolting through the gap much to the surprise of the boy that had opened the door.

[Deleted]

So what was Junpei planning on doing at the moment he opened the door and was accosted at the feet by a ball of fluffy something with legs that which he could only assume was a rodent of some sort? Well, he was only once again going to try his luck at treking down to the town and getting some well-hard-earned sightseeing out of the way with plans to stop by one(or two) of the recommended shops given to him by his former instructors(Haru-sensei and Meian-sensei).

Unfortunately, those plans kept on walking out the door by themselves as this tiny little creature scurried in and darted under the couch! The Japanese boy, startled and confused, could only manage an, "EH!?", as his(and his roommates) sanctuary was invaded. "Nande sore!?" he exclaimed as he looked back out into the hallway to see a blonde....a blonde beauty heading towards him with a concerned face likely to match what Junpei had. Junpei could only assume this person was after the fluff ball that had run under the sofa, and waved with his arm for the person to quickly get inside so he could close the door and they could focus on apprehending the fugitive fur-ball. "Hayaku!" he said to the approaching person and pointing inside, "It is inside, achira ni!"

[Sebastian Bolstad]

As Sebastian watched Dust bolting away from the source of the sound, it was like watching all his hard work at taming her go scurrying away down the corridor. She had always been the flightier of the two gerbils but he had thought he'd been able to get her jumpiness somewhat under control. That was, alas, seeming to have been wishful thinking. When the boy opened the door Sebastian flinched as he had mental visions of his pet being stood on, but he breathed a quick sigh of relief as Dust skirted past him and into the room.

Following after the rodent, Sebastian gave the boy an apologetic look as their eyes met and Dust skittered into the dorm room. He couldn't understand most of what the boy was saying, but did manage to say a quick “thanks” as the boy waved him into the room. Skirting past him, Seb looked around just in time to see a sandy coloured tail disappearing under the couch. Once Seb had reached the couch he got onto his hands and knees, peering underneath where Dust quivered in fear. Hmmm... Now he just had to work out a way to encourage her out...

[Deleted]

As the person brushed past Junpei, their stringy blonde hair flowing behind them and desperate blue eyes glinting contritely, it was only the urgency of the situation which prevented Junpei from being rendered tongue tied and dumb-struck by the beautiful person who'd just entered his dormitory. Junpei quickly closed the door behind his and watched as that slender figure knelt down and arched their head to peek underneath the sofa. Junpei bit his bottom lip, then shook his head, forcing himself back into the present matter.

Junpei moved as lightly as his giant bare feet and lanky legs could afford to the other end of the couch, hoping to get a good look for himself of where the little creature had hidden itself under the furnishing without scaring the little critter. With one eye looking though that small space, Junpei saw half the face of the person on the other side and smiled nervously. "He is very scared, yes?" Junpei couldn't think of anything to do other than try to lift the couch and try to corner the little thing....or maybe lure it out with food? Did he have anything in the pantry that would work? Junpei pushed himself up from the floor and started heading to the kitchenette. "Gomen...what does nezumi-kun like to eat?" Junpei wasn't sure if he was getting the message across to the other person, but hopefully they'd understand.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

It was for the best that Sebastian was so fixated on retrieving his gerbil that he hadn't heard the door being closed behind him. He was still very wary of the school and those in it, especially the students as he knew they were all freaks like him. Thankfully he was too busy crouching on the floor, trying to figure out how to get the frightened gerbil out from under the couch. He certainly wasn't aware of how the other boy was appraising him. Under the couch, Dust twitched and hopped nervously.

Returning the small smile through the gap underneath the couch, Sebastian nodded as best he could considering the angle his head was at. Seb had realised the other boy's English wasn't particularly good, so he spoke slowly and enunciated as clearly as he could. “Yes. Something banged on the window and scared her. She ran here.” As the other boy stood and headed away towards the kitchen, Sebastian peeked up over the arm of the sofa when he was asked the question. Slender fingers ran through his hair, brushing it back off his face where it fell in long rivulets across his shoulders. “She likes vegetables – carrots, beans, lettuce. Anything green and leafy.” As Dust moved around under the sofa Sebastian followed her, crawling around the furniture and staying as close as he could so he had a higher chance of grabbing her if she bolted again.

[Deleted]

If Junpei had known how uneasy the closed door made the other person, Junpei would have tried something else, but at this point, the point was only so that the little gerbil didn't dash out of the room again and down the hall into someone else's room. As it was, if the little guy decided to run again, it had plenty of places for it to hide out of reach of the two students.

Junpei noticed those blonde locks rippling down from the corner of his eye and quickly averted his eyes back to the kitchenette as the other person listed off the items that the gerbil liked to eat. Junpei tried to remember if he had any of those things and slowly opened the fridge to give a visual inspection of the dorm's stock. The asian boy didn't usually keep the refrigerator stocked, that was his roommates, as Junpei had very little skill in food preparation outside of simply opening a can of soda or a bag of chips. As such, he wasn't sure what was kept in the cold box, nor was he completely confident that it was Ok for the impudent roommate to delve into the produce which wasn't his to begin with.

But this was an emergency and Junpei was sure his roommates would forgive him for stealing a few baby carrots for the little gerbil.

Junpei grabbed a handful of those little orange stumps and headed back to the couch, trying to watch his footing should he startle the flighty pet have it come running at him unexpectedly. "Hora..." Junpei offered the baby carrots to the blonde student as he knelt beside them and then sprawled out on his stomach for a better look-see at the creature under the couch. "What is his..." Nope, it was a girl, wasn't it? "...her name?"

[Sebastian Bolstad]

It was a rare occurrence for one of Sebastian's pets to get away from him like this. That wasn't to say it didn't happen, there were always times when one of them was slightly too quick for him, but he had a pretty decent rapport with his pets and was usually able to calm them when they go uppity. They had certainly never caused this amount of embarrassment for him before.

A light blush was colouring usually pale cheeks as the other boy returned with a few baby carrots, and Sebastian took them with a quiet “thank you so much.” He was anxious about the other freak being so close to him as he knelt on the ground beside him, but Sebastian was intelligent enough to realise that he had little choice in the matter. If he was going to catch the wayward rodent without any further mishap, an extra set of hands could only be to his benefit.

Biting off a tiny end of one of the carrots, Sebastian tossed it a little way under the couch in the direction of the gerbil. Tentatively Dust hopped towards it and nibbled on it, inching her way closer to the boys. Seb spoke very quietly. “Her name is Dust, her half sister is Storm, back in my dorm.” Another piece of carrot was deposited, the rodent slowly getting closer to the boys. “I am so sorry about this mess.”

[Deleted]

The nervous look and faint tint of pink in the other person's porcelain cheeks did not go unnoticed by Junpei as he handed over the carrots with a friendly grin. Junpei didn't know where it came from but.....it sure was cute. This person was even shyer than Junpei was, it seemed. But the asian boy's smile only broadened with this realization as he joined the blonde in looking under the couch.

Junpei paid close attention when the other spoke, not wanting to risk the chance of misunderstanding a single word. "Dasuto. Sutoomu." He re-pronounced the names in a very Japanese way to be sure he got it correctly. "Dasto is very cute," Junpei remarked, still not quite getting the pronunciation right. He watched in awe as the little gerbil was enticed closer one tiny step at a time by the carrot pieces. But then there was the apology.

Junpei shook his head in very short, quick movements, giving his attention to the worried blonde. "Chigau!" he exclaimed softly, "You are not trouble." He turned his head back to watch the gerbil for a moment before speaking again. "In Japanese, name is Arashi and Chiri," he offered, following up with, "I am Junpei." He would have offered his hand to, but the position they were in didn't allow for it, so he settled for just a very pleasant smile.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

It didn't take much to make Sebastian blush; his rather sheltered upbringing and lack of much social interaction with others his own age often made him feel naïve and out of place, which he indeed was a lot of the time. As he created the carrot trail under the sofa the colour slowly deepened on his cheeks. It was a horribly awkward situation to be in and he didn't like having to rely on the help of another freak, but he had little choice if he wanted to recover his pet.

Sebastian listened carefully as the boy spoke, trying to piece together exactly what he was saying so there was no misunderstandings and hopefully no increasingly awkward moments. He didn't correct the boy's pronunciation as to do so would potentially seem rude or arrogant, but he smiled pleasantly and nodded. “She is, yes. Storm is cute too. She is black with white markings.”

The smile turned a little more genuine as the boy who introduced himself as Junpei brushed off the apology. “Thank you. I am sorry to have interrupted wherever it was you were planning on going.” As Dust hopped closer, she veered slightly in the direction that Junpei was crouching. Seb handed a piece of the carrot to him so he could take over luring her in. “Arashi and Chiri” he repeated with a grin. “I like that. My name is Sebastian, but you may call me Seb if you would like. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

[Deleted]

Junpei could relate very easily to Sebastian's feeling about being naive and out of place, because he felt that often, especially across the wild blue yonder in a whole 'nother country where the language and customs were all strange to him. Even without those factors, Junpei himself was quick to a blush when meeting new people or being put in an awkward situation. With the person next to him blushing ever further, however, Junpei couldn't help but take that to mean something other than what it was, and his own mistaken thoughts filled his cheeks with a mild flush as well.

White with black markings....Junpei could almost picture it. Maybe when they were done here, this blonde beauty would let Junpei come over to see the other gerbil. The idea of being invited over brought a tickle to his stomach. Not just because this person was so pretty, but because Junpei still didn't have many friends(total count=1) here at Hammel and he hoped that maybe these two could become at least that close...right?

Junpei's thoughts were running away with him. He needed to reign them in quick before he did something stupid.

"I am Ok," Junpei said, still watching the critter. "I want to go see the town. I am not having time to go since arriving." He looked at the person next to him with an inviting smile. "You can come too?" His eyebrows went up with hopeful anticipation as he propositioned the person known as Seb.

Sebastian.

Wait.

Wasn't that a boy's name?

Junpei may not know much English, but he knew that much at least(courtesy of a particular character from a particular anime he watched once). With a small jerk which seemed to starle the rodent they were trying to catch, and a voice which scared it even more, Junpei exclaimed most un-courteously, "You are man!" while he stared at the other boy with shocked realization.

Junpei shuffled himself away from Sebastian and quickly stood up, covering his face with one hand. The reddest and most brilliant strawberry would still be too pale a shade to describe the color of the Asian boy's embarrassed face as he stumbled over his words and lowered his head in a profuse apology. "Gomenasai, gomenasai! I am sorry! I did not...I am not.....kore, warui'n da! Boku wa ooki baka, ooki aho da yo! Kiite wa nai shi! Ho~nto, gomenasai~!!" Junpei kept his head down in an apologetic bow while his face continued to scrunch up with embarrassment. This person must think Junpei is a total spaztic! This was terrible!!

So much for not doing something stupid.

[Sebastian Bolstad]

The other boy's own (and definitely more valid) reasons for possibly feeling isolated and out of place didn't really occur to Seb. In his life he'd never had very much interaction with foreigners, partly because of the semi-isolation engrained in him by his parents and partly because the small town that he came from wasn't exactly tourist country. It was beautiful and wistful but hardly had the thrills and sights of somewhere like New York or Las Vegas, and as such he found it very hard to sympathise with Jun in that regard.

Seb smiled little brighter when the boy explained where he was going, and he gave an understanding nod of his head. “It was a little while before I got to go to the town too. It is very pretty and peaceful there, you will like it.” If he was completely honest Seb would admit that he actually preferred the town to the school. It was more open and much less claustrophobic, and even though his move to Pilot Ridge had been forced on him he didn't feel as resentful and caged in whilst he was in the town itself. It also helped that there he wasn't trapped inside a building housing a catastrophe waiting to happen.

When Jun extended the invite out to him, Sebastian gave a polite nod and shifted to get a little more comfortable on the ground. “I would like that very much. I could show you where the book store and other places are if you wo--”

Junpei's jerk startled Sebastian just as much as it spooked the gerbil, and when he heard the shocked realisation he moved quickly to sit up and shift away from the other boy. There had been many times in the past when Seb had been confused for a girl, especially when he was younger, but he was more used to expressions of 'oh, okay' or 'ewww'. Never before had anyone reacted quite so dramatically, and the gerbil was all but forgotten as Seb quickly backed off from the other boy. He didn't know what this other freak could do, what he was capable of, and as Junpei began to speak in a language Seb couldn't even begin to understand the startle was quickly replaced with fear.

Blue eyes flitted around the room and panic set in as Sebastian realised that the door had been closed. From here he couldn't tell if it was locked or not, and he gave a quiet whimper of fright as he started to back into a corner and covered his face with his arms. Should the boy set alight or fire something at him or explode like he looked like he was going to, hopefully it wouldn't hurt too bad for too long.

[Deleted]

Junpei had no idea what else to do or what else to say. He could only apologize in the most formal and polite manner he knew how. In his own home country of Japan, depending on who it was, his deep bow and profession of apology would normally be met with a laugh and assurance that everything was fine, or a stern acceptance with further condescending comments, or even received with another apology by the other person. Never in his life would he think it would be met with fear and anxiety. Nor did Junpei realize that that was what he was doing, for Junpei's head was lowered so far and submissively that he was not watching the actions of the other person, the other boy, Sebastian.

Junpei honestly felt like he could cry, he was so awash with such an unfamiliar kind of embarrassment.

The flustered asian boy was content to stay in his bow until spoken to rise, as that was what he had been taught, despite the fact that he forgot that Americans may not be aware of it. It wasn't until he heard what sounded like a squeal of fright that he snapped his head back up to see a terrified blonde child cowering in the corner as if Junpei was going to hit him from all the way across the room. The prospect of having a (clueless) male suitor was clearly too much for the blonde to take. The thought that Sebastian was afraid of whatever power Junpei had never even crossed his mind.

Well, now Junpei felt horrible.

Still red in the face, but clearly a lot calmer than he was 30 seconds ago, Junpei straightened himself and lowered his head respectfully. "I am sorry. I am not meaning to scare." But clearly he had, which was unsettling Junpei with a conglomeration of knots twisting in the pit of his stomach. Junpei wanted to explain further to help the other boy understand why Junpei had such a dramatic reaction, but he didn't have the words for it. Even if he knew English better, which was ultimately the reason why this misunderstanding happened, Junpei wasn't sure if he would have the words for it. It was just...very strange. All he could do was repeat the same phrase over and over and hope Sebastian understood. "I am so sorry," he repeated. Junpei lifted his worried eyes to look at Seb. "Please, do not hate."

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Since his arrival at Hammel Sebastian had only seen a few people practising their abilities and they had all been fairly minor and non-destructive; a girl creating ice in her drink, a boy turning into a bird and perching in a tree and another girl with a greater flexibility than Seb had ever seen a human possess. His own ability had only reared its head a few times and, beyond the pain and bleeding it caused, it had so far been nothing overly dramatic.

However, throughout his youth Seb had been told stories of people who left death and destruction in their wake. Powerful freaks who could overturn buildings, make the oceans flood the land and set entire cities alight. For all he knew Junpei was one of those people, one of those with the ability to cause serious harm and devastation. Of course he had not until this moment seemed like that sort of person, but that was how it all started, wasn't it? A nice normal boy getting infected with this curse and it warping him until there was nothing left but hatred and lust for chaos. It would get him too, in the end. Assuming he survived this encounter, of course.

With the extreme flushness of Junpei's cheeks it was all too easy for the blonde to imagine the other boy exploding into an inferno of hungry flames, devouring him and leaving nothing left but a charred skeleton.

As the moments passed and no death or pain presented itself, Sebastian peeked out from a gap between the arms that were covering his face. He noticed Junpei's stance, his lowered head and submissive posture, and Seb slowly lowered his arms. “I do not hate you.” Lanky arms slowly dropped to Seb's side. “I'm sorry. I thought you were going to... catch on fire or something.” Seb rubbed the elbow of his left arm with his right hand. “I am sorry I panicked. I am very afraid of the powers that some people have.” It was the first time Sebastian had openly voiced his fear to another student, and whilst it felt a little good to have it in the open, he was a bit worried about how the other boy might respond to it.

[Deleted]

I do not hate you.

That was all Junpei needed to hear to start feeling normal again, though he still kept a mild flush of sheepishness. He wanted to laugh when Seb said that Junpei might catch on fire. Junpei could not do that...at least he didn't think so. There was still so much about his own power that he didn't understand, but his imagination tended to lead to strange possibilities. He supposed if he really wanted to, Junpei could make his clothing at least burst into flames....but then Junpei would get caught in the fire as well, so doing so would be very poorly advised.

Junpei was, however, unsure of how to take Seb's confession. At first he was confused, and he stayed silent, uncertain of what Seb meant, but the more he thought about it, the more he thought he understood. He was right. Some powers were absolutely terrifying, especially the destructive ones which possessed children who had very little control over their power. Junpei thought himself very lucky that he could control his as much as he could. That imagination of his pictured what might happen, what might be possible if he did not have such control, and he found, it troubled him a lot more than he thought.

After a long think and long pause, Junpei raised his eyes to meet Seb's and he smiled gently. "You are not wrong to be scare. Some power is very scary." Junpei chuckled, a bit nervously and looked down to his feet before looking up again. "Obaa-sama, my grandmother, say some are more scary to have than to see." Junpei wished he could say his own power wasn't scary, but it was in it's own way. "But, I will be very sad not being friend with Sebastian because of power."

[Sebastian Bolstad]

Despite his isolated and jaded upbringing, Seb did actually often enjoy the company of those that he considered safe and good. Before it had been easy; his parents told him who he could socialise with and who he must avoid, and he obeyed them without question. They had gone their whole lives without becoming freaks or suffering from the effects of those who were, so clearly they were doing it right. Sebastian stated matter-of-factly “all powers are scary. No one should have these abilities; they cause nothing but hurt and fear.”

Here Sebastian didn't have the guidance of his parents to tell him who was safe to be around and who should be avoided at all costs, which meant he would have to learn to do it himself if he didn't want to stay locked in his room alone for the rest of his life. It was a very frightening and incredibly difficult concept, knowing that he would have to at least attempt to talk to some of these other abominations to try to work out who might possibly be safe to talk to until their powers took hold of them and destroyed everything good and kind. He gave a small nod of his head. “Your grandmother is wise.” His own power terrified him, likely more than it did those around him, but he dreaded to think what it could make him capable of if he didn't stay good and pure.

When Junpei spoke again Sebastian was quiet for a long moment, lost in thought. He never really considered most people as friends, and he certainly didn't consider any of the other freaks here friends, but there was a sincerity to the boys words which sided up with the teenage boy part of his psyche and battled his trained scepticism and fear. As frightening as it was being around other Meta's, the thought of being completely alone amongst so many of them was even more terrifying. “What is your power, Junpei?” Perhaps if he knew that it would put him a little more at ease, or if it was devastating and tragic he would know to get away now while he still could.