| Group 1 - Hallway outside of classroom |
Masato stepped out, standing by the doorway and waiting for the others to finish up getting their things together and preparing to leave. He himself had a visible tenseness in his shoulders. It had been days since he'd done anything of real interest, and Masato was already boring of the daily grind at school, even after only one day back. He had never been fond of it, but fortunately for him, the loops were always just wide enough to hop through unconsciously, enough to keep his grades slightly above average. He was a member of the track team but almost never attended. Normally, Masato only felt as antsy as he did at that moment at the end of a school day coinciding with a large ceremony at the Inoue shrine, or the day before. It meant tremendous effort on the part of himself and his sister, but thankfully, Masato had a taste for life's difficulties. Of course, it was his habit to complain, but he always did so with a facetious smile.
Looking back and forth, he drew a few stares from schoolmates walking down the hallway. The focused boy barely heard a few "Eh, Inoue-kun? What's the matter"'s and even someone say "Looking for someone to walk home with?" but he was in his own world. He often was. Masato realized that most would not take well to his rude behavior at the moment, but he would just have to make up for it later. Bad reputations damaged the shrine's reputation, but he didn't have "competition" in the area, though such things were not often spoken of. It was common for the neighborhood committee to call in priests from other shinto establishments in the city, since no other shrines existed in the area.
"Mngh, aren't they ready yet? Maybe I ought to go alone after all."
His foot demanded tapping. Masato did not consent, and he stood quite still with a uncharacteristically rigid posture. To others, it might have looked like he was waiting, probably on edge, for a female companion to walk home with.
Why not after all? He was one of the most handsome boys in his class, but he rarely truly befriended anyone. Masato also had a record of blunt refusal when confessed to in middle school, so he was largely avoided. It always seemed as though he existed in another world, behind a glass wall, but he was cruel enough to wave to others and talk to them from the other side. That was just the kind of good-spirited but shy person he was. Masato leaned on the excuse of being too busy to bother with others like a trusted walking stick.