It was Sunday and everyone was going about their day. Yoro had sent Akira a text earlier in the morning, asking her if she wanted to hang out today. He needed something to get his mind off of what was currently going on in his life; having lunch and catching up with an old friend was just what he needed. Yoro was in his room, watching tv. He fiddled around with his phone, playing Space Invaders as he waited for a reply from Akira.

---

Takahiro on the other hand was in his room and he planned to stay there all day. He was tuning his guitar on his bed. It was his baby. He plucked the strings a few times. He sighed, putting his guitar away and taking out his PSP. He leaned up against the wall on his bed.

Nami looked upwards, at the building that was called Iwatodai Dormitory.

Well, technically, she was Nagi at this point, but she was still in the typical outfit that characterised the other side of her mind. Nami's heels, dress and her unbound chest was like a cheese grater on her patience and her psyche. But she couldn't snap out at anyone without looking crazy. She did notice that the passers-by around her gave her a wide berth. Nagi glared hard, but did she really glare that hard at everyone?

With a sigh, she knocked on the door. Her hand reached into the pocket, plucking out a photo of 'herself', or at least how she looked like when in her normal clothing. If Nagi had a brother, he would look exactly like her. The dormitory needed to know about 'Nagi', and the possibility that Nami's brother would come into dorms. It was lying, but explaining to a few people she wouldn't stay that long with about her double-personality issue wasn't something Nami or Nagi looked forward to. The Isa twins were off the radar for so long, but there was always a chance, a slight chance, that she would be recognised on the street. No one did that day, or any day ever since the twins 'recovered' from their trauma. Idols came and went, and today's news was tomorrow's obscure fact.

Nagi adjusted the strap of the bag she was carrying. There wasn't anything much, other than a crossbow made for sports and hunting. A little something she picked up by herself. A former singing idol had money, and purchasing a crossbow was only a matter of finding a proper source.

Hitomi would have never thought she'd gaze up at a school building on a Sunday, yet here she was, timidly peeking up at the large structure from behind her fake glasses. She'd moved into the city just yesterday, and according to her parents and the paperwork she'd have to do, this was to be her new school starting tomorrow. Not only that, but for the first time in her life, she would actually need to live in a dorm. She wasn't really sure what her parents' logic had been regarding that decision, but she figured it had had something to do with her having to go out more and get to know people. And if that was the case, her parents had made a huge mistake; a dorm would hardly help in that any; she'd just lock herself in her dorm room instead of her bedroom back home. That'd be it.

She glanced nervously at her PSP's screen, catching a reflection of her slightly distressed face when the screen turned back to load a new scene. Could she really do this? Moving cities was stressful enough, but having to live away from her parents, all alone in a place where she knew no one... It all sounded just a bit too overwhelming for her. Her parents were crazy - crazy, and completely off the mark when it came to making her more sociable. All they were doing now were making her cry inwardly in frustration, just like she'd done yesterday when she'd have to say goodbye to all the people she knew. Seriously! What was the big idea of making her abandon the few friends she had in order to... to make new ones? She didn't want new ones. She didn't need new ones.

Shaking her head and focusing back on her game, Hitomi let out a small, shaky sigh. It... would be okay, probably. All she'd need to do was not get in anyone's way. Just... keep up appearances and smile come what may. That, and hide if she saw someone approach that spelled trouble. Oh, and get Fairy Maiden 3. That game had been all over the news lately. At the thought, her eyes gained a small spark, and her frown curved slightly upward into something that faintly resembled a smile. Just hearing her favorite seiyuu perform the opening should be enough to keep her happy for days.

Realizing she was pretty much just dozing off in front of the school building by now, Hitomi quickly snapped out of her thoughts. R-right, she had no time for this now. She was yet to check out the dorm, much less bring in her luggage. So, grabbing the handle of her suitcase, adjusting her glasses enough to keep them from falling and balancing her console on one hand, the girl turned around on her heels and started towards the dormitory.

Leo had arrived to the dormitory building with all his luggage in tow. He was there as an exchange student, thinking it would be fun to try something new during his last year of high school. It wasn't his first time in Japan, he had lived there years ago when he was eight. While he had fond memories of the place, but he had forgotten a lot of the Japanese he learned due to not having had to use it in so long, and he definitely couldn't read or write any of the characters. He had only arrived today, and would have probably had a hard time finding the place, if he didn't have detailed instructions written in plain English. Why did every street sign use Japanese characters? Did this town not have any tourists? Surely, someone would need English street signs.

When he approached the building, he looked down at the paper in his hand, then back at the dorm. "Here it is!" Leo said with a smile. Being in a foreign country was a nerve racking experience for anybody, but Leo was optimistic things would work out for the best. After all, being worried about anything bad that may or may not happen wasn't a good way to live. He put the paper away, and pulled out a pink yo-yo from his pocket, and started throwing it up and down. The yo-yo was pink and white, and had a picture of Pinkie Pie on the white side, and the My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic logo on the Pink side.

As Leo was about to enter the building, he noticed two other girls who were also just arriving that also had their luggage in tow. One was a blonde and was wearing heels and a dress, and the other one had dark hair, glasses, and playing a PSP. Leo didn't think too much about the game console, he was more of a Nintendo fan than Sony, but that wasn't really important. This looked like a good time to make a new friend since it appeared they were all about to move into the dorm for the first time, even though this dark haired girl seemed much more nervous about it than he was. He also couldn't figure out why, but he remembered seeing this girl before, even if he didn't remember her name. Maybe they had gone to school together when Leo was in Japan? Leo wasn't sure, but it gave him a reason to talk to her.

Leo's eyes widened, and his a wide grin formed on his face as he approached the two of them. "Hi!" Leo said in a friendly tone the best way he could. He hoped these two knew enough English to understand him. His Japanese was rusty from the lack of use, and he English was his first language anyway. "Are you guys new here? It's ok, I am too! You don't have to be nervous." Looking at the dark haired girl when he said that last sentence. "I'm Leo by the way, I'm an exchange student! Maybe we could be friends?" Addressing both of them, before he then turned his attention back to the nervous looking girl in glasses. "Hey, I don't know why, but you look familiar? Have we met before?"

A young man was taking a casual stroll around Iwatodai, popping into the odd shop and chain-smoking as he went. He had left the dorm with the sole intention of buying a pair of gloves; of course in the end he had spent over ten thousand Yen on unnecessary crap... such was the life of Fukugawa Youhei. He paused at a discount wine shop, remembering something he had said to his dormmate Ikeda a few times now; the girl had saved his life more than once and each time he had promised her a drink in return. How many do I owe her now? Three..? If they ever did go out of an evening, the girl could go the whole night on his favour alone... As he perused the the wares, Youhei wondered if the shop would even serve him; granted, he looked a little older than his eighteen years and had never had an issue getting tobacco, so maybe he would be in luck... After a few minutes, an exotic-looking yellow bottle caught his eye and (after a tense moment at the checkout) Youhei left as the proud, if temporary owner of a bottle of banana liqueur. He celebrated his flouting of legal age restrictions with another rollie and decided to head back to the dorm. Last thing he wanted was a friendly police officer asking awkward questions...

As he meandered homeward, Youhei's thoughts turned to SEES and Shadows, as they often did when he had nothing else to mull over. The Strega evoker he had claimed the other week was still a mystery to him, despite hours of disassembly and general fiddling with; the SEES ones just felt... different somehow and he was determined to find out why. Youhei felt a little guilty about not confiding this in the others, especially Kirijo, but couldn't shake the feeling that it would be confiscated if they ever found out. Unfortunately and as much as he hated sounding so melodramatic, that evoker was something of a symbol to Youhei; it represented the first time he had taken a human life. He hadn't talked to the others about that either and whenever he considered it, a sickeningly selfish fear rose within... What if they... call me a murderer? What if they drive me away? Such thoughts had been circling his mind ever since he left the Tartarus atrium that night and probably would for many months to come.

Youhei stopped just around the corner from the dorm and took a deep, sobering breath, as was fast becoming his habit. When with the others he needed to keep his mask up and his smile friendly, lest they get a good glimpse of the side he didn't wish to share. After taking a moment to reconfigure his murky expression into a relaxed smile, Youhei sparked up again and headed round to the main entrance. To his mild surprise he found three strangers outside, clearly student types; come to think of it, the Chairwoman had mentioned a few new additions. Either they all knew each other or there was some deux ex machina business going on here, gathering them at this exact moment... Still, he stepped forward confidently; he was the senior one here anyway so he might as well greet them.

'Morning, ladies and gents. Are you the new transfer students?' Youhei's gaze switched from face to face, noting each little idiosyncrasy. The girls looked fairly normal, but the boy took him by surprise. 'Are you American? Christ, didn't expect that. Thought I'd be the only semi-foreigner here.' He spoke English with a thick Yorkshire accent, so Youhei wasn't entirely sure the guy would understand him. 'So... uh... Welcome to the Iwatodai dorm. Come in, here I'll open her up...' Youhei waited until the three of them had filed past, then stepped in smartly behind them. As they settled in, he jogged over to the stairs and yelled up. 'Oi, Kirijo! Fresh meat!'

In his own room sitting at his desk, Akira jumped a bit hearing Youhei's voice booming outside the dorm, and shook his head at the boisterousness of their stand-in leader, although maybe it was time he stopped thinking of Youhei like that since Kirijo was back. I thought it was the Americans who were supposed to be loud... He admired Youhei for his brashness, but at the same time it was bothersome.
With little interest in the meet and greet that was sure to happen next, while rubbing his brow Akira returned his attention to the MMO he was playing--he had little interest in the homework he was procrastinating on--and focused on his character's stats and the game's mechanics rather than on his returning feelings of social anxiety. He'd been adjusting to living in a dorm again, and now even more people were being added, which was less than thrilling for the rising star who preferred anonymity. Instinctively he adjusted his collar, pulling it a bit higher even though no one else was around.

As Hitomi got closer and closer to the still far-off dormitory building, she quickly noticed that she wasn't the only one present; there was another girl gazing up at the building with the obvious intention to enter - most likely for the first time like her, judging by the time it took her to take in the sight of the building. Hitomi couldn't really claim that seeing another new student helped her anxiety any, though. New or not, this was a person she didn't know, and from the looks of it, she was a bit... uh... Well, she had blonde hair, and her manner of dress wasn't exactly proper for a high schooler. Then again, she was the one who would have wanted to walk around in gothic dresses, so who was she to judge? At least this girl looked like she wanted to. It annoyed her, somehow. She could never do that.

Without really noticing it, Hitomi had been slowly advancing towards the dorms the entire time she'd been in thought. She had just realized that she'd better wait for the other to enter first and stopped, when a very loud, foreign greeting startled her to almost dropping her precious PSP on the cold asphalt below. In an instant, she spun around, stepping behind her suitcase as if to hope it protected her from whatever was about to attack her. Apparently, the shout had been loud enough to also attract the attention of the other girl. That did not help. Not at all. Wh-who in the world would-

"Are you guys new here? It's ok, I am too! You don't have to be nervous." She heard the foreign boy exclaim, his gaze jumping between her and the other girl as he continued in the same excited tone, half his words getting drowned out by the loud heartbeats Hitomi heard reverberate from her chest. Not only had someone come and addressed her, they had done so in a foreign language and in a manner that practically caused her something akin to a heart attack. What was the boy saying anyway? He was new, and... she looked familiar? She didn't recall him. Maybe he was mistaken, nobody would remember her from anywhere anyway. And friends? She believed she'd heard that word. But they'd just met, friendships didn't form like that, and she didn't... she hadn't even caught his name! English names were hard for her to pick out without repetition.

"I... I..." Hitomi squeaked out, panicked, not at all sure how to reply. Luckily for her, she didn't have to; in a moment the trio was joined by another student, who did a good job draining all the attention to himself. That was about the only good thing about his arrival, however. He, too, was both foreign and loud, neither a trait the girl appreciated much, as they both left her a nervous wreck. This one, though, apparently also knew Japanese. Hitomi raised her gaze a tiny bit, just in time to see the guy open the dormitory for them to enter.

Nodding silently as thanks, Hitomi basically dashed inside to escape the situation, PSP pressed against her chest and luggage firmly in hand. She stopped in front of the stairs, though, not sure where to advance from there and not wanting to get lost or appear foolish. From behind her, she faintly heard the upperclassman refer to them as 'fresh meat'.

She visibly shuddered thinking what the year ahead of her would bring.

Youhei's voice was so loud, Yoromatsu could hear it all the way up in his room. Fresh meat? Oh, he must be talking about the new recruits. Good, he was waiting for them. He had to make the business with these recruits brief. He stood up, putting his phone in his pocket. He walked out of his room and downstairs to the lounge. He bowed slightly to the recruits. "Good afternoon." He spoke in English. They would probably be shocked at how well he spoke. There was barely even an accent. "Welcome to the Iwatodai Dormitory. My name is Kirijo Yoromatsu, leader of the organization you joined, SEES. It's a pleasure to meet you. One moment." He cleared his throat. "Takahiro! Come here!" He spoke in Japanese this time. Takahiro didn't know very much English. No matter how hard Yoro tried to teach him, the language just didn't click. A couple of minutes later, Takahiro came down the stairs. He adjusted his glasses. "Please show these guys to their rooms." Takahiro groaned.

"Fine." He turned to the recruits. "I don't speak English. Deal with it. Follow me." He turned around and walked up the stairs.

Once they were gone, Yoromatsu turned to Youhei. "Fukugawa. What is your opinion of the new recruits?" He wanted to see if anyone agreed with his impression.

Ranko sat quietly in her room, bundled up in her blanket as she drank some tea with honey. A soft smile formed on her face as she looked at the television before her, hearing Youhei's loud voice made her jump a bit which made her spill the rest of her tea on the floor. "Aw man....well...I needed more anyway. I wonder what's got him so excited...?" She said with a soft sigh before getting up and leaving her room with with the blanket around her and her cup in hand. Walking down the stairs she was met face to face with Takahiro and some other people she didn't know. She began blushing bright red, realizing she wasn't really in the best attire to meet new people. "U-um...hi...uh..." Looking at one of them, she noticed he looked fairly foreign. " U-um..h-herro...n-nisu too meeto you..." She said in the best english she could muster, it was definitly not her best subject but it was worth try.

Leo smiled a little as the girl nervously struggled to find the words she wanted to say. It was probably because she didn't know English, he couldn't help but find her high pitched stuttering, and shyness cute. He wanted to give her a hug right there, but people usually weren't accepting of strangers hugging them. Aw, she's like Fluttershy! He thought, being reminded of his favorite cartoon. He almost wished he had some cute animal with him for her to fawn over.

Before the girl had a chance to give her answer, the trio was joined by another student. Much to Leo's relief, this guy spoke English. British English, but it was still English regardless. He'd actually be able to talk to someone in this country. "Yep! Born and raised!" He exclaimed in response to his comment. Then, the other guy opened the door for all of them to enter. Leo nodded, and rolled his luggage inside. He thanked the other guy with one of the Japanese words he remembered. "Arigatou!" The upperclassman then appeared to call someone over, but he didn't know what it was that was being said.

As Leo waited in the room, another girl came down the stairs, wrapped in a blanket and carrying a cup in her hand. She turned a bright shade of red when she saw the others, and she spoke with a stutter. She probably wasn't expecting to see so many other people. She tried her best to speak to Leo in English, but it was clear that she was bad at English like he was with Japanese.

Leo gave her a friendly smile, and waved. "Hi!" The boy replied. This seemed like a good opportunity to practice Japanese. He took a second to figure out what to say next. "Um...Watashi...no...namae wa...Leo!" He said slowly. Vaguely remembering that was how you said "my name is" in Japanese. He was sure he pronounced it wrong, though. "Did...I say that right...?"

Soon afterwards, another guy named Kirijo Yoromatsu came down and introduced himself. Leo was relieved to meet another person that spoke English, and it was surprisingly good too, there wasn't even an accent. Still, he was sure he was going to have a hard time getting all these fancy Japanese names right. He wondered if they would be alright with some kind of nickname... Kirijo then called down someone else, and a few moments later another, grumpy looking guy came down. Based on the fact that the other guy said something to all of them, and climbed up the stairs, it seemed like he told him to follow him. Leo just shrugged his shoulders, picked up his luggage, and complied.

Takahiro first stopped at the second floor. "Boys stay up here. Pick an empty room." He said to Leo. He paused, sure that Leo had no clue what he said. He groaned and rolled his eyes. "Youu... stah... heree." He then turned to the stairs. "Girls, follow me." He walked up to the third floor. "Decide who gets what room." He decided to head back downstairs to see Ranko. He smiled at her. "Hey. Enjoying your day off?" He walked over to her. "U-Uh... here." He took a disc case out of his pocket. The art on the front was of a group of boys, Takahiro among them. They were standing together, staring at the camera. "It's, uh, my band's newest album. Not even out yet." He paused. "Uh... not that it's a big deal. We don't have a lot of fans. Um... but we do play at Escapade Sunday nights. Maybe... you could stop by?" He blushed. "Maybe?"

After handing the new kids over to Kirijo, Youhei slumped down behind the common room bar to watch the proceedings. Truth be told, he was a little shocked that Kirijo had mentioned SEES so openly, especially considering the degree of secrecy surrounding his own admission to the club... group... thing. Sending the kids off with Takahiro seemed even worse; while Youhei had a grown to respect the little gobshyte for his guts and loyalty, Takahiro's personality left a lot to be desired. Personally, Youhei wouldn't have trusted him with... well, anything particularly important. While he was psyching himself up for dealing with the surely traumatised kids, Kirijo asked his opinion. 'My thoughts... are not many right now.' Youhei reached under the bar, pulling out a chilled can of coke from one of his many stashed mini-fridges. 'I didn't really get a chance to talk to them, though I can offer my honest first impressions...'

Standing slowly, Youhei took a deep draught from his can before setting it aside carefully. 'First, the girls. One was ridiculously adorable, with a certain hint of frightened mouse accenting a more intellectual shy charm. I would give her a score of eight out of ten.' As he talked, Youhei paced up and down the bar, making gestures wildly. 'Of the second girl, my opinions are divided; she might either be a typical stuck up blonde, which I abhor, or perhaps something more. I'd bet on her having an interesting personality, once we break past that silent, aloof façade; I might have detected a whiff of iron maiden tsundere. I hope so. Seven out of ten, possibly nine if she really is a tsundere.' He stopped suddenly, his gaze flicking back to Kirijo's eyes and his voice dropped the connoisseurial air. 'The yank looked a bit... gay. Not that I have a problem with that.', he hastened to add. 'But I'll be double locking the shower door from now on. I think it's the... pink. Or the yo-yo. Definitely the yo-yo...' Youhei paused for a moment in deep thought, before cocking his head back toward his friend. '... thoughts?'

There wasn't an opportunity for Nagi to show the 'real' picture of herself to anyone, but she figured out that one of them would have to do the explaining at some other point. The nervous girl trying to speak English sort of irritated Nagi, mainly because that it didn't sound like 'proper' English. She threw metaphorical stones even though she never actually spoke English, but she was pretty good at figuring out what people said in English even when her own mastery at it wasn't up to anyone's scratch.

The young man known as Kirijo Yoromatsu carried himself with a different sort of manner, a little something that Nagi appreciated quite immediately with a little smile. If Nami was here, she'd probably ask him for a date or something. The thought of Nami, silently presenting a Valentine's Day card to this young man made Nagi smile. Nami would probably freak out once she realised Nagi had that thought, though.

The third guy, who didn't introduce himself but would later be known to them as Youhei, spoke English. At least, that's what Nagi guessed. It wasn't American, Canadian, British or Australian. Most of the words that came out of his mouth were had their meanings half-guessed by Youhei. It was either that this student spoke in a strange technical part of English she knew nothing about, or his accent needed a boot to the head. His mention of 'fresh meat' pretty much sealed the deal of her impression of him. Informality was a core part of this male member of the dorm.

When the girls were left at the third floor, Nagi managed to take a good look at them. The girl that would later be called Hitomi, seemed more comfortable in the dark shadows of the dormitory corners rather than out in the open. The PSP she carried definitely made her a gamer in anyone's eyes, though Nagi thought the more correct term for shrinking violets like her to be called amateur hikikomoris. Nagi would have ignored her entirely if there was someone else to talk to.

"Lovely weather today, huh?" mumbled Nagi, glancing out of the window.

The way Nagi conducted small talk, perhaps ignoring Hitomi might have been the better choice. She did not even glance in Hitomi's direction when she spoke.

Ranko calmed down a bit when she saw Takahiro smile, moving a stray bit of hair hitting her cheek to the back of her ear. Watching him as he got closer, she straightened her back to seem a bit taller. He handed her a CD case and her eyes widened slightly, surprised. Taking a closer look at the album art she noticed Takahiro with a group of other guys and most of them trying to look tough or cool as they looked towards the camera, Takahiro included. Covering her mouth, she quietly chuckled before looking back up at him. "Nn, well I wouldn't mind being one of your few fans and I'd gladly come watch you Takahiro..." She said with a slight blush and a warm smile. "I think it's kind of cute that you're in a band though....I'll make sure to listen to the went I finish getting tea, unless you wanna listen to it together?" She suggested,

Shirogane couldn't be bothered to leave his room, although he did leave his desk when he heard movement up on the second floor. They probably wouldn't have noticed much aside from a silently opened door which slowly shut itself when the girls headed upstairs. Sitting crouched behind that closed door, Akira shook his head. So that's why he called them fresh meat... I should have known. Only in his mind did he pretend that he was any better than Youhei, even though his hormones were telling him practically the same thing. It seemed SEES drew in only very cute girls...and bronies? The Japanese technophile wasn't unfamiliar with the American fad, although he didn't understand it in the slightest. He returned to his desk and shut the game off feeling a bit tired of it for no particular reason. Shutting the laptop, he laid his cheek against the cool top resting hunched over his desk awkwardly.

Akira's phone buzzed twice before she checked it, and to her surprise it was Yoro. Unfortunately she had to leave the dorms early to get blood work and a physical done at the hospital, and her results were nowhere near what she expected them to be. She'd walked in with a sore chest and told the nurse her symptoms, and she didn't think it was unusual given the amount of work she'd put in the night before...but she honestly didn't think it was that bad. The doctor believed otherwise.

"Your blood work looks great. However, I'll be prescribing you a rescue inhaler and a daily regimen of inhaled steroids for your cough and chest pain. I'm thinking that you have some sort of exercise or stress induced asthma, and because of that I wouldn't recommend that you do anything too strenuous. Besides, didn't you just get out of the hospital? Anyways, if you have anymore problems do not hesitate to call me and I'll have a referral sent out so you can see a specialist."

Akira could only respond with a soft blush and a nod, and after a few more words with the doctor and his nurse, she was sent on her way with a doggy bag full of medicine back home. She figured she should text Yoro since she was on the train, so she sent him a simple message, "Had errands, I'll be home soon." before tucking her phone into her messenger bag along with the bag. It's not like she was embarrassed about having an inhaler, it was just a little disappointed and she didn't want Yoro to doubt her abilities.

After a short train ride and a walk, Akira let herself into the dorm and called out "I'm back!" before shutting the door behind her. What she didn't expect were all of the voices chattering away upstairs, nor did she expect to see Yoro and Youhei chatting away a few paces in front of her near the bar. Youhei seemed to be flailing about rather dramatically and she honestly couldn't help the giggle that escaped as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear before stepping towards them. It was nice to feel somewhat comfortable around them, especially after the events they'd all gone through together...though Youhei still had the ability to throw her off sometimes.

She stood quietly at the end of the bar with her bag on the table and fished out her novel as she listened to them speak, half-paying attention to the boys and half focused on Elizabeth's snarky attitude as she once again sassed Mr. Darcy. Sheesh, she could be so cruel, but she supposed that was how loved worked sometimes, right? Her arm stung a little as she bent it and she scratched idly at the bandage on her arm, and she quickly stopped herself from peeling it off. That'd be bad manners, and sort of gross to do in front of her dormmates, especially Yoro.

She peered over her book before readjusting her glasses, obviously interested in what both of them had to say. From the sound of it, there were new people in the dorm, which was nice considering a few people had left so suddenly. Hopefully nobody crazy would be living in the room next to hers, but...well, Yoro did know how to pick rather interesting people so there was no telling who she'd be living with.

Hitomi barely had time to recover from the previous onslaught of meeting new people, when yet another few found their way downstairs. The first one to arrive was a boy most likely older than them, introducing himself in clear enough English to make Hitomi doubt his heritage for a moment - but only for a moment, as he soon continued to call for someone in Japanese. But, wait, SEES? Had she joined something like that? What was that a shorthand for...? If it had something to do with the student committee, she must have joined by accident. She hardly needed to be part of anything that would force authority upon her. She was definitely not an authority figure in any meaning of the word, and couldn't see herself working well with people who were - like this Kirijo person. Wait... Kirijo, wasn't that-?

She didn't have much more time to dwell on that, when the student Kirijo had called for arrived and instructed them to follow. He did it Japanese though, so Hitomi couldn't help but glance at the foreign student she'd just met to make sure he had understood as well. He had. Good. Now she wouldn't have to speak.

On their way up the stairs, they met a yet another student, this one seemingly as meek and timid - but far more blushy - than Hitomi herself. She regarded her with silent disdain. She didn't like herself being shy and weak, and it wasn't a trait she valued in others either. It always made her remember what she must have come across to others. So, offering her a small smile and a nod she wasn't sure the other girl caught, Hitomi rushed past her upstairs. As she did though, she couldn't help but catch bits and pieces of the awkward conversation that followed between her and the foreign student. She apparently wasn't that good at English... but she tried. She was brave. And he... uh, well. His pronunciation needed work, definitely, and his politeness levels were all over the place. Not that it was surprising from a foreigner. Still, he tried too. She didn't want to speak even in her mother tongue. She was... pathetic.

Hitomi hastened her steps and burrowed her gaze deeper into the game she was playing.

-

All too soon, Hitomi found herself standing in the middle of the third floor, accompanied by nobody but the blonde girl she'd met moments prior. The upperclassman had instructed them to decide who got what room, an act Hitomi was very bitter over. He could have... a-at least assigned them one. Now she would need to talk to someone to figure out which door to claim. She didn't want to just be rude and pick one by herself. But this girl, she... was just a bit intimidating.

In her panic and indecisiveness, Hitomi just slumped down on her suitcase and continued her game. Maybe if... if she finished another route real fast, she would get enough self-confidence to try and ask her about which room she wanted. Maybe. Probably not. But at least she'd feel a little less awkward if she did something, as opposed to standing there like a fool.

Before she could so much as begin to immerse herself in the game world however, she heard the other speak, her voice shattering whatever calm Hitomi had managed to form in her mind. She flinched, mind cold and chest burning from anxiety. Oh. Oh no. She... she talked to her, and she didn't even ask about the rooms! Ah, o-okay, what did she say now? Weather, yes, uh...

Hitomi peeked up from underneath her bangs, trying to see a window. She couldn't, her hair was in the way. She didn't want to brush it away, though. She didn't want to move. The other girl wasn't even looking at her, and her tone of voice was anything but friendly. Part of her was scared, and part of her angry. Why was she even talking, when she clearly didn't care for an answer?

No, don't think like that. Be... be polite.

"Yes..." she peeped out, her own gaze not directed at the other girl, either. Her PSP looked safer to lay her eyes on. "It... it's warm. I would prefer the rain though." Realizing that might come off as either rude, negative or both, she quickly stammered to correct herself: "Um, I... I mean, rain is refreshing. It gives life to things. Like, like flowers. Flowers are... pretty..."

She had no idea where she was going with this at this point, so before she got the topic too far from what she really wanted to ask, she drew in a breath and added, seemingly out of nowhere: "Either room is fine with me!"

The guy first took Leo up to the second floor, and said something in Japanese. Most likely directed to the other two. Then, he told him to stay there, in what was likely the best English he was probably ever going to produce. As he led the girls to their rooms, Leo stood there, bit his lip, and looked confused. Stay here? In the hallway? And do what? Is someone else supposed to come up here and tell me which room is mine? Why couldn't they have told me that before I got here? Eventually, Leo just shrugged his shoulders, and accepted it. Maybe it was just a Japanese thing. They were probably going to fetch someone who spoke English, since he was an exchange student after all.

For a while, Leo paced around the hallway waiting for another person to come up, preferably one that spoke English. He wasn't very good at standing around waiting for stuff, and he constantly had to keep moving. He played with his yo-yo, and sung songs to himself to keep from getting bored. He occasionally peered down the stairs to see if anyone was coming, but no one was there. They sure do like to take their time here.

After nearly an hour had gone by, and still no one had shown up, Leo got tired of waiting. Whoever he was supposed to be waiting for wasn't coming, or they were running very late. He wanted to get to his room already, so he could start unpacking his stuff, and explore the place when he was finished. Not stand around a stuffy hallway waiting for a person he didn't know to show up. He looked at all of the doors in the hallway, none of them were marked. He figured maybe he could take one of the empty ones. He doubted it would make a difference anyway. Except, he wasn't sure which ones were empty, and which ones were already occupied. He didn't want to barge into somebody's room while they were in there, and disrupt their privacy. He decided to take matters into his own hands, and knock on the doors until he found an empty room, or someone that could help him find one.

So, he grabbed his suitcase, walked up to the first door he found, and started knocking. "Hellooooooooo?! Anyone in there?"

As Youhei's spiel came to an end and his attention focused back on the here and now, he finally noticed the small figure seated at the end of the bar. 'Ah, afternoon Ikeda. We were just discussing the new talent- I mean new dormmates...' He thought he covered fairly well there, though had his doubts that anyone would get the colloquialism anyway. Youhei paused for a moment as a stray thought stuck, before ducking down behind the bar. 'Come to think of it, I've got something for you here...', he mumbled while rummaging about, eventually producing a large bottle of thick yellow liquid, which he passed to the girl with an air of extreme pomposity. 'In payment of you saving both my life and my arse several times, here is that drink I owe you. Hope you like banana.' While she inspected the liqueur, Youhei surreptitiously poured himself a shot of a certain amber fluid from his trusty hip flask and raised it in toast. 'To your good health, my dear, which helps ensure my continued good health.'

Takahiro blushed, scratching the back of his head. Jeez, they had been dating for two weeks and he was still flustered when he was around her. "U-Uh... sure... we can listen to it together." He gulped. "Uh... go ahead and get your tea though. I'm not in a rush." He paused. "And since... y'know... it's Sunday... wanna go with me to Escapade tonight? Uh... since i'll be performing..."

__________________________________________________________________________

Yoro's phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket and looked. "Oh, it's Akira." He texted her back.

Don't worry about it. Look forward to seeing you. :)

That was when Akira came in.That was some strange timing. He put his phone away. "As for my impressions, I think they look very promising. I agree about that Leo kid though. But I have LGBT friends. It doesn't bother me." He laughed. "That's assuming he's gay of course." He watched as Youhei gave Akira a drink and poured his own. "Please, no drinks in the dorm. I'll allow it just this once, but know that for future reference, I don't like alcohol in here. This is school property after all." He coughed. "Now then. Good to see you Akira. We can take a rain check on that lunch, right? I suppose we can talk in here too." His phone buzzed. He took it out of his pocket. "Jeez, who the--" His face was instantly somber. Youhei was in a unique position to see the text. It was from someone named Kimiko.

The text said "call me." Yoro put on a clearly fake smile. "Excuse me." He walked a few feet away from Youhei and Akira and turned his back to them. He pressed a few buttons and put the phone to his ear. "Yes?" His tone was very sad. "I can't call you every ten minutes Kimi." There was a pause. "Dinner? Tonight? I kind of have plans." Another pause. "B-But..." The person on the other line was obviously angry. They were yelling just loud enough for Youhei and Akira to hear, but the two couldn't make out what this person was saying. He sighed. "Fine." A pause. "Yes. I'll rent a limo." Another pause. "I can't keep spending money on you." More yelling. Yoro finally started yelling. "Fine, fine! Okay!" He paused. "Yeah. Okay. I'll see you at eight. Mhm. No. No, i'm not." There was more yelling. Yoro sighed. "I love you too. Mhm. Bye." He hung up. Yoro went back to the bar, a pained smile on his face. "Sorry about that."