My eyes shot open, and I leaped out of bed to prepare. It was school today. My first day of regular old school! I heard Nanako-chan call up the stairs, signaling that breakfast was ready. I burst into Yu's room, and shook him awake. "C'mon, get up, Yu!" I shouted eagerly. "It's time for school, it's time for school!"

Yu rubbed his eyes and yawned as he stood up. He had a strange look in his eyes, like they were empty and hollow, devoid of emotion. But that look cleared away almost instantly, so I paid it no heed. I ran back into my room, and hurried dressed in my uniform. I was sure to get strange looks for wearing a male uniform, but I didn't care. School was today! School was today!

I stuffed my things into my small satchel, and brushed out my hair. The mass of silver and blue reached around my upper back, between my shoulder blades, and I had thick heavy bangs that I swept to one side. I grabbed my boots in one hand, slipped my bag over my shoulder, and snatched my clear umbrella as I headed downstairs for breakfast. Though, I was so excited that part of me thought I couldn't keep the meal down. So I ended up with just an apple, and I sat down in front of the little girl, who had prepared an abundance of food. Yu blinked as he walked in, probably the biggest reaction anyone except myself could ever get out of him.

Nanako-chan explained why and how she cooked everything as Yu munched on his toast, watching the tiny creature with his normal neutrality. It was amazing how well she could take care of herself.

"You're starting school today, right?" She asked us. Yu and I nodded, and I crunched a bit of apple that was lodged in my cheek. "My school's on the way, so...let's go together," she offered. I giggled, and agreed along with Yu.

After finishing the meal with Nanako-chan, we left, opened our umbrellas, and walked off. Eventually, after a few turns, Nanako-chan stopped at the Samegawa Flood Plain. "You keep going straight from here," she said, pointing her finger down the long, wet road. She then turned around and said "My school's this way. Bye," with a cute smile on her face before she walked away.

"Bye, Nanako-chan!" I waved at her before turning back around to Yu. "Oh, I'm so excited!"

Yu looked at me. "Let's hurry, then. Class begins soon."

We half walked half ran to the entry to school. When we arrived at the intersection in front of the building, I heard a loud squeaking noise, and I turned to see a student in a matching black uniform as everyone else's struggling to keep his bike under control. I jumped out of the way just in the nick of time when I heard a loud crash.

The boy was now hunched over, holding his stomach. I saw his bike, fallen on the ground, and I looked back at him. "Ngh...Urrrrrrgh...." he grunted. That looked painful. It appeared that he lost control of his bike and crashed into the nearby pole on the corner.

"We should leave him be," Yu whispered quietly to me, keeping his eyes glued ahead. I hesitated before nodding my consent. I didn't want to be late because of a student who had a faulty bike and awful luck. We continued forward, leaving the pained student behind us.

---------------------

We arrived at the main gates shortly after encountering the unlucky boy. I fought to keep a squeal in my throat as I imagined the possibilities of what would happen today. It was very out of character for me to be like this, but I wanted to go and be a new person. Puffing out my chest proudly, Yu and I walked into the halls of Yasogami High.

Looking at our schedules, I jumped with a start, while Yu merely gave a small smile before his face became an unreadable mass once more. We had the exact same schedule! Even homeroom! A class with a teacher by the name of...Kinshiro Morooka. Hurrying, we ran to our class.

Poking my head inside for a mere moment, I smiled at the sight of mingling students. So classical. Some girls were talking in groups, others were reading books. The men were flirting sometimes, while others would just gawk at the pretty girl in a red sweater. Even Yu blushed for a quick second when he laid his eyes on her, and he was known for keeping his cool in nearly everything.

I listened in on the conversations outside the classroom, and a lot of people seemed to be complaining about the teacher. It was Morooka this and Morooka that. He was quite hated, apparently.

But then, I heard a female student talk about something else. "Hey you guys. I heard there's going to be two transfer students from the city in this class.

"Huh? Really?" One of the boys asked. "Boys, girls, or one of each?"

I then shifted my ear to three students in the center of the class, sitting alone and talking. I looked in again for a second and I recognized the boy as the one with the bad bike sitting in his seat, looking tired. "Transfer students from the city..." The short-haired girl in front of the boy blinked. "Just like you, huh, Yosuke?" She then took in his pained state. "...Huh? You look dead today."

"Yeah, um...I don't want to talk about it..." the boy replied sadly, not looking up at her.

The girl shook her head, and looked at the pretty girl in the red sweater. "What's with him?" She asked.

The other girl brushed her long black hair off one shoulder. "Who knows?"

I pulled my head back in as a teacher practically stormed in, dragging Yu and I with him. He had a nasty looking overbite, and a painful-to-look-at hairstyle. "Awright, shut your traps!" He snapped viciously at the students. The students silenced themselves immediately. "I'm Kinshiro Morooka, your homeroom teacher from this day forward!"

I shivered at the sight of the angry man, and Yu was...well, Yu.

"First things first!" Morooka snapped. "Just 'cause it's Spring doesn't mean you can swoon over each other like love-struck baboons. Long as I'm around, you students are going to be as pure as the driven snow!"

Everyone in the classroom gulped except for the unfortunate boy in the back, as he was still in pain and, by the looks of it, completely ignoring Morooka.

"Now, I hate wasting my time, but I'd better introduce these transfer students," the teacher continued. "These sad sacks've been thrown from the big city out to the middle of nowhere like yesterday's garbage. He's just as much of a loser here as he was there, so you girls better not get any ideas about hitting on him! She's just as traitorous as she was there, so back off, you asshat men! I can see you're already undressing her with your eyes!"

The students shrank further into their seats. I felt sorry for them to have a teacher like this. Thankfully for us, though, was that we were taught in a much harsher way than here, so Yu and I were pretty used to this.

"Tell 'me your names, kids, and make it quick," Morooka ordered.

"I'm Kaida Narukami," I said, curtly bowing to the students in front of me.

"I'm Yu Narukami, nice to meet you," my adoptive brother kept a neutral face at the class.

Morooka hissed at Yu. "What's that look you're giving to that girl back there by the window!?" He cried furiously. "You thought I wouldn't notice!?" He wasn't even looking anywhere in particular! Hell, he wasn't even giving a look.

Yu continued to look at the teacher with an emotionless expression. He was quite good at this.

"Now listen up!" He shouted once more, but only at Yu and I. "This town is miles away from your big city of perverts and assholes, in more ways than one. You better not think of getting involved with the students here, let alone abusing them!" I feel like that last statement was directed at Yu...*gulp*..."But what do I know...it's not like the old days. Even here, kids grow up so damn fast. Every time I turn my back, you're fooling around on those damn phones, checking your life-journals and your my-places..."

Morooka rambled on and on, and I eventually lost what little fear I had of him. He just shouted out whatever was on his mind as he lectured the class.

Suddenly, the short-haired girl from earlier raised her hand. "Excuse me, is it okay if the transfer students sit here?" She asked, pointing to the seat next to her and the seat behind her, by the student with the bad luck.

"Huh?" Morooka seemed confused for a minute. "Yeah, sure. Ya hear that? Your seats are over there. So hurry up and siddown already!" He then shoved Yu and I in the direction of the girl. I sat by the boy, and Yu sat next to the girl with short hair.

"He's the worst, huh?" The short-haired girl whispered to Yu and I. "Rotten luck for you two to get stuck in this class...well, we just have to hang in there for a year."

Suddenly, I heard chatter across the room, and it was all about us. Things like 'sucks to be the transfer students...' and 'we're all in the same boat'.

"Shut your traps!" The teacher exclaimed loudly. "I'm taking roll, and I damn well expect you to respond in an orderly manner!"

As he talked on and on, I felt myself beginning to daydream and lose focus of what was happening. I wonder if I'll fit in here...?

-------------

I felt my eyelids droop as the day dragged on. We'd gotten a measly break for lunch, then we'd come back to homeroom to listen to Morooka's bullshit again. Besides him, though, I was loving this school. Suddenly, I perked up as I heard him say "That's all for today. Normal lectures will start tomorrow."

I smiled and stretched out my arms, but before I could stand up, the PA system blared to life. "Attention all teachers. Please report immediately to the Faculty Office for a brief staff meeting. All students must return to their classrooms and are not to leave the school until further notice."

Morooka looked disturbed, but even more irritated. "Hrnh. You heard the announcement. Don't go anywhere until you hear otherwise." He then stomped off and locked the classroom doors behind him.

Slumping, I sank back into my chair, but briefly after that, I heard police car sirens outside the windows. Interested, I moved over to the sill. But then one of the boys, who were already there, stormed off towards the pretty girl two seats ahead of me. "H-Hey Yukiko-san?" He asked nervously. "Mind if I ask you something...? Is it true that announcer's staying at your family's inn?"

The raven-haired girl frowned at him, looking slightly insulted, but more than that she looked tired. Like people had asked her this before. "I can't discuss such things," she finally said, looking downwards. I walked back and took my seat so I could hear the conversation better.

The boy sweated. "Y-yeah, I guess not." He quickly walked away, and the short-haired girl stood up and took his place.

She sighed. "Sheesh, how much longer is this gonna take?"

The black-haired girl shrugged. "There's no telling," she answered simply.

The short-haired one grumbled under her breath. "I shoulda left before the announcement came on..." she muttered. But then she perked up a little. "By the way, didja try what I told you the other day?" When her friend appeared to have drawn a blank, the girl sighed once more. "You know...that thing about rainy nights?"

The girl's eyes lit up with realization. "Oh...No, not yet. Sorry."

"Ahh," the girl, who was wearing a green jacket, smiled sheepishly at her. "That's okay. It's just, I heard a guy in the class next door yell something like 'My soulmate is Yamano, the announcer!'"

Everyone in the room leaped into the air as the PA system came back on, and we waited eagerly for the order to head home, though I was also slightly dreading it for the same reason.

"Attention, all students," the woman's voice carried through the rooms and halls. "There has been an incident inside the school district. Police officers have been dispatched around the School Zone. Please stay calm and contact your parents or guardians as soon as possible, and quickly leave the school grounds," the intercom warned us, before pausing. "Do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home. I repeat, do not disturb the police officers. Head directly home."

The students around Yu and I began an excited buzz of chatter. "'Incident'!?" "What, something actually happened?" "C'mon, let's go take a look!"

Most of the crowd in the classroom vanished immediately after, likely to spy on the officers at work. I continued to sit in my seat as I wondered if Dojima-san would be there. Yu didn't move, either, but he was probably waiting for me. Finally, we both stood up, with my satchel at my side and Yu's briefcase/backpack in his hands. But before we left, the girls from earlier stopped us. "Hey, are you guys going home by yourselves?"

I nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"Why don't you come with us?" The short-haired one smiled charmingly at us both. Then she slapped her forehead. "Oh, nearly forgot! I'm Chie Satonaka." She looked at my brother. "You know I sit next to you, right?"

Yu repeated the gesture I did. "Of course."

"Well, nice to meet you!" She laughed a bit. She pointed to the black-haired girl standing beside her. "This is Yukiko Amagi."

Amagi-san blushed a bit. "Oh, nice to meet you..." she said with her slightly deeper voice. "I'm sorry that this is so sudden..."

Satonaka-san blushed furiously. "C'mon, don't apologize like that. It makes me look like I got no upbringing. I just wanted to ask some stuff. Really, that's all."

We began walking towards the exit when we encountered the bleak-looking boy I sat next to during class. He looked at Yu and I real quickly before turning his attention to Satonaka-san and Amagi-san. "Uh, umm...Miss Satonaka...? This was really awesome. Like, the way they moved was just amazing to see..."

Satonaka-san raised an eyebrow. Apparently, he usually didn't act this way.

"And...I'm really sorry!" He instantly bowed to her as he held out a DVD case. "It was an accident! Please just have mercy until my next paycheck!"

When Satonaka-san took the case from him, he shot back up. "See ya! Thanks!" He said hurriedly before walking away quickly.

Satonaka-san frowned at him, and gave chase. "Stop right there!" She shouted at him. "What did you do to my DVD!?"

"Ahh!" I heard the boy yelp. Satonaka-san kicked the boy in his crown jewels angrily. I flinched as he became busy with hopping around in pain. Then Satonaka-san opened the case dramatically.

"What the!?" She cried. "I can't believe this! It's completely cracked..." she gave a sad wail. "My 'Trial of the Dragon'...!"

"I think mine's cracked too..." the boy winced. "C-critical hit to the nads..."

Amagi-san blinked as they watched the boy continue to cringe in pain. "A-are you alright?" She asked him.

"Oh, Yukiko-san..." he managed to look up at the girl. "Are you worried about me...?"

Satonaka-san looked beyond angry as she turned to Amagi-san. "He's fine, Yukiko," she spat. "Let's ditch him and go home."

Satonaka-san and Amagi-san both left the boy there, and I studied him for a second. He looks like he's in a lot of pain... I thought to myself. I bit my lip, wondering if I should help the boy or follow Satonaka-san and Amagi-san.

"You should leave him be," Yu whispered into my ear, still looking bored as ever. But I swear I saw a mean glint in his eyes as he glanced at the boy for a quick second. I hesitated but nodded, just like this morning when the boy ran into the pole.

We caught up to Satonaka-san and Amagi-san, and I smiled at them. "I know you already know our names, but I'd still like a proper introduction," I said to them. "I'm Kaida Narukami. It's nice to meet you for real, Satonaka-san. You too, Amagi-san."

Amagi-san giggled a bit. "Just call me Amagi, if you're up to it."

Satonaka-san flashed me a big wide grin. "Same here. Drop the '-san' and just call me Satonaka. Same goes for you, Narukami-kun." She directed the last part of her statement at Yu.

"Then, just call me Kaida-chan, or '-kun' if you want to. I personally don't care."

By then, we were outside the school, but then a weird boy with strange, dilated eyes looked at us. "You're Yuki, right?" He asked, smirking strangely. "Y-you wanna go hang out somewhere?"

"What...?" Amagi gasped. "Wh-who are you?" This kid is creepy. He doesn't even know her, and he's calling her Yuki? Poor girl...

Students began gathering behind us, and saying rude things about the boy. I wanted to include my own input, but I didn't want to make a mistake here, so I kept my lips closed. But then they said things about Amagi as well, and I wanted to go punch them for it. Yu put a firm hand on my shoulder to keep me in place.

"Um, s-so..." the boy looked a little impatient. "Are you coming or not?"

Amagi looked flustered. "I-I'm not going," she said.

The boy's face contorted into an expression of strange rage. "...Fine!" He spat at her before running off. Instead of the people behind me, now I wanted to pummel this guy.

"Wh-what did he want from me...?" Amagi asked, looking extremely confused.

"'What did he want'...?" Satonaka frowned at her friend. "Obviously, he was asking you out on a date."

Amagi appeared to be startled, and I wondered how oblivious she was to that fact, or if she was just faking it really well. "Huh? Really...?"

Satonaka looked exasperated with her friend. "You really had no clue? Sheesh..."

I couldn't hold back my legs from running much longer. I really wanted to punch him.

"But then again, that was way over the top. It was creepy how he called you Yuki all of a sudden..." Satonaka continued.

I heard a nasty squeaking, and I cringed when I realized who it was. "Yo, Yukiko-san," the boy from earlier greeted her. "Turned down another lovelorn fool, huh?" He asked. She nodded her reply, and he chuckled a bit. "Man, you're cruel...You got me the same way last year."

At this, Amagi frowned, deep in thought, before finally saying "I don't recall doing that."

The boy looked joyful. "Whoa, you serious?" He cried ecstatically. "So then, you wanna hang out sometime!?" I rolled my eyes at his statement. Jeez, what a moron.

"...I'd rather not," Amagi replied quickly, looking a bit annoyed.

The boy looked put down. "That'll teach me to get my hopes up," he said sarcastically. But then he lightened up a little. "Anyways, you two better not pick on the transfer students too much." He stole a peek my way, and I frowned at him in response.

He cycled off on his squeaky bike right after he finished his sentence, and Satonaka stomped her foot childishly at him. "We're just curious, is all!" She snapped at the retreating boy, who was moving down the hill at a quick pace.

Amagi then looked at Yu and I. "U-um," she fidgeted nervously. "I'm sorry for dragging you into this..."

I looked over my shoulder briefly, and saw that people were gathering around and staring. "C'mon, let's go," Satonaka whispered. "Everyone's staring." She walked off quickly, and the three of us followed her down the hill.

---------------

Satonaka smiled warmly at Yu as he explained why we moved. "Ah, so you moved because of your parents' job. Ha ha, I thought it was something way more serious." She paused, and looked to her right, where a large empty field lay. "There really is nothing here, huh?"

Yu shrugged, but Amagi nodded her agreement.

Satonaka continued. "That's what makes it nice, but there