Raiden unlocked the door to the boathouse, leading Kasaru and Joseph through the main entrance, it was 5:45 and only a little bit of time remained before the small party started.
He already had speakers set up in the boathouse. For an exterior building the interior was nice by any standard, gold plated walls and lined up tables for parties that used to be held for family and friendly gatherings, the building was already essentially built for parties. He set drinks between juice and soda to the alcoholic beverages that he had managed to get into the mix.
"Alright let's set up the chairs real quick then it should all be good."
Kasaru seemed quite in awe of the design of the place, his eyes scanned around the room as he looked at everything.
"Wow, this place is quite high quality."
Raiden shook his head thinking about all the previous parties held at the boathouse and how him and his family used to play here when they were kids.
"It's not the best in the world but it will do. I do hope that it's good enough for everyone else too."
Minutes passed ss Tengoku showed up. He was in more casual clothing than before, looking toward Raiden as he smiled.
"Otizawa. Good to see you guys are still safe." He walked over, Tengoku was probably shorter in casual clothing than he was in his athletic or battle attire, but he never minded it. He just had to compensate.
Raiden smiled back to Tengoku as the party was ready and guests were available to show up at any time they liked.
"Yo! Same for you, I hope you all are enjoying your time in Ashina. A little send off party isn't the worst idea for something like this either."
Raiden cracked open a soda and began sipping from it as he sat himself in a chair. Music started playing from the speakers. He put his hands behind his head and relaxed for once in his life.
Tengoku sat next to Raiden cracking his own soda.* The others will probably be here sooner or later. I'm usually the first one to show up. Parties may not be their thing but I've been at banquets, parties and dances since I was a child."
Raiden nodded his head "Yeah, I'm surprised that Gharma didn't want to come. This is more of his thing but everyone else should be here soon."
Tengoku leaned over to Raiden, whispering over the music as more students showed up, ones that simply attended the volleyball game or were simply new.
"Is your cousin going to be here? You know. The white haired one?" Raiden nodded to Tengoku confusingly.
"Yeah? She's gonna be here after she recovers. She'll probably be one of the last to show up so don't get too crazy if you want to be on her good side."
"Everyone get crazy!" A loud obnoxious voice entering suddenly, a bag in his left hand. It was Matsumi of course. In those few hours he had gone and found the bag.
"W-Well. I Just thought she..Nevermind. I'm not going to get crazy. Don't worry. Despite my remarks during the game, I respect your family wholeheartedly."
Raiden laughed with a smile on his face, he wasn't worried about Yuki but more so Tengoku. "No man, I'm not worried about her, I'd be more worried about your safety." Raiden eyed Matsumi, the obnoxiousness of Matsumi almost annoyed Raiden but he knew that he would have to tolerate it for now.
Vermelha was next to matsumi face palming as she knew she'd basically have to stay with him the entire time in order to keep him out of trouble.
"My safety? What do you mean? I mean I get it she slings weapons but what about her is dangerous?"
Matsumi only ever made it thanks to Vermelha, he would've been lost easily by himself. A long story soon to be covered. "Get excited, Vermelha! I rarely go to these!"
Kasaru remained quiet and just helped out where he could, he seemed a little irritated by all the noise.
"I'll just stay for the free food."
Raiden turned back to Tengoku and thought of her personality.
"Yuki is dangerous…in more ways than just weapons. She's a little crazy…something my dad says she takes after her mom with."
"I see. Maybe i'll judge for myself. Who knows? It might be an exaggeration since you're family." He nervously rubbed his arms.
Vermelha looked at Tengoku before back at Matsumi.
"I can't be excited. I've basically got to babysit you. If you start some kind of fight or do something stupid i've got to be there to fix it."
"How could I possibly start a fight? Just get loose, don't be so tense. Now, come with me. Both of us are new, we can both meet people here!"
"I'll give in..but i'm not making any promises…"
"That's ok!" Matsumi rushed over to the crowds of students, placing the bag on a nearby table. Immediatly being the loudest voice with the most recognizable laugh. It wasn't much long after that he started making people gravitate toward him, the plan was to make a giant dance circle.
Raiden laughed. Not provocatively but more happily about Tengoku's situation. He knew Yuki since she was a child and knew about her real self. "Good luck! She's a handful! Do you know if anyone else is showing from Yoshiwara tonight?"
Shizukana picked Tengoku up from behind by his shirt sighing. She, just like Tengoku was in much more casual clothing. However, her garments were definitely premium and designer similar to Vermelha. She was probably had way more wealth than Tengoku, but that didn't matter. She would probably buy him anything.
"What are you doing?! I told you not to go anywhere without or protection. You don't know what Ashina is up to."
Vermelha sighed, however she stayed with the bag on the side making sure it did not get lost again. She wanted to make sure there was no more running around far as she was aware. They had to go way out of their way to get it in the first place, she decided to stay off to the side.
The complete opposite of Shizu and the rest, Matsumi meanwhile was breakdancing on the floor surrounded by Ashina students. Standing up to push another one in the middle of the circle and laughing his head off.
Raiden turned his head to Shizukana, he had almost jumped from his seat from her sudden appearance, he quickly calmed down and looked over at Tengoku. "He's having fun. Don't worry we're not doing anything bad, I mean look at one of your guys is in the middle of the floor dancing his head off like he's never danced before." Raiden rolled his eyes.
Shizu sighed and put Tengoku down shaking her head. "Otizawa." She ignored Matsumi. "There's less of a side by now. Didn't you hear? Yoshiwara and Ashina are coming together this year. We'll all have classes together between the schools."
Raiden put his hand up to his chin and rubbed it, deep in thought. "That's actually good, I think you guys are great and it would be good to work together. I know my father and Ashi have been close for years. Plus then we get to know each other a little more too."
Shizukana scoffed at Raiden rolling her eyes, looking around at the scenery of the party. Raiden was popular, so naturally the place started to fill more and more as she began to grow a bit nervous.
"Hmph. Don't be mistaken. Ashi Zenin is the greatest man to have ever lived. They may know each other but there's no comparison. Knowing each other is cool too, blondie."
Raiden looked at Shizu's hair and pointed at it referring to her blonde comment. "You too blondie." He couldn't help himself and laughed. He covered his mouth as he did so.
"Ashi is my uncle, not by blood but he's family. Him and my father fought together on Tairiku. I heard the stories of how they both held moons from colliding with the planet on their own. I don't seek that strength but I imagine I'd need to be a little strong to explore the world at least."
She smirked and pointed to him. "You'll need to beat Me and Tengoku to that. We'll be the ones uncovering the truths of this world. Perhaps you don't value or desire that power but we do. It's the only way to protect what we have."
Raiden smiled and tapped to his arms. "Well I guess we'll see then huh? I think I'm bound to leave you guys in the dust and see the world first. I'm going to take my friends with me too so I guess if you guys want to come along as my crew you can."
He chugged the rest of his soda and threw it away, he had to move through the crowd to get back to where he was sitting as more and more people showed up at the party, the event bumbling and filling with students from all over.