Hello and welcome to my newest Chiaki/Kotoha story. This has actually been sat on my laptop for the past year and half, but I never published it because I hated it. So, it's had a rewrite and I've now decided to publish it. This is my first proper AU story as well, with the characters in an everyday setting rather than their Shinkenger one.

With me publishing this, it doesn't mean that The Roar of Time is going on hiatus. I'm at a point with it where it wants to be written but at the same time it doesn't and that means - I'm working on fight scenes at the moment. Also, there is another Super Sentai story in the works but that's only going to be published once The Roar of Time (or this story, whichever is completed first) is finished.

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Sentai Shinkenger, Super Sentai or the characters in this story. They belong to Toei.

Can You Hear Me

(Bukkako)

We come into this world unknown

But know that we are not alone

They try and knock us down

A change is coming

- Kelly Clarkson (People Like Us)

S-S

If I known back then that that first encounter would change my life, I would have laughed it off. I would have told you that there was no possible way that we could have had the impact, the influence that we did. We were two different people on two different sides of society, but yet we were the same. We were the only ones able to see each other through the darkness that surrounded us.

I wouldn't have been able to tell you that she was the one that saved me. Back then, I wasn't me. I was merely a shadow of my former self. But she helped me. She saved me. We saved each other. But she was the one that made me realise what it was to be me. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be the person that I am now. The real me. I owe a lot to her.

I just hope she knows it.

Act I

Tani Chiaki let out a groan as he looked up at the signpost for the crossroads he was standing at. He was dressed in his school uniform which consisted of beige trousers, a white shirt, the sleeves of which were rolled up past his elbows, blue tie and a beige jacket, which was thrown over one shoulder with the strap of his black bag over it. It was the first day of term and he no idea where his school was. Well, he did since his father had shown him countless times over the holiday the way from their new house, but he had forgotten. Not, that he had been paying much attention in the first place.

The bright sun was reflecting off of the plastic, making it almost impossible for Chiaki to read what the signs said even when he shielded his eyes from the harsh light. He looked down at his watch and let out another groan. He was no running late for school. He scratched his head in frustration, messing up his sandy-brown coloured hair. There was no one around. No cars or buses, no people. Nothing.

"This is stupid," he muttered to himself, knowing that he must look like a complete idiot seeing as he had been standing in the same place, staring at the signpost for almost five minutes. "Why couldn't it point me in the right direction," he moaned. In his frustration, he kicked the post, instantly regretting his decision to do so as a searing pain shot through his foot and he hopped on the spot, clutching his injured foot, willing for the pain to disappear. Idiot! He chastised himself at his stupidity. He was going to be even more late now.

As he hopped on the spot, Chiaki didn't notice a girl walking behind him and as he lost his balance, hopping backwards, he collided with the girl, causing both of them to stumble and fall to the ground. Another pain shot through his body as his palm scrapped along the pavement and he closed his eyes from the sudden shock.

"Oww."

Chiaki instantly opened his eyes, surprised to hear another voice. Lying on her back opposite him, was a girl who appeared to be the same age as him, but he couldn't see her face since her black hair was covering it. Chiaki's brown eyes instantly widened as he scrambled to his feet. "Are you alright?" He held out a hand to the girl.

The girl let out a soft gasp of surprise. She looked up, her eyes growing wide. "Y-yeah," she muttered. She paused. The boy was wearing a concerned look, holding out his hand for her. She bit her lower lip, unsure as to whether or not she should take it, but then her own hand reached out for his and her breath caught in her throat as she felt the warmth of his fingers wrap around her own before he carefully pulled her up.

"I'm so sorry," the boy apologised with an inclination of his head.

She shook her head. "No. I'm sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." She bowed to him in return. It had been her fault after all. She hadn't been watching where she was going. If she had, then she wouldn't have walked into him. It was her fault.

Chiaki lifted his head. The girl was short, barely coming up to his shoulder and she had jet black hair that fell a few inches below her shoulders. He still couldn't see her face since she was looking down at the pavement in apology. "No, it was my fault," he said again with a smile. He tilted his head to one side, trying to get a better look at her.

The girl lifted her head, looking at him. She shook her head once more. "No," she began, but Chiaki cut her off.

"If I hadn't got so annoyed then I wouldn't have bumped into you." His foot still throbbed from the impact with the metal post, but it was a dull pain now.

"Why were you annoyed?" The girl gave him a quizzical look.

Chiaki stared for a moment. The girl standing before him was quite pretty. Though she was short, she had soft almond-shaped eyes with sparkling brown pupils. She gave him a small smile which he returned. "I, uh…" he pointed up at the signpost. "I'm a bit lost," he admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.

The girl's smile widened. "Where are you going?"

"Oh, Moroboshi High School."

The girl nodded. "Ah." Her smile widened as she gestured to herself, showing him that she too was dressed in a school uniform, hers consisting of a matching beige jacket and pleated skirt, with a white underskirt, that fell halfway down her thigh, with a white shirt and red tie, with black knee-high socks and black laced-up shoes. "I go there too. Maybe we could walk together?" Though she kept a smile on her face, she looked away almost nervously.

Chiaki smiled at the girl. She seemed nice, really nice and he was glad to have run into her. He thought it sounded like a good idea for them to walk together. "Yeah, ok–" he began but was cut off when he heard the sound of someone calling his name behind him. He turned around to see two males, both with brown hair, and dressed in the same uniform as himself, waving furiously at him from further down the road.

The girl's smile instantly faded and she began to shy away from him as she quickly set about rearranging her hair so that it was covering her face. Her eyes filled with fear.

Chiaki stumbled slightly as he felt the girl tug herself out of his grip, making him realise that he had still been holding onto her. As soon as she was free, she rushed past him, her head lowered as she walked past his friends who had been walking towards the pair. He was about to call after her, realising that he didn't know her name, but the arrival of his two friends stopped him, the taller of the two jumping on him.

"Oi, Chiaki, what are you doing?" the boy who had jumped on him asked, a wide smile on his face, while the other boy laughed at the sight.

"Get off me, Ryunosuke," Chiaki groaned, trying to push the taller boy off of him.

The other male nodded his head once and Ryunosuke slid off of Chiaki. "Who was that girl you were talking to?" he asked, curious, peering around the two to get a look at the girl, but she had disappeared from sight.

Straightening himself out, Chiaki shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he replied, following his gaze and felt a pang at the girl's sudden departure. "We just bumped into each other."

"Oi, Takeru, you don't think it was Bukkako, do you?" Ryunosuke asked the other male in a hushed tone.

Takeru smacked Ryunosuke across the back of his head, giving him a chastising look. "What, the clumsiest girl at school?" He let out a snort. "I doubt it. She'd have to be completely stupid to even think about approaching Chiaki." He paused suddenly, looking thoughtful. "But then again…" he turned to face Chiaki and let out a mocking gasp. "Maybe it was and she's put a spell on you to make you as clumsy as her." He took a step away as afraid he could contract something from the shorter boy. "You did say she bumped into you."

Chiaki rolled his eyes. He was used to their mocking and joking. "That's stupid," he replied, pushing Takeru lightly. "And anyway, I bumped into her."

Ryunosuke shrugged his shoulders. "Same difference."

Chiaki shook his head at the two. He knew how they felt about people like Bukkako, whoever she was. They were beneath them and were treated as such. But he didn't care about statuses or anything like that. All that mattered to him was what the person was like on the inside and he was positive that both the girl he had met, and whoever Bukkako was, were genuinely nice people and he hoped that he'd have a chance to see the girl again. "Come on," he said, walking past them in the direction the girl had taken, "we're going to be late for school."

"So, what was her name?" Takeru asked, walking next to Chiaki with Ryunosuke on his other side.

Adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder, he sighed. "I don't know. You two scared her off before I had a chance to ask and I didn't recognise her."

S-S

The three boys arrived at Moroboshi High School, a three-storey cream and tan building, walking into their new classroom, 2A, which was located on the second floor, with just over five minutes left before the school day began. The room was a bustle with activity, with the students catching up with their classmates about what they had been up to over the holidays.

"Phew." Ryunosuke wiped sweat off of his forehead. "Made it."

Takeru nodded. "Yeah and teach isn't even here yet."

Upon hearing their two voices, all activity in the room ceased for a brief moment before there was an up cry of excitement and the trio were instantly surrounded by their classmates, eager to find out what the three most popular boys in their year had been up to. The three boys were bombarded with questions, their classmates shouting over each other.

Even though he was used to the attention, Chiaki also resented it. He didn't like being singled out like he was. People always expected him to be the best at everything because of his popularity. Both the students and teachers loved him but he hated it. It wasn't him. If he hadn't become friends with Takeru and Ryunosuke three years ago, then he would have been the same quiet person he had been back then, someone who studied hard and was good at sports and music. But when he had met them, the most popular people at the school, his whole life had changed. He had had to change and become the joker that people now knew him as, all to fit in with Takeru and Ryunosuke's ways.

With a sigh, he ducked out of the huddle, leaving Takeru and Ryunosuke. He looked around the classroom and was surprised to see that there was someone in the room who hadn't eagerly joined the mass of students at the front. She was standing at the back of the classroom, near the other door, holding onto the strap of her bag which was loose by her side, her posture limp. Chiaki tilted his head. Her long hair was covering her face and he wondered if she was the girl he had met earlier. He watched as she approached the nearest desk. She appeared to look at something before moving on to the next, stopping and looking at it before moving on. She continued to do this and Chiaki frowned, wondering what she was looking at, or looking for. He looked down at the nearest desk, noticing the small piece of paper with a name inscribed on it. "Umemori Genta," he muttered. He looked at the next desk. "Shiraishi Mako." All of the desks appeared to have the slips of paper and then it dawned on him: they already had their seating arrangements.

With another sigh, Chiaki readjusted his bag strap and walked down the row, scanning the desks in search of his name. He eventually found it near the back next to the windows that overlooked the sensory garden below. He smiled. Perfect.

After placing his bag on the back of his chair, he walked back down to the front of the classroom where the mass of students were still gathered. He shook his head, seeing that Takeru and Ryunosuke were lapping up the attention. "Oi!" he shouted across to them. "We've already been given our seats."

Instantly Takeru's face fell and Chiaki couldn't help but laugh at the expression. "I was hoping we'd be able to pick our seats like last year," he moaned.

Still chuckling to himself, Chiaki shrugged his shoulders. He turned, seeing that the girl who had been at the back of the class was now sat down at a desk right at the front. He didn't know why, but Chiaki felt slightly crestfallen, since he had hoped that they'd be sat near each other. He quickly shook himself off. What was he thinking? He had no idea who she was and anyway, she probably wasn't even the same girl he had met earlier.

The door at the front of the room slid open and a short tubby man with a round, stearn face and short, almost bald, hair appeared. "Good morning class," he said loudly, since most of the students hadn't noticed his presence, but as soon as they did, they quickly rushed to find their seats, standing behind them. Looking round, Chiaki noted that Takeru was in the same row as him but at the front of the class, while Ryunosuke was near the middle of the classroom. It seemed that everyone apart from two people at the front, Umemori Genta and Shiraishi Mako, were in class.

"I am Hikoma-Sensei," their teacher introduced, standing behind the wooden desk in front of a dusty blackboard. "I'll be your Homeroom teacher."

"Rise. Sit. Bow." The class representative, a girl with short dark hair, who was sat near Ryunosuke called out.

"Good morning, Sensei," the class responded in unison, bowing at their teacher before sitting down at their desks.

"Yes, yes. Good morning," their teacher replied, nodding. "Welcome to a new year." He paused and looked down at something on his desk before looking back up. "Why don't we start by introducing ourselves to each other?" The class let out a groan, but Hikoma ignored it. "Let's start at the back of the class and work our way around."

The student at the back of the class stood up, introducing themselves. It wasn't until they were at the front of the second row did Chiaki pay any real attention as the girl who had been on her own stood up. She moved in one fluid motion, but as she turned, she stumbled slightly, going into her desk. The class sniggered loudly and Chiaki heard mutterings of 'Bukkako'. He frowned as the girl turned crimson red with embarrassment.

Her face lowered, she quietly introduced herself, "I'm Hanaori Kotoha. It's nice to meet you." She bowed quickly to them and her brown eyes flickered up, resting on Chiaki for the briefest of moments before she turned sitting back down, but as she did so, she knocked her bag off of her chair and it landed on the floor with a dull thud. Chiaki frowned again as the sniggering and mutterings could be heard once more.

Hanaori Kotoha, Chiaki thought to himself as he watched the girl. From the sound of her voice, he was more than positive that she was the girl he had met earlier. He was so lost in his thoughts about the girl that he didn't realise that the introductions had reached him until the person behind him poked him in the back. Startled, he quickly leapt to his feet, the rest of the class laughing, but not in the same way as they had been laughing at Kotoha. "I'm Tani Chiaki," he quickly said, introducing himself and, in keeping up with his pretence as a joker, saluted them before bowing and sitting back down while the rest of the class laughed at his antics, but deep inside, Chiaki resented them for it. As he sat back down, he noticed that Kotoha was the only one not looking in his direction. Instead, she was staring at her desk, her hair covering her face and Chiaki let out a heavy sigh as he looked out at the garden below.

When class was dismissed for lunch, there was a bustle of activity as the class pushed their desks towards Chiaki's. Takeru and Ryunosuke had already come over and were discussing how boring classes had been so far, as their classmates listened intently, hanging on to their every word. Chiaki looked over the sea of heads, noticing that Kotoha was sat on her own, her small lunch on the desk in front of her. Excusing himself, he made his way through the milling students and walked over to her.

"Hi." He bent down to talk to her. "I'm Tani Chiaki. We met earlier."

The girl didn't turn her head, instead her eyes remained fixed on her lunch. "You shouldn't be talking to me," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper.

Chiaki looked at her confused. "What do you mean?"

She still didn't turn her head. "Didn't you hear them? I'm Bukkako."

Chiaki frowned, still confused. He didn't understand. "And?"

She turned her head quickly, her eyes meeting his for a brief moment before they flickered, resting on the edge of her desk. "I'm Bukkako," she emphasised. "No one is friends with me. You shouldn't be seen talking to me."

"Why not? I don't care about any of that." He couldn't understand what her problem was. Why was it so wrong for him to talk to her? "I just thought we could be friends."

Her head jerked slightly and he thought that she was going to look at him, but she didn't. "We can't." Her blunt answer surprised him. She turned and quickly packed her lunch back into her bag before standing up.

He followed her movement. "Wait."

She paused, almost debating whether or not to turn around and let him be her friend, but she couldn't do it. She knew what would happen and she wouldn't let that happen, not again. She knew what people like him were like and she wasn't going to risk it, not again. She wasn't going to let herself be hurt. She shook her head and without another word, she slung her bag over her shoulder and left the room, wincing as she hit her shoulder on the door frame and tried hard not to run as she heard the laughter of the class behind her.

Chiaki stared at the open door. He was deeply confused. He couldn't understand her. She had seemed so friendly and open when he had met that morning, but now she was closed and distant. Hearing the laughter that had followed her out of the classroom, he felt a pang of anger at his fellow classmates. He was going to be her friend and prove to them that she wasn't who they all thought she was and he didn't care what any of them would think.

He was determined.