Club Recruiting Closed

[font=PT Sans]So the time has come for him to face his greatest enemy yet other than peepee shit face Pei. The one that had squeezed his heart more time than Percival had ever done ( and that’s a lot ). A topic he avoided more than his family issues.

His heritage.

He didn’t know when it started. The quick reactions to look away when seeing someone wear traditional Japanese clothes? Instant blank stares at anyone who asked him to speak a bit of Japanese? Tourists coming to him while he’s out and asking directions that were answered with him turning his head and walking away? Classmates expecting him to know the history of Japan like the back of his hand? It frustrated him to the core. Could people stop seeing him as..different from them? He couldn’t deny his heritage, yeah but personally, he didn’t like to him himself as..a 'true Japanese'.

He never said afoot in Japan. Not a lick of Japanese other than- やれやれ, and if anyone asked him about Japanese cultural customs, he’d give them a rude gesture and tell them to get their cake splattered face out of his reality. He just...didn’t feel connected? Even if he had a small interest, he didn’t know where to start. Plus, he didn’t even want to. There was an undeniable rush of pride to be something you weren’t supposed to be. With most mocking him to be this know that just because of a heritage he never chooses to be born with, how could he n o t want to do the exact opposite? The kindest way to describe it was just his lack of interest in caring about stuff that never mattered much to him. And whatever his Asian roots had to offer didn’t interest him one bit.

With a gentle smile and a swift pace, he stopped in front of the young unknown first-year, merely glancing briefly at the fliers the kid was holding and spoke softly, “ A word of advice. There aren’t many here who would be interested. ” Why do you think the last leader that managed this club lasted for so long~“

After having so many excuses for a hopeless way of learning his culture, people would’ve figured this club the Hufflepuff 1st year was advertising was perfect for him. A nice little club that existence just reminds him day and day that he’s not a real Japanese. Past mocking on said subject resurfaced, his smile getting more fake by the second.“ I’m just saving you some time on your hands, little guy." he suggested to the Hufflepuff that was already taller than him by more than a few cm. " Best use the time to figure out a nice name for everyone to call you. Something that doesn’t sound..” he paused, merely giving the Hufflepuff a grin, hoping the other would understand what he meant. That is, if his hunch on the Hufflepuff was true. Oh, what could’ve given it away? The proud and comfortable way he carried himself with his outfit? His little ‘ ohayou ‘ at the beginning of his advertising? His super short height? Oh- okay well the last one was untrue. The outfit was a give away then, he thought.

“ Hanako Tone” he introduced himself as to how his family calls him by. Hall Gnaw Koala Toe Nest. “ Everyone else calls me Hannah, though. A bit too feminine for me, but at least it sounds nicer than Hannah Coah, don’t you think so~? “ he pipped up, seemingly fine with telling a kid that had only wished to share his wonderful culture that no one would be interested and he should just focus on other stuff. But then again, putting himself in someone else’s shoes was something he still had yet to learn.

“ Maybe I can help you find a name that’s aahh..." he paused " more suited to a place like this.” He had no idea what the kid’s name is but if they listened to his advice, he’ll know soon enough. Dee told him to try and help people in need so that’s what he’s doing. What sort of bad guy is he to have a junior waste his time on unimportant things? That’s just cruel. Crushing someone else’s passion just because it wasn’t what he wanted to see every day was fine, apparently.
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@Kazuo Shimada

Interacting with @Hanako Tone

Kazuo was not an extrovert. Being friendly was hard. Still, he pressed on, unwilling to concede defeat so easily. The problem, he was discovering, was that everyone was rushing to or from something and so they had no time to chat with him about what he could offer.

Perhaps he needed to rethink his tactics. The schools back home had a week dedicated to clubs but it was also strongly encouraged for students to participate in extracurriculars. Here, it seemed, clubs weren't as important. They didn't even have teacher supervision as far as he could tell. That meant he would have to provide some kind of benefit… a bribe…

As he was contemplating this potential new tactic, a boy who somehow managed to be smaller than him stopped to talk. His gaze shifted, taking in familiar features as he gave Hanako a pleasant smile, friendly yet distant.

“A word of advice. There aren’t many here who would be interested. Why do you think the last leader that managed this club lasted for so long~“

"As I understand it, he started the club then didn't bother to do anything else." Kazuo responded mildly. "Then left the school under mysterious circumstances. I wouldn't say that's an indicator of other people's interests. Only a failing in leadership."

“I’m just saving you some time on your hands, little guy. Best use the time to figure out a nice name for everyone to call you. Something that doesn’t sound..”

Kazuo's eyes narrowed to slits. As he watched Hanako's smile turned thin, flimsy, fake. A plastic grin that didn't reach the boy's eyes, a mask behind which the boy was hiding. Kazuo had worn enough plastic smiles to recognize it. So as the boy continued to speak, words that should have drawn a reaction should have made Kazuo insulted or angry or maybe sad, instead, Kazuo's polite smile turned into a grin, genuine delight shining in his narrowed eyes.

“Hanako Tone. Everyone else calls me Hannah, though. A bit too feminine for me, but at least it sounds nicer than Hannah Coah, don’t you think so~?"

A proper Japanese name, for all that this boy was obviously not native-born. His English was too perfect. His mannerisms, his attitude, no, Hanako may have a Japanese name but he had clearly been raised hereabouts.

"Tone Hanako." He repeated the name, letting it fall from his lips naturally. "Tone, using the kanji for door and root. Hanako, flower and child." Of course it sounded girly. Hanako was a girl's name more often than not. It was a pretty name but obviously the boy was resentful of it so he kept that thought to himself. In fact, the more the boy talked, the more Kazuo could see the resentment, the otherness the boy must have felt for not having the same face as the children he grew up with. The otherness he had felt when he'd been brought to London.

"Maybe I can help you find a name that’s aahh..." he paused " more suited to a place like this.”

There it was, the inevitable conclusion to this little speech. He wanted to laugh or to sneer at the boy who pretended to care. Was the boy trying to bully him? The way he, perhaps had been bullied? Or did he genuinely think he was helping the poor foreign student? Helping him to 'fit in' amongst the primarily European students? Kazuo’s gaze grew intense, meeting Hanako’s eyes as he spoke.

“Do you actually think you’re helping?” Kazuo sniffed disdainfully. “Do you actually think bowing to the expectations of others is the best use of my time? Do you actually think it somehow makes you fit in by letting them call you ‘Hannah’? It sounds to me like you’re simply tolerating their disrespect. And I see no point in letting someone who is no better than me treat me as lesser because I was born somewhere else. My name is Shimada Kazuo and I am proud of who I am. If other students can’t be bothered to learn to say Ka. Zu. O.” He emphasized each syllable for effect. “Then I can’t be bothered with them.”

Kazuo paused, head tilting to the side slightly as he studied Hanako, noting his House colours. “Or perhaps you are attempting to live up to the supposed stereotype of your House? Bullying another student as I’ve seen others of your House do? Another way of trying to fit in?”

He let his gaze drop to the flyers he was holding, almost shyly, as if he realized he had said too much. If Hanako was paying attention, however, he might notice the amusement still creasing the lines at the edges of his eyes.

“If you really want to help, Hanako-senpai, you would join my club. Instead of running away from where your family came from, try learning about it. Like this…” Kazuo reached into the sleeve of his kimono and pulled out a small package of mochi and offered it to Hanako. “Culture is about a lot of things, you know. More than this…” He pointed to his eyes. “Or a name. You don’t have to be born in a place to appreciate what that place has created. Food. Music. Art. Clothes. Magic…”

Interacting with: @Kazuo Shimada @Hanako Tone

Akari was walking somewhat dreamily through the corridors. Her eyes were very much open and peeled ahead although she wasn’t actually paying any heed to what was in front of her whatsoever. Her mind was off thinking and daydreaming about something or other once again. This was happening quite frequently as of late and possibly even becoming a habit.
As she continued striding further down through the corridors something or rather someone caught her attention out the corner of her eye, surprisingly managing to snap her out of her thoughts.

She slowed down as she examined a boy who was all dressed up and was handing out some kind of papers... flyers perhaps? But for what? She watched curiously and waited to hear what the boy had been calling out.

An Asian society club? That definitely sparked a slight interest in Akari. That was quite an original idea. Her parents rarely ever talked or brought up anything about their culture, which happened to surprise most people including Akari herself. Most people liked to keep their culture and traditions alive, but apparently not Akari's family. She really knew nothing. On all the occasions where she asked anything in regards to this topic, she was always strangely dismissed.
Because they wouldn’t tell her anything she tried to just to pick up bits and pieces by herself elsewhere. She didn't know if she could really contribute much to this club but learning about Asian cultures in general could possibly be a very good thing for her.

She squinted slightly as she tried to get a closer look at the flyers, but she was too far away. If she wanted to find out more information she would need to approach the student who seemed to be in charge, but he was currently engaged in a conversation with someone else.

She sighed as she eventually made up her mind and decided to go over to the two folks. Once she was next to the both of them she then piped up awkwardly.
”Er- sorry to interrupt... but could I have a flyer?”

[font=PT Sans]"Tone Hanako." He repeated the name naturally. Hanako’s eyes widened, fearing what might come next. "Tone, using the kanji for door and root. Hanako, flower and child."

As if on instinct, he quickly shushed the Hufflepuff boy, his cheeks started to turn a faint shade of red. “ Jezz!” he whispered harshly. “ Pick up a microphone and yell about it to everyone in the whole school now why don’t you. People might’ve gotten bored of seeing me as the boy with the girly name so how about the boy with the flowery name huh? やれやー-“ he abruptly stopped, feeling a sense of discomfort with speaking any Japanese in front of someone who most likely had the ability to translate whole school textbooks. It rattled him that someone knew the origins of his name. As if he needed more reasons for people to see him as different from the group. Once upon a time, he might’ve been glad, maybe even proud of it. Fortunately, he had learned quickly that others didn’t think the same. And here was a kid who carelessly revealed that out loud. What if someone else heard? This kid really was starting to get on his nerves.

And then the kid...lectured him? Even if he did made sense and struck Hana in more ways than one. Tolerating their disrespect, he said? That was a daily duty as Hanako Tone. It was the least he thought that he could do when he fired back that disrespect ten times fold. But to connect it to his preference in being called ‘ Hannah ‘... it sent tingles down his back that he didn’t want to acknowledge. It was then the kid revealed in name beautifully spoken in his native tongue.

‘ My name is Shimada Kazuo and I am proud of who I am “

Proud? Hana’s agitated look softened at that one word. Since when had he even been proud of anything he did? He knew full well that he didn’t possess many quality attributes but he didn’t think he could be proud of something he abandoned. A rich history his heritage held that looked more like a stain to sneer at than something to be proud of. Yet, what made Shimada confidently say he was proud?


“ If other students can’t be bothered to learn to say Ka. Zu. O.” He emphasized each syllable for effect. “Then I can’t be bothered with them.”

Didn’t he understand that a way to survive is to follow the stream flowed through you? If Hanako’s line of thoughts were threads then there would be one jumbled up ball in his head at the moment. His first thought was that he was only making it easier for these people- who had most likely never had to say a Japanese word in their life- to say his name. But for people to finally pronounce his name properly...it sounds... intriguing. Despite all the thoughts he had on Shimada, none of them left his mouth. He merely stood there, looking uninterested yet it was easy to tell he was listening.

Shimada said some comments about Hanako’s place in Slytherin, to which made the boy laugh.

“ Perhaps~. I admit I like to play around sometimes~.” he smiled innocently, feeling a genuine tug on his lips in contrast to the prior forced ones. “It both amuses and annoys me how you chose not to just shut up and ignore me. That’s the most energy-saving way to deal with someone like me.~”. To be fair, it was the long speech that stopped Hana from rolling his eyes and walking away. It was different from his grandmother’s speech on the same matter. It was short. Short but somehow did more push to Hana than her sugar-coated words. Maybe that despite how Hanako showed his clear disinterest in the topic of his heritage, Shimada continued to convince him otherwise.

“ Don’t call me senpai “ he deadpanned immediately. He watched carefully as Shimada reaching into his sleeve. Hanako expected he was already so tired of his voice that he was going to pull out his wand. Just as Hanako braced another- the 3rd one and counting- slug puking spell, there was nothing but a small packet of some sort of candy. “ … Did Selim’s cat made me see things or did you just pull out a candy from your .. sleeve..” albeit his utterly puzzled look, he choose not to question it further.

“ Fine. I’ll join your little club. But only to see it fail. Treat me something from Diagona Alley when it does~ ” while that part may be true, he was curious about other things as well. Not as much as Shimada might’ve liked, but curious nonetheless. While he’d love to tell him that, he’d rather stay in a room filled with cats than look like the kid’s words actually did something to him.

At that moment, another curious newcomer came by. Although, not for the same reason Hanako had. The girl’s interest in the club had somewhat embarrassed Hanako, who recalled his earlier proclamation about no one taking interest in a club like this. “ Well, looks like you have someone else to charm “ he huffed. Without a word, he gracefully took a flyer from the stack Shimada held and turned on his heel to walk away. “ Don’t need to worry about me being inactive~” he reminded, his back still facing the two students. “ Wouldn’t miss the fall of the Asian Culture Club for the world~!” he enthusiastically exclaimed before hastily turning back, as if he just remembered something.

He then speed-walked back to the 2 students and grabbed the small candy packet Shimada had offered a while ago. “ I never deny sweets “ he scoffed, putting the weird squishy candy in his mouth“ See you two in the next club meeting~. Don’t regret you pulled me into this~ “ he winked before making his way to leave again.
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@Akari Kato @Kazuo Shimada

(>‿◠)✌ Hanako Has Left The Thread (>‿◠)✌

Interactiong with @Hanako Tone @Akari Kato

As he’d expected, when repeating Hana’s full and proper name, the older boy had shushed him, clearly embarrassed. Especially when he revealed the meaning behind it. That caused his lips to quirk into a playful smirk, filing that bit of information away for later. Hana continued to appear apathetic to his club, yet Kazuo could see he was listening. If the boy had truly not been interested, he would have just left, after all - or come up with some other way to try to bully him. Yet he didn’t and that drew Kazuo’s smile to widen a bit more. The more he spoke, the more it seemed his assessment of Hana might actually be correct.

It wasn’t as if Kazuo couldn’t understand Hana’s point of view. He struggled with those feelings at times, the wanting to fit in when everything about the other students seemed so foreign and strange. Yet it simply wasn’t in his nature to deny who he was for something as fleeting as false acceptance from his peers. He knew he could, if he wanted to, and occasionally would do so if there was some gain in it but in general, it was effort wasted that could be spent on more interesting things. Like maybe tormenting Hana~

His eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he listened to Hana respond to his comments about being Slytherin and he chuckled. “Are you used to being ignored, Hana-senpai?” He asked with a smirk. “Is that your preference? That people ignore you instead of talking back? Were you hoping I’d run away?”

He chuckled at Hana’s surprise at his gift of mochi then beamed at the older boy when he begrudgingly agreed to join his club. “Hana-senpai, will you treat me to something from Diagon alley if it doesn’t fail?” He asked as Akari approached.

He turned his attention to the new girl, greeting her with a smile as Hana retreated down the hall. “Ohayo! You aren’t interrupting. Please, take one! If you’re interesting, we are hoping to host a New Year’s event, maybe a lantern festival at the Lunar New Year.” He paused in his speech, glancing at Hana who had swiftly returned to swipe the mochi from his hand, snickering at the other boy. He studied Akari as he offered her the flyer, noting her features. “You’re Japanese too?” He asked, curious. “But born here, by the sound of your English.” He added with a wry smile. “If you’re interested, we will be having a meeting soon. Please come check it out.”

Interacting with: @Kazuo Shimada @Hanako Tone
My apologies for the late reply T^T

Akari reciprocated the friendly smile that one of the fellows had given her, then reached her hand out to accept the paper.
Before Akari got a chance to actually look over at the other lad present, he was already off with a snatch of one of the flyers. Akari had looked in his direction with a slightly puzzled expression at his proclamation while he strode away but didn't question it too much as her gaze fell down to the flyer that was previously handed to her and then began to study it.

She nodded in response to the boys' presumption. He had gotten it spot on.
"Mhm, you’re correct, I was born here, but my parents are Japanese" She replied, though her eyes rose back up and followed the boy who came back again to snatch something else.
"You are Japanese as well?" She then asked full of curiosity once the second guy had left once again.

Her attention eventually went back to the reason she had stopped by in the first place, the club. She then neatly fold the page and proceeded to slip it into her pocket.
A new year's lunar festival? That did sound quite exciting. The prospect of joining was starting to grow on her. Perhaps she could really learn something from this experience.

"This sounds like it will be a blast. I reckon I will stop by then"
She announced with a grin spread wide across her face.
She then suddenly realized that she had yet to introduce herself, so she quickly spoke up.
"Oh by the way, my name is Akari Kato"

Interacting with @Akari Kato

Kazuo watched Akari as her eyes followed Hanako. "He seems to be like you, born here, though he didn’t say where exactly. I was born in Japan. Tokyo, to be specific. I’ve only been living in London for a year… well, it had been about a year before I came to Hogwarts. My father was given a position in London, for work, and decided to bring my mother and me with him. I just took over the club recently since the person who started it seemed to have grown bored. I am hoping to bring some eastern influence to the school, to show the other students here a little bit of my culture and other cultures from Asia.”

He paused in his explanation reaching into his sleeve again and pulling out another package of mochi. He offered it to her with a wry smile. “Nice to meet you, Akari. I’m Shi- ah- Kazuo.” He stumbled over his own introduction, unable to completely shake his Japanese habits and though he seemed a bit embarrassed by it, he simply pressed on. “That was Hana-senpai. There are a few others who’ve shown interest, as well. Thank you for showing interest. I hope we can all create a fun event for the students together. If you know anyone else who is interested, please invite them to come to the meeting. I’m more than happy to have more members. After all, more hands means less work for everyone and more time to enjoy the events we host.”

Interacting with: @Kazuo Shimada

"Woah, how interesting is that!" Akari replied, quite intrigued after listening attentively to the boy's explanation. She gave a brief glance in the direction that the other boy had gone in when it was mentioned to her that he was like her. Born and raised in England but had lineage from the far east from both sides, both parents.
She started to wonder what his experience with knowing his culture was like, and if he had had more luck than she did in that regard.

She hadn't had much time to ponder because her attention was brought back to the boy in front of her when he reached into his sleeve and pulled out a small round treat and offered it to her.
She gratefully accepted it and popped the chewy treat into her mouth immediately and then said a small muffled "Thank you" whilst still munching.

"Pleasure to meet you too Kazuo" She responded to him after his introduction.
"Will do" She nodded, agreeing to ask around if anyone else were interested in becoming a member. She'd quite like to see this club prosper.
"Thanks again for the mochi and I'll see you at the next meeting then"
And with that she gave him another pleasant smile before starting to make her merry way down through the rest of the corridors.