I. First Contact

Like a spark in a dry forest, Kaneda Yuki, Homeroom Teacher of 1-D, erupted onto the auditorium stage.

The principal who had been in the middle of his opening ceremony speech, stumbled forward and almost tumbled off the raised platform as Kaneda collided with him. The poor man was of the meager height of 5'1 and had a body composition equally pathetic. Kaneda didn't hesitate for a moment to take full advantage of this as she effortlessly wrested the microphone out of his hands and into hers.

She held it up to her mouth, positively glowing at the full audience of students that watched, stunned. "Welcome, kiddies! Normally, I'd let the old man do the opening speech, but on this day at Gakkan Urayasu High School, I believe I have an announcement far too important for the likes of any old geezer to declare."

Dramatic pause.

"I'M HAVING A DIVORCE!!!! YEAAAAAAAAH!" At that moment music began to blare out of the speakers. "ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST! HOW DO YOU THINK I'M GOING TO GET ALONG?! WITHOUT YOU, WHEN YOU'RE GONE!! YOU TOOK ME FOR EVERYTHING THAT I HAD! AND KICKED ME OUT ON MY OWN!" The teacher shouted, before suddenly marching over to the principal and handing the microphone to him.

She stopped midway though, frozen in thought, and then snatched the microphone from the principal's hands once again and yelled at a volume that made the voice-amplifying device useless: "JOIN THE OCCULT CLUB!!"

Finally, she dropped off the mic, took her seat amongst the other teachers and let the principal resume. Not that he could hope to continue, what with all the chattering the students were doing suddenly.

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Class 1-D

The unlucky denizens of the rambunctious Kaneda Yuki's class were arriving. The opening ceremony had already taken much of the morning classes, there was only time to meet the homeroom teacher and fellow classmates before heading off immediately to lunch. But any time spent with "that teacher" as some of the students were already calling her, was certainly going to be hellish.

Thankfully, she wasn't in the classroom just yet. So any arriving students would have the chance to naturally meet rather than be forcibly introduced.

And already there was one student there. A diminutive girl sitting quietly at the corner seat of the classroom near the windows and farthest from the front. Her hair cut carefully at neck-length, framing a sharply-angled face. Her chin pointed, her cheekbones, high and distinct. Her eyes, dark pondering orbs, larger than most, yet narrower at the same time.

Most noticeable of her was however, the cast she wore on her right arm and the patch over her right eye.

She didn't seem to be in pain though, more than anything, she looked absolutely completely bored.

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Ash trudged into the classroom. He had completely zoned out during the opening ceremony and he continued this pattern as he sought his desk. Once he had plopped into a seat, only then did he take the time to analyze his surroundings. Only one other student had entered the room beforehand. Ash took note of her...impairments.

"She's a hazardous one..." he thought.

He crossed his arms over the desktop and rested his head upon it.

"I wonder how many stereotypes I'll see?" he pondered as he stared at the doorway.

{Ikuto Sanpeita}

_Class 1-D_ Making an entrance _

A trio of students sitting in their homeroom gather around talking about rumors. " I heard he's coming here, that guy. " said one student who has clearly never made a trip to the dentist office. " Who?" some student with funky hair asked while leaning back into his chair. " Just a guy, who got blessed with god like perverted skills." said a third guy with bad breath . Somewhere in the high school, spurs attached to cowboy boots spin and click.

"Huh?" Funky hair asked with a raised eye brow. Jagger tooth looked at his one friend and smiled as he answered " Let's just say, his legend begins at a sporting event at my old middle school. The wind was blowing hard that day and all the girls skirts revealed the lovely treasure its hiding. I found out later on it was caused by a student who found himself a wind generator and that was him." The funky haired guy was still looking confused by what they were saying and wished they gotten to the point already. " I heard he's says "Yee-haw", whenever he's really excited." Bad Breath guy commented. Somewhere in the high school, a bunch of chicks with skirts passes by some guy wearing cowboy boots for shoes. " Yee-Haw." Mr. Cowboy Boots said as he pushes his glasses closer to his face and chuckles to himself.

Funky hair slapped his desk and shouted at his friend " Get to the point, who is he already!?". Bad Breath guy rolled his eyes while Jagger tooth put his hand on his friend, Funky hair's shoulder and calmly said " Relax, his name is...."

In front of the door way of class 1-D with his hands on the door's frames and a big grin on his face was Mr. Cowboy Boots. " Howdy y'all, I'm Ikuto, Ikuto Sanpeita." He said introducing himself to whoever was in class 1-d. Before taking a step inside the homeroom, Ikuto taps his forehead and comments " Aw geez, I left the mirrors on my boots. No wonder, why its been such a good day. " He then takes the mirrors off his beloved cowboy boots and strolls on over to his desk.

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"Fate smiles on the strange. So its a good thing, I'm the strangest of all." - William Livingstone, Cirque de la Nuit

| The Nakamura Household |

[Nakamura Minato]

SSSSSKKKKKKRRREEEEEEEEEEE!!!

“What the hell was that?” Minato thought to himself, as he ducked under his blankets and attempted to make himself comfortable again. Unfortunately, the shrill noise made itself known again, piercing the covers and drilling straight into his ears, then resounding right inside his very brain, where it rebounded upon the walls of his skull endlessly. This was, of course, his everyday wake-up call. There was quite possibly nothing in the world more annoying than this sound, and it was probably the only thing that was effective enough to get Minato up in the morning. Frustrated by his defeat by this diabolical alarm again, he shoved off his blankets in a huff and glowered menacingly at it. “Your days are numbered you outdated device, born from the deepest pits of Hell! When you least expect it, I shall destroy you and scatter you into the winds!” he snarled, quite melodramatically.

“Hoho! That’s no way for a child to talk to a parent, young man! Now get dressed already, or you’ll be late for school!” said the person who had been standing beside his bed this entire time, shaking their finger at him. They were dressed in a typical housewife’s dress, a frilly feminine apron, had long flowing hair, long eyelashes, and a face touched up just a bit too heavily with make-up. Oh, and this person was, of course, a man. “Yeah, yeah, whatever dad. Just have something ready for me for when I have to run out. …Oh hey, is that a new apron?” Minato had begun to say, before noticing something new, though certainly not odd, about his father. The older man beamed. “I’m glad you noticed! It just came in yesterday! I just couldn’t wait to put it on!”

“That’s… awesome! You should definitely go test it out in the kitchen… y’know, far away from my room,” the son suggested helpfully. Mr. Nakamura tapped his chin in thought for a moment, considering the boy’s wisdom. By golly, his son was right! “I’ll go do that! I can’t dawdle here!” he remarked, before turning around and exiting the room promptly. Once he had disappeared and his footsteps had moved downstairs, Minato slapped an entire hand on his face and then dragged it downward, letting out an excruciating sigh. “It’s too early in the day for crossdressing… or maybe just too early for all time,” he mumbled to himself. The boy cocked his head towards the right, catching an eyeful of the daylight peaking through his window. Today would be his first day at a new school in a new town… and the first chance he’d get at finding something he lost. “Day one,” he muttered softly.


| Girl’s Bathroom |

[Kurosawa Yuriko]

A group of girls were surrounding the cowering form of another girl, off into a far corner of the bathroom. She was backed towards the wall, and was still doing her best to get farther, as she was lowered to the ground and seemingly attempting to push herself fruitlessly away with her legs. One girl was notably separated from the group, casually leaning back on one of the sinks, and with a diary in her hand. She was casually reading it as the other girls, likely her lackeys, jeered and threatened the owner of it. This ringleader, Kurosawa Yuriko, was eerily detached from the whole situation, as if she was just reading a book in the library, and not in the midst of a torment infliction on her fellow school mate. “Hm…” Yuriko suddenly began, causing her ‘friends’ to quickly silence themselves. “It looks like you’ve had a happy summer, Sakura. You, and this boy of yours,” she remarked, sounding far more disinterested than the content of her words implied. She closed the diary and turned to look at the girl. Her eyes narrowed, and was the only indication of her distaste. “It’s disgusting. You know all of it is just fleeting right? I know of him. He uses girls, then leaves him when he gets bored. It’s the same as any popular boy really. Hmph, and you were even stupid enough to believe him when he said he loved you. Well, I guess that’s a bit funny,” she continued, her face still markedly emotionless.

The victim looked like she wanted to protest, but she knew quite well not to interrupt someone like this. “But, even beside that, all of this is just so… pointless. Even if you weren’t retarded and had someone faithful, don’t you know that somewhere over 90% of these high school relationships don’t even last? And we’re not even fourth years yet, you know, so that number's probably higher,” she furthered, now drawing closer to the girl. Like a bunch of rabid dogs making way for their pack leader, the girls surrounding Sakura parted accordingly for their master. Yuriko leaned over enough so the two were pracically face to face, causing the other to try to move farther away again. “Pointless. Pointless, pointless, pointless,” she continued again, punctuating each 'pointless' with a strike of the diary's corner to the girl’s head. It wasn’t brutal hits, but they certainly weren’t painless. Yuriko got up and opened the diary again, turning to a specific page to rip it out. She stared briefly at it to confirm its contents before taking it. “Lost your virginity already, too, it seems. So stupid. I think I’ll take this page and pass it around. Maybe give it to your parents? We’ll have to see what my friends vote on,” she remarked casually, her detached expression making the moment even more crushing. Sakura attempted to plead with her, but Yuriko had never intended to listen in the first place, and eventually left the girl to her sobs and the amusement of her posse.

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"A pistol is a tool to save people. It's not a weapon for murder." "Then save me by killing them!" "That's kinda contradictory..."
My Characters' Endings

- Walking to school, before the meetings -

Skirts. Skirts. Already, Mikayo was beginning to regret her enrollment here. They wore skirts. Short skirts.

Of course, she certainly wasn't wearing it now. No, exposure to skirts in general, especially ones above the knees, must be limited. Very, very limited. She had stowed the proper uniform in her bag, intending to change once she got to the school. And then plead with whoever's in charge if she could wear the boy's uniform. Or at least wear pants. Or even pants under the skirt. Or those -she shuddered at the thought- those, what were they, leggings? Those black leggings that people wear. They were...pants-like, right? Oh, what he would say if he ever saw her here? Actually, the easier question was 'what wouldn't he say', because he'd probably go on and on about it. At length, despite all attempts to derail him, despite any sort of half-intended physical harm. She really hated when he did that.

She really missed him.

Her class was probably going to be full of people that she didn't like, or, more probable, that didn't like her. Which, of course, also means she doesn't like them in turn, but that's not the point. Probably girly-girls at every turn. Happy to wear skirts and makeup and that foul smelling instrument of Satan called lipstick that her mom used to make her wear on special occasions. Girls who simply didn't understand the fine art of sawing someone in half with a chainsaw and hearing them groan into their headsets. No, she was really starting to rethink this whole "new school" thing. Not that she had much choice, but, still. They wore skirts.

Currently, however, the girl was in a suit. In fact, when wearing it, she didn't much look like a girl at all, which is, of course, why she wore it. She had everything, right down to the tie, as if willing them to accept her formal wear in place of a uniform. But, of course, she couldn't chance that they wouldn't. Her parents wouldn't like her getting thrown out on her first day.

That smug look on her mother's face when she showed her the uniform was the stuff that nightmares are made of. She had the same sadistic smile when she cooed around Mikayo, picking up leotards and matching them up to her frame a few years ago. 'Oh, you'll look so pretty!' she had said. 'What joy,' Mikayo had muttered but after a sharp look from her mother put on the bravest and most fake smile she could muster. Her mother let it go, and then proceeded to quietly make her pay for it by enrolling her in gymnastics program after gymnastics program until she was wearing that thing at least once a week.

As she approached the school, her steps slowed. She looked around in the hope that some meteor shower would suddenly hit or someone would send a psychic transmission to make everyone rethink this 'girls wear skirts' idea. After deciding that such things were asking too much luck of her that she didn't have, she sighed and walked in, darting into the first girl's bathroom to change and not leaving until right before she had to report to the ceremony, pulling on her skirt as she walked in the sincere hope that it'd grow another two feet or, at the very least, spontaneously turn into short pants. Another color rather than this pale blue would also be preferred, but that was entirely too much to hope for.

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"I'm all out. What do ya got?" "A utility belt full of crap and a positive outlook?"

Nagakura Chizu

- Nagakura...Castle? -

If there was something Chizu hated, that was living on the damn far edge of the city, probably isolated from much of the civilization by several miles and miles of green, and sometimes even wild, land, so going to school was like an epic quest every morning, and the first one was probably the worst of them; however, the benefits that were hidden behind of it were more than enough to make the whole deal rather exciting. As the sun rose by a side of her room, the girl slowly slid out of her bed, and closed the curtains as fast as she could; she didn't like sunlight on the very morning; everything was so...horribly clear in the mornings.

A quick shower, and thirty minutes in front of a mirror, only to look like a regular person. Breakfast time.

The first floor was deserted as usual; neither her siblings nor her parents would actually wake up for a while, granted they even were at home. That way was better for her though; the silence of the house in the mornings almost made it look as the kind of place one would call home without feeling like throwing up. Orange juice, bread and butter, and a fresh apple, and Chizu was good to go. She was tempted to go to the back of the house, and grab her favorite way of transportation, but it would probably cause her to end up in jail; it wasn't a really ba prospect, but the after match with her lovely family was more than an argument to persuade her otherwise. So, Chizu simply got onto her roller skates at the front door of the eternally gloomy, shadowy looking residence -which, by the way, was probably a Castle with minor adjustments here and there-, and set off. She was carrying her backpack and a long case of a bright chocolate color, where her traditional bow, and probably her training katana were; even in the first day, club activities might or might not be going on, but Chizu preferred to stick to the idea they were.

With some luck, she would arrive on time. After all, it was only six and a half am in the morning.

Ankoku Sora

- Girl's Bathroom -

A door opened on the far corner of the girls bathroom, opposite from the place where the Kurosawa Slavery Club was having a torture session, and a distinctively pretty girl came out, making her way directly to one of the water fountains, and proceeded to go and wash her face, apparently hoping to get rid of the bothersome sleepiness that had managed to make her sleep through the whole inauguration ceremony, and miss the chance to see the performance of the one supposed to be her new homeroom teacher. Still, by the things she had heard, there wasn't much of her interest besides the fact she had mentioned something about an Occult Club...

"Ahhhh, much better." She then turned to the little group, and it was as if she had just noticed them there. Of course, she had had a chance to hear some of the things little Yuriko-hime of the lost souls had been saying, but she cared too little to be concerned; people made whatever they felt the best with their lives anyway. Sora turned to grab her backpack, and then just started to walk to the bathroom's exit, her attention already set on anything else; a drawing, probably, something related a group of girls, and one of them tearing the heart of the weaker looking one. Everyone needed some kuro or gore on their lives from time to time anyway.

"Do be late to homeroom, Kurosawa-san," commented as she left the bathroom. From there, she stood outside for a couple of seconds, her mind empty as she looked at both sides. Where the hell was that classroom now? If she stayed too much time standing there, any of those wacky guys or girls may try to help her again, and she would need to re-enter the bathroom, which would be just plain weird. She would just need to go anywhere and hope she could get into classroom in time herself.

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~At the house~
Leki opened his bedroom door, drying his hair with the towel he had around his neck, to see Teri standing topless in his room. "...What are you doing this early in the morning?" He said with a tired sigh.

"Um... would you believe I thought I was changing in my room?"

"No." He sighed. "Just grab whatever shirt you feel like and get out of here so I can finish getting ready for school."

"Hee hee." She giggled and grabbed the closest shirt she could find and dashed out the door.

"Every morning... every fucking morning..." He mumbled as he closed and locked his bedroom door. He dropped the towel he had around his waist and took out his new uniform. "Why green? Ah well, least it's not yellow. Too bad it's not pink though, that would have been fabulous!" He chuckled and opened his bedroom door. "Almost forgot." He popped back into his room, grabbed a book that was lying on his desk and tossed it in his school bag. "Can't forget that." He heard showering in the bathroom. "Oi! Hurry up with that shower or we're going to be late for our first day of class!"

"Does that really matter?" Teri's voice came over the sound of falling water. "You've never really cared about that before."

"Nor would I, except do you remember that teacher at the opening ceremonies?"

"Yeah, that crazy lady who's getting a divorce, what of her?"

"We're in her class." He stated simply.

The water suddenly stopped falling. "Well shit." She said. Minutes later she opened the bathroom door fully changed. "Alright, let's get going. Oh, wait..." She ran into her room and grabbed a fedora, popping it on her head. "Good to go!"

Leki sighed.

~On the way to the school~
"Split up on the way to school?" Teri said.

"Operation Live Bait is go!" He said, snickering.

Teri nodded and went down a particular pathway that would also get her to the school, but was also known for skirt-flipping jocks in the third year who thought themselves the strongest in the school. They heard about them from a group of second years they happened to pass by. Sure enough, there they were. "Hey beautiful, why don't you skip class and come have some fun with us?" He said with a lecherous grin on his face. "Bite me, perverts." She said with a hint of venom in her tone. "Kitty's got claws man, let's teach her a lesson." Two more boys came from behind and grabbed her by the arms. "No! Lemme go!" The other boys advanced toward her.

"FALCAWN... PUNCH!" The biggest jock got a fist square in the jaw, sending him straight to the ground. "What the fuck!? Get him!" The two boys remaining abandoned Teri and went straight for him. He proceeded to send a kick to the closest boy. "FALCON KICK!" Then Teri simply just jumped up, grabbed the two boys around their necks and cracked their heads together, making them crumple to the ground.

"Well, that was my morning amusement for the day."

"Agreed. Shall we get going to class?"

"Alrighty then."

~At the school~
The door to the classroom slid open and the two Ginns walked in chatting cheerily about various pranks they pulled the day before, choosing to sit down beside each other in the back row. Leki looked around. "It feels strange to be at a new school eh?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. No more perverted old man for our teacher!" She cheered.

"Oh yeah... come to think of it, that's why you started wearing pants underneath your skirt, innit?"

"Yup! But now I just like doing it because it feels weird if I don't. Especially with such short skirts."

"You know you like it." He said back jokingly.

"Only on other girls." She smiled slyly.

"Oh you." He grinned and leaned back in his chair.

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-At School-

Enjou could only cringe as the principal droned on with his speech, his hatred for long protracted monologues as present as ever, not that he could even sneak out at the moment though with the hundreds of studnets around him. So he found himself starting to drift off into a fuzzy haze between reality and dreams, that was until the exploding femine voice cut through the previous droning. It didn't take long for the energetic teacher to quickly make her point, whatever that was, and move along effectively bringing the ceremony to an unplanned end. So this is why his gut told him that he should attend this morning despite his usual avoidance for such boring sessions; the year would be interesting if their teacher was half the 'loose cannon' she appeared to be. He quickly departed from the autotorium when there was an opportunity to do so, more than likely stepping on or at least over a few slower students who were too busy studying him up and down to get out of the way.

Before making his way to the classroom he detoured to the restroom to clean his face, he'd actually gotten farther to sleep than he wanted and even drooled the slightest bit. One of the many other students of the school paused for a moment to stare at Enjou with a raised brow for a moment as he was departing but left before it became a scene. Actually such a gesture was nothing uncommon concerning the only child of the Hiyama family, even if he'd seen it he wouldn't have likely paid attention. Soon his face was clear from any trace of his near nap and he turned to leave grabbing the head covering he'd instinctly removed while washing up. Naturally their would be many more confused people left in his wake as he proceeded to Class 1-D.

"Good Morning Everyone!" Declared the student as he proceeded into his appointed class room, his words were very cheerful though the rest of him was only half of that at most. So far an injured girl, a couple, an aged teen, and cowboy were the only ones who'd arrived before him; though he also noted most were already sitting at the back. Taking a few steps into the room he decided to prod the situation to see what would happen. "So then is seating first come first serve or are we going to give the slowpokes a chance at the back?" He seemed to be talking to whoever would answer him but then again it was more likely they wouldn't even hear him over the 'screaming' of his apparel. On his head rose a column of shiny white with a thin flat brim just below it, no matter how you looked it was a top hat, but even that would pale in comparison to the brilliant, banana yellow slippers on his feet.

-Auditorium-

Ah yes, The first day of school. Maki sighed at that thought. Yet another year ahead of him, and what a way to start it by pretending to be attentive to the headmaster's prattling on and on about the school's aim for the year ahead and the problems of today's youth. As the speech went on, his eyes became heavier and heavier until.... something unexpected happen. The proclamation of her own divorce from a teacher forcefully pulled him back from the land of blissful sleep. Kaneda Yuki, known by many for her erratic behavior. Her reputation is such that a student enrolled to the school would know of this teacher first than any other member of the staff. Well, at least things aren't that boring anymore. And even the visibly shaken principal does not seem to be in the mood to continue his speech.

-Class 1-D-

Maki trudged into the class through the back door, carrying under his arms what appears to be a robot dog. He placed on his desk his backpack and went up to a group of guys who are sitting in a circle, having a conversation. Maki went up behind one of the guys and tapped him on the shoulder. The guy jumped up with a start and looked behind to see who was it tapping his shoulder. 'For heaven's sake, Maki! You almost gave me a heart attack. Just call out my name next time. You always have the habit of suddenly appearing behind people's back like a ninja or something...' Maki merely shrugged at those statements. He have heard similar statements from others for a long time now. Apparently, he has the innate ability to make himself less noticeable from others or something.

'Here... your dog, Akira-kun. I've repaired the voice recognition software and it can also backflip now.' An awkward silence ensues. Hesitantly, the guy took the robot dog from Maki's hands. 'Err... thanks... But I have told you so many times now, it's not mine. It's my sister's!' The other guys who were earlier seated in a circle now clamored around him. 'Hah, didn't know Akira-kun has a soft spot for robot dogs... that does backflips!' one of them said with a guffaw. 'I..It's not mine, you hear! I just asked Maki-kun to help me repair it for my sister since it was broken! I mean, why would I want to own a robot that does backflips?' As soon as the word 'backflips' escaped his mouth, the robot dog made a backflip right on cue and made a woof while wagging it's tail. 'Oh...? And I suppose your voice coincidentally activated the voice recognition system?' said another with a wide grin on his face. 'Err.. the system must still be malfunctioning. Yeah, that must be it! Maki, help me out here!' Akira said as he turned towards Maki's direction..... only to find that he had returned to his seat.

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Itsuki woke up about half an hour before school. She probably wasn't going to make it for the opening ceremony. Well, maybe if she ran, but....

The girl dragged herself out of bed and fell onto the floor with a hard "thump". Cold linoleum is especially effective in jerking someone awake. A loud yawn sounded out through the small 2LDK apartment. Walking out of her sleeping area in the living room and entering the single bathroom of the place, Itsuki burped.

There wasn't enough time for a shower. That was fine though, to her. She didn't feel that dirty yet.

After she was done washing her face and brushing her teeth, she pulled the toast out of the toaster and began eating. Simultaneously she put her futon away, hanging it out on the veranda. Itsuki moved on to getting dressed. It didn't really matter too much to her what she was wearing, but the sailor style top annoyed her, so she got the guy's top, though the tailor insisted on doing some modifications to fit her better. Itsuki gave up complaining when he said he'd do it for free. Itsuki didn't really think about it at the time, but the tailor seemed pretty scared. She began to wonder why, but dropped it soon.

To crown her outfit, the tall girl put on a pair of spats. Grabbing another pair of toast from the toaster, she slipped on her shoes and walked out the door.

"I'm off.*" The apartment replied with silence.

- At School -
Sliding in on her bike, going at perhaps 80km per hour (downhill), Itsuki slid into the school, forcing into a stop with the unpleasant scent of burnt tire. She sighed a bit. She shouldn't rush down the slope. Replacing the tires will probably cost a bit....

Oh well. She locked her bike in and entered the school to see the butt end of the opening ceremony. She didn't really catch much except "JOIN THE OCCULT CLUB."

- Classroom -
Itsuki entered the class, sliding the door over. She didn't look at anyone before taking the seat closest to the door. Right away, she assumed that one bored sitting position, with her head resting on her arm. Another loud yawn.

*Ittekimasu.

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Twitter | Transistor Glamor | Tumblr | MAL

- Takeda Hikari -

The Half with the impossibly long hair, pulled into a loose braid that would have puddled on the floor behind her chair if she had not had the foresight to draw it over her shoulder and into her lap, sat nigh ramrod-straight throughout the assembly, keeping her face carefully neutral, even through the crazed teacher's introduction.

She walked straight from the assembly hall, after speaking with the principal a short while and giving him a letter from her mother, to the classroom.

The door was slid open once more, and she stepped through, turning immediately to close it with a quiet grace and a practiced movement that spoke volumes about her Very Good Manners. Once the door was closed, with as little sound as possible, she turned, casting her eyes down at the closest desk...If there were name tags, she would quietly find the one that bore her name, but if there were none, she would walk to the line of desks farthest to the door (likely closest to the windows) and take a seat situated more toward the front than the middle, but not at the very front of the class.

Once she had her seat, either assigned or carefully claimed, she slid into it, setting her satchel atop the piece of furniture and divesting it of the notebook and mechanical pencil that she'd made sure to pack.

Since the teacher wasn't there yet, though, she folded her hands in her lap, staring off into the distance with a look that could be called either aloof or wistful, depending on who was judging it.

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Official Forum Mom

~Classroom~
When Hikari came in and made her way to a desk, Leki and Teri gave each other an odd look, then nodded. They stood up and both walked over to her desk.

"Hey there, I'm Leki."

"I'm Teri, and we were just wondering"

"Why you're being so stiff like that?"

"It can't be very fun,"

"Nor can it be very comfortable."

"So... why?"

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~~{Alphonse, Greeting Apollo on the New Day}~~

The room was silent, antiquated in its presentation. Draping blankets of violet silk and velvet ribbons upon the tops of the tall posts, tying the drapery into a lovely statement. Even if none were to see the bed's display, it deserved to be as elegant as possible. A stout, straight-backed figure stepped up to the door, opening it slowly. He stepped into the room, looking around and pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Flipping the switch, the lights of the large room shot to life.

The desks and tables that lined the walls were adorned with numerous statuettes and small dolls. Most were of pink piglettes and smiling princesses. Some that were piggies dressed as princesses. The boy chuckled a bit, tugging upon the gloves on his hands to be sure they were securely on. "She does so love pigs... Still don't know how they're cute." He took in a deep breath, lightly snorting. He coughed a bit to clear his throat and fix it. Such a bad habit to have kept with him for so long -- snorting when breathing too deeply and quickly.

The boy then looked to the bed. It was empty, of course. And already well made, with the soft blankets tightly tucked into the corners. Not even a nurse of twenty years could tuck sheets as well as that girl. The boy gave a light chuckle, hitting the switch. She was already gone, so no need to linger. And he didn't wish to be caught. His parents did frown upon the boy waking his sister himself, or even being in her room in the early mornings. Especially when there was business to attend to...

"Already half after six..." He remarked with a quick glance to his cell phone.

~~{Opening Ceremony}~~

Alphonse sat patiently, taking note to every last moment of the student assembly. Most were carefree and gave a chuckle at the antics of the overly flamboyant teacher. A couple of interesting individuals, he noted, stayed as presentable as he did. Most interesting indeed to see such people on the first day. Typically others didn't try to act too proper at school until they were already dragging in the grades. Perhaps things would be more entertaining this year.

~~{Class 1-D}~~

Alphonse strolled through the open door. Someone hadn't closed it after entering or leaving. He reached back after stepping inside, sliding the door closed. There was enough chatter elsewhere in the hallways, the introductions didn't need to be further muffled by foreign sounds. The boy stepped forward, his polished shoes and pure, white gloves immediately giving off his love for presentation. He stopped at the front of the room, turning to look at everyone.

Those lenses of his shined bright, almost blinding as he shifted and captured the sun in that briefest of seconds while using his right hand to brush a stray strand of brown from off his glasses. Anyone even looking towards the front of the class would have been momentarily outshined by the brilliant spectacle before them. He didn't even notice it had happened, it had occured so quickly.

First things first, though...

"Introductions..." He softly whispered to himself. Alphonse stepped forward and past the trio near the front and towards the windows. The other two gentleman had begun their introductions with the girl he remembered seeing at the assembly earlier. Best to not interrupt and barge in. He'd wait until time was available. After all, he didn't wish to interfere with any would-be suiters. He knew how open the world was these days.

Alphonse stopped before one boy, seated towards the back, his head rested upon his desk. "Greetings and salutations," he bowed forward slowly, "I am Romanoph Alphonse." He quickly straightened up, as stiff as a board after pushing his glasses back up his nose. He then remembered that the boy might follow other greeting methods, and so, stuck out his right hand as an offer to shake, if that were his cup of oolong.

"Have a rough start this morning?" Al asked of Ash, remarking his slouched and tired appearance.

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Ash blinked slowly as he transposed his eyes from the doorway to this inquiring fellow. As his chin was rested on his right arm, Ash complied with Alphonse's offer to shake with his left hand, flipped backward.

"My name is Ash Aileron." He stated in plain English. It had been some time since he had had to speak his native tongue and was not fully accustomed to doing so. He promptly repeated his statement and the rest of the conversation in the proper native language and dialect. "I would not say I've had a 'rough start,' as you put it, I simply do not expect much from this school or these people until I see otherwise."

He had come to adopt this attitude from his schooling tenure in the United States. The standards were considerably lower there, not only with students, but with teachers. Ash was, however, quite willing to be disproven.

"Alphonse is not a Japanese name, I would assume. Are you from here?"

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_Sasaki Residence_

==========

The daily life of one Sasaki Rieko tended to be very odd. Unlike normal teenagers (who do sleep till the last hour prior to school) she was up at the crack of dawn, her mp3's alarm blaring in her earphones. As she yawned and flicked away the sandman's specks of sand from her eyes, she would slap her face a couple of times, finally regaining full awareness of the world around her. All the while she listened to good old L'Arc~En~Ciel to get her going.

So while her brothers rested up from their previous day of fatigue, she would be in her loose pajamas, readying the meal. Well, not breakfast, those preparations had been done awhile ago.

After marinating the chicken, slicing up the vegetables and preparing a good batch of rice to soak for supper, she immediately went to work on cooking the first important meal of the day: breakfast. While the rice cooker made fluffy white rice, she was already searing the saba on the frying pan, the serving platters already on the table. All the while she was humming out each tune that clicked in.

After filling each rice bowl with the appropriate amounts, and placing each freshly cooked saba on their serving plates, they would all come out, half-awake and half-dead. After a nod made in unison and an 'Itadakimasu,' they chowed on down. Hardly any words were exchanged as they were all not morning people (with the exception of Rieko), however, there was some small talk. Rieko would happily pipe up when called "Ri-Ri," and would soak in their thanks as they went on their way.

And with only 20 minutes to get ready for school, she went on overdrive.

"HOLY SHIT," she blurted out as her eyes stared at the wall clock, "I'm going to be late! I'm going to be-wait a second."

She crossed her arms and frowned, her head tilted to the side. "I'm usually late, aren't I? Sure, first day, but it's not that important, right?"

So instead of panicking, she walked right to her room, fixed herself up, and examined herself in the mirror. She smiled, crossing her arms. "This uniform isn't bad, shorty skirt, but nothing a good pair of leggings can't do. And . . . damn, this is growing on me already. As long as it's not pink, I'm good."

Slinging up her guitar (which had a pocket just for her books and things), jumping into her shoes, and locking the door to the house, she pulled out her worn red bike. A quick shift of her bag, she hoisted herself onto the bicycle's seat and began to pedal out of there, a smile on her face as the sun refracted off her slim sunglasses.

"Nice day, wish I wasn't going to be in a classroom because of it," she huffed out as she began up the hill, making her way towards the school. She still had that arrogant smile on her face.

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_Auditorium_

==========

After parking her bike (and locking it with a multitude of chains), she had barely run into the Auditorium to hear the blaring music of Queen. Her eyes widened and her smile reappeared, and she began to feel lighter. If this was how school was going to be, she wasn't even going to care if she was late! This rocks! This is awesome! This is-

"JOIN THE OCCULT CLUB!"

"OKAY!" she yelled out, before realizing that she had been so drawn into the display, that she had accidentally agreed to do what that crazy teacher had promoted. She stopped looking like she was enjoying herself and suddenly looked confused with herself.

"Holy shit, did I just agree to join the loony gang?" she asked herself, before shrugging her shoulders and shaking her head. "Yeah, as if that teacher's going to remember that!"

For the rest of the time, she hung out at the Auditorium's entrance, her body leaning against the door, her guitar slung neatly on her back. And luckily, she had missed the boring Principal's opening speech, which meant it was time to go to class.

==========

_To Class 1-D!_

==========

"1-A, 1-B, 1-E?! Oh wait, that's C," she blinked a bit, wondering if her vision was lacking somehow, "and 1-D!"

She slid the door open and already found a good amount of students inside already. And while some of them were already grabbing for chairs, she spotted the perfect spot: chair in the far left corner, bathing in sunlight.

But then someone was sitting there.

She almost frowned, but noticed that the seat in FRONT of the girl in her first pick was free. Which meant the SECOND best seat was up for grabs.

She was drawn to it faster than a cat drawn to milk. "I claim this spot mine!" she piped up as she rested the guitar on the wall, plopped herself down, and let out a sigh as she felt the sun warm up her body. It was oh so nice. And like a cat she purred, closing her eyes, her glasses shifting crookedly on the bridge of her nose.

Though it was probably better for her to socialize and make her connections, she knew territory was number one here. If you didn't claim a spot, you were left with the crappy front row seat. And she knew she wasn't straight A material, so she'd rather relax in the back, enjoying herself by daydreaming.

"Hope we aren't assigned seats," she said to herself, blinking for a second, "that would seriously screw up my plan."

Oh Rieko, you silly, silly girl.

_________________

Enough with the tomfoolery: it's time to play.

{Warning: Does Not Compute, DOES NOT COMPUTE}

Al blinked a few times behind his glasses, the wide frame sliding down a bit as he paused a moment. "Umm..." He paused at first, not knowing a damn word of English. Well, maybe a few... "Turtle Stuart, and, mom's, cooking...?" His speech for it was crude, spread about by pauses and odd expressions. As Al had heard it...

"DE#@$! **#%i," then it just blurred for him.

But then Ash spoke in Japanese, and all problems were fully solved! Al quickly withdrew his hand, a lose stitch on the finger of his glove scratching the boy's finger a bit. Al hadn't noticed the issue before, since he never shook someone's hand upside down like that. "Oh, sorry for that." He quickly stated after realizing, the stitch having left a small, pale streak on Ash's left middle finger. Wouldn't hurt, but it did peel a bit of his skin.

"Ah, I see..." Al stated in remark to Ash's reply. "Well, hopefully things can become very pleasant for you. And, if nothing else, you can count on me to help you out." He smiled wide for Ash and closed his eyes, keeping cheery and friendly to contrast Ash's gloomy outlook.

"Oh, my name... Yes, actually, I am from here." He then pushed his glasses up, noticing they had slipped down after Ash's English speak. "My parents were born in other countries, but were raised in Japan. And I've been here my entire life, so I only know the native dialect." He chuckled a bit as he shifted, sliding his hands into his pants pockets a second. He then pulled them out, standing straight and stiff to keep his stance proper.

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Ash quickly retracted his had and gauged the damage on his finger. He bent his outer fingers down, so that only the middle one was extended. Ash was so focused on the scratch, that he was obliviously giving Al "the finger." With the thumb and forefinger of his right hand, he pinched the detached tissue and picked at it until not a single translucent flake was visible and the red plasma was made more apparent.

"Other countries, huh? I was adopted by fat Americans. My true parents are dead. They tell me my father was murdered. My mother died in childbirth. So, technically, I murdered her." Ash licked his newly exposed gash, as it had now become. "I would appreciate whatever help you might offer. Especially help in doing my schoolwork."

-Going to School-
=Seth Fisher=



Living at home pretty much alone all of the time did have it’s perks, having to wake yourself up every morning was not one of them. Each day Seth was finding it harder and harder to drag himself out of his bed so that he could get ready for the day. It wasn’t that Seth didn’t feel like going out and doing things, he just wasn’t much of a morning person. Groggily he hopped into the shower and turned the faucet on cold, jumping at the sudden shock and fully awakening for the first time since he’d gotten up. The boy changed the temperature of the water to something a bit more sane before finishing up his business.

It was a terrible day to be starting school, and as much as he wanted to just skip out on the day, he knew that it’d be more worth it to just go anyways. After all Seth was looking forwards to meeting some new people, especially some good looking Japanese girls. A smile crossed his lips at the thought as he was getting dressed, leaving the front of his uniform almost completely undone. He didn’t make any attempt to fasten his tie and simply chose to leave it hanging loosely around his neck. His undershirt was only about half way buttoned to the top, leaving a good part of his well defined chest exposed. If he could have his way the boy wouldn’t have been wearing a shirt anyways, he hoped that at least this much wouldn’t cause too many problems. Though the boy enjoyed stirring things up a bit, he never did anything that he knew he’d get caught for doing. A few moments after getting dressed and two pieces of toast later, Seth had skateboard in hand and was finally making his way out of the door.

Skateboarding was always a bit easier back in California, but doing it in Japan was an experience all in its own. He enjoyed it and was able to make the best of the terrain. Leaving early for school was always a pre planned event for the boy, he didn’t want to be too late for class after a nice long skate around town. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see a girl on rollerblades and a few others not too far off from where he was. The boy smirked slightly, seeing it as an opportunity to show off a bit for all of his fellow students. Seth picked up speed along the center of the road, hopping up onto the curb suddenly and jumping up onto a conveniently placed railing along the sidewalk. The bottom of his skateboard grinded with a loud screech as he slid perfectly across the metal bar, flipping his skateboard once before finally gliding onto the ground perfectly. Such a thing was child’s play for him, now if only he could find himself a car parked somewhere… or better yet a moving one.

_________________

Al nodded. He then looked at Ash's finger. "Oh my... I'm very sorry for that. I didn't know anything was loose..." He looked at his gloved finger, sighing at it and the bit of Ash's skin still on the tiny, protruding fiber.

He then looked back, smiling at the last bits of Ash's wishes. "No worries there. I always do rather well, so I'll be happy to help." Al then looked about and tapped his chin. "Hmm... As for helping elsewhere, how about we try introducing ourselves to some others? I'll get things started and we'll meet with everyone in the class to become acquaitned." The bespectacled boy propsed, looking around at all the others already available, noting the latest arrival the most as an obvious chance for the two to start.

_________________

"Fair enough." Ash complied, sluggishly rising from his seat. He thrust his hands into his pockets. His untucked white button-up draped over his waist. Ash didn't care for the vests much, so he left his unbuttoned. His socks were pushed down to his ankles, but his pantlegs were slack enough to conceal this. The belt looped through his pants was pulled more tightly than necessary. It would certainly leave imprints on his sides. "I'll follow the leader."

Alphonse nodded while still smiling his approval. The first step was a success, so now he only needed to take things further. "Good. Now, our first target is the newest," he nodded towards the girl that had taken a window seat near the back, where the boys were. "It helps that she seems the open type." He then began to explain, becoming absorbed into his leaderly role to help instruct his new 'apprentice'. "Reading people and their mannerisms makes approaching them much easier... A simple greeting is enough for this." He lightly stated to Ash before turning.

Alphonse walked over to the girl, first smiling and tapping the bridge of his lenses to show they were comparable. Both cheery and wearing glasses. A good start, one could say. "Hello there... I am Romanoph Alphonse," He bowed forward, then quickly straightened up. "And this," he stepped aside a bit to let Ash step closer, "is Aileron Ash." The boy then chuckled a bit, looking to the girl. "You seem a bit artistic, if assumptions are to be considered honest." Al stated, noting her guitar case and quickly gathering that she played. "What do you think, Aireron-san...?" Al paused a bit, clearing his throat, hoping he hadn't just mispronounced Ash's name due to bad habits.

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Ash seemed intrigued with the girl's guitar. His gaze was fixed upon it as Alphonse introduced them, butchering his name in the process. Ash let the transgression slide with a pushing out of his lips to the side.

"You can't call someone an artist until they've proven their talent, should talent be a factor. Playing Guitar Hero on medium doesn't qualify."

Ash refused to acknowledge the girl with his eyes, transfixing them on her guitar. Despite his disposition, he hoped she truly were gifted with talent.

| Girl’s Bathroom |

That Morita girl had gotten to school early.

5:45AM to be exact.

The gates were still closed. What should she do? She paced back and forth before the entrance, arms crossed, lips pursed into slivers as she pondered the possibilities. Maybe she could sneak in? No, that's not right. She couldn't have her reputation tarnished right from the start. Well, nobody would notice, right? And who would admonish an eager student? Right? Wouldn't she be setting a good example for her classmates, coming here so early on the first day? Besides, when she took the tour of this high school during the open house, there were all sorts of nooks and crannies where she could hide. Right? Right. It was settled. Morita nodded firmly to herself. She'd jump the gate. Taking a few steps back and gripping her messenger bag with a knuckle-bleaching intensity, she readied herself and assumed the track runner's starting position. Three, two one...

Jingle. The custodian had unlocked the gates, not even bothering to give Morita a weird look. Well. That was unexpectedly pleasant. Humming a cheerful little tune, she stepped through the gates in a perfectly average manner. There was nothing to see here, just a schoolgirl going to school. Move along, move along.

She entered the building without any incident, heading straight for the library. Which was locked. All right, no trouble there. Computer lab, then. Also locked. Empty classrooms? Locked, locked, locked. What room in this damn place wasn't locked? In mild irritation, she shoved the door to the girl's bathroom open. Watch this be locked too--ooo? She nearly lost her balance, and would've fallen flat on her face if her fingers weren't still wrapped around the door. Well...at least it wasn't locked. Right? She heaved a sigh and steadied herself, then entered the stall all the way at the end of the ladies' restroom. Handicapped stall. Nice little spot, this place. It even had one of those fancy new toilets that sprayed water when you pushed a button, not that she needed to use it right now. She kept it in mind nonetheless. She locked the stall door behind her, hanging her bag on the little hook behind the door and pulling out a book from one of the bag's pockets. A light novel to be precise. It was the latest release; Morita dove into it like a druggie on crack, absorbing every word into her very skin as she sat cross-legged atop the toilet seat.

Before long, she began to hear voices outside the door. Menacing voices. They were interrupting her reading. Pouting, she closed her novel and listened in. If they were going to be so loud, how could she help but eavesdrop? It sounded like a bunch of girls were ganging up on a little lady by the name of Sakura. Standard middle school melodrama. This was high school, though. Things like this...how childish. Ah well. Kids would be kids. Going out to save the day now would've been suicide, since Morita was severely outnumbered. She waited patiently, silently, until all the girls had left, until the only sound was the tearful sobbing of the victim.

Click. Sakura peered up through her tears, eyes wide with fright from the sound. There stood an average looking girl with red-rimmed glasses, holding up a somewhat bulky looking camera. How horrible! Why would someone take a picture of her in this state? She thought things couldn't get worse, and now this girl was going to blackmail her, or worse, spread that terrible photo all over the scho--

Morita kneeled down and held the finished roll of film to her. "Sakura-taaaan," she cooed softly, a hint of a playful giggle in her soft-spoken voice, "that won't do at all. Not at all! That was such a waste. A girl who's finally become a woman should be smiling, you know?" She grasped Sakura's hand gently and pressed the roll into her palm. "Sakura's such a pretty name, very feminine. It suits a lovely lady like yourself. Mine is a little more...rough, should I say?" She bowed her head slightly in a polite greeting. "Morita Yasu, Morita as in Morita Shinobu and Yasu as in Takagi Yasushi. Ara, both men. Isn't it a shame for a woman to be named after men?" She failed to mention that the two names she recited were both from two different manga, both of which were created long after her birth. The similarity in their names was a mere coincidence. "Just call me Yasumo. Now come on, clean yourself up and let's get to the auditorium. It'd be a shame to miss the opening ceremonies when the faculty puts so much effort into it for us kids." She pulled the still sniffling Sakura off the ground with a light tug of her arms and handed over a clean handkerchief.

---

[ Class 1-D]

Yasumo had split up with a moderately less dreary Sakura after the opening ceremonies. Join the Occult Club. Yasumo had been holding back bursting into an uncontrollable laughter since the end of the opening ceremony, to the point where she was near tears. What a riot! When she realized that this over-the-top teacher was, in fact, her teacher, she couldn't help but be overjoyed. This year would be extremely interesting. She just had to get herself elected class president with this group. It was a necessity...no. It was a matter of life and death!

She took a deep breath and ceased her laughter, toning it down to the occasional giggle. Sliding the door to the classroom open, she entered the room with a cheery smile, gently closing the door behind her. Ah, there were students here already. Two boys conversed in that American tongue, and a boy-girl pair pestered a very proper(and pretty) looking young lady. Others slept or had blank looks of the lights-on-but-nobody's-home type. One girl in particular that seemed to be talking to herself and had hauled in a guitar was sitting in a nice, sunny spot. Wasn't that the exuberant girl that agreed to join that Occult Club right away? The two boys that were conversing in English had already approached her. Yasumo dropped her bag in the front-and-center seat. She already had every intention to be the straight-A role model for her classmates and underclassmen, and voluntarily choosing the top-nerd seat spoke leagues of her intentions. She then stepped over to the back of the room with a light chuckle. "Ahaha, how mean, to question her talent before you even introduced yourself," she scolded Aileron playfully; the tone of her voice was nothing more than light teasing. She looked at the presumably musical female with a pleasant smile. "Surname Morita, given name Yasu. Such a masculine name for a scrawny little thing like me!" Yasumo let out a little chuckle. She seemed to enjoy her boyish name more than she let on, even though her demeanor was far from manly. Her attention was on all three classmates now. "Just call me Yasumo. That goes for the rest of you, too. What are your names?"

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-- Sketch Blog -- My Art Thread -- DeviantArt --

Alphonse blinked and looked up, turning to look to his right as another recent arrival approached the three students. "Ah... A fellow scholar." He commented, noting where she had placed her things to claim her seat. "Hmm... Well, Yasumo-san, I am Romanoph Alphonse." He bowed forward as he greeted the girl, letting his focus shift to her for the time so as to let Ash get to know Rieko.

"Feel free to call me whatever you wish." He blinked a few times, looking to her left shoulder. "Perhaps we could lead the class academia by example and help...others..." He paused, staring at her shoulder a bit. "... Excuse me, this is just bothering me." He reached forward toward her shoulder and flicked his hand, taking away the strand of fallen hair from Yasumo's head. "Sorry for that... I have some rather odd habits." Al stated, lightly chuckling while placing his hands behind his back for the moment, his fingers playing together to distract his attention.

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Ash huffed at the newcomer's remark. When she boasted about herself, he frowned further.

"Tch, a tomboy. One foot in the lesbian door." He commented aloud, but not so loud that anyone outside of the circle would hear. "Name's Ash. Try not to butcher it."