Matsuo woke up to the sound of the clacking of the school's morning bell. He rose from his bed and proceeded to dress in his first year robes. He'd only been attending classes at the academy for one week but already he thought he had the schedule memorized. There weren't any classes until after lunch today so he thought he'd take it slow this morning. Matsuo left his room and proceeded down the halls of students' rooms until he met the stairs leading down to the community bath house.
Steam began to fill the halls as he neared the two entrances to the bath. Sounds of splashing and laughter told him that the rooms were already in use, not surprising after all it was first light. He proceeded into the men's side entrance and grabbed a towel from one of the shelves within. He took two steps into the room and was lost in a sea of fog. The steam was so thick, only his memory served to lead him towards the pool. Matsuo began to proceed further into the room when all of a sudden he heard a shout from behind.
"Bakudo number one, Sai!"
The first year felt his arms lock up behind his back, causing him to lose balance on the wet floor and dive face first into the shallow water. Matsuo felt his jaw smack the smooth rock bottom of the pool and could taste the blood welling up within his mouth as his nose broke. He immediately gasped out of sheer pain and took in a gulp of water. Several long seconds passed before Matsuo could move his arms once more. Upon release, he pushed his body out of the water and allowed his legs to do the rest of the work.
His body convulsed as it attempted to purge the fluids from his lungs and a sticky red colored pool of vomit was produced. Muffled voices were barely audible through the sea of water in his ears. A moment or two later he could feel a chill wind sweep through the community bath, triggering a few female shrieks from beyond the separating wall. A man in a blue teachers' uniform dashed into the room and spotted Matsuo lying beside the bath. He patted him on the back a few times after reassuring him that he would be alright.
"Did you see who did this?" the man asked him. He held up a cupped hand of fresh water from the pump. It was warm but anything Matsuo drank at this moment burned with a vengeance anyhow; he accepted it graciously. He shook his head and tried speaking. "He came up from behind." The teacher sighed, "Well lucky for you, Miss Miyumi Kato in the next room heard the outburst and notified me. She wanted to wait around to make sure you were alright but had to rush to class shortly after alerting me. Should you meet her in the halls at some point, you should thank her." He smiled and Matsuo nodded.
The man helped the first year up and proceed to wash the vomit away with a bucket of water. "I'll leave you to clean yourself up then I'd suggest seeing the nurse about that nose of yours." With that the man left Matsuo to his own devices...
Steam began to fill the halls as he neared the two entrances to the bath. Sounds of splashing and laughter told him that the rooms were already in use, not surprising after all it was first light. He proceeded into the men's side entrance and grabbed a towel from one of the shelves within. He took two steps into the room and was lost in a sea of fog. The steam was so thick, only his memory served to lead him towards the pool. Matsuo began to proceed further into the room when all of a sudden he heard a shout from behind.
"Bakudo number one, Sai!"
The first year felt his arms lock up behind his back, causing him to lose balance on the wet floor and dive face first into the shallow water. Matsuo felt his jaw smack the smooth rock bottom of the pool and could taste the blood welling up within his mouth as his nose broke. He immediately gasped out of sheer pain and took in a gulp of water. Several long seconds passed before Matsuo could move his arms once more. Upon release, he pushed his body out of the water and allowed his legs to do the rest of the work.
His body convulsed as it attempted to purge the fluids from his lungs and a sticky red colored pool of vomit was produced. Muffled voices were barely audible through the sea of water in his ears. A moment or two later he could feel a chill wind sweep through the community bath, triggering a few female shrieks from beyond the separating wall. A man in a blue teachers' uniform dashed into the room and spotted Matsuo lying beside the bath. He patted him on the back a few times after reassuring him that he would be alright.
"Did you see who did this?" the man asked him. He held up a cupped hand of fresh water from the pump. It was warm but anything Matsuo drank at this moment burned with a vengeance anyhow; he accepted it graciously. He shook his head and tried speaking. "He came up from behind." The teacher sighed, "Well lucky for you, Miss Miyumi Kato in the next room heard the outburst and notified me. She wanted to wait around to make sure you were alright but had to rush to class shortly after alerting me. Should you meet her in the halls at some point, you should thank her." He smiled and Matsuo nodded.
The man helped the first year up and proceed to wash the vomit away with a bucket of water. "I'll leave you to clean yourself up then I'd suggest seeing the nurse about that nose of yours." With that the man left Matsuo to his own devices...
