(http://elliquiy.com/elluiki/images/9/96/Manami_hbar.jpg)<br/><hr/><br/>Once they got outside, Manami shivered a bit in the winter air, taking a little extra time to tap on her shoes securely and wrap her winter scarf (http://img201.imageshack.us/img201/9264/manamiwinterscarfdt4.jpg) more snugly around her neck. She chuckled when his eyes roved back upwards towards her face (obviously from somewhere lower than eye level), still grinning in amusement. He wouldn't be able to see anything, with her coat (http://img444.imageshack.us/img444/3998/manamiwinterpeacoattt8.png) buttoned up the front.<br/><br/><strong>"A girl never tells, you know,"</strong>she commented, then giving him a slow wink.<strong>"And you know I have my responsibilities. I'm going to go ahead first and let the owner of Isobune know he'll have a hoard of students coming in today, thanks to the new student arrivals."</strong>She twisted just enough to glance down at the arm he had slung around her shoulder, waiting until he removed it before her cool smile returned, gently curling the corners of her lips.<br/><br/><strong>"It is chilly outside today, isn't it?"</strong>Manami agreed. To emphasize the comment, she pulled out a pair of white gloves (http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/6215/gp60929302vliv01xe1.jpg) from her coat's pocket and slid them on, making sure to tuck the ends neatly underneath her coat and blazer.<strong>"Lucky for me that you volunteered to be an escort, I suppose. Did you bring your own bicycle, by the way? Most of "</strong><br/><br/>Manami was completely relaxed as the wind tugged gently at the locks of hair trapped by her scarf, stealing a small moment for herself to take a breath of the clean, snow-scented air. So far, things seemed to be moving smoothly enough, though Manami wasn't sure how some of the girls would react to the aggressiveness of the male students. It would be disquieting to learn about some of the boys homing in on the quieter girls, who might make easier targets; Manami wanted to be sure that didn't happen, so she was mentally scheduling in nightly rounds around the girls' dorms, to make sure they were doing fine. Especially the younger students. The older ones could probably take care of themselves... but Manami was particularly worried about Arisu, who'd looked just bout ready to fade away into a ghost when Zaraki-san had spotted her.<br/><br/>Then, she tapped his shoulder, getting his attention. It would probably be a good idea to call Katra and let her know that she would be going ahead first, to talk with the sushi restaurant owner. Fujita-san always said that she could just call him, but it made a better impression if she went down in person first, before the entire crowd arrived. It made for a better image for the school, and the students.<br/><br/><strong>"Can you wait here a moment while I email someone? I'm going to let the student council's vice president know where I am,"</strong>Manami said, flashing him a smile before walking away a few paces and pulling out her cell phone. Hiragana filled the screen as she quickly typed out a message with the phone's keys:<br/><br/><em>Takaeda-san, is everything okay upstairs? I was going to go ahead to Isobune first and warn Fujita-san we were coming, but if you need help keeping everyone organized, I can wait.</em><br/><br/>After sending it to the other girl, Manami quirked a small smile at Zaraki-san and shrugged.<strong>"I'll wait for her to email me back. If everything's okay, we'll go ahead first. My bike's locked over there, near the main gate, underneath that awning,"</strong>she said, indicating the nearby bike racks.<br/><br/>A chance look behind her showed Suzaki-chan putting on her winter coat - with woefully short socks. Frowning, Manami stepped back inside the main hall.<br/><br/><strong>"Suzaki-chan? Do you have longer socks? It's really cold outside today,"</strong>Manami said worriedly. She was only wearing knee socks that day, but she'd also opted to put on a pair of black leg warmers (http://img404.imageshack.us/img404/3975/legwarmlev2.jpg) that extended up to mid-thigh. She loved winter - just not the temperatures, especially when the wind, ice, and snow nipped at the skin until it was numb with cold.