It was the night time over Hirameki City, storm clouds permeating the atmosphere as it's downpour caused the entire city to seem dreadfully dreary. This dreadful and rainy scene was only accentuated by sounds of police sirens that could be heard in the distance. A lone figure stood atop one of the tallest buildings, looking down on the city below, it's inhabitants more or less unaware of the calamity that was already starting to befall them. "Do they have the strength, the heart to stand up and face what is to come? What say you Keeper?" The man turned slightly towards a space behind him, a hood concealing his face.

The figure stood still before finally turning away. "Regardless of your doubt it is my responsibility to at least present them with a choice, for if nothing is done all will be consumed." The figure froze again, listening to an unheard voice. Finally he gave a chuckle as he walked towards a blue door, stopping just before it. "Yes, such is the way of things. I fear it will be quite sometime before we meet again. Though I suppose no matter what the result it's all the same to you. In any case I have work to do, I bid thee farewell." And with that the man opened the door and disappeared within, the door itself vanishing shortly thereafter.

---

The door to a small apartment opened as a lone man walked in, draping his wet, beige trench coat across the radiator to dry it off. The interior was small, a couch and coffee table with a TV shortly after. A kitchen separated from the "Living area" by a counter with a few bar stools. The man retrieved a towel from the bathroom and began drying himself off. Eventually he found the tv remote and pressed the power button causing a short click as the screen brightened the room. The news was on, an attractive young woman wearing a tan pantsuit was giving the weather forecast.

"Sorry folks, looks like you're gonna want to keep those jackets and parasols out for a few more days! Rain from the west just keeps coming and coming! I'm Yuki Hosiri with the weather!" With that the scene shifts to two middle-aged men.

"Thanks Yuki, so Daisuke what do you have for the local news?" His bespectacled counterpart starting sorting through papers before finally speaking.
"Authorities are looking into the string of recent disappearances, according to the police the victims were attacked in their homes. The last victim disappeared earlier this week, a college student by the name of Ken Yoshihiro. A police source tells Hirameki News that they have a profile and are hunting down leads. Another source tells the Hirameki Times that cult activity may be involved."

With another small click the room darkened again as the young man hit the power button. By now he was mostly ready for bed, he just had to set his alarm. "Oh right, classes start tomorrow. I guess Dad'll want me up early. Damn, I hate waking up at 6......" And so with his alarm set, the man fell asleep, thinking on the disappearances and what the new school year at Satoru Highschool would hold.

Rain pattered against the lit windows of the second floor of a humble wooden house. Inside, was a young man lying on his bed, playing on his PSP. He was dressed in a beige shirt and slightly long black shorts. It was a relatively small room. The bed was in the middle of the place and pressed against the wall. At the foot of the bed was a TV placed atop a stand, and at the other end of the room was a wooden table with a couple of shelves containing textbooks. The window was on the side of the room, opposite of the bed. A single lightbulb shone from the middle of ceiling.

The TV was turned on and displaying a news story about the recent disappearances, and the boy simply listened to it as he played with his PSP on silent. The reports of disappearances had his family worried, but he himself was not as concerned. Being from the capital, he knew crimes and criminals always existed, but as long as they stayed out of it and remained cautious during night hours, there wouldn't be any problems. At least, that's what he thought.

A feminine voice from outside the room called out. "Naganori. Don't forget classes start tomorrow. you should get some sleep. I'm sure you're tired from exploring Hirameki today." The voice said. "Yeah, mom. I'll be asleep in a few minutes." Naganori replied. "And don't forget your umbrella tomorrow. The rain doesn't look like it will be letting up." His mother continued. "Got it." Naganori replied. He then saved his Monster Hunter game and turned off the device. He knew he could stay up and play it longer, since his parents were very loose with him about things. But the reason behind that was that they trusted him to be responsible, and responsible he was. Besides, he knew it would look bad to other students if he was late on the first day.

He sat up, and placed his PSP next to the TV, and shut it off as well. He reached up to the switch of the light on the wall just above his bed, and flicked it, shrouding his room in darkness. With that, he fell down on the bed and covered himself up with the blanket. He thought about his new school, and what it would be like. He then thought that this time, his brother wouldn't be there to walk him through how everything worked in school. The thought made him sad, but not much more than that. His grieving phase was over. Besides, he had to stay strong, for his family, and maybe even his brother if he was watching him right now.

On that somber note, Naganori shut his eyes and drifted to sleep.

Tim sat in his new bedroom and looked out the window as he watched the rain pour. His room was very simple. It only had a bed, a TV that sat on top of the dresser, a desk with his laptop, and blue backpack with his school books sitting on it, and an empty closet. There were no posters on th wall, as he had only just arrived to this city earlier that day, and he still hadn't completely finished unpacking all his things. The boy was dressed in a simple white T-shirt and grey shorts, and was just about ready to go to bed.

Unlike a lot of people, Tim actually enjoyed the rain. He got this from his dad, as he was a meteorologist. Sunny days were nice, but at night, a gentle rainfall was always relaxing when you were trying to get to sleep. As long as there wasn't any thunder and lightning, because that ruined the mood, and he always hated the sudden loud noise and bright flash. It was his first night in this new country, and the next morning Tim would be starting school there. He wasn't sure what to expect, he barely spoke to anyone back home, how were his parents expecting him to make any friends in a foreign country? What was his mom thinking putting him in this foreign exchange program?! At least his host family seemed like nice people...

He had the TV turned on to the local news. Mainly because he wasn't yet familiar with what was on what channel yet. After the weather forecast predicted that it would be raining a lot over the next few days, the anchorpeople were talking about a bunch of mysterious disappearances going on in the area. At this point, Tim pulled out the remote, and shut the TV off. This was why he rarely ever watched the news. All the stories were sad, and all they did was spread fear. Who wants to go to bed afraid? Besides, he knew better not to go out this late at night.

Since there wasn't really anything he wanted to do at that time, Tim decided to just go to bed right now. Classes did start bright and early the next day, and being late to the first day of classes would certainly leave a bad impression. He flipped off the lights, pulled out his favorite plush toy, a grey and white puppy, to cuddle with at night, and tucked himself underneath the covers of his bed. He was a little embarrassed that he still slept with a stuffed animal at his age. Kids would give him so much crap about it if they knew. But he liked having the soft toy in his arms as he slept. The boy quietly lay there awake for a few minutes before he eventually drifted off to sleep.

Rika sat alone on her bed, reading as she often did. She smiled and began humming a bright tune despite the down pour of rain at her window. She looked out the window a brief moment and saw red flashing lights. Police? Probably, they've always got something going on. Then the TV got her attention, the weather girl predicted rain for the next few days. She smirked. Cool, I get to go to my new school tomorrow in the rain! She thought to herself excitedly. She always enjoyed walking around outside in the rain. As long as she didn't catch a cold that is.

Rika turned back to her manga briefly before the news people began talking about disappearances. The victims attacked in their own homes? A scary thought since the suspect seemed to have gotten away with it more than one time. They continued on saying something about a college student, boring. And finally then ended off on something about a cult, interesting. The story didn't worry her at all. She thought on the matter for a little bit before turning her attention back to her book.

As Rika read she also began to think about her new school. Would there be anyone interesting, nice, mean? How cool would it be if we had like a foreign transfer student or something, I'd be all over that. Maybe we'll get a blonde girl from America, that'd be funny. She began thinking as she looked up at her ceiling fan. She dwelt on thoughts of school for a while longer. Eventually she returned her attention to reading, and finally went to bed several hours later.

Miki sat just outside of her window, looking out into the dark, yet brooding city of the hills. The rain made things better as she enjoys hearing the downpour of the rain while sightseeing. She knew that school would be starting tomorrow and she would have to deal with people because of it. She didn't want to make friends because of her attitude and her traumatic experience a long time ago. She took notice of the few words on the tv when the weatherman on the news channel came up, including, rain over a few days, mysterious disappearances, and other stuff. Miki sighs and turned off the tv. School huh...I"m here to learn and not make friends. That is all. She exclaimed in her mind. Just then, her mother came in.

"Miki." her mother spoke to her, it's starting to get late, you might want to go to bed soon." She walked closer to Miki. She put her hands behind her hips in quietness. "I understand you wanting to go to learn and not make friends. I can understand that. But I don't like the idea of you being alone in school. Sure there's alot of bad people out there. But i'm sure you'll find the right group to hang out with." She put her hands on Miki.

"Mom...I don't know. I've been alone for quiet some time. I'm not sure if there's anybody out there that will be my friend." MIki closed her eyes. She continued to stare out into the darkness, hoping to find something there in this unfilling void of her mind.

"Sure there will. Just have faith in yourself and be outgoing when needed to." her mother joyfully said to Miki. "Well i'm heading off the bed, so see you tomorrow." she left and closed the door. MIki stood staring out the for a few seconds before responding in her head.

Thank you mom. I wish I could, that event...scarred me for life. I'm not sure if I can be ever outgoing like in the past. A tear dropped from her eye and onto the ground. She closed the window, switched into her white gown up close to her thighs for her sleepwear, turned off the lights and went to bed. She had this weird feeling that something is going to happen there tomorrow that might change her.

Mihari was in her room at night, she was lazily reading through the pages of a book she got a while ago. In the cover read Martian Chronicles, by Ray Bradbury, along with a rather cartoon-ish looking rocket. She had received the book as a gift, to be honest, since she wasn't really good with the sci-fi genre, but she had a rule to read any book someone gifted her, as not to be rude. Though, Mihari most of timesread any book she liked in quite a short time, but with this one, which she felt more like a chore than recreative reading, she was taking so much time that she wished she would take this much time when reading her favourite books. ".... I ain't understanding half of the terminology here!" She said in a frustrated tone. She decided to give up and continue some other day. She throws the book and it lands on top of her bed, perfectly safe. "Yay!" She celebrates with an slight lazy tone to it.

She hears a knock on her door. It is her mom, who tells her to head to bed, since she has school tomorrow.

Though not upset or anything, her lazy tone made her mom angry. "I know mom, I know. I've been doing the same thing for 3 years now. Pretty much know the drill." Her accent and her mom's accent sound almost identical, just that her mom's even heavier, if that is at all possible, though. Mihari wonders if hers would have gotten like that if she had stayed in Sakai City. Not that it would have gotten in the way of her singing, but it was already hard to deal with some guys with how it is, heavier would have meant doom for her.

Her mother scols Mihari for answering her in such a tone, and even though Mihari isn't sure fo what she did to make her mother get angry at her, she just goes along with it and tells her that it won't happen again.

Now, that she is left alone with her thoughts, she starts thinking, will she be in the same classroom as her friends she made last year? She half hoped so and half hoped she was put in another. Not because her friends were bad or anything, just because it would be fun to get to know new people. With those thoughts in her mind, she decided to go to sleep. Mihari felt somewhat anxious, to be honest, but she felt that today she would sleep like a baby and she wouldn't wake up until the next morning, she at least hoped that her nervousness would let her do that.

She changed into her pajamas, which she should have overgrown a while ago, but still fit her perfectly. She now felt discouraged. When did she stop growing? She now just wanted to get some sleep and forget about her pajamas, so she took her nightcap and put it over her head and, in a reflex, she also put her thumb in her mouth. 'Ugh... I gotta stop doing that. I look more like a kid when I do it. She thought, but she didn't take her thumb off of her mouth. She seemed way younger than she was like that. It bugged her. A lot. "I shoulda start with buyin' some new pajamas. I doubt they have any nightgowns in my size, though." She just felt deppressed now, so she decided to sleep and forget about it.

After turning the lights off, she threw herself on top of her bed. She took her pillow and, instead of using it to rest her head, she hugged it. Now, she indeed looked like a child, replacing an stuffed animal with the pillow.

The sounds of rain echoed through a room, droplets from the downpour battering the glass pane of a single window facing out towards the city streets. The droplets shined here and there, reflecting the faint glow of street lights in the distance which were too obscured by the down pour. Every so often a streak of light could be seen passing by accompanied by the sound of tires rolling across the slick ground. The room which was filled with various dressers holding a plethora of supplies, one of the walls occupied by a stack of canvases and at the opposite wall sat a well worn desk with its fair share of stains and scratches.

In the middle of this room a girl sat upon a stool, dressed in a track suit which was every bit as well worn as the desk. In front of her was a canvas sat upright and vertical on an easel. A guitar riff was sounding lightly through the room amidst the sound of rain, coming from a radio set on the desk. The girl sat staring at the canvas, a hand raising from time to time in a stroke of a brush or a quick smudge with her thumb. After each motion she would stop for a moment and grumble to herself, leaning back to view the canvas in full before continuing. The painting seemed to be the rough stages of a stylized portrait with outlines of a face becoming apparent amidst the brush strokes.

”Suzu? Are you still up there? Its getting late.” A woman's voice called from up a flight of stairs causing the girl to blink a few times, leaning to the side to take a glance at a clock on the radio. ”Yeah, I'll be done in a little bit!” She called back down in reply to the voice which gave a confirmation in return. The music playing over the radio cut off not too long after, being replaced with an exaggerated news report on a series of disappearances told by the radio hosts. Though when they decided to start going on about ghosts or aliens it could hardly be considered news. With a light yawn Suzu hopped off the stool and stepped over to the desk, flicking the radio off after giving the canvas one last glance.

”Maybe it'll look better if I try different colors... or shorter strokes? I don't know...” The young woman lamented, setting her hands on her hips and shaking her head in exasperation as she stood peering out at the night for a few moments. With another grumble she turned away and headed down the second floor hall to her room after turning the lights off and shutting the door of the previous room. When she entered her room she swung the door half closed, tossing off the paint spattered track jacket and pants, leaving only the relatively clean t-shirt she wore beneath as she slipped into bed. Almost entirely by habit she grabbed a manga from a shelf above her bed and began to flip through it idly as her thoughts began to wander.

”Another year, huh. I should remember to grab some of the new brushes from the art room right away, maybe that'll help” Laying back into her bed she closed the book and set it beside her on an end table, staring up to the ceiling. ”I hope they dont feel like starting the year with a bunch of meetings...” Suzu thought to herself, her mind flicking around in such ways before she finally drifted off to sleep.

Tetsuo Amaya stood in the front window of his apartment in Hirameki, the rain pouring down from the sky. The TV was on, as it usually was, and he heard the man on the TV speak evenly about the disappearances that have been happening. He looked back out the window, worrying about his mother. He didn't know what he would do if she were to go missing; Tetsuo had already lost one parent (although, admittedly, losing his father wasn't that big of a loss) and he didn't know what he would do if he would have to be alone. He had his friends, but it would still be a huge blow. Maybe I should go out and look for her...

He was about to head for the door when he saw her walking through the rain to their house, umbrella and groceries in hand. Tetsuo grabbed his own red one and ran outside to her, opening it and standing under it. She saw her son as he left the house, which made a smile spread across her face. He really was too sweet, always helping out around the house whenever she needed it. It probably stemmed from the fact that he always wanted to help his mother when his father was still around, he just never got the chance to. Her son walked up to her and quickly tried to get the groceries out of his mother's hands, but she tried to keep them. "I'll be taking those up," he said.

"You do realize that I'm able to handle groceries, right?"

"Course, course," he sighed, putting on an air of disappointment. "I just thought I would be able to help my poor old mother, but if you want to leave me so lost in the world, with absolutely nothing to do," he let out a sigh, "Then go ahead. I certainly can't stop you."

She gave him a playful head bop and finally gave him the groceries. "You're crazy."

He thought about it for a moment as they headed towards the house. "Perhaps, but that just means that I'm far more unique than everyone else."

As the pair arrived at the door he opened it for his mother, who graciously went inside. The comforting, warm building was in stark contrast to the cold and wet outside, something that Tetsuo appreciated while he was setting down the groceries. "That should do it."

"What's in there anyway?" he pondered, getting out a pencil he always kept in his pocket and twirling it around.

"School supplies."

He sighed and leaned back, balancing the pencil on top of his nose. It fell to the side and he caught it, but looked dissatisfied. "Don't remind me."

"Oh, please, you love school."

"I love my clubs and my classmates," he corrected her, "the rest is alright to bad." He honestly didn't mean that completely; he actually really loved his science class, but he wouldn't admit that to anyone but his teacher. He had an artistic image to keep up.

"Well, you'll live."

He put the back of his head against his head. "I'm not sure. I think I'm feeling something coming on. Something deadly."

She snorted. "Right. Look, go get those supplies all put away into your bag. I'm going to start dinner."

Tetsuo begrudgingly went up to his room.

After a particularly good meal, Tetsuo was feeling a bit beat. It had been a long, productive day of lying around sketching. He was upstairs getting ready for bed when he heard footsteps coming from the downstairs. His mother knocked on the door as he yelled out, "It's open!" while he grabbed clothes to lay out for tomorrow. It was a recent thing he had started doing. He honestly thought it was a really smart decision he had made; it took less than two minutes and saved him a lot of time in the morning. His mother entered and he turned to face her. "Hey."

"Hi. Look, I have to leave before you should get up for school. Are you gonna be alright?"

He shook his head and made a "no big deal" gesture. "Course. I'll just set an alarm."

"Alright. I'm going to bed. Love you," his mother said, turning to go before Tetsuo shouted out, "Wait...!"

She gave a short laugh and spun back around with a smile on her face almost like she expected that. "What is it?"

"Did...did you hear about the kidnappings?"

Tetsuo's mother looked puzzled. "Yeah, why wouldn't I have? It's all over the radio and the TV."

"I know, I know," he said, biting his lip. He shifted his feet and looked unusually serious. "I've just got a bad vibe about those. Don't know why, really, I just do. So." He took a deep breath and clapped his hands together contemplatively. "Just...be careful. Especially with you walking to and from work and all of that."

"Honey, I'm fine," she said, looking surprised that he even brought it up. "I don't walk in an area with a ridiculous amount of crime or anything. Don't worry about it." She strolled over to Tetsuo and gave him a reassuring kiss on the cheek. "It'll be alright."

He grinned, thankful that she was able to calm him down so easily. "Thanks." He glanced at the clock. "You should probably head to bed. It's getting late."

"Right. Good night. Love you."

"Love you too," he said as she walked out and closed the door behind her.

He finished packing his clothes and finally was able to collapse on his bed and think for a bit, lifting his palm to the air and glancing at the ring on his finger. New school year, huh...? Better make it a good one. He rolled over and closed his eyes.

As he drifted off to sleep, he thought, Should certainly be interesting.

Celeste got out of the bathroom, towel in hand, as she tried to dry her slightly damp hair. The flat screen television illuminated her dark room, as the weather reporter delivered the weather forecast. It seems that rain was going to continue to fall for the next few days. She walked over to her closet, taking out fresh new clothes for her to wear on the first day of school. She made sure to take out a jacket, in case it got too cold. Being a transfer student last year, this was going to be her second year in Satoru high school. She just wanted to keep a low profile and graduate in peace.

Celeste placed the neatly folded clothes on top of the chair by her study table. She walked back to the bathroom and hung her towel on one of the towel bars before walking back to her room and getting to bed. She shifted slightly as she tried to make herself comfortable. Her eyes were on the TV, as the news reporter talked about the recent disappearances that took place. She took the remote control from her bed stand and switched it off once they mentioned that it might have been related to some cult activity. Most news were exaggerated, trying to make things more interesting to get the viewer's attention.

The city lights gave her room a bit of light, as it shone through her window. She had moved to a new condominium a few days back because it was closer to school, as opposed to her house, which was located by the seaside. Her room was at the seventeenth floor, giving her a good view of the city. She rolled over to her side and stared at the droplets of rain that ran down her window pane, as she tried to do a mental check on what she forgot to prepare for the next day. Her notebooks, books, and other school supplies were ready, so she could get an extra 5 minutes of sleep tomorrow morning. Considering that she lives close to her school now, there was no need for her to rush.

She hoped for a good year, mainly her getting high grades and giving a good performance in everything she did. Making friends was out of the picture. She had always been a lone wolf, and she had hoped to keep it that way. She closed her eyes shut as she listened to the downfall of rain. The series of events that have happened in the past few years crossed her mind, making her feel a bit empty on the inside. She put the thoughts aside and focused on getting some sleep. After a few minutes of peace, sleep slowly took over.

The sun was rising over HIrameki City, and as it's shining rays fell upon the streets below many were already beginning their day. Students would be going to school, some would be going to work, others would simply be out and about for their own reasons. No matter where you lived the trip to anywhere was never very long thanks to Hirakemi's networks of bullet trains. Of course there was also the Monday stigma over the city, as many slothful citizens shuffled to their place of employment or education. One such person was a young man with blond hair, entering the gates of Satoru Highschool where he was to begin preparations for the opening ceremony.

"Let's see. what did he want me to do?" The man wondered aloud as he made his way to the gymnasium, passing a teacher on the way. "Ah, Masanori-kun, your father was looking for you." The teacher told him, she was a young woman, and short too. Thanks to Masanori's towering height by comparison it made conversation's with her hurt his neck. Still he politely thanked her and set out to find his father, just then his phone rang. "Oh great, so impatient to talk he can't just wait for me to find him, alright what does the old man want....." He flipped open his phone, pressing the answer button. "Yeah? You couldn't wait a few more minutes for me to find you?" He took a pause as the person on the other end replied. "Yeah whatever, so what is it exactly that you want me to do?" Another pause. "What do you mean what do I know about pyrotechnics?!"
---------------------------------------

Eventually students would arrive, the school would be clean and have a pronounced gleam as the sun shone of it's ivory walls. Upon entering they would find their class assignments on the notice board in the main hall, however before classes started students would be instructed to head to the gymnasium for the mandatory grand session. An event that takes place every year and has since the school opened, in fact Satoru was somewhat famous for the grandiose of the grand sessions.

The students were held outside of the gym, no one allowed to enter until the appointed time. Apparently whoever coordinated the session was very particular about the impression and how a first look can so affect one's experience. "Alright, alright hold your horses." The commanding voice of one Yoshimitsu Akida, who taught history, sounded throughout the courtyard, the steel of his roman styled helmet gleaming in the sunlight. "We'll let you in when it's time, so just be patient." There was a little murmuring throughout the students, though mainly the first years. Those returning knew the drill and could anticipate what was in store for them inside.

With his blue backpack in tow, Tim was one of the students that was walking to school. His host parents had to leave for work early that day, anticipating that traffic would be bad on account of expecting it to rain. He actually preferred walking over taking the train. Being on a train alone surrounded by strangers was a scary thought for him. Besides, the school building wasn't that far, and it gave him time to think about things. Despite what the weather report last night forecast, it actually wasn't raining, making it a pleasant walk to school.

When Tim finally arrived to Satoru High School, he looked at the bulletin board, and took a picture of his class schedule with his Cell Phone. There were also instructions to head to the Gymnasium, but because this was his first day at this new school, he wasn't sure where that was. The boy wandered around the halls for a few moments wondering where he was supposed to go, until he found some other students who looked they knew where they were going. Quietly, Tim followed behind him until they arrived to the courtyard outside the gym, where there were a crowd of students waiting outside. A man who looked like he was one of the teachers wearing a Roman helmet for some reason basically told everyone that they weren't finished yet, and they had to wait outside. This was followed by disappointed murmuring of other students.

Tim bit his lower lip, and wrung his hands nervously as he looked at all the students that were gathered around. "Gosh, this place is bigger than I thought it would be..." He muttered to himself. The boy was overwhelmed by large crowds of people, and all the noise they made. It made it hard to concentrate on anything. This was his first day at this school, and he had no idea what to expect. He shut his eyes, and took a few deep breaths in an attempt to calm himself down. Then, he went over to a quiet corner, sat on the ground, and observed the crowd trying not to draw too much attention to himself.

"... Books... Pencils... Pens... Paper..." Naganori said to himself as he went over the contents of his bag while in his room. The sun was already up, and he was already dressed in his Satoru High uniform. He had already taken a bath and eaten breakfast. He continued checking and saying the names of the various items until he was sure that he hadn't forgotten anything. "Alright... Looks like I'm all set." He thought. With that, he slung the backpack around him, and proceeded to leave his room.

Emerging through the door, he would be immediately greeted with a set of stairs leading down. His room was all that composed the second floor, as the house was not that big. If he remembered correctly, this house was meant to be a vacation home for a friend of their aunt, who lived in Tokyo. But the man had recently passed away, and left the property to her in his last will. As such, the house wasn't exactly luxurious. The first floor had the main bedroom (Naganori's was meant to be the guest room), a bathroom, and a living room that was combined into a kitchen and dining area. The house was made mostly of painted wood (colored blue-green).

Reaching the first floor, he saw his father sitting down on the sofa, watching TV while his crutches leaned by his side. Meanwhile his mother was washing the plates they had used for breakfast. "I'm heading off to school now." He announced. "Take care of yourself, alright?" His father said. "Are you sure you don't want me to drive you there?" His mother asked. Naganori shook his head. "I know my way to school, and walking will help me familiarize with the city more. Besides, it'll save on gas." He replied. His mother nodded and returned to her dishes while Naganori headed out the door, and walked to school.

---

Lost. That was the one word to describe Naganori at the moment. The walk to the school had been nice under the sun, but after entering the gates and being inside, only then did he feel the dread of not knowing where to go. He took some deep breaths and tried to compose himself. "Alright... Think calmly about where to go." He thought to himself. He headed through the main doors of the school and saw several students walking to and fro. He knew he would probably get even more lost if he tried to randomly follow somebody. He then saw the large bulletin board in the main area.

Approaching it, he saw class assignments with names on them. They were arranged alphabetically, and so he managed to quickly find his name on the list. He took out his phone, and snapped a picture for future reference. He then saw that there was a note telling all the students to gather at the gym for an opening ceremony. "Where is the gym?" He wondered to himself. Deciding to ask around, he found a student friendly enough to point him the right way. "Head that way and just look for the big crowd gathered outside. You can't miss it." The student told him. "Thank you." Naganori said before heading off.

It didn't take him long to reach the crowd. A lot of the students had gathered already, but it seemed as if they were still early as no one was being allowed inside the gym yet. A funny-looking man wearing a Roman helmet was ordering the students to be quiet. Naganori assumed he was one of the teachers. He could already tell this would be an interesting school year.

He walked up towards the edge of the crowd, looking around at all the faces. There were several who were talking excitedly with each other, while others simply stood there and waited for what would happen next. Naganori would be part of the latter. Looking towards the big gymnasium, he wondered what he would see inside. More importantly, he wondered what his classes would be like once the school day had truly begun.

After an uneventful morning at home consisting of the usual shower, a quick breakfast, a speedy dressing into her gakuran and Suzu made a swift trip to the school then proceeded immediately to the class listings, then made her way through the halls towards the gym. Not only was it important to arrive on time it was simply routine by this point for her and so she arrived with plenty of time to spare. Approaching the crowd of students was quite apparent even from down to hall, and what stood out even more was a certain teachers all too flashy helmet. She couldn’t help but shake her head at it, even so it made a faint grin spread over her lips. Odd for sure but such things made the school setting more welcoming in her mind.

Suzu stood a fair distance away from the crowd as she stepped out into the courtyard, glancing about the area as more students filed in. A few of the upperclassmen passing by recognized her and gave casual greetings while the first years tend to slip past only giving side long glances. Thankfully Akida was good at keeping the students in check leaving her free from dealing with reigning them in before the opening ceremonies. This gave her time to glance over the area for anything out of place, and when she did she noticed a boy sat off in the corner. She gave a light hum to herself before heading straight over.

With a quick stride it only took her a few moments to arrive before the boy. When she did she stood for a moment with hands in her pockets, carefully looking him and the area over with a sharp eyed gaze. Someone hanging out in a corner by themselves, it was always possible it could be some delinquent trying to catch a smoke break or ready some prank. Both entirely unacceptable and not the sort of thing she was about to allow. Fortunately it seemed this one was doing nothing of the sort. Suzu's posture relaxed a bit and she extended a hand, giving a light smile, which she lamented a bit in her head knowing it would really do little to soften the intimidating gaze. ”Nanase Suzu, student council president.” She introduced herself, her tone sounding rather official.

”I haven't seen you around before so I assume one of our new first years.” She paused for a moment looking the boy over again, noting his foreign appearance. ”Or a transfer student. Either way you don't need to hide back here, its a good time to get familiar with your peers.” She stated lightly, her tone becoming a bit more casual as she looked back towards the crowd. ”If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, be it for me, the students or the teachers.”

As soon as he sat down, Tim was approached by a tall, dark haired girl. At first, the girl looked serious and intimidating, like she was about to scold him for doing something wrong. This did not help to calm the boy's nerves. Oh no, I just got here, and I'm already getting into trouble... but after a few moments, the girl's expression softened, and Tim was relieved. She smiled, and extended her hand, and Tim got up and politely shook it. The girl introduced herself, and explained that she was the student council president. Her tone was serious and formal, but not intimidating.

"Oh, um... uh..." Tim muttered as he struggled to come up with something to say, He was grateful that someone had spoken to him, hadn't expected this to happen so soon. It was his first day of school in this new place, and the student council president was already talking to him. What was he supposed talk about? If he said anything about himself, he'd probably fumble the words or something, and she'd probably think he was some sort of weirdo. The last thing he wanted was to start the school year off with a bad first impression.

As he was thinking, he noticed her studying him, which served to unnerve the boy. Thankfully, it didn't last too long, and Tim didn't need to explain anything. Suzu managed to figure out on her own that he was a new student. The boy was relieved, and at the same time, a little frustrated that he hadn't thought to explain that he was an exchange student. he continued speaking, her tone becoming more casual. "Either way you don't need to hide back here, its a good time to get familiar with your peers. If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, be it for me, the students or the teachers.”

Tim started wringing his hands nervously, and kept his gaze down. He heard that kind of advice several times from well meaning people in the past, and it did nothing to soothe his fears. Yes I do have to hide back here... The boy thought. I'm just going to mess something up, and then no one is going to let me live it down. Like always... There was a moment of awkward silence as Tim tried to figure out some sort of reply. It was only after thinking of these things, that he realized that he forgot to give his name. Great, now she probably thinks I'm rude. He put his hands in his pockets, and started shuffling his weight from one foot to the other. "Um... uh... I-I-I'm... Tim..." He murmured slightly above his breath. He figured after the fact that he probably should have said something else, to keep the conversation going, but it was already hard enough just to say his own name. It just wasn't worth the struggle.

Rika had awoken bright and early that morning, really early, which was unusual. She then decided to take a shower. After her shower, she looked at the school uniform hanging on her closet and sighed. Right, a skirt... and there goes all my motivation and energy to do anything. She thought as she meekly took the hanger off her closet. After getting dressed, she went and got herself breakfast. As she came down the stairs, one of her brothers greeted her. "Dang it! No matter how early I get up you always are up before me." She replied in a fake angry tone.

"Hehe, guess I've got like a sixth sense. My body just knows when your gonna get up and wakes me up thirty minutes earlier to prepare myself." Rika's brother replied.

"Yeah I guess s- Wait, what's that supposed to mean? Prepare yourself?" Rika walked over to him and grabbed his uniform's tie.

"Yah! No need to pull. See this exactly what I'm talking about." He said in a somewhat mocking tone.

Rika huffed and threw the tie in his face. "Fine." She then sat down and began eating breakfast. After she had finished she got up and went to go put her shoes on. "Make sure to tell mom that I already left." Rika called to her brother. "Yeah, sure thing." Her brother replied plainly. "And don't go getting into any fights blondie!" She shouted to him as she walked out the door. A little sad that she didn't hear what kind of witty retort he'd give, but she was far to excited for school. She soon after began running to the train station.

---

After getting off the train Rika began leisurely walking to school. She made sure to check the clock in the train, and she had plenty of time. After a little while she finally came upon the school gates. My new highschool, can't wait to see what kind of interesting things await. She thought to herself excitedly as she entered the main gate.

Rika shuffled through a few crowds trying to get to the bulletin board. She eventually found it, it had listings of all their assigned classes. Studying it for a bit, she finally found her name. She memorized the class number, and took note of the announcement to gather in the gym, and then pulled out of the crowd of students surrounding the board. "Alright, hopefully I'll be able to remember that." she muttered to herself before shaking her head. "No, I will be able to remember that." She said determinedly. "Alright, on to the gymnasium." She then made her way to the gym building.

Upon arriving she noticed a large amount of students gathered around outside. "Aww, they haven't started?" She said, slightly disappointed. "Guess there's nothing for it but to wait." She began standing to the back of the crowd. Watching all the students gather. As she watched one man stood out, it was what seemed to be a teacher. Wearing a roman helmet. Okay, that's cool. I want that guy as my homeroom for sure. She said, smirking. Afterwards, she continued standing to the back of the crowd, watching all of her fellow students gather. Taking notes of which ones she was interested in talking to.

Celeste woke up thirty minutes before her alarm. Opening her eyes, she looked towards the alarm clock on her bedside, contemplating whether she should go back to sleep or start getting ready for school. After a few more moments of rest, she got out of bed and stretched lightly. The orange rays of sunlight came seeping in through the narrow opening of her curtains, and she walked over to throw the curtains wide open. She had to squint, as the harsh light hit her eyes. Celeste walked over to the telephone that was on her desk, calling for the room service to bring in her breakfast.

While waiting for the food to arrive, she headed to the bathroom to take a shower. It only took her around fifteen minutes. And by the time that she was done, the doorbell rang, and she opened it as the waiter came in with her food, settling it on the table. Her hair was gently wrapped in a towel, and she was already dressed in her uniform. She took off the towel that was wrapped around her hair, letting it air-dry as she ate her food. Today, she had carbonara pasta for breakfast. Before, she would have enjoyed it, but lately, she's been getting into Japanese food. Celeste only finished half of it before heading to the bathroom once again to brush her teeth. She combed her damp hair lightly with her fingers, and she took one last glance in the mirror before heading out.

Celeste made sure to open her bag and check her belongings, making sure that nothing was forgotten before heading out of her room to get to the car that was waiting for her. Although elevators were convenient, she had to wait for almost a minute for it to arrive on the floor she was on. She straightened herself and fixed her uniform before stepping inside. The elevator ride was quiet as always. Most people inside were reading the newspaper, and some were busy browsing through their phones.

Ding. She sighed in relief as it reached the intended floor. She quickly made her way outside, and was greeted by the driver that her father sent for her. She was planning to start walking to school since the school was already so near, but her dad insisted that she ride the car. Not wanting to cause a fuss out of something so trivial, she agreed. As she got inside the car, she took out the ipod and earphones that were inside her bag. She wore the earphones and put the player into shuffle before leaning back against the chair.

After a 5 minute drive, the car entered through the school gates. She took off her earphones and placed it back inside the bag, along with her ipod. She didn't waste any time to step outside and head to the main hall to check the class that she was assigned to. It was still quiet at this time of the day, and she was glad because it would be easy for her to look for her name in the notice board. After a few glances, she found her name. She didn't bother scanning through the names of her classmates because she didn't have friends in the first place.

Celeste headed to the gymnasium for the -as they'd like to call it, grand session. It was mandatory and it also took place last year on the first day of school. At least this year, she already knew the drill, and she was already familiar with the places. Last year, she was very late because she ended up getting lost. She wasn't very good at directions; A weakness that she really wanted to work on. As Celeste arrived in the gymnasium, she saw the history teacher wearing a roman helmet. If she was new to the school, she would have reacted weirdly, but she already got used to the oddness.

The crowd was pretty tight, so Celeste moved to a space at the side where students weren't flocking in. She stood there silently as she waited for whatever was next. Looking around, she could already see some people making new friends, and some were chatting happily with old friends, as they went on and on about how great their summer vacation was. Celeste didn't have anyone to talk to -and she had no problems with it, but being surrounded by people who were already in groups kind of made her feel left out, but not in a bad way. It was just a bit awkward as she stood there not knowing what to do.

After giving his mother a kiss on the cheek and convincing her that No, he didn't need any help getting there, he was 16, he headed out the door and walked down the street to the high school, taking in the scenery of the city. Businessmen shuffled along on legs often unused while sitting at a desk and suitcases held in hands with fingers worn by typing, making Tetsuo grin to himself a bit; He would never end up like those guys, that was for sure. Suddenly realizing that the sun was really hot today, and so he hurried down the street a little faster, glad that he lived only a few blocks from Satoru High.

The school looked the same as ever, but shined up and polished for the opening day and the new students. Tetsuo walked with his hands in his pockets towards the school, and grinned at some of the people he recognized from last year, waving at the people he was more familiar with. Noticing that the class schedules were once again on the notice board, he pulled out his phone and took a picture of the schedule that corresponded to him, looking it over and giving a satisfied, “Hm.”

Tetsuo saw that Nanase Suzu, who he recognized as student council president and from the art club, was standing next to some odd student he didn't recognize who was awkwardly shifting their weight on their feet, obviously unsure of what to do. Well, he doesn't seem to be at ease here. Better go help him, too.

“Ya know, Nanase, maybe someone less imposing should greet our new student,” he said, nudging the girl playfully. Said new student was standing with a scared look in his face. Pulling out his acting chops (even if he wasn't really acting that much here), he tried to bring out a voice more calming and soothing. “Hey, there. You seem kind of new here. Do you need any help with anything?”

Just as Tim barely managed to utter his own name a tall young man wearing a beige trench coat approached the pair. "Hello President Nanase Suzu? I'm with the Principle and we need you in the auditorium." He spoke calmly, quietly, yet authority rang in his voice. The man turned, giving her a come hither motion with his hand before walking towards the gymnasium, casually glancing back over his shoulder to ensure the President was following him.

The pair approached the entrance where Mr. Akida graciously let them pass with a salute. Her escort merely smiled as he held the gymnasium door open for Suzu. Inside she could see decorations adorning nearly every square inch, paper lanterns hanging from the ceiling, chais placed on the floor in patterns determined by color, streamers attached to any surface that would allow it, and ungodly amounts of glitter on the stage's carpet made the entire room look rather gaudy.

They continued into the building where he led her onto the stage where she could see the Principle waiting. "Ah Nanase Suzu, it's good to see you again my dear." Principle Raijin Satoru said as the two approached, his kind smile somewhat obscured by his bushy, gray mustache. Raijin was a man no one could ignore, with a booming voice and stature to match you would be hard pressed to find a more attention grabbing presence. Principle Satoru gestured towards Suzu's escort, the young man was actually taller then the Principle himself who towered over most people. "I see you've met my son, Masanori! He'll be a special teacher this year!" Masanori turned to Suzu, giving a low bow.
"Detective Satoru Masanori of the Hirameki City Police Department, at your service." At that the Principle let out a loud, hearty laugh, his mustache wiggling in time to his laugh. "Hahahahaha! Ah Masanori no need to be such a stiff!"

Masanori gave his father a disapproving look, but otherwise let the comment pass. If Raijin saw the look he gave no indication of it, instead charging along with his conversation. "So Nanase-san, I hope you have your speech prepared, I'm sure you're already chomping at the bit to address the student body."

Suzu stood quiet as the boy who had sequestered himself off to the corner merely fidgeted about and muttered incoherently until finally standing and giving his name. At least he managed to stand and return the hand shake before becoming entirely flustered she thought. Before she could reply herself another student entered the scene, obviously a returning student and one which she was able to recognize at that. She hardly budged when she was nudged by the boy, turning towards him with a brow raising slightly. ”Amaya, was it? I have a position here and assisting new students is part of that.” The young woman said sternly, clearly stating her intent to fulfill that duty regardless of how others perceived her.

In the back of her head however she found herself lamenting that passing comment a bit. Still with another approaching there was no time for her to fret. Suzu eyed the man cautiously who quickly seemed to have his orders. She gave a light sigh before turning back to Tim and Amaya for a moment. ”It seems I have business to attend to, Tim, Amaya.” She said with a nod to each of them before turning and heading off towards the entrance of the gym.

As they approached the entrance she gave a nod to the teacher before heading inside and quickly taking in the decorations. The artist in her cringed at the decor, especially the sheer amount of glitter and streamers littering the room. On the stage she gave a light bow when the principal approached. ”Satoru-san.” Suzu stated in greeting, her eyes following the principals gesture to the man in the dull colored trench coat at her side. His introduction made her give a curious hum, eyes flitting between the younger and elder Satoru.

”A detective? Is there some reason we have need of a detective for?” The student council president spoke with a curious but cautious tone before continuing. ”Or simply here to observe the proceedings?” If his father was the principle it was possible the son may attend but it struck her as odd all the same, opening ceremonies were not something students parents ordinary attended let alone the principals children. Either way she turned to look over the empty gym before continuing to address his next statement.
”I have, it was prepared well in advance.” She stated with a nod, giving a deliberately brief reply and slipping her hands into her pocket. Truth be told she didn't find the opening ceremonies to be all that exciting. Simply a formality to go through the motions of. She knew it was something most average students would hardly pay attention to either. More importantly her own curiosity about why a detective was attending was still at the front of her mind.

Rika stood around for a bit, then sighed heavily. Bored, she was tired of waiting around. So she decided to look around for someone to talk to. As she began looking about the crowd, certain people stood out. Now it was just a matter of which one. She spied an interesting girl, near the edge of the crowd. She seemed to be wearing a very prominent looking hairpiece. Odd, she thought. The girl was by herself, maybe she was new to the school? However, she thought it was odd how distant she looked. If that was the case, if the girl was new. She thought she would be at least the slightest bit interested in the opening session. Ah well, nothing for it but to find out right? She thought to herself smirking.

She approached the girl from behind and tapped her shoulder, when the girl turned her head she was met by Rika flashing a bright smile. "Hello!" She said in a sing song type tune. Afterwards she walked up next to her and put her hands behind her back. "So, what do you make of this grand session?" She inclined her head as she asked her. Pausing a moment, she spoke again before the girl had time to respond. "Oops, I'm sorry! I suppose I should ask your name first. I'm Rika Tachibana, what's your name?"