章節 5: Chapter one, 2016, school start: 1

Entrance ceremonies were supposed to be framed by a reasonably cute pink colour, but this year spring had been surprisingly stingy with its gifts. The sakura wouldn't bloom for another week.

Now, if Wakayama Noriko had been as starry eyed as the air heads around her she might have missed the absent stunning scenery more. But then, if she had been she wouldn't have been Wakayama Noriko.

Entrance ceremonies were supposed to be an occasion where you got your class assignation, listened to some canned clichés dressed up as speeches and got a good look at your home room and your class. In this aspect her first day of senior high was a resounding success. She was placed in 3:1, Principal Nakagawa droned on about a bright future and their home room teacher welcomed them to their classroom as if the bland interior belonged to a luxury hotel suite.

Entrance ceremonies, alas, were also occasions where she had to drag around her good for nothing younger twin brother. Wakayama Ryu. Wakayama Stupid Idiot Ryu. And add a 'kun' to that. Of course it was a love hate relationship, but the never ending stream of girls trying to hang out with him certainly pulled the scales closer to the hate-region.

Well, senior high meant a new and unknown school, and maybe, just maybe…

'You can't be serious!'

Some of the less scatter-brained girls from Noriko's middle school had apparently managed to pass their entrance exams here. Now they were in a heated argument with a bunch of girls Noriko didn't recognize. And the reason for their quarrel had climbed the rooftop of the walkway and was playing out his antics as usual.

"You there! Get down immediately!" 'And here come the teachers.'

Noriko watched Ryu vault down from the roof, one nimble hand gripping the supports while he gracefully sailed through the air just to land like a cat. Then he grinned at her like saying: "Did you see that sis?" That idiot grin made it hard for her to stay angry at her twin brother for any amount of time, and it was the main reason he broke hearts left and right without actually doing anything wrong. 'Ryu, grow up some day!'

He would be scolded by the teachers later, and the girls would continue their quarrel about who had seen him first, and then they'd start coming to her for advice and then, then… And then Noriko would spend another three years as 'Ryu's little sister', a popular attachment to her younger brother. Sometimes thought of as cute, but never a girl anyone would dare to approach for real due to her status as the 'little sister' of the daredevil Ryu. And of course he had to have grown so tall, so this time around there would be absolutely no end to the admirers.

She sighed and was about to run to her brother to help the teachers scold him when a shadow passed her from behind.

'What?'

Trousers too short, white socks in cheap loafers, shirt too tight, and yet the sleeves were too long. Even the school blazer seemed to disagree with him. A pair of glasses were firmly planted beneath hair that seemed to be glued to his head. He hadn't managed to get his tie correct either. No matter if he had wanted to get it right or deliberately wanted to have it the cool style – it just hung badly around his neck crowning the overall picture.

'Geek squad just got a new member.'

Despite all this his hunched back couldn't entirely hide how tall he was, way taller than Ryu. And there was something strange with his hair as well, an oddly off-black shine. Why would a geek dye his hair, and who in this universe would dye it almost black? Hadn't she seen him somewhere before?

The shadow passed, stumbled clumsily over his own feet, regained balance and shuffled towards the gates. 'He won't have an easy time making friends. But there's something familiar…'

"...Noriko!"

'Eh?'

"Noriko, teachers want a word with me. Could you help me out?"

"Help you out? Idiot, stupid! You deserve getting your face chewed off. Idiot! Stupid!"

The sakura continued its absence of blooming, Ryu got his arse handed to him by the teachers and Wakayama Noriko turned on her feet and left the school-yard.